Random Movie Review - Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

 

Yep, I went to see this Paddington wannabe recently. Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this film. A few things work and other things not so much, but maybe the kids will get more of a kick out of this than the parents. Much like Paddington, this too is based on a children's book series, which to be specific is the book of the same name with elements from the prequel book. There are a few big names here such as Javier Bardem, who I last saw killing M in Spyfall. Also, Shawn Mendes, who sang hits such as "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" and many others. There's even a Stranger Things star and of course a singing crocodile. What more could you want from this film that honestly should've been a made for TV film if anything. Well, let's get to it:

In present day New York City, charismatic magician Hector P. Valenti (played by Javier Bardem) makes several failed attempts to enter a talent competition and on one such occasion, he visits an exotic pet store. There he meets a singing baby crocodile and calls him Lyle (voiced by Shawn Mendes). Seeing his potential, he makes some risks to get him and Lyle on stage, but this ultimately backfired when Lyle got stage fright. Having lost his home to make the two a star, Hector leaves Lyle to fend for himself while he goes to make some money elsewhere. A whole year later, the Primms family move to their old home and soon start to adjust to their new life in New York before coming across a much bigger Lyle who they soon come to know and love, much to the annoyance of their neighbour Mr. Grumps (played by Brett Gelman).

The film, for what it is, is very predictable. It has all the things you would expect to see from a film about an unusual character who becomes a new addition to the family. But that worked well in Paddington, so I guess the filmmakers thought to try it themselves. Doesn't quite work in the same way, but you have good musical numbers and fleshed out characters. CGI can be a bit odd (pretty sure there are actual trained cat actors out there) and it can be quite cheesy. But if you are after a film for the kids to watch, then this is the film for you. At least I can say that after seeing this, Javier Bardem would be a perfect fit to play Gomez Addams if another live action film does happen. 7/10