Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

‘If anyone asks, tell them you are stuffed,’ runs a line from Will Speck and Josh Gordon’s popular 2022 musical comedy for family audiences; an adaptation of the children’s story The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber. We’re kinda used to CGI characters these days, and surprisingly few of them have landed in a meaningful way with audiences; Lyle the crocodile, voiced by singer Shawn Mendes, managed the trick, making over $100 million at the worldwide box office on the budget of half that. It’s the epitome of the bright, brash, entertaining fodder that audiences seem to have a strong appetite for; it may not aim for the stars, but this crocodile never puts a foot wrong…..