I saw Lyle Lyle Crocodile today at the cinema with my 5-year-old son. I thought it would be interesting to share what I took from the film with regards to masculinity and the father archetype while it’s fresh.
It’s a story about Hector (Javier Bardem), a showman down on his luck. On a whim he enters a pet shop and comes across a young singing crocodile. He calls the shy croc Lyle (voiced by Shawn Mendes), takes him home and brings him out of his shell. They enjoy singing and dancing together but when it’s showtime Lyle suffers stage fright.
Hector does everything he can to support Lyle emotionally and practically, but he has to leave to earn a living and promises to come back. A family move into to his house and the son Josh (Winslow Fegley), who suffers anxiety, discovers Lyle living in the attic and makes friends with him.
In an otherwise frightening world, Lyle heals the boy with his love and innocence. They sing on the roof and eat restaurant food out of dumpsters. Lyle wins over Josh’s stepmum Mrs Primm (Constance Wu) too, and gets her back into her gift, creative cooking, through a song called Rip Up The Recipe, about letting go of control. Then he enlivens the ‘not there’ father (Scoot McNairy) by reminding him of his old joy for wrestling.
Hector comes back and adds magic to the house and takes them all out for the day. When Josh asks, “Is this safe?” he says, “Safety is the enemy of life.” Hector is charismatic and cultured. He like a drink. He loves music, performance, he’s driven to earn money and he has courage and stamina. He seems to represent many of the archetypal father qualities. He stands up to the neighbour who is always complaining and trying to get Josh’s family evicted.
But then, when he takes Lyle to audition, Lyle freezes again. Lyle gets caught and put in the zoo. Hector rescues him, but has to apologise for all the ‘bad’ things he’s done to Lyle before Lyle will save him from being eaten by the other crocodiles. Finally, Hector ends up in custody after holding the police off long enough for Josh and Lyle to make it to a televised singing competition. They get on stage and finally everyone sees just how gifted Lyle is at singing. The end.
I enjoyed the film — it’s funny and seems innocent — but a few things felt off. Hector is a man’s man. He is heavily in debt, indeed has pawned his own house, a large one that belonged to his grandmother, to procure the opportunity to audition with Lyle. He loses his home for his dream, but doesn’t get angry at Lyle. Instead he protects Lyle from his dismay and leaves. He returns with a positive attitude and another plan. He is consistent and honourable. Yes, he has to go away for a while. He does not want to but sees no alternative to make it in the world. A rather archetypal experience for a father.
When he returns he supports the family by protecting them from a malevolent neighbour (Brett Gelman), and he encourages everyone to live a little and take risks by not worrying what other people think. They go out and have a blast. When he takes Lyle to audition a second time he has trained with him and helped him develop. He sees the ability in Lyle and has unerring belief in him. Later he is morally castigated for this, and apologises. But the film also shows the love he has for Lyle. It’s there throughout as they enjoy each other’s company, creating together. Doing stuff. (Father archetype again.) Finally, Hector ends up in custody, while Lyle triumphs, to the joy of all, even Hector, who is watching the show from the jailhouse.
I worry a little that this is the message going into my son’s mind and many thousands of other little boys:
Being a man on a mission, a powerful, charismatic, courageous, risk taking man who has a dream and will stop at nothing to fulfil it, gets you in trouble. You’re not a good person if you do that.
A few more thoughts.
1. The financial imperative in a man’s life is minimised here. Yet it’s been observed by many that perhaps man is not worth anything intrinsically as a mate or a father. He must demonstrate his masculinity via competence, usually financially. Josh’s father Mr Primm doesn’t have to worry about money as his wife, who took him and his son on after his previous wife died when Josh was 2, has made plenty of money as a celebrity chef already. Mr Primm works as a teacher, a poorly paid job, and gets the house via his employer.
2. Josh obviously does not have to fight the same battles as Hector. Instead he battles anxiety. So does Lyle. Hector has total dominance over his own anxieties, which are significant, as he eventually owes underworld characters a lot of money. He’s a warrior. No one else is. No one else is sacrificed either.
3. We learn through Hector’s fate that financial imperative, professional greatness, entrepreneurship and vision in the outside world are dirty agendas. But hang on. Hector is the one who found Lyle and brought him to greatness by believing in him and pushing him. Like the father fox rather brutally pushing his cubs out of the den (mentioned in Robert Bly’s Iron John). This is an archetypal duty of a father. Sort your shit out and get out there. It’s OK to fail. Do it again. What is not OK is hiding your whole life and never trying.
4. Hector is a great guy to have around. He’s the most watchable character in the film. He’s full of old world charm and style, a bit like Antonio Banderas in Desperado. Everyone else is a bit boring and nice.
5. The message: don’t be a full blooded, full hearted man. It won’t end well. If you want to benefit directly or indirectly from the hard yards a man like this has put in though, and it enables you to be a better teen / croc / woman / married man, all power to you. You will get to feel good about yourself and have the moral victory.
