Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
When the Primm family 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 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, the Primm’s must band together with Lyle’s charismatic owner, Hector P. Valenti, 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.
- Released:
- Runtime: 120 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Family, Music
- Stars: Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, Winslow Fegley, Shawn Mendes, Scoot McNairy, Brett Gelman, Lyric Hurd, Sal Viscuso, Don DiPetta, Yussie Jupiter, Mac Wells, Lindsey Moser, Melisa Lopez, Chloe Camp, Joe Gulla, Elijahawon Perrin, Niquitta S. Wolfe, Zeb Slone
- Director: Josh Gordon, Will Speck
Comments
- glenaobrien - 23 January 2024
It's sure ain't Paddington
Javier Bardem what were you thinking? And how many times did they sing that same song, 'Take a Look at Us Now'? Seemed like a lot. The book was better. This movie is not Paddington that's for sure. Only watch if you think you'd enjoy Sam Mendes singing showtunes inside a CGI crocodile or Constance Wu dumpster diving with her pet crocodile or ... any number of other unwatchable and unenjoyable elements that this film delivers. Oh and Jarvier Bardem abandons Lyle as if it means nothing and then comes back and wants to be all chummy again. Oh and did I mention that song, 'Take a Look at Us Now'? Seems like I might have mentioned that already. - ivan_dmitriev - 17 August 2023
See you never alligator, in a never crocodile
What a bunch of nonsense for ages 3 and under.
There's a reason it was an illustrated bedtime story and not a movie, because its characters are flat, uninvolved and have no development outside the predictably twodimensional thinking of the pinheads responsible for the production and the script.
The advantages of a bedtime story are at least two, as my wife said, - first the drawings are cute, unlike the movie, and you can't miscast anyone, unlike almost every character in here, and the second - is that from one day to the next you get tired and fall asleep and forget about the nonsense which you were told about on the previous day. This brings the horrible truth of the "bedtime stories don't make good action movie" into full technicolor
End grade: 1 badly-animated repulsive CGI cat out of the box of compressed 300 mass-produced foam-stuffed-dioxine-ridden movie merchandise crocodiles. - alextjh - 20 May 2023
Not too surprising but still acceptable
To start with, I have not read the book of this movie nor watch any trailers so it's kinda like opening a mystery box when watching this movie. I'm a big fan of the Sing 2 movie, singing and talking animals is kinda what a like to see, that's why I decided to give this a try.
Starting with the plot, it isn't that good I would say. I think I might have seen similar movies that kinda have the plot of like getting interesting animals as pets than having trouble all along and solved at the end of the day, kinda like Paddington I say. But the way it gives out the feeling is different, probably due to its background music and all that singing action, but still the plot is kinda predictable and not-so-good, still acceptable though. (My friend who watched alongside me actually felt bored halfway through the beginning and went to sleep :/ )
The good side is that the music is really great (I mean who am I kidding, this is a musical movie) I personally really like the one where he sings at the zoo during the night (not sure what's the name but will look it up later). Even though it feels weird to give a crocodile a sound like this but who am I kidding, the movie is about him shining with the brightest voice, of course he must have the best voice of all.
Before I review this, I actually went to look at some of the reviews and critics that were given. Of course, there's good and bad ones, basically giving extreme sides from 1~2 to 9~10. And I feel like both have their own points and I don't deny any of those. The bad one states the movie's formula using plot, skipping parts that should be in the movie from the book (not sure if that's true but ok) and being not logical with connecting certain scenes (such as garbage eating). The good ones states this as a really good family movie, good music and educational. And obviously the good fans will try to defend the review by giving dislike to the bad critics which is also seen in other movies (such as Sing 2) I don't deny bad reviews because you can actually see others opinion that you haven't thought about when watching a movie.
As a conclusion, is the movie worth watching, not really to be honest, but if you have the time or you are someone who really like musical movies such as the greatest showman, maybe this could be one of your favourites. But to me, it's more of a past time movie than a REALLY memorable one. I mean, there are tons of movies that are according to books, the Narnia trilogy (movie), Ernest and Celestine, maybe some more but these are the ones that are memorable to me even if I were to watch the movie on first run without reading the books. - legobuilderpro - 30 December 2022
Lyle the singing Crocodile
I have not read the Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile books, but I know what they are. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) is a fine kid friendly movie that parents can have their kids watch if they do not have anything else they to do, and if they want a movie to distract them.
The acting in the movie is not bad and Shawn Mendes as the singing voice for Lyle the crocodile was good. Shawn Mendes has a good singing voice and the CGI effects on Lyle the crocodile was good, plus I can see kids liking him in the movie.
There are songs in the movie they sing that are already well known, but there are original songs that Shawn Mendes sings that are not bad. In the movie there are also illustrations from the book that people familiar with the book will recognize.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) is not for me but for kids. This movie could have had more to it, but it is meant to entertain kids and if can do that, then it did what it was supposed to do. - HJordan975695 - 8 December 2022
This movie had its moments, but it was mostly a lot of wasted potential.
"Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile" is a movie in which Shawn Mendes voices a crocodile who can sing, but never speaks properly once in the entire movie. Constance Wu plays Mrs. Primm, which is actually pretty sad since I saw her in many better movies like Crazy Rich Asians, The Feels (don't judge me, it's a guilty pleasure of mine), and the series EastSiders; in here, she's a mother whose married to Wallace Keefe from Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and they have a young son named Josh in which he gets bullied at his school for no reason other than to make him all teary-eyed for most of time. The great Javier Bardem stars as a magician named Hector P. Valenti who adopted little Lyle from a pet store, raised, and later abandoned him in his house, because stupid Lyle got stage fright on his first live performance as a kid, and even stupider Henry sells out his own house for that performance, just because he ran out of money. There's also a grumpy neighbor named Mr. Alistar Grumps who serves as the main antagonist and he has a horrible CGI pet cat who hates Alistar in return. The Primms are very unhappy with their lives, since Mr. Primm has outlived his wrestling days, Mrs. Primm became a health nut and abandoned her passion in painting, and Josh gets depressed at moving into a new place. This is where Lyle comes in; his singing voice is ridiculously out of place, and the songs don't sound very good at all (excluding Javier's parts, since he is the only good one who actually managed to entertain me throughout the whole movie). It would've worked better if the filmmakers decided to go for a "WALL-E"-like approach, which means that Lyle would be completely mute throughout, with his emotions being displayed through body movement and eye contact, but noooooooooooo....they just made it the way it is, so that they could appeal mostly to very young children without getting something from the older audience. Anyways, the main reason that this movie is a 4 is because it actually has some clever moments. For example: the scene in which Mrs. Primm is watching videos of her marriage to Mr. Primm, as well as their son Josh when he was a baby is surprisingly touching, and the moments where Lyle shows his emotions through his eyes actually works a lot better than having him speak his voice through song (speaking of which, why does he only sing his voice and not speak once without singing. That makes no sense at all!) Sadly, those moments only show up separately throughout the film. As for the rest, it's just your typical childrens' movie shenagians like dumpster diving for old Chinese food, and "generic chase sequence in which funny stuff happens on the road". In conclusion, this movie had a lot of potential going on, but it was executed poorly just to appeal to children, who deserve a lot better than this. Now, I just want to know how Javier Bardem managed to agree himself to this. - maestrolevine - 23 November 2022
Delightful Family Film
I chaperoned a class of 2nd graders to this film and had no idea what to expect. I was immediately pleasantly surprised to see Javier Bardem using all his charisma in playing a down-and-out entertainer who discovers the singing crocodile, whose smooth voice is perfectly provided by Shawn Mendes. As Lyle eventually becomes part of a new family, he uses his keen sense of empathy and thoroughly impressive singing skills to help the struggling family rediscover their confidence and their joy for life.
The blended family of the film is great representation for healthy step-parent relationships. Constance Wu is adorable and up-and-comer Winslow Fegley is a charming young actor.
As absurd as the premise may be, this is a film parents certainly shouldn't mind sitting through. While it is not full of many of the higher-level references found in the truly great family films, nor is it filled with the sort of cheap gross-out humor that is all too common in much of the child-focused drivel. The pacing seems at time a bit rushed, but at 106 minutes, it's already pushing at the attention spans of younger viewers. The song and dance numbers are thoroughly entertaining and the cinematography paints a lovely version of New York City. While not destined to be an all-time classic, this film is quite enjoyable and you won't mind if your kids watch it on repeat. - Anurag-Shetty - 5 November 2022
Not as good as I thought it would be but, kids will love it.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is based on the children's book of the same name by Bernard Waber. It's about a crocodile named Lyle(Shawn Mendes), who lives in New York City.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a fun movie. Directors Josh Gordon & Will Speck have given us an entertaining film with some memorable songs sung by the fantastic artist Shawn Mendes, who also voices Lyle. However, some songs are underwhelming & a bit repetitive. The CGI of the titular character is awe-inspiring. The humor is quite hit-and-miss. The performances are the highlight of the movie. Shawn Mendes is spectacular as Lyle's singing voice. Javier Bardem is perfect as Hector P. Valenti. Constance Wu is outstanding as Mrs. Primm. Scott McNairy is impressive as Mr. Primm. Winslow Fegley is excellent as Josh Primm. Brett Gelman is hilarious as Mr. Grumps. The supporting cast is great. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a must watch with the little ones of the family. Parents will like it but, they'll love how much their kids are enjoying themselves!
