'Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile' Review: Singing Croc Musical Adds Serotonin For Your Families
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
PG: Mild peril and thematic elements
Runtime: 1 Hour and 46 Minutes
Production Companies: Eagle Pictures, Hutch Parker Entertainment, TSG Entertainment II
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Directors: Will Speck, Josh Gordon
Writer: William Davies
Cast: Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, Winslow Fegley, Scoot McNairy, Brett Gelman, Shawn Mendes
Release Date: October 7, 2022
In Theaters Only
When the Primm family (Wu, Scoot McNairy, Winslow Fegley) moves to New York City, their young son Josh struggles to adapt to his new school and new friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle—a singing crocodile (Mendes) who loves baths, caviar, and great music—living in the attic of his new home. The two become fast friends, but when Lyle’s existence is threatened by evil neighbor Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman), the Primms must band together with Lyle’s charismatic owner, Hector P. Valenti (Bardem), to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places and there’s nothing wrong with a big singing crocodile with an even bigger personality.
Bernard Waber’s storybook classic Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile has been a staple for multiple generations. Does anybody remember the animated HBO Storybook Musical special from the ‘80s that the network aired for 30 years straight? With source material so rich, it’s surprising that it took this long for a simple story about a crocodile living in the Upper East Side to get a feature adaptation. Leave it to Sony—who gave iconic characters like Peter Rabbit and Stuart Little their big breaks—to obtain the rights and bring this classic story to life in a live-action adaptation.
After Paddington set the bar so high, there’s been an exciting yet anxiety-inducing pendulum swing when predicting the quality of live-action film adaptations of children’s books. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is (thankfully) a solid family flick that remains faithful to its source. Directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon walk a fine line while combining the source material’s story with its prequel, The House on East 88th Street, without falling into the trappings of similar movies.
The film’s prominent charm stems from the NYC crocodile with the voice of a Canadian. Lyle has that “Bumblebee from Transformers” condition where he can only communicate via song. Singing aside, the rest of his communication is done through body language, facial expressions, and growls.
All Lyle knows is singing and dancing. His adoptive father, Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem, who is having the time of his life), trains him to be a showman. Sadly, Lyle has stage fright, and their debut musical show bombs bigger than David O. Russell’s latest blunder. Valenti, who must recoup the loss, dips from the city and leaves Lyle on his own. Nearly two years later, a somewhat unhappy Primm family moves into the vacant house. For a movie about a singing crocodile, the directors accurately depict the shady practices of NYC housing. Joseph and Katie’s only son Josh—a middle-schooler with anxiety—stumbles across Lyle and immediately falls head over heels for him. Eventually, Joseph and Katie follow suit after they do that frustrating “scream and run” trope we see all the time, and then easily fall for him.
I could easily add a Paddington comparison, though Lyle doesn’t even come close to it in quality. That said, similar to the Paddington films, the ensemble is delightful. Scoot McNairy, Constance Wu, and Winslow Fegley are a sweet family that slowly accepts Lyle as one of their own. Though the story breezes through the development and relationship between Lyle and each member of the family, the effortless sweetness is hard to resist. Brett Gelman being cast as Mr. Grumps is also such top-notch casting that I couldn’t help but cackle whenever he was onscreen.
Javier Bardem though. The man brings a Hugh Grant in Paddington 2 level of charisma, it genuinely elevated the overall film’s rating. After seeing Bardem play the dourest roles in anybody’s career, it’s so refreshing to see joy exhibit this level of joy and exuberance. Bardem is an incredible performer and this is another side of him never before seen on screen. Without a doubt, Bardem delivers a more Oscar-worthy performance here, singing and dancing with this CG crocodile, more than his performance as Desi in Being the Ricardos. I was surprised as to how Hector is a tragic representation of the quintessential performer in search of the American dream rather than being depicted as a villain of sorts. If anything the movie’s major antagonists are the NYPD, so there goes another wave of odd authenticity added to the film’s DNA.
Its musical identity, with original songs provided by La La Land and Greatest Showman duo Pasek and Paul, and Shawn Mendes, adds depth to the story. The original song is bops that stand on their own and the sequences are riddled with energetic imagination.
While Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is one of the best children’s book adaptations we’re probably gonna get, its story doesn’t feel as complex as it should be. The relationship between Lyle and the Primms is like a vignette-style therapy session that pads out the runtime. Whenever the story teases some cynicism, it detours to the straightforward route.
Also, apparently you can't be a live-action anything without the following:
Characters screaming at CG creatures
Unnecessary gross-out jokes
Terrible CG cat that comes from the uncanny valley
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a charming family flick that does right by Bernard Waber’s classic story. With exuberant performances from its ensemble and sweet tunes for your kids to latch onto, this musical about a singing croc will add some serotonin to your family’s day.
