Big Green Domestic Crocodile (2022)

When a non-professional magician gets fired from another talent show, he decides to buy an exotic pet to help him attract an audience. However, he could not have predicted what a wonderful companion he would find. His crocodile Lil… can sing with a human voice.

Family movies exist in their own fantasy world, none more believable than MCU or Dracula horror movies. Within it, children befriend large and dangerous animals who sometimes display intelligence no less than that of humans, and in most cases also have a heart bigger than themselves. In films like Paddington, no one cares about the fact that a bear with a beautiful royal accent comes to London. He also wears a hat and coat, and his favorite food is marmalade. Well, it happens. This totally cool element, which most of the movie’s characters have no problem with, has its own charm. Of course, there will be those for whom such absurdity would be unacceptable. For these people, I would advise against showing The Great Domestic Green Crocodile.

The Great Green Domestic Crocodile (2022) – Movie Review [UIP]. For troubles – a crocodile

Eighteen months after the beginning of the friendship between crocodile Lyle (Shawn Mendes) and magician Hector P. Valente (Javier Bardem) described in the prologue, a new family moves into the home of the giant reptile. Its youngest member, Josh (Winslow Fegley), as well as his parents, have no idea that a giant reptile with a huge mouth full of sharp teeth lives in his attic. However, the boys soon become friends, and the other family members and the zany neighbor’s cat, Mr. Gaborah (Brett Gilman), slowly get used to the unexpected tenant. However, the neighbor himself is the most annoying man in the world and is just waiting for the neighbors to do something they can be fired for. Keeping large green reptiles free-ranging is probably one of those things.

It’s actually a very simple story. Almost all of Lile’s interactions with the family begin and develop in the same way – first there is a panic and an attempt to escape, and then a meeting with a creeper with big, sad eyes (for some reason) changes their lives for the better. John doesn’t feel comfortable in his new home and school, but thanks to Lile, he’s more than willing to explore the city and even make friends at school. His mom has been working on a healthy cookbook for some time now. The problem is that she doesn’t feel like it at all, which makes her recipes bad and makes her unhappy. Baking a cake with a crocodile together will remind her why eating lots of sugar, palm oil and chocolate is such a powerful recipe even on the grayest days and bad moods. The hardest to convince will be Dad – an insecure mathematician with a rather narrow butt. Nothing a wrestling match with a crocodile won’t help. The whole movie is actually a series of innocent misadventures that suddenly become interesting towards the end. And just when you think the writers are going to give us a magical, totally unglued finale, they surprise us with a neat moral about taking responsibility, and then… they come to an even crazier ending than we expected.

The Great Green Domestic Crocodile (2022) – Movie Review [UIP]. Magical Javier Bardem

Shawn Mendes has a nice, sensitive voice and in the movie (also in the Polish version) he performs some great songs written specifically for the production, but from start to finish I couldn’t accept how soft-spoken such a big creeper is. This isn’t exactly a minus of the movie, but it’s something that leaped into my ears and gave me no peace. Josh, who he shares onscreen most of the time with, is totally fine for a young actor. He can play a defeated dog and a happy little boy who looks like he’s just seen magic. about magic.

The most interesting character in the entire movie is undoubtedly Hector P. Valenti, played by Bardem. Passionate about fame and money, a magician and showman who lacks a little talent, luck and brakes. Bardem plays himself, sorry for the stupid joke, he’s quite charming, but from the start of the movie it’s clear that he’s a rather slippery type, albeit with his heart in the right place. It’s a remarkable performance because Valenti gets blunt or sly over and over again, but he does it with such grace that it’s impossible not to sympathize with him. True magnetic performance. Not every actor will be able to cope with such a task.

“The Great Domestic Green Crocodile” is a warm, funny, even if somewhat silly, episodic story. The beautiful music allows you to turn a blind eye to the CGI that is a bit too obvious in places – although you have to admit that the crocodile itself is so beautifully made, you’ll want to hug him (I wonder how many people are going to lose an arm or a leg in the next year, because they took Crocodile as a pet after watching a movie in the cinema…). To check the family with all family members as found.