Lyle Lyle Crocodile – A Derivative Musical Manipulator

Admittedly, the first trailer of Lyle Lyle Crocodile was a jarring experience to say the least. The audience for a film about a singing CGI crocodile, even one voiced by Shawn Mendes, should be fairly obvious to anyone therefore expectations must be set accordingly. It doesn’t try to aim for anything more than that for better or worse which will inevitably lead it to some success. In fact, the film doesn’t try to be anything more than a run-of-the-mill emotional-manipulator full of lighter moments facilitated by said signing crocodile that just happens to be named Lyle. Despite being dressed differently, it is still predictable to a tee and incredibly-derivative in terms of characters and story beats. While those moments will surely appeal mostly to that aforementioned target audiences, countless others will find themselves rolling their eyes at this lazy mashup of derivativeness underneath a layer of cuteness that may or may not come through. That being said, that cuteness could very well be enough of a distraction. If that doesn’t work, its music has a better chance. Mendes could definitely sing but original songs from Benji Pasek and Justin Paul also don’t hurt.

As mentioned, Lyle Lyle Crocodile is best-selling book series by Bernard Waber and follows a crocodile named Lyle (Mendes) and his relationship with the Primm family. Recent arrivals to New York City, the family faced a tough adjustment period but especially their younger son Josh (Fegley) when it came to making new friends at a new school. Unsurprisingly, things start to change for Josh and Mr. (McNairy) and Ms. (Wu) Primm upon discovering Lyle living in their attic most of his life. Little did they know, he wasn’t like any crocodile to say the least with a special connection to music and singing. The heart of the film was undoubtedly the connection between Josh and Lyle who quickly became close friends though his presence could be felt in the lives of the rest of the Primm family in a series of cliche story beats propelled forward by the right song at just the right time. To their credit, the songs are catchy and their accompanying numbers, while not groundbreaking by any means, were somewhat entertaining. The film is merely a collection of those cliche story beats that are also incredibly thin tied together by those songs. Trying to be several kinds of films at the same time in trying to service all the characters, it ultimately fails at doing any single one justice. In the end, this is Lyle’s coming-of-age story, however, it arguably doesn’t truly do him justice either.

The ultimate trajectory of Lyle Lyle Crocodile can be seen from a mile away, assuming one hasn’t seen any of the trailers and would therefore has already seen it, as it essentially plays its hand right away through some not-so-subtle foreshadowing. Throwing a wrench into things albeit slightly was Lyle’s original owner, a magician and entertainer named Hector P. Valenti (Bardem). Down on his luck, Valenti considered him his golden goose. Sharing some wholesome moments together, their relationship began to fracture over time as the results weren’t quite there as Lyle had to learn to find his voice. Suffice it to say that he and the Primm family found each other at the right time while Valenti was out of the picture seemingly for good until he and his old tricks came back hoping to score once again. Though there was an adjustment period there with the usual obvious pitfalls and plenty of inconsequential adversity, the outcome was again inevitable as lessons were learned following all the trials and tribulations. But the cuteness factor is something that should not be discounted for how it does lift the film’s many cliché and derivative moments, perhaps for younger audiences more so than older ones.

In terms of performances, Lyle Lyle Crocodile was okay. For Lyle, Mendes sings in every song, sometimes not alone. He can definitely sing, otherwise there’s no dialog to be had which was probably a good call. The CGI work on him was also decent. Everyone else did just enough to get by with no one in particular standing out above the rest. Doing the best with the mess they were given, a lot of it is merely actors going through the motions, more so the adults. Bardem, meanwhile, brings enough personality to Valenti to deliver some entertainment but his schtick becomes tiresome very fast. The relationship between Josh and Lyle was easily the best part of the film, however, the film did not do nearly enough with them.

At the end of the day, Lyle Lyle Crocodile is undoubtedly cute but whether or not it’s enough is in the eye of the beholder, assuming viewers could accept the premise as easily as the characters in the film have.

still courtesy of Sony Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.