‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Review: Javier Bardem And Shawn Mendes Tune Up For The Years Best Singing Reptile Film
It took a while for a major studio to grapple with the prospect of a crocodile movie, but Sony's Columbia Pictures finally got the message, and so we finally got the film adaptation of Bernard Weber's children's book. 1965 Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
Shawn Mendes undoubtedly helped provide vocals to Oscar, Grammy and Tony-winning songwriters Bing Pasek and Justin Paul ( La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman ). It delivers strong undertones, but thanks to the title's catchy CGI creation, this rockin ' crocodile is. No doubt getting the kids out of the house will be a welcome distraction for hungry families when Sony opens this groovy CGI/live musical comedy in theaters exclusively.
Call me crazy, but it's hard to resist the singing crocodile, who serves as a loyal companion to everyone he meets, has a keen talent for obituaries, and loves bubble baths. The CGI wizards animated it beautifully, and Lyle fits in well with the well-chosen human cast. But what really made it work for me is that the filmmakers — directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon ( Blades of Glory, Office Christmas Party ) and screenwriter Will Davis ( How to Train Your Dragon ) — thankfully didn't have allowed. Lyle speaks, sings alone , and relies more on soft expressions like the family dog rather than being saddled with goofy dialogue. Davis saves it for the people he deals with and luckily for this type of film they're all very tolerable, even if overly caricatured at times, but what did you expect?
The film begins with aspiring magician Hector B. Focuses on Valente (Javier Bardem), who thinks he's a big star but really is anything but. However, when he visits an exotic pet store, he finds a baby crocodile in his cage that sings happily all day long. Immediately the lightbulb went out and Hector saw the potential of show business. He has moved into his brownstone home in New York City and teams up with Lyle in a role, only to be crushed when Lyle stands in front of the crowd that has come to see the action. Next we're back in the same house, but now the Prim family, consisting of father (Scoot McNairy), mother (Constance Wu) and son Josh (Winslow Fegley), are moving in as new tenants.
Josh finds out one day that Lyle lives and showers there. There is a note near Hector telling him to take care of his crocodile. There are also sheet music and instruments. Josh is scared at first, but soon bonds with the friendly creature and finds a friend to help him with his new unit around town. Eventually my mum and dad also liked him, after initially being upset (to say the least). Unfortunately, there's also an ugly neighbor downstairs, Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman), who loves his spoiled cat (another recent CGI creation) but thinks something strange - and difficult - is going on with Prims. The threat of Lyle being discovered by the authorities looms large, but not without getting some catchy tunes along the way. Eventually, Hector himself steps into the picture, which complicates things even more.
Innocent fun songs and dance numbers, notably "Look At Us Now" with the featured tune, "Top of the World" with views of the New York countryside, and a Rip Up the Recipe-rated PG family kitchen duo of Wu and Lyle Add. Mendes may not be in the picture, but his familiar voice makes Lyle a natural star. Mendes even wrote and sang another song, "Heartbeat," on the credits, and it goes well with Bardem, who is playing her second singing role after playing Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos earlier this year . Finally - this is clearly a blast all around. Wu and McNairy are good too, with the latter milking a farce in his fight with Lyle. Fegley is a charming, childlike appearance who seeks only one true friend and finds one of the other species; Typical plot of a boy and dog film. Gilman does the necessary evil here, while the master rants about his one-dimensional, demanding approach. However, his cat steals all the sights from him.
Kids should eat anything, and when he's not climbing to the heights of the Paddington films, he's the closest cousin in the family type and has just enough charm to be on his own. Luke Parker Productions. Sony released in a big way on Friday.
See my video review above with scenes from the film. Planning on seeing Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile ? let us know what you think
