Small Soldiers (1998)

When missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, the toys soon begin to take their battle programming too seriously.

Director:

Joe Dante

Writers:

Gavin Scott, Adam Rifkin

Stars:

Kirsten Dunst, Gregory Smith, David Cross

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Cross	...	Irwin Wayfair
Jay Mohr	...	Larry Benson
Alexandra Wilson	...	Ms. Kegel
Denis Leary	...	Gil Mars
Gregory Smith	...	Alan Abernathy
Dick Miller	...	Joe
Kirsten Dunst	...	Christy Fimple
Jacob Smith	...	Timmy Fimple
Jonathan Bouck	...	Brad (as Jonathan David Bouck)
Kevin Dunn	...	Stuart Abernathy
Ann Magnuson	...	Irene Abernathy
Wendy Schaal	...	Marion Fimple
Phil Hartman	...	Phil Fimple
Archie Hahn	...	Satellite Dish Installer
Robert Picardo	...	Ralph, Clean Room Technician

Storyline

Fifteen-year-old Alan Abernathy, the son of a toy store owner, tries out some new action figures: The Commando Elite versus The Gorgonites. But three months ago, a toy company believes it is onto something when it employs the latest government military technology in a series of action figures, enabling them to talk. They underestimate the power of the special micro chips they've employed, however, as the two opposing sides of the toy line start thinking for themselves and engaging in real combat! The Commando Elite vow to wipe out the Gorgonites in a suburban neighborhood. Alan, his neighbor Christy Fimple, (on whom he has a massive crush) with the help of the kind Gorgonites, must protect his home and family from the Commandos.

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Plot Keywords:

tied feet | tape gag | tape over mouth | child gagged | toy | 

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Taglines:

The few, the proud, and the small.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some menacing action/violence and brief drug references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Commando Elite

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,047,592, 12 July 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$54,682,547

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$71,282,547

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,DreamWorks,Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Kennedy, Clint Walker, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown appeared in The Dirty Dozen (1967).

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Goofs

When Joe makes the delivery to Alan at The Inner Child, Joe hands a box to Alan. A second later, Alan takes the same box off the truck floor.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Irwin Wayfair: He's here! He's early! He's not supposed to be here now. He said... okay, here's the copy of... check.
Larry Benson: Pretty exciting, huh?
Irwin Wayfair: I don't know. I think it's kinda sad, I mean you know Heartland Toys has a long tradition of bringing joy to kids, ya know? Gil Mars isn't going to care about any of that. He's just gonna care about profits. I think it sucks.
Larry Benson: Welcome to Earth, Irwin. You may not be familiar with our company, but this is pretty much the way things work down here in the real ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Besides the title logos, the opening credits don't begin until about 6 minutes in.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD features some deleted scenes:

• Alan meets the principal of his new school, who tells him he doesn't like troublemakers.
• An extended version of the scene where the dish technician tells Phil a lot more about the way the dish works and why the tree has to be moved.
• Some added dialogue for Stuart and Irene about their old home Chicago right before Phil starts to saw off the branch.
• The Gorgonites search Alans encyclopedia for Gorgon. Instead of their home they find the daughter of the Greek God Phorcys.
• A discussion between Alan, Christy and their parents about what happened.
• Phil and Stuart discover that Alan and Christy get away through a window.
• The Toys discover Christys parents, her brother and Irene in the storeroom and ask for "any last requests".

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Connections

Featured in 2nd Annual Mystery Science Theater 3000 Summer Blockbuster Review (1998)

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Soundtracks

The Creation
from Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Written by Franz Waxman

User Reviews

Bizarre film, but still great fun!

I'm not really sure who this film is aimed at. At times it seems to be a child's movie and at other times it seems to be for adults. But nonetheless, I loved the film. I thought it was a fun story.

The special effects alone are worth watching the film. It's truly amazing how fluidly the toys move and life-like the little toys are. Also, I really liked the various Gorgonite characters, they all looked quite unique.

The cast is quite good too. Phil Hartman is quite funny in the film, as usual. Kirsten Dunst pulls off a great performance. The rest of the cast is quite good as well: Gregory Smith, Jay Mohr, David Cross, Denis Leary, and Kevin Dunn, to name a few. I really feel that actors in films like this don't get the credit they deserve, because they are acting against small little harmless platic or metal animatronic toys, or, in some cases, against nothing at all. So just keep that in mind when you're watching this film. The voice talents in this film are also quite good, with plenty of big names to go around including Tommy Lee Jones, Frank Langella, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, Bruce Dern, George Kennedy, Clint Walker, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christina Ricci.

This film is just a fun film, there's nothing terribly deep or mind-boggling about this film, just enjoy it for what it is. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, but if you read the plot description and it sounds interesting, then by all means, check it out. If you do end up seeing the film, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading,

-Chris