Performer Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem) is looking for something exotic to add to his act when he discovers a tiny singing crocodile in a pet store. Lyle the crocodile (voiced by Shawn Mendes) has a rather bad case of stage fright though and Hector has to head out on the road to try and pay some of his debts. Leaving Lyle alone in a home that will be occupied by the Primm family. 

The film then takes in the wondrous friendships that Lyle forges with the Primm family where he reinvigorates their lives. Anxious youngster Josh (Winslow Fegley) makes a friend and becomes more confident. Mrs. Primm (Constance Wu) is inspired again to be more inventive with her cooking and create new recipes for her books. Mr. Primm (Scoot McNairy) on the other hand is given a confidence booster that allows him to deal with his rambunctious students. Whilst some spanners are thrown in the works by the returning Hector still seeking fame with a singing crocodile and a grumpy neighbour in Mr. Grumps (Brett Geiman) who does not like the noise coming from his neighbours home or the fact they feed his cat Loretta. 

The end result is a wonderful family movie. For me the absolute best facet of it was the winning humour which had me tittering and chuckling throughout. Whilst my children adored the CGI cat and crocodile antics. The music was fine and did what it needed to do for the plot even if it leant far too much into the tv talent show aspect (literally in the case of the finale). 

Speaking of the CGI I really liked how they kept just the right side of cartoonish rather than looking for any sort of realism. Whilst fans of the original books (I had not even heard of these before this film) by Bernard Waber will enjoy the illustrations that Mrs. Primm does during the film. 

Lots and lots of family fun.