Review of LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE: Rhythmic Reptile

October 20, 2022

Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem) was a flamboyant magician from New York City, who could never seem to pass auditions at talent shows. One day, depressed after yet another rejection, he found a cute baby crocodile inside a pet store and was surprised to hear it singing. Seeing how this could spice up his act, he bought little Lyle and trained him to perform. However, Valenti's big plans did not succeed and led him to leave town. 

A year and a half later, Josh Primm (Winslow Fegley) and his parents (Constance Wu and Scoot McNairy) moved into Valenti's brownstone house. When the family saw adult Lyle in their home, they were at first shocked and scared, however, soon they were all charmed by his singing talent. Unfortunately, the grumpy neighbor who lived downstairs Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman) could not stand all the racket they're making. 

Songs like "Top of the World" had a tune that reminded me of "The Greatest Showman." It turned out that this song and others were written by the songwriting team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (the same guys also behind "Dear Evan Hansen" and "La La Land." The songs sung by Lyle here were pleasant and tuneful, but not really too memorable right away. Pop hits like "I Like It Like That," "Sir Duke" and, of course" "Crocodile Rock" are also in the mix.

Unlike the sassy anthropomorphic animated animal characters of past films like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Space Jam" or "Sonic the Hedgehog," Lyle does not talk. He only has his facial expressions and body language to expresses his feelings, and yes, he can make you smile as well as he can move you to tears. With Shawn Mendez's voice coming out of him when he sings, this Lyle is a certified pop sensation.

The trailer already tells us that this was going to be a fun and funny movie, and it was. The CG version of Lyle was very cute, and will not be scary at all even for young kids. I can see how the relationship of Lyle with Valenti or Josh are emotionally important in the story. However, despite the charm of Constance Wu or the sarcasm of Brett Gelman, their subplots could have been dropped so we can see Lyle sing and dance more. 6/10.