Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

In New York City, Hector is trying to make  it as a showman; he specializes in magic,   singing and piano. Unfortunately he isn't wanted  anywhere, all theatre owners and audition people   know his face and already know he has nothing  to offer. Feeling he needs some fresh, Hector   visits an exotic pet store to find something  that he could take on stage with him. When he   hears a curious singing voice, he follows it to  find a baby crocodile singing inside his cage.   Hector thinks he's perfect and instantly buys  him, deciding to name him Lyle after the faded   sign on the cage. Once he takes the little guy  home, Lyle proves to be shy and never talks,   but with some music played by Hector himself, Lyle  opens up and joins Hector in practicing a singing   and dancing routine. The next step is renting  the theatre for their new team performance,   and since Hector doesn't have any money left, he  places his brownstone home as collateral. After   lots of rehearsing and covering the entire city  with posters, the day of the show finally comes,   but unfortunately Lyle gets stage fright and  freezes in front of the public. The show is   a total failure, and Hector must pay with  the house, but he'll leave Lyle hidden in   the attic while he goes out on the road to try  to get some cash back. Eighteen months later,   the Primm family moves to Hector's old house. Mr.  Primm is a math teacher that has no control over   his students, and Mrs. Primm is a housewife that  has written many cookbooks about eating healthy,   which she's obsessed with. Their son Josh  suffers from anxiety and a bunch of phobias,   so he isn't very happy about moving to a big city  full of dangers. As soon as the family arrives,   they meet the downstairs neighbor Mr. Grumps  and his cat Loretta, who doesn't seem to like   her owner very much. Grump is a very strict,  crotchety man that complains about everything   under the sun and wastes no time reminding the  newcomers to stick to the housing rules or he'll   call a lawyer. The parents are very happy to be  in a new house and Mr. Primm tries to make it more   homely by hanging up the memories of his days as  a wrestling champion. Josh has a whole floor for   himself but he hates it because at night he can  hear all sorts of weird noises coming from the   attic. He decides to go to investigate, and that's  how he finds Lyle inside a glass box pretending to   be a doll. There's also a note from Hector asking  the new tenants to take care of Lyle because he's   his most prized possession. Josh believes Lyle is  fake and ignores him for now. The next morning,   Mrs. Primm walks Lyle through the busy streets  of New York and the crowded subway to comfort   him through his anxiety and make sure he makes it  to class. In the school corridors, Josh already   starts by making a bad first impression when he  accidentally walks into a group of dancers led by   Trudy in the middle of the recording of their clip  for social media. The rest of the day continues to   be miserable for Josh because he doesn't know  how to socialize, so he spends breaks and lunch   alone. Later at home, Josh googles tips on how  to make friends and checks out Trudy's channel   to follow her. At that moment, Loretta appears at  the window to drink the milk Josh left for her,   and Josh takes the chance to bring her inside to  enjoy her company. When weird noises start coming   from the attic again, Josh takes Loretta with  him to investigate and this time they bump into   Lyle while he's still moving. Loretta immediately  hisses at him and attacks, so when Lyle opens his   mouth in surprise, the cat accidentally jumps  inside and gets swallowed. Josh yells in worry,   scaring Lyle away, and now the boy has to follow  the crocodile out of the window. This means coming   down the fire escape, which is difficult  for Josh because he's afraid of heights,   but he pushes through for the sake of Loretta.  While Grumps hears the noises outside and starts   getting suspicious, Josh chases after Lyle through  the city until he reaches a scary alley where he's   approached by a huge man that tries to rob him.  Lyle can't bring himself to leave Josh in danger,   so he scares the robber away with a loud roar.  After the man runs away, the roar helps Lyle   throw Loretta up, and Josh convinces him to stay  by asking him to guide him back to the house. The   next morning, Mrs. Primm is finishing unpacking  ingredients from a bunch of boxes and finds a bag   of chocolate-dipped cherries, which she wants to  throw away because they aren't healthy. Mr. Primm   thinks this is kinda sad because she used to love  those cherries, so he only pretends to throw them   away when he takes out the trash. Meanwhile Josh  goes to the attic to thank Lyle for last night's   adventure by gifting him his favorite card from  his hero deck. Afterward, Josh shocks his mother   by taking shortcuts through the city to go to  school, feeling more confident thanks to Lyle;   he even takes the subway alone without needing  his mom to come with him. Later when Mrs. Primm   returns home, she watches old videos of the  family and wonders if she's starting to lose her   son. Lyle sees this because he's sneaking around  the house, and when Mrs. Primm starts crying, he   decides to try to cheer her up by dropping the bag  of cherries at her door without being seen. Sadly,   instead of seeing it as a cheer-me-up, Mrs. Primm  throws them in the trash. Meanwhile at school,   Josh is in the library reading about crocodiles  when he sees Trudy pass by, so he decides to try   to befriend her. Unfortunately he's still awkward  and doesn't know what to say, prompting Trudy to   confess she thinks he's a weirdo, but she follows  him back on social media anyway. In the evening,   Josh sneaks out of the house with Lyle and Loretta  again because he wants more adventures. Lyle   teaches Josh to get over his fears of grossness  and they go dumpster diving outside restaurants,   gathering enough to have a feast on their  building's roof. Josh is hesitant since   he's supposed to only eat healthy stuff, but Lyle  changes his mind by pushing some sweets into him,   impressing him with the taste. As Josh tries out  food he never had before, he tells Lyle more about   his life, like the fact the current Mrs. Primm is  his stepmom because his blood mom died when he was   two. Josh talks a lot but he's disappointed to see  Lyle can't talk back, so to make him feel better,   Lyle begins singing and puts up a whole show that  teaches Josh a few dance moves. The next morning,   Grumps notices Loretta isn't feeling well because  she's been eating things she shouldn't. In the   meantime, Mrs. Primm looks for Josh and discovers  he fell asleep in the attic next to a huge   freaking crocodile. Panicking, Mrs. Primm tries  to take Josh away, so Lyle follows them and sings   a bit to show he's harmless. Mrs. Primm still  doesn't buy it and drags Josh out of the house to   take him to school while trying to call Mr. Primm  to ask for his help, prompting Josh to open up   and explain Lyle is the first friend he's made in  this city and he makes him feel normal. Since Mrs.   Primm only wants her son to be happy, she accepts  to keep Lyle for now. Moments later when she   returns home, Mrs. Primm finds the bag of cherries  on the floor again, so she throws them back in   the trash before hearing some weird noises coming  from the bathroom. When she goes inside to check,   she finds Lyle having a bath and panics as she  runs back to the kitchen, saying this doesn't feel   right. To calm her down, Lyle begins singing a new  song while cooking, the lyrics telling Mrs. Primm   that life needs more sugar and surprises instead  of the same monotony every morning. Tasting sugar   again reminds Mrs. Primm of her love for the  craft, and soon she's baking and singing with   Lyle, having fun like she hadn't had in a while.  She also starts painting again, and when she   goes to bed, she's so happy with her life again  that Mr. Primm begins getting suspicious. When   Josh comes back from school, he finds his mother  singing with Lyle and loves it, thus they begin   bringing her to their night dumpster adventures.  All the noise they make is making Grumps more and   more paranoid, causing him to install security  cameras outside all his windows. One morning, Mr.   Primm notices they're having pizza for breakfast  and finally breaks. He tells his wife he's noticed   she's changed and wonders if she's found a new  love, so Mrs. Primm has no choice but to tell   him about Lyle to stop him from getting the wrong  idea. As soon as he sees the crocodile, Mr. Primm   panics and tries to run away, but when he opens  the door he's shocked to see Hector outside. Lyle   is offended after being abandoned and doesn't  want to see Hector at first, but Hector quickly   wins him over by remaining him of the tunes they  used to share. Mrs. Primm calls their landlord and   learns that as part of the deal that cost him his  home, Hector can stay in the house fifteen days   out of the year, so he'll be sleeping in the attic  with Lyle. This means they stay up late singing,   which makes it hard for Mr. Primm and Grumps to  sleep. The next day is supposed to be family day,   but Mr. Primm is too weirded out by these changes  in his life and decides to go for a run alone.   Hector joins Mrs. Primm and Josh and tells them  they can bring Lyle if the wears a Gators team   t-shirt, because nobody on the streets will want  to believe there's an actual crocodile hanging   out in New York. The four of them end up having  lots of fun together visiting all the emblematic   spots in the city, and by the time Mr. Primm  returns home, he finds everyone playing games   together. Still weirded out by this, he decides  to ignore them for now, so Lyle goes after him   to try to change his mind. He brings Mr. Primm  his old wrestling uniform and asks him to fight,   then pretends to lose to make Mr. Primm happy.  Now that he's feeling confident in himself again,   Mr. Primm becomes capable of controlling his  troublesome students and is happy to have Lyle   and Hector around. One afternoon, Hector shows  his appreciation of the family with a wonderful   magic show, he also manages to drag a hesitant  Lyle with him to perform at least one song. Lyle   is comfortable because he likes the Primms, but  Hector doesn't understand this and thinks Lyle   is ready to try a public stage again. When Hector  is in the process of taking Lyle to another talent   contest, and when Josh sees them he protests  against the idea, explaining what Lyle needs are   a family and a home. Hector disagrees and informs  Josh that Lyle's destiny is being a showman,   then takes the crocodile away in his bike. Hours  later, Hector returns bad news: Lyle froze on the   stage again. Josh rushes to hug his friend to  comfort him and remind him he's awesome the way   he is while Hector sneaks out of the window to  go looking for some way to make money to pay his   debt. The next day, Grumps drags the Primms into a  HOA meeting to accuse them of hiding something and   trying to get the other neighbors to vote for them  to leave the building. The Primms don't know how   to defend all the noise Lyle has been making but  luckily they're saved by Hector, who interrupts   the meeting to point out Grumps installed his  security cameras without official permission,   meaning he's technically spying on everyone.  Furious over being caught being a hypocrite,   Grumps kicks everyone out while still promising  revenge. The Primms thank Hector for his help, but   he disappears pretty quickly, and they soon learn  why: Wildlife Control is here to catch Lyle after   Hector sold them the information. Josh desperately  asks Lyle to sing to prove he isn't a wild beast,   but Lyle still can't sing in front of strangers  and is taken away to the zoo. All this is seen   by Grumps, who finally has proof to sue them  properly. The following day, the Primms go to   visit Lyle at the zoo. Josh wants to rescue Lyle,  but his parents point out this may be for the   best since Lyle will be with other crocodiles and  have experts looking over him. This upsets Josh,   who begins babbling about the fact Lyle made him  a braver person, triggering a panic attack that   makes him pass out. That night, Lyle spends it  in a corner by himself singing, because he can't   connect with the other crocodiles. Meanwhile  Hector is leaving the city with his cash,   and the lack of Lyle in everyone's lives becomes  very obvious: Mr. Primm puts away his wrestling   uniform, Mrs. Primm loses her inspiration to  paint, Loretta won't eat anything, and Josh falls   asleep in tears on Lyle's bed. At school the next  day, Trudy approaches Josh to tell him her dance   group will be on a talent show and notices he's in  a blue mood. To help him keep hope, she shares the   story of her rattlesnake, who went missing for six  weeks. Trudy thought her dear pet had died until   the neighbors found him, so miracles do happen.  In the evening, when Josh finds Hector waiting   outside the house. He explains he had acted out of  fear and need, but he regrets his actions, so they   need to put their differences aside to save Lyle.  This isn't enough for Josh to believe Hector's   changed his ways and ignores him. Not willing  to give up, Hector shows up at the zoo alone,   where he handcuffs his own hands to the bars.  When the security guard comes to see what all   the noise is about, Hector tricks him with magic  and handcuffs the guard's hands instead, getting   to steal the zoo keys in the process. Next, Hector  sneaks inside the crocodile pit, but Lyle ignores   him while the other crocodiles begin getting  dangerously closer. At that moment, Josh shows up,   but he refuses to help Hector because first he  must make things right. Hector understands and   finally apologizes to Lyle, admitting he's used  him but those days are behind - from now on,   he'll allow Lyle to live with his true family,  the Primms. This finally makes Lyle react,   and he accepts to escape with them. It's already  morning by the time the trio leaves the building,   and there are a bunch of cops waiting for them  outside. Hector explains he has his bike parked   nearby, but Josh thinks Lyle can't constantly live  on the run, they have to find a way to show the   world who he really is. Suddenly, a bus drives by  promoting the talent show Trudy will be attending,   and Josh knows that's their only chance. While  Hector distracts the cops with some magic, Lyle   and Josh get on the bike, and when Josh expresses  fear of driving, Lyle convinces him to be brave   by showing him he still has the hero card he had  gifted him. Josh drives the bike quite clumsily   but still manages to make it to Time Square while  calling Trudy to ask her to open the backstage   door for them. When she sees Lyle she gets quite  scared, but Josh quickly explains and Trudy   accepts to give them her spot in the contest. Lyle  and Josh manage to force their way into the stage,   and everyone panics when they see a real  crocodile. This reaction makes Lyle freeze again,   especially since the cops and animal control  are arriving too, so to make him feel better,   Josh starts singing on his own even if he's  terrified and an awful singer. Seeing such   a brave act from a child helps Lyle overcome  his own fears and he soon begins singing too,   getting Trudy's group to join him as his backup  dancers. The audience and the jury love him,   and the cops finally back away. A month later, the  Primms find themselves in court because Grumps is   suing them for keeping an exotic animal as a  pet, which is illegal. The judge thinks Grumps   is right, but before he can announce his official  decision, Hector shows up with big news. Thanks to   Loretta's help, he's recovered the original deeds  to his house that Grumps had stolen from him, and   these papers reveal his house used to belong to  his grandmother who founded the New York City Zoo,   thus the City of New York assigned a special  waiver to house any exotic creature as a pet   in the building. The judge immediately rules in  favor of the Primms, and as the family celebrates,   Loretta finally abandons Grumps and jumps over to  their side to be their pet too. A few dates later,   the Primms leave on a vacation, bringing Lyle and  Loretta with them. Hector is a bit disappointed   because he had already booked performances for  Lyle, but he soon solves this issue when Trudy   approaches him with the perfect replacement: it  turns out her rattlesnake is an amazing beatboxer.