Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile | The ordinary pop of the singing crocodile

Recently moved to New York with his family, young Josh Primm struggles to adjust to his new life. Meeting Lyle, a crocodile who lives in the attic of his house, brightens up his daily life. Far from being a reptile like the others, the animal is able to sing.

Veronique Larocque
The Press

Forget the dog, the cat or even the hamster. The funniest pet is the crocodile. At least that’s what children are likely to tell themselves after seeing Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, by Will Speck and Josh Gordon. This reptile which organizes nocturnal outings, prepares feasts and knows how to memorize choreographies has everything to please the little ones.

But what most distinguishes Lyle from other members of his species is that he can sing. And he has a very nice voice, by the way (that of the popular Shawn Mendes, in the English version, and of William Cloutier, big winner of Star Academy 2021in French).

The pop songs that punctuate this musical are, however, rather generic. They won’t leave a lasting impression the way songs from recent home movies did, such as We Don’t Talk About BrunoofEncanto.

Like many musicals, the sung portions of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile are used to advance the plot at great speed V. M^me Primm (Constance Wu) surprises her son alongside a crocodile with its mouth wide open? It’s the panic ! However, all it takes is singing and baking a cake for fear and distrust to turn into beautiful friendship.

The surprising gift of Lyle, who remains silent except when he pushes the note, has not only good sides. Unable to make the shy crocodile sing in front of an audience, his master, the magician Hector P. Valenti, abandons him more than once (this is why the animal finds himself alone in the Primms’ attic). Javier Bardem is very convincing in this role of eccentric stage artist obsessed with the lure of profit. Present in the vast majority of scenes, Winslow Fegley does well in the role of young Josh Primm, despite his lack of experience on the big screen.

Based on the children’s book series by American author Bernard Waber, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile will probably find greater resonance in the United States, where generations of children have read about the adventures of this reptile which appeared in the 88^e Rue in 1962. However, you don’t have to know the albums to have a good time with the Primm family and their singing companion.

Musical comedy

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
(V.F. Lyle the Crocodile)

Josh Gordon and Will Speck

With Constance Wu, Winslow Fegley, Javier Bardem, Shawn Mendes

1:46
Indoors

6/10