* Theatrical Release is October 7, 2022
By: Nicole, Sponsored Content
[Los Angeles, CA] — This Sunday we were invited by Sony Animation Studios to a screening of their latest film, "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. "If a music loving, scarf wearing crocodile sounds familiar to you, you might just be remembering your childhood. "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile" is a beloved children's book written by Bernard Waber in 1965."Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile," stars Shawn Mendes as Lyle, Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, and Winslow Fengley. I was excited to hear that Shawn Mendes was portraying Lyle and that the songwriters of "The Greatest Showman" were part of this movie. I figured it was mostly going to be enjoyable for the kiddos, after all, it does have a singing crocodile, but I have to admit it did peak my interest. I was also hoping my daughter Livi wouldn't be too scared of it. Livi, gets scared easily with movies and most movies that are directed at kids, always seems to surprise me with their less than kid-friendly content, hey call me conservative! So, what did we think, is it kid friendly, was it any good?
(*A few tiny spoiler alerts ahead) The movie is set in New York and starts out following the washed-up showman, Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem), who is trying everything to become a great magician once again. He happens upon a baby crocodile, Lyle, who can sing. He decides that Lyle is just what he needs to revitalize his stage act. When Lyle is all grown up and fails to perform on stage, Hector leaves town, leaving Lyle in the attic of his family's home. After many, many years, a new family, the Primm family, moves into Hector's old family home. Kate Primm is an uptight, strict health nut, who has given up her once celebrity chef status to be a stepmom to Josh, a nervous, socially anxious boy. The Primm family soon discovers Lyle, and they start to realize what they need to find themselves again and to strengthen their family, all the while falling in love with Lyle. As a mother, I understand the sacrifices a mother makes and the weight of always trying to make everyone happy and doing everything right. I could really relate to Kate (Constance Wu) and her performance really hit home and felt so real. Livi was just enamored by Lyle and his singing. She also really connected to Josh. As kids we all have those insecure moments, and he was so relatable. Livi and her best friend Lily, rated the movie 10/10 and 100/10, respectively. Lyle (Shawn Mendes) definitely sung his way into our hearts.
I also loved that this movie was great for the whole family. Mom, dad, Livi, and Lily all enjoyed the movie. We were tapping our feet the whole time. There were a couple moments, with a dark room, scary music, and loud noise, meant to add to the suspense of the movie. Livi actually looked a little nervous but fared through it just fine as it is short lived, and she quickly realized that it was nothing scary at all. There was also some mild crude humor, like farting, pooping, etc., but nothing too over the top, mostly silliness. There was no terrible language, just a few choice words we would rather not use, like "stupid", "weirdo", and "oh my G-d." Definitely not over the top or frequent, but just something to be aware of. One of the most impactful scenes for Livi was when there was animal abandonment. I will try not to say more, but there were definitely some big crocodile tears running down her cheeks. I will say this though, it did end happily, and Livi is very sensitive to anything sad happening to people and animals. Overall, though, I think this movie did live up to its rating and would be appropriate for young children all the way up to grandparents. We all want to see it again!
We laughed, we cried, and we could not stop singing. We were reminded to live, love and let go. We were definitely on top of the world! The soundtrack is amazing, featuring some original hits like "Top of the World," "Heartbeat," and more, written by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman, Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land) and Shawn Mendes and performed by Mendes, Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, Winslow Fegley. There are also some classics like Elton John’s "Crocodile Rock," Pete Rodriguez’s "I Like It Like That" and more. The movie hits theatres October 7th and you don’t want to miss it!! Thank you so much @sonypictures for including us in this fun premiere event!! Be sure to check the movie out in theatres near you. We are still singing! Buy Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Movie Tickets | Official Website | Sony Pictures (lylelylecrocodile.movie)
Check out these fun "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile" activity sheets for your kids to enjoy :
Check out a clip from the event here Love Coco & Bean (@lovecocoandbean) • Instagram photos and videos.