I finished watching Lyle Lyle Crocodile the other day, and I must say, although I normally do not enjoy musicals, this one was one of the few exceptions. It’s a great movie about a cute-looking crocodile named Lyle. It is available to watch as part of your Netflix subscription, rent it on Amazon Prime Video (Affiliate link), on Vudu, or on Redbox.
I highly recommend watching the trailer for the movie. There are spoilers ahead for this film, if you are okay with spoilers, read on! Even if you do not like musicals normally, you may enjoy this one, as I did:
What I Like About Lyle Lyle Crocodile
What I liked most about it, of course, was the crocodile. I love reptiles of all sorts, so this movie was one I was willing to give more of a shot than most musicals. And to the opposite of what I assumed, I did enjoy the full film. Coming from someone who does not like musicals, this is saying a lot!
Since I’m a big lover of reptiles, pretty much anything that includes reptiles, I will love anything that they are in. This can be from Jurassic Park, to How To Train Your Dragon, and rarely, musicals like Lyle Lyle Crocodile. It is a great movie, and a fun, feel-good film that I strongly recommend you watch.
Baby Crocodile? How Can You Say NO?!
How can you say no to that cute baby crocodile?! He is most definitely a cutie. Although he grows up during the acts of the movie, I still think that he maintains his “cutie” status. He stays a baby for probably around 25% of the film, then starts growing into a full-size Crocodile that we know and love, named Lyle.
I feel that this film will be one I rewatch on occasion since it is a feel-good type of film, and it has one of my favorite types of animals, REPTILES! Who can say no to the cute, scaley creatures that are Reptiles? I did use to own a Leopard Gecko, named Chomper. He is no longer with me and is living with another family in town that has lots of other reptiles, so his housing situation is a bit more comfortable, I would say.
Lyle’s Growth Through The Film
Towards the start of the film in Act 1, Lyle the crocodile is a bit shyer. In fact, through a good portion of the film, he is shy until closer to the final two or three acts of the film. As the film progresses, he slowly becomes less and less shy. In the final acts of the film, he finally starts to become more outgoing and makes real friends who appreciate his singing.
While the main characters (in this case, the boy Josh & the crocodile Lyle) are still learning about each other, the kid’s parents are nervous. This is understandable since a LIVE CROCODILE is living in their attic. Eventually, the parents get to know Lyle and then they all become friends and want to protect each other. So much so that towards the latter third of the film, they even go so far as to rescue Lyle from being put in a zoo exhibit.
Lyle’s Growing Friendships
Near the start of the film, he pretends to be a fake or stuffed crocodile in a glass box that his previous owner made, to help protect him from being taken away by the New York authorities. But as Lyle grows in his friendships with the Primm family, he starts to become quite a bit more social. This is evidenced by at first, only Josh knowing about Lyle, and then later on in the film, Josh’s mother learning about “there’s a crocodile in the house!”
Eventually, once they become more comfortable with the crocodile, their dad discovers that Lyle is living in their house. Understandably he was very scared and tried getting the entire family out of the house, to keep them safe. If this was real life, I would probably feel the same way until I got to know Lyle as a friend. Would you not feel the same way as I do? It makes sense.
Rescuing Lyle From The Zoo
About three-quarters of the way through the film, Lyle is discovered by the local HOA group, and his first friend, the magician, is forced to ‘sell him out,’ to get money to live off of. But shortly after, he mulls it over and knows he made a mistake. He then goes back to the Primm family, Josh in particular, and gets his help to rescue Lyle from the “evil clutches of the zoo.”
This whole act is one of my favorite parts of the film, where the human characters come to their senses and do whatever they must to maintain their friendship with Lyle the crocodile. This is a turning point in the film, where everyone makes mistakes and learns to fix them and maintain friendships.
Learning To Overcome His Shyness
Since he is a unique crocodile, it makes sense that he is nervous and shy about his talents which no other crocodiles have. Lyle is the only singing crocodile in the world! I am personally not sure about the choice of the voice actor for the singing crocodile, but hey, what can I do? Until around the last act of the film, Lyle only sings in small groups like the 3 human family members, or by himself in private.
But in the last act, he overcomes his shyness for the most part and proves to the world that he is a unique crocodile who deserves the love and life that the Primm family gave him. The singing from Lyle is decent, in my opinion, but could have been better. After all, singing in public can be a cause of nervousness in most humans, and in a crocodile that has that unique skill? HECK yeah, it can be tough to overcome.
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