Lyle, Lyle Crocodile

 It's rare that I get to see a film on its Day Zero. I've reviewed a few (Dune, Prey), but that averages about once a year at most. I add one more with Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, the film version of Bernard Waber's children's books. Let's see if and how this crocodile rocks.

Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem) is a mediocre song-and-dance man hoping to make it big. He needs a new partner and finds it in Lyle, a crocodile who can only vocalize in song (via Shawn Mendes). Hector bets everything on Lyle's debut performance. But Lyle has stage fright, and the act is a bust. Hector skips town and leaves Lyle at his Victorian brownstone.

The Primms eventually move into the brownstone. Son Josh (Winslow Fegley) finds Lyle in the attic, and, after the initial shock, they become pals. The same goes for dad Joe (Scoot McNairy) and stepmom Katie (Constance Wu). Lyle's influence helps the Primms get over their insecurities. Hector even moves back in, and they agree to share the brownstone. The aptly named Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman) isn't that neighborly and wants them gone. The Primms need to show off Lyle's singing talent somehow. An American's Got Talent knock-off might help.

It's a decent kids movie directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon. Its best gags involve Lyle's crocodilian nature and naive bumbling. Its cringiest jokes include an overlong dumpster diving scene. The songs by Pacek and Paul are sufficiently entertaining. There's an impressive oner during the musical prologue as Lyle and Hector dance all around the brownstone. Josh and Lyle bonding is nice, but Lyle meeting Hector is charming. It's not a revolutionary story but it gets the job done for 100 minutes.

It helps that there's a good human cast. The highlight is Bardem, who is clearly having fun as the eccentric Hector. You'll pity him even when he lets down Lyle, which he does twice. Mr. Grumps is quite goofy as he coddles his cat, Loretta. But his unneighborly attitude makes him hateful rather than entertaining. It was quite cathartic to see Grumps go down at the end. Fegley is compelling as Josh, while Wu and McNairy are likable as Katie and Joe.

Lyle was visualized with some good CGI. He looks and feels like a real-enough creature. His face talks so much when, for example, animal control corners him. His despair in his subsequent zoo enclosure is palpable. Similarly, Loretta is quite an emotive CGI cat. I'm sure she was portrayed partially by a practical cat, but it's hard to tell. You'll love her kittenness even if you're a dog person. 

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is sure to rock many a kid's afternoon. Its story isn't emotionally heavy, and its humor certainly skews younger. Adults may get a kick out of it whether or not they grew up with the books. I didn't; I don't even remember the 1986 animated TV special. I'll certainly remember this crocodile and his hijinks now. I'm sure you will too once you see it. You might never know a better time this month.