Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: October 7, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
51
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
6
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
RogerEbert.comNell MinowOct 7, 2022
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a bit too long for a family movie, with some unnecessary complications toward the end, and it's not quite up to the “Paddington” level of movie adaptations of classic children's books. But it is a warm-hearted family film with great musical numbers that will make another generation of kids hopefully search the attic on the chance that they might find a singing crocodile. Read full review
75
Washington PostThomas FloydOct 6, 2022
The title character of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile may be a coldblooded reptile — in this case, one who sings — but never you worry: This family flick delivers enough pulse-quickening earworms and warmth to melt even the iciest of hearts. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubLuke Y. ThompsonOct 6, 2022
The result is a movie likely to appeal as much to anyone who enjoys pop-scored animal hijinks on TikTok as to anyone who actually remembers the books. Read full review
70
Paste MagazineAbby OlceseOct 6, 2022
For kids, this won’t matter much, and Lyle is good enough that it may well have staying power at sleepovers and family movie nights for years to come. It is, however, disappointing to see a film with oodles of potential fail to stick the landing, especially when the right moves are obvious. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckOct 6, 2022
It’s all harmless fun, containing enough mild laughs and genuinely sweet moments (if you can contain your emotions during the reunion scene between Lyle and Hector, you’re made of stronger stuff than I am) to keep its target audiences entertained. Read full review
67
IndieWireJude DryOct 6, 2022
Along with a few bouncy numbers from “The Greatest Showman” duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Bardem is the driving force behind “Lyle,” and the train loses major steam without its kooky conductor. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 6, 2022
The drama is fairly mild, the action cute and slapshticky and the Lyle sight gags aimed at six and unders, so don’t look or listen for great verbal or visual wit. Read full review
60
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsOct 19, 2022
It’s a sweet film that hits all of its modest targets and works largely because it avoids vapid pop culture references and ironic humour that would be out of date within a month of release. Read full review
60
The GuardianCath ClarkeOct 12, 2022
The film’s good-natured warmth wins the day, just. Read full review
60
VarietyOwen GleibermanOct 6, 2022
For all the purity of its pedigree, and as agreeable and lightly touching as it sometimes is, I wish that Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile didn’t still seem, at heart, like a likable movie that had come out of the processor. Read full review
58
ColliderChase HutchinsonOct 6, 2022
Whatever joy you get in individual moments is lost in the shuffle of a film that far overstays its welcome. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchKatie WalshOct 7, 2022
Pasek and Paul’s songs end up having to do much of the emotional heavy lifting, and the rest of the film feels cobbled together from random parts scavenged from other kids’ movies and pop culture ephemera. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleTrace SauveurOct 6, 2022
For a film that is sold on the image and idea of a big, singing, dancing crocodile – who is otherwise mute when not belting out his tunes – there seems to be a real disinterest in any notable sight gags or physicality to Lyle as a character. Read full review
38
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenOct 6, 2022
The whole picture is an exercise in obvious effort, try, try, trying really hard to win the audience’s affection. However it only succeeds in trying the audience’s patience. It’s a trial. Read full review
30
The New York TimesCalum MarshOct 6, 2022
"Lyle” has a brisk, whimsical momentum that is utterly infectious in the early going. Then it stops dead. Read full review
30
TheWrapRobert AbeleOct 6, 2022
While not enough to sell Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, Bardem’s mission to out-cartoon his animated scene partner (admittedly not difficult) still feels like a blow struck for old-school flesh-and-blood eccentricity in the age of blah digital cutes. May that battle continue. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonOct 6, 2022
A final word about Bardem: He’s simply terrific. With his shaggy curly hair, exaggerated showmanship, athletic dance moves and operatic gestures, Hector is part Willy Wonka and part Gene Kelly — it’s Bardem’s most off-the-rails performance since his turn as a James Bond villain in “Skyfall.” Read full review
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