Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (film)
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''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' is a 2022 American live-action animated
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
fantasy comedy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on, and parodies of, other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre ro ...
film directed by
Will Speck and Josh Gordon Will Speck (born December 31, 1969) and Josh Gordon are an American filmmaker duo who generally work in the comedy genre. They have directed six feature films together. Their accolades include an Academy Award nomination. Speck and Gordon me ...
from a screenplay by William Davies. Produced by
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
and distributed by
Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment to manage its motion picture operatio ...
, it is an adaptation of the children's story of the same name and its predecessor ''
The House on East 88th Street ''The House on East 88th Street'' is a children's book written by Bernard Waber first published in 1962. The book is the first in the ''Lyle the Crocodile'' series. The story is about a family named the Primms who move into an old Victorian br ...
'' by
Bernard Waber Bernard Waber (September 27, 1921 – May 16, 2013) was an American children's author most famous for the books ''The House on East 88th Street'' (1962), ''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' (1965) and the subsequent books in the ''Lyle'' series. Backgro ...
. The plot focuses on a family who moves to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where their struggling son befriends an anthropomorphic
crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...
, Lyle, who can communicate verbally only by singing. The son tries to protect Lyle from the rest of the world. The film stars
Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes ( , ; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian singer. He gained a following in 2013 when he posted song covers on the video-sharing platform Vine (software), Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manage ...
as Lyle's singing voice, alongside
Javier Bardem Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. In a career spanning over three decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, tw ...
, Constance Wu, Winslow Fegley, Scoot McNairy,
Brett Gelman Brett Gelman (born October 6, 1976) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Murray Bauman in Netflix's horror-supernatural series ''Stranger Things'' and as Martin in the BBC comedy '' Fleabag''. Gelman began his care ...
, and
Ego Nwodim Egobunma Kelechi Nwodim (; born March 10, 1988) is an American actress and comedian. She has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2018, beginning with the show's 44th season. Early life, family and ed ...
. ''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' was released in the United States on October 7, 2022, by
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $111 million.


Plot

In
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, a charismatic magician named Hector P. Valenti wants to try out on a national talent show but is constantly rejected. One day after a failed audition, he wanders into an exotic pet store, where he finds a singing baby
crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...
and names him Lyle. Seeing Lyle as an opportunity to become rich in the talent business, he places his three-story Victorian brownstone house as collateral for their performance, but Lyle experiences
stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...
during the premiere and Hector loses the house. Hector is forced to move out and reluctantly leaves Lyle to fend for himself while he tries to make more money. Eighteen months later, Joseph and Katie Primm and their young son Josh move into the house. Josh is initially terrified of moving into his new home and struggles to make friends at school. One night, he discovers Lyle, now fully grown, living in the attic, and they become friends when Lyle saves Josh from a mugger and demonstrates his singing talent. Katie and Joseph eventually find out about Lyle, and though initially terrified of him, bond with Lyle over their favorite hobbies. One day, Hector returns to the house to visit Lyle, as an agreement states he can live in the house fifteen days a year. He makes another attempt to get Lyle to perform on stage, but it fails as Lyle still has stage fright, apart from when performing for the Primms. Meanwhile, Alistair Grumps, the Primms' unfriendly downstairs neighbor, becomes annoyed by the loud activity caused by Lyle, Hector, and the Primms. Determined to put an end to it, he has cameras installed to discover what is happening but manages to achieve his goal by bribing Hector to sell Lyle to pay his debts. Lyle cannot convince the authorities of his benevolent nature because of his stage fright and is locked up at the ''New York City Zoo''. Feeling guilty for what he did to Lyle, Hector goes to break him out of the zoo with Josh's help, who was initially unwilling to help after learning Hector sold Lyle. On Josh's insistence, Hector and Lyle reconcile with each other before Lyle escapes with Josh to the talent show, while Hector distracts the authorities. On stage, Lyle manages to overcome his stage fright with help from Josh, receiving acclaim from the audience and viewers for his singing talent. One month later, a trial is held to determine whether or not Lyle may be free. The judge ultimately decides to rule against Grumps in favor of Lyle when Hector presents the deed to his house. The deed was written by Hector's grandmother, who built the house and founded the zoo, allowing her to keep any exotic animal in the house. After the trial, the Primms and the people who attended the trial celebrate Lyle's freedom, and Grumps' implied eviction, by taking him on vacation, while Hector becomes acquainted with a new talented animal: a
beatboxing Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...
named Malfoy, owned by Josh's friend, Trudy.


Cast

*
Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes ( , ; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian singer. He gained a following in 2013 when he posted song covers on the video-sharing platform Vine (software), Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manage ...
as the singing voice of Lyle, an
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats, brackish wetlands and freshwater rivers from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaland to northern Australia and Micronesia. It ha ...
who only sings. ** Ben Palacios as the
motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...
of Lyle. *
Javier Bardem Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. In a career spanning over three decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, tw ...
as Hector P. Valenti, Lyle's charismatic owner. * Winslow Fegley as Josh Primm, Joseph's son, Katie’s stepson and Lyle's best friend. * Constance Wu as Katie Primm, Josh's
stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a female non-biological parent married to one's preexisting parent. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Culture Ste ...
and Joseph's wife who is a cookbook author. * Scoot McNairy as Joseph Primm, Josh's father and Katie’s husband who is a math teacher. *
Brett Gelman Brett Gelman (born October 6, 1976) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Murray Bauman in Netflix's horror-supernatural series ''Stranger Things'' and as Martin in the BBC comedy '' Fleabag''. Gelman began his care ...
as Alistair Grumps, the Primms' downstairs neighbor who has a grudge against Lyle. *
Ego Nwodim Egobunma Kelechi Nwodim (; born March 10, 1988) is an American actress and comedian. She has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2018, beginning with the show's 44th season. Early life, family and ed ...
as Carol, an employee of the school where Mr. Primm works. * Lyric Hurd as Trudy, a teenage girl who becomes one of Josh's friends from school who owns a beatboxing
rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...
named Malfoy. *
Jason Kravits Jason Kravits (born May 28, 1967) is an American character actor. He is best known for portraying A.D.A. Richard Bay on ABC's ''The Practice.'' Early life and education Kravits was born on May 28, 1967, in Passaic, New Jersey. In 1975, his fami ...
as Cy


Production

''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' is a feature film adaptation of both the children's story of the same name and its prequel ''
The House on East 88th Street ''The House on East 88th Street'' is a children's book written by Bernard Waber first published in 1962. The book is the first in the ''Lyle the Crocodile'' series. The story is about a family named the Primms who move into an old Victorian br ...
'', both of which were written by
Bernard Waber Bernard Waber (September 27, 1921 – May 16, 2013) was an American children's author most famous for the books ''The House on East 88th Street'' (1962), ''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' (1965) and the subsequent books in the ''Lyle'' series. Backgro ...
. Both books were previously adapted as a 1987 animated HBO special titled ''Lyle, Lyle Crocodile: The Musical – The House on East 88th Street'', which was also a musical. It was announced in May 2021 with filmmaking duo
Will Speck and Josh Gordon Will Speck (born December 31, 1969) and Josh Gordon are an American filmmaker duo who generally work in the comedy genre. They have directed six feature films together. Their accolades include an Academy Award nomination. Speck and Gordon me ...
attached to direct from a screenplay by William Davies for
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
. Filming took place in New York City in September 2021. Notable filming locations include 85th Street, 86th Street,
Astor Place Astor Place is a street in NoHo/ East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is divided into two sections: One segment runs from Broadway in the west (just below East 8th Street) to Lafayette Street, an ...
and Bowery station, and
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
, between 45th Street and 46th Street. Visual effects were handled by Framestore, OPSIS, and Day for Nite. The production used Xsens equipment for
motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...
performed by Ben Palacios (as well as Rudie Bolton for Young Lyle), and also used
Unreal Engine Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter video game '' Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of ...
and IClone Motion Live for
visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action fo ...
.


Music

Original songs for the film were written by its executive producers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul along with Ari Afsar, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Mark Sonnenblick, and Joriah Kwamé while Matthew Margeson composed the original score. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the songwriters collaborated remotely using
Google Docs Google Docs is an online word processor and part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google. Google Docs is accessible via a web browser as a web-based application and is also available as a mobile app on Android and iO ...
and Zoom.
Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes ( , ; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian singer. He gained a following in 2013 when he posted song covers on the video-sharing platform Vine (software), Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manage ...
, who voices the titular crocodile, features on eight of the soundtrack album's tracks, which also contains songs by
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
and
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
. "Heartbeat" was released as the soundtrack's first single on September 23, 2022, with "Top of the World" becoming a double A sided single a few months later, and the soundtrack was released by
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
on September 30. The score album was released by
Madison Gate Records Madison Gate Records, Inc. is an American record label owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment that specializes in soundtracks and other recordings derived from films, television programs, and other entertainment media. History Madison Gate Records ...
on October 7.


Release

The film was released in theaters in the United States by
Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment to manage its motion picture operatio ...
on October 7, 2022. It was originally going to be released on July 22, 2022, but in September 2021, the film was postponed to November 18, 2022. In April 2022, the film was brought forward to its October 7 date, taking over the release date of '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse''. In March 2023, it was announced that the film would be released in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
on April 15, 2023.


Home media

The film was released on VOD on November 22, 2022, and on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
,
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
, and 4K UHD on December 13, 2022.


Reception


Box office

''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' grossed $46.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $64.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $111 million against a production budget of $50 million. In the United States and Canada, ''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' was released alongside ''
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
'', and was projected to gross $11–12 million from 4,350 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $3.5 million on its first day, including $575,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $11.5 million, finishing second behind holdover ''
Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...
''. The film made $7.4 million in its second weekend, dropping 35% and finishing in third. ''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' then made $4.3 million in its third weekend, declining 42% and finishing in fifth place.


Critical response

Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those at
PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a fil ...
gave it an 80% overall positive score, with 62% saying they would definitely recommend it. Cath Clarke of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' gave the film a mixed review giving it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Javier Bardem marches away with the film as flamboyant failed showman Hector P Valenti. Next to his dazzle, everything else about ''Lyle, Lyle Crocodile'', adapted from Bernard Waber's much-loved picture books, looks a bit average." Ryan Leston for ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' called the film "charming", praising the character of Hector writing: "Sure, it's not exactly original, essentially a mish-mash of similar films including '' Hop'' and ''
Sing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
'', and most of the laughs feel familiar. But ''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' conjures up enough of the old showbiz charm to win you over. It's heart-warming, too – Lyle may be the singer, but he helps those around him find their voice, and sometimes that's exactly what we need: a singing crocodile to just be a good pal." Robert Abele was less than positive with his review writing for ''
The Wrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...
'': "Did ''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' look good in storyboards or sound fun in creative meetings? Because it's a certifiable mess on its webbed hind feet, teetering uncomfortably as both fanciful family comedy and live-action/animated musical, whether trying to make dumpster diving look whimsical (it isn't) or the tunes sound like anything but positivity-anthem-generator readouts."
Nell Minow Nell Minow is an American movie critic and corporate governance scholar and expert who writes and speaks frequently on film, media, corporate governance, and investing. Minow was named one of the 20 most influential people in corporate governance ...
, writing for '' RogerEbert.com'', was more positive in her review of the film, giving it a score of 3 out of 4 stars. She wrote: "''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' is a bit too long for a family movie, with some unnecessary complications toward the end, and it's not quite up to the ''
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
'' level of movie adaptations of classic children's books. But it is a warm-hearted family film with great musical numbers that will make another generation of kids hopefully search the attic on the chance that they might find a singing crocodile."


Awards

''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile'' was nominated for Best Family Movie at the 2023 Movieguide Awards. The film also received a nomination for Best Digital – Animation/Family at the 2023
Golden Trailer Awards The Golden Trailer Awards are an American annual award show for film trailers founded in 1999. The awards also honor the best work in all areas of film and video game marketing, including posters, television advertisements and other media, in 10 ...
.


References


External links

* * * {{Pasek and Paul 2022 comedy films 2022 films 2022 computer-animated films 2022 fantasy films 2020s American animated films 2020s English-language films 2020s fantasy comedy films 2020s musical comedy films American animated comedy films American animated fantasy films American fantasy comedy films American films with live action and animation American musical comedy films American musical fantasy films Animated films about crocodilians Animated films about families Columbia Pictures animated films Columbia Pictures films Films about talking animals Films based on children's books Films based on multiple works of a series Films directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon Films impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic Films scored by Matthew Margeson Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Films with screenplays by William Davies English-language musical comedy films English-language fantasy comedy films 2022 musical films