There are a lot of great models for fantastic kids movies, but the recent PADDINGTON movies are some of the best. So we’re thrilled to see the long-awaited adaptation of the children's book “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile” is following the PADDINGTON model.
In other words, LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE is a hybrid live-action/animated movie, with Shawn Mendes voicing Lyle, the singing crocodile who lives in the attic of a New York home. Mendes voices the character in more ways than one, too, as this movie adaptation is a musical! Watch the trailer below to get a sense of this movie's robust good nature.
You Can See Lyle, Lyle Crocodile Exclusively in Movie Theatres
LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE will open in movie theatres on October 7, 2022.
Watch the Charming Lyle, Lyle Crocodile Trailer
Hypothetically speaking, if you found a crocodile singing in your bathtub after moving into a new house, you would probably be pretty freaked out — but if Javier Bardem arrived on the doorstep to explain that it's a nice crocodile, everything would probably be OK, right?
That's part of this trailer in a nutshell — and the rest of the footage shows that LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE seems to follow the core identity of the book it adapts while also offering some new pleasures that are specific to this movie.
The Lyle, Lyle Crocodile Books
Sixty years ago, in 1962, Bernard Waber published "The House on East 88th Street," which was the first Lyle book. Three years later, he followed up with "Lyle, Lyle Crocodile." Eventually, he wrote seven more books in the series, for a grand total of 9 Lyle books.
The LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE movie looks like it adapts the first two books, as the first covers Lyle's introduction to the Primm family, and the second book is oriented around a conflict with the neighbor, Mr. Grumps, who has an intense dislike for the singing saltwater crocodile.
The Actors in Lyle's Neighborhood
We've mentioned the young singing star Shawn Mendes, the young Canadian singer/songwriter who is the youngest male artist to have four consecutive Billboard number one albums. This is his first major movie role, though he did do the voice of one character in the 2013 animated movie UNDERDOGS.
In addition to Shawn Mendes, and the aforementioned Javier Bardem, LYLE features Constance Wu and Scoot McNairy as the Primm parents, and Winslow Fegley Josh, their son. Brett Gelman plays Mr. Grumps, and Lyric Hurd has a role as well.
The Songs Lyle Sings
Outside of what's in the trailer, we don't know much about the songs that have been written for LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE. The songwriting duo of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, aka Pasek and Paul, have penned original tunes for the movie. We don't know how many, or who sings them other than Mendes. Pasek and Paul have already written musical hits for movies like LA LA LAND and THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, and they did new songs for the live-action ALADDIN in 2019.
Read about more kids movies coming soon.
All images courtesy of Columbia Pictures.