My friend and I were searching for a movie to watch when her little brother said we should all watch “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile.” He said we would love it since it was made by the same people who made Paddington and the three of us loved Paddington.

So, with newfound high expectations we hit play and began the movie. From the beginning I was a bit freaked out by Lyle’s eyes. They were very human-like compared to the rest of the body, but I decided to ignore it because the first 15 minutes or so of the movie felt like a good set up. It gave us a nice song and introduced our main character. 

It was when the mom and the crocodile met that I started to realize I wasn’t going to enjoy this movie. The mother is in the kitchen when Lyle walks in scaring her, trying to convince her with song that he isn’t dangerous and only wants to help. The mother goes from terrified to borderline flirting with the crocodile.

The character development feels extremely rushed with absolutely no set up. Various people almost seem like different characters all together in a matter of seconds. The same thing happens with father, only they wrestle. Yes, wrestle. Lyle decides to bond with the father of our protagonist by wrestling, which convinces him that Lyle isn’t all that bad.

Outside of rushed character development, the movie feels very much like a way to make a quick buck. Every actor is someone you’re meant to recognize. The movie pulls you in by having big names like Shawn Mendes, Constance Wu, Brett Gelman and other quick cameos.

The ending of the movie feels rushed and out of place. It takes place in a courtroom with a very strange judge.

The only good thing about this movie was the acting, I said earlier it was obvious they casted the most recognizable people they could to make a quick buck. However, I think Constance Wu as Mrs. Primm, Winslow Fegley and Brett Gelman did play their parts well.

The songs do stay stuck in your head, but most of them aren’t the greatest. They always feel out of place and unnecessary. Sometimes they seemed like they were a crutch being used to help the writers move the story along. I think if this movie had better CGI, better writing and wasn’t so clearly dated it could have been a cute movie. But its ended was unsatisfying and I felt like I had wasted my time watching it.