The star of this family adventure is meant to be an eight-foot CGI singing crocodile called Lyle (voiced by Canadian pop star Shawn Mendes). But then along comes Javier Bardem with a thinning comb-over and a moustache to rival Hercule Poirot; giving another lip-smackingly juicy performance, Bardem marches away with the film as flamboyant failed showman Hector P Valenti. Next to his dazzle, everything else about Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, adapted from Bernard Waber’s much-loved picture books, looks a bit average.
It begins when Hector finds adorable baby crocodile Lyle in a New York pet shop. It’s a wackily funny scene: Lyle in his cage singing along to the radio and shaking reptile butt. Spotting the showbiz potential of a musical croc, Hector trains Lyle to perform in a double act, belting out numbers written for the film by La La Land duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. (Their track Take a Look at Us Now is lovely.) Incidentally, although Lyle sings with the voice of an angel, he never speaks in the film, which irritated me – though made perfect sense to the five-year-old I watched with. (Her review of Lyle, Lyle Crocodile is a grinning two thumbs up.)
