We’ve all heard of crocodile tears, but crocodile singing? That’s new, and that’s exactly the premise of the upcoming movie Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile starring none other than pop sensation Shawn Mendes as the titular character.
The movie is based on the book of the same name and features Lyle as an anthropomorphic reptile with a heart of gold and pipes to match. The trailer features city hijinks and a mother (Constance Wu) coming to terms with the fact that her son is best friends with a talking croc. Javier Bardem also stars.
In the movie, Lyle’s job is to help a young neighbor (Winslow Fegley) find his own voice as he tries to adapt to a brand new school. The movie has a high musical pedigree – Tony award winning composers Justin Paul and Benj Pasek penned the movie’s songs. The duo has previously worked on movies like La La Land, The Greatest Showman, and Dear Evan Hansen.
Mendes, 23, told People that he felt completely comfortable playing the character because it was mostly singing.
“What was really amazing was that Lyle as a character only sings, so I felt really comfortable playing his character. I was able to do what I do best, plus I relate to his story and his character so much it felt natural. When I was approached to help make the music for the adaptation of such a classic book, it was a no brainer and just such a fun departure from what I am used to.”
Mendes may have four No. 1 albums to his name but that doesn’t mean writing movie music came easy. In fact, Mendes called it an “incredible challenge.”
“Making music for a film like this with them was such an inspiring process. The hardest part though is that when you are singing for a film instead of your own album, you really have to ace the nuances of the emotion behind every lyric and every note and match it to how the character will be portraying it on screen. That was a learning experience.”
The singer said he hopes the movie will be an inspiration to kids everywhere.
“This film is so exciting because it really feels like it is for everyone, whether it’s my kids one day, or my family and friends now, I’m just so happy to be part of something that has such a positive message and that allowed me to express my musicianship through film.”
The movie comes out on Oct. 7 of this year and because Lyle is fully CGI, no crocodiles were injured in the making of it.