Lyle Lyle Crocodile is a live-action and computer-animated musical movie directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon. The screenplay is by William Davies, and the story is based on Bernard Waber’s children’s book of the same name. The film stars Javier Bardem as Hector P Valenti, Constance Wu as Mrs Primm, Scoot McNairy as Mr Primm, Winslow Fedley as Josh Primm, and Brett Gelman as Mr Grumps. Singer Shawn Mendes has voiced the animated Lyle crocodile.
The runtime of the Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is 106 minutes. Matthew Margeson has given the background score, and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul have worked on the original songs.
Lyle Lyle Crocodile Review Contains Mild Spoilers
Hector P Valenti, a magician, finds a singing baby crocodile, Lyle. Lyle can sing but cannot talk. Hector trains Lyle in singing to take him on magic shows and perform to earn good money to help him clear his debts. However, Lyle has stage fear and fails to perform for the audience. Hector has to leave Lyle behind to earn some money to clear the loan.
For years, Hector doesn’t return, and Lyle is grown up quite big. A new family called the Primm’s gets Hector’s house. The Primm family, especially Josh, become good friends with Lyle. However, their downstairs neighbour Mr Grumps isn’t fond of them and suspects something is happening. The Primm family members and Josh have lots of fun singing and dancing until things go wrong. Will people accept a crocodile, a reptile known for attacking humans? We find out everything in the end.
Everything is going well in the movie, from Hector’s introduction to Lyle’s singing lessons. The baby crocodile has googly eyes. Hence it doesn’t look scary at all. Even though it’s a reptile, Lyle often behaves like a cute puppy. Lyle can’t talk, but he understands what others are talking about and sense their emotions like happiness and sorrow.
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When Mr and Mrs Primm and their son Josh start living in Hector’s apartment, Lyle finally finds a good family. He sings, dances, cooks and helps each family member feel good about themselves. Even the Primms love Lyle a lot. Even though the movie focuses more on Josh and Lyle’s friendship, my favourite sequence is the crocodile’s dance number with Constance Wu, aka Mrs Primm.
Will Speck and Josh Gordon’s movie has all the elements one expects in such movies. There are silly jokes, adorable scenes and separation and reunion. However, most of the time is spent on people getting freaked out by Lyle. I wish there were more songs. It’s a musical, and a talent like Shawn Mendes is voicing Lyle. I wanted Lyle to sing more than he was already doing. A lot of time goes in humans talking amongst each other.
Lyle Lyle Crocodile is predictable but keeps you entertained. The intention is to make you say ‘aww’ often, and that happens. Take a Look at Us Now is the movie’s main song, and one can’t get enough of Shawn’s voice. After teasing us a little about the song in the beginning, we are treated with the entire song at the end. My other favourite number is Rip Up the Recipe. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s music and Shawn and Constance’s voice are amazing.
As the voice for Lyle the Crocodile, Shawn Mendes has done an incredible job with his singing. He makes Lyle look like a rockstar! Another star of the movie is actor Winslow Fegley who plays Josh Primm. The scenes will Lyle will make you smile and also be emotional. The rest of the cast has played their parts well.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a fun, silly, heartwarming movie that wants to make you smile and feel good about yourself. The crocodile with puppy eyes and singing talent is all things cute. It’s a sweet movie one can watch with their kids and also if you are looking for something light and enjoyable.
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