Whats up Croc’ ?
Mom, there’s an eight-foot CGI-singing reptile in the attic! His name’s Lyle, he’s a crocodile, and he sure does it with style.
This warm, ‘stick-songs-in-your-head’ musical adaptation of Bernard Waber’s book for children steers thru New York spilling exuberant humor and sketchy strokes and is packed with gags galore.
Shawn Mendel’s anthropomorphic vocalization of the Lyle character bedecks the character’s wisecracks with a cheesy greasy tone-topping. Javier Barden, with the likes of Hercule Poirot, enlivens the screen with his tangerine, utterly insane jaw-locking juice. Bardem as flamboyant failed showman Hector P Valenti leads the muse-march and steals the show.
The film’s good-natured warmth compensates for the little inconsistencies in the generic plot but is swell enough to pep the 5 year olds giggling at Lyle the crocodile’s ‘no-dialogue-only-songs’ tit-bits.
Overall, not for grown-ups or kids at a certain age, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile is good family fun aimed at little ones. This musical simply spells sunshine that wins the day.