‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’ Trailer Offers First Look At Sony’s Latest Hybrid Feature

• Based on the eponymous 1965s children’s book by Bernard Waber, the film is directed and produced by Will Speck and Josh Gordon from a screenplay by How to Train Your Dragon’s Will Davies. Oscar winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman) are writing the film’s original songs with Shawn Mendes (who plays Lyle in the film), Ari Afsar, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Mark Sonnenblick, and Joriah Kwamé.
• Sony’s official synopsis reads: “When the Primm family moves to New York City, their young son Josh struggles to adapt to his new school and new friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle – a singing crocodile who loves baths, caviar and great music-living in the attic of his new home. The two become fast friends, but when Lyle’s existence is threatened by evil neighbor Mr. Grumps, the Primm’s must band together with Lyle’s charismatic owner, Hector P. Valenti, to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places and there’s nothing wrong with a big singing crocodile with an even bigger personality.”
• Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile will splash down in theaters on October 7, in a window that was originally intended for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, before that film was pushed back to summer 2023.
• Shawn Mendes voices the film’s leading reptile, joined by Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, Winslow Fegley, and Scoot McNairy.
• Vfx and animation studios known to be working on the film are Framestore, Method, Opsis, and Day for Nite.

If the performances of other Sony Pictures Entertainment hybrid titles is anything to go by, Lyle could be lined up to find a lot of love at the box office. Previous Sony franchises which enjoyed strong theatrical runs include Stuart Little, Peter Rabbit, and The Smurfs.