Sony Pictures
The first time you hear Shawn Mendes’ angelic voice coming out of a tiny, sweet baby crocodile, your life will change. For better or for worse, I can’t tell you, but it’s certainly going to be altered forever.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is one of Mendes’ first big voice acting roles (though one might hesitate to call anything he does in the movie “acting;” more on that later…), and the film is a true triumph. Though the musical, with catchy tunes by the folks who did The Greatest Showman and La La Land, is marketed for children, fans of bombastic movies like Cats and The Room might also enjoy its lighthearted goofiness. Will Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile become a cult movie? Only time will tell, but I’d certainly like to attend a rowdy screening at the nearest Alamo Drafthouse.
We meet Lyle (Mendes) as he hums along to “I Like It” by Cardi B, a wonderfully kooky song for a baby crocodile to be shimmying to in the back of a pet store. He is the saving grace for Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem), a down-on-his-luck showman searching for a new act to revive his show. The failed magician ducks into the nearest pet shop and begs the owner for something cute. (The pigeons he was using weren’t cutting it.) Enter a tiny belting croc with big eyes and the voice of a pop legend. Lyle is his new prized possession.