Why Shawn Mendes Loves 'Lyle, Lyle Crocodile'
Shawn Mendes explains why he loves his character. "Lyle sings because he loves it, which I relate to a lot."
Shawn Mendes stars in 'Lyle, Lyle Crocodile.'
‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,’ a live-action adaption of the beloved children’s story by author Bernard Waber, is currently playing in theaters and features musician Shawn Mendes as the voice of the title character.
The new movie, which was directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon, follows Josh (Winslow Fegley), who after moving to New York City befriends a singing crocodile named Lyle and tries to protect him from the evil Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman).
But in order to save his new friend, Josh and his parents (Constance Wu and Scoot McNairy) must team up with Lyle’s charismatic owner, Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem).
Shawn Mendes recently spoke about the new movie, his character, how he relates to him, why Lyle sings, and the music and the humor of the movie.
@moviefonemedia Why Shawn Mendes Loves 'Lyle, Lyle Crocodile' #lylelylecrocodile♬ original sound - Moviefone
You can read his full comments below or click on the video above to watch Shawn Mendes talk about 'Lyle, Lyle Crocodile.’
To begin with, what makes Lyle a unique character?
Shawn Mendes: Lyle is just wanting to have a family, and feel at home and feel connected to people, which is a very beautiful concept for me. I think that's what makes him so lovable and just so relatable. Because I think he's like, "Yeah, this spotlight is beautiful and it's cool, but it's really love, that's the reason that I sing and is when I feel comfortable. When I feel accepted is when I want to sing." I think it's a genius and universal feeling. So, I just think I relate to him a lot.
Why does Lyle only communicate in song?
SM: Ultimately, Lyle sings because he loves it. He loves music and you can see how music is his language. It's the way that he's communicating to the humans in the film, which I also feel like I relate to a lot. I think he is just doing it to communicate his love. I feel like that's similarly to how humans make music. That is the way that it comes through the best is when it's about communicating truth and communicating love.
Lyle takes a trip through New York in Columbia Pictures ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.' Photo: Courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Can you talk about the movie’s humor?
SM: Oh, the movie is extremely funny. It actually took me by surprise how funny it was because his demeanor as a crocodile is so relaxed and small. But there's these moments where he lets out these big roars. But they're out of excitement, not out of him trying to scare you. I was howling because it's hilarious. I love it.
Finally, what was it like working on the movie’s music with Oscar-winning composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul?
SM: Paul and Pasek are genius and I think they are so incredibly collaborative too. The entire time they just always wanted me to feel like I was connecting to something that was my truth. But you don't realize because it's connected to a movie. There's so much you're digesting. You don't realize how complex, and how smart and how beautiful these songs are.
How lyrically astonishing they are and how much effort they put into them. When you're in the recording studio going through the songs, that's when you really start to have an eye-opening experience to how amazing they really are. It just felt like an honor and felt like a privilege to be able to work with them on this movie. I feel like they are truly two greats of their generation.
Lyle the crocodile in Columbia Pictures ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.'
