LYLE, LYLE, Crocodile
****
Directors: Josh Gordon and Will Speck
Screenplay: Will Davies, based on the book series Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber.
Principal cast:
Javier Bardem
Winslow Fegley
Shawn Mendes (voice)
Constance Wu
Scoot McNairy
Brett Gelman
Country: USA
Classification: G
Runtime: 106 mins.
Australian release date: 26 December 2022.
Who can forget Javier Bardem’s chilling performance as the stone-cold killer in the Coen Brothers No Country for Old Men? It might have been way back in 2007 but it’s a turn that has haunted me ever since. Now, at last, I think I can replace the memory of that role with an altogether different, and happier, one. In the musical film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, Bardem plays Hector P. Valenti, a wacky magician who fancies himself as, wait for it, a song-and-dance man, and the Spanish actor plays the wild-haired eccentric with such unfettered exuberance that all traces of the dreadful Anton Chigurh have been banished from my memory banks. Hallelujah! Helping in no small manner with this happy circumstance is an animated singing crocodile who’s as lovable as a pup, Lyle.
Hector is down on his luck, having just failed to gain an appearance on the popular TV talent quest Show Us What You Got – again. Walking home, he enters an exotic pet store and spies a singing baby croc that he promptly purchases and calls Lyle (Canadian pop star Shawn Mendes). Thinking that Lyle is the answer to all his money problems, Hector four-walls a theatre but, on opening night, Lyle gets stage fright and can’t sing and the poor magician has to sell his beautiful three-story house to pay his debts. Broke, Hector leaves New York, abandoning Lyle in the attic of the brownstone. Eighteen months later, out-of-towners the Primms (Scoot McNairy and Constance Wu) and their son Josh (Winslow Fegley) move in. Josh is a nervous kid who’s worried about life in the city and going to a new school – where his dad teaches – but his attitude changes completely when he discovers the now fully-grown Lyle living in the attic. Indeed, the singing crocodile seems to have a positive effect on most people, with the singular exception of Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman), who lives in the downstairs apartment and is constantly on the lookout for any infractions in the neighbourhood. And there are plenty of those once Hector returns to the city with renewed hopes of getting Lyle to sing in front of an audience.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is as bright and breezy as its title would lead you to expect. Based on a pair of famous children’s book originally published in the 1960s, it’s as much fun for adults as it is for little ones. In the hands of comedy directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck, it features buckets of zippy camera movement, colours that pop and catchy and upbeat songs, composed by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (whose songs have featured in La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman). There are contributions from other musicians as well, not least Elton John and Stevie Wonder. They’re a good fit for the voice of Shawn Mendes, who was an appropriate choice for Lyle because he too struggles with anxiety and had to cancel concerts last year. A blend of live action and CGI can be difficult to pull off successfully but the combination works well in this film, thanks to the creative team and the actors. Constance Wu is a delight as the over-protective mum who learns to let go and Bardem, as mentioned at the start of this review, is fantastic. He really can sing and dance. Pasek says that, “Seeing Javier commit in the incredible ways that he did – to the character, to learning the music, to learning the choreography – was a master class. The hardest-working person in the room was also the movie star. It makes you raise your game.” Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a lot of fun.
Screenplay: Will Davies, based on the book series Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber.
Principal cast:
Javier Bardem
Winslow Fegley
Shawn Mendes (voice)
Constance Wu
Scoot McNairy
Brett Gelman
Country: USA
Classification: G
Runtime: 106 mins.
Australian release date: 26 December 2022.
Who can forget Javier Bardem’s chilling performance as the stone-cold killer in the Coen Brothers No Country for Old Men? It might have been way back in 2007 but it’s a turn that has haunted me ever since. Now, at last, I think I can replace the memory of that role with an altogether different, and happier, one. In the musical film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, Bardem plays Hector P. Valenti, a wacky magician who fancies himself as, wait for it, a song-and-dance man, and the Spanish actor plays the wild-haired eccentric with such unfettered exuberance that all traces of the dreadful Anton Chigurh have been banished from my memory banks. Hallelujah! Helping in no small manner with this happy circumstance is an animated singing crocodile who’s as lovable as a pup, Lyle.
Hector is down on his luck, having just failed to gain an appearance on the popular TV talent quest Show Us What You Got – again. Walking home, he enters an exotic pet store and spies a singing baby croc that he promptly purchases and calls Lyle (Canadian pop star Shawn Mendes). Thinking that Lyle is the answer to all his money problems, Hector four-walls a theatre but, on opening night, Lyle gets stage fright and can’t sing and the poor magician has to sell his beautiful three-story house to pay his debts. Broke, Hector leaves New York, abandoning Lyle in the attic of the brownstone. Eighteen months later, out-of-towners the Primms (Scoot McNairy and Constance Wu) and their son Josh (Winslow Fegley) move in. Josh is a nervous kid who’s worried about life in the city and going to a new school – where his dad teaches – but his attitude changes completely when he discovers the now fully-grown Lyle living in the attic. Indeed, the singing crocodile seems to have a positive effect on most people, with the singular exception of Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman), who lives in the downstairs apartment and is constantly on the lookout for any infractions in the neighbourhood. And there are plenty of those once Hector returns to the city with renewed hopes of getting Lyle to sing in front of an audience.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is as bright and breezy as its title would lead you to expect. Based on a pair of famous children’s book originally published in the 1960s, it’s as much fun for adults as it is for little ones. In the hands of comedy directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck, it features buckets of zippy camera movement, colours that pop and catchy and upbeat songs, composed by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (whose songs have featured in La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman). There are contributions from other musicians as well, not least Elton John and Stevie Wonder. They’re a good fit for the voice of Shawn Mendes, who was an appropriate choice for Lyle because he too struggles with anxiety and had to cancel concerts last year. A blend of live action and CGI can be difficult to pull off successfully but the combination works well in this film, thanks to the creative team and the actors. Constance Wu is a delight as the over-protective mum who learns to let go and Bardem, as mentioned at the start of this review, is fantastic. He really can sing and dance. Pasek says that, “Seeing Javier commit in the incredible ways that he did – to the character, to learning the music, to learning the choreography – was a master class. The hardest-working person in the room was also the movie star. It makes you raise your game.” Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a lot of fun.
