Small Soldiers

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Here we have another fun title that seems to have split people right down the middle. Speaking for myself, I find it to be one of those titles I can just have some dark, twisted fun with; much like 'Gremlins'. This is fitting, considering this comes from same director Joe Dante. He seems to know how to hit that note just right, where something cute and/or fun has the potential to be pretty scary. Despite what it looks like in its marketing, this is a PG-13 flick, and it takes advantage of that. If you can put a lot of the cheesy dialogue aside, it works pretty well in answering the question; "What if we made 'Toy Story' really dark?"

Things start off pretty over the top when GloboTech; a top defense contractor acquires the Heartland Toy Company. Toy designers, Larry Benson (Jay Mohr) and Irwin Wayfair (David Cross) are given the job of developing fully interactive toys that will "play back" by Globotech CEO, Gil Mars (Denis Leary). Mars goes with Benson's "Commando Elite"; a group of tough-guy Army soldiers, and Wayfair's "Gorgonites" to be their enemies. Benson jumps the gun on providing the product with its "playability", and activates the toys with a very special microprocessor, which ultimately brings the toys to life, and gives them all a personality of their own.

We soon meet Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith), who signs off on a shipment of these toys for his family's toy store. Along with a friendly delivery driver named Joe (Dick Miller), they activate Archer (Frank Langella); leader of the Gorgonites and Chip Hazard (Tommy Lee Jones), not quite realizing what they were about to unleash. Chip is purchased by Christy Fimple (Kirsten Dunst), the object of Alan's affection, as a present for her little brother, Timmy (Jacob Smith), and Archer goes back to Alan's house in his backpack, where Alan realizes he's actually sentient. The lot of them soon learn what's really happening as the Chip activates the rest of the Commando Elite to hunt down and kill all of the Gorgonites, who they see as their sworn enemy. Meanwhile, the reality is that their roles are reversed, and Archer and the rest of his monster friends are the "good guys".

Looking at it today, it's certainly one of those movies where you have to let the CG slide a bit. This was 1998, and CG was just getting good enough to get away with animation that looked a lot like plastic toys. This was one of those things that looked really good for its time, but we've also come a long way since '98, so I could see that being something viewers wouldn't appreciate as much today. On top of that, as mentioned before, there's a lot of dialogue here that's just corny and seems to cater to a younger audience, while some of the violence and action caters to the older, teenage crowd. In that sense, one might consider that it doesn't really know who it's for.

From my perspective, however, this is one of those movies kids can watch that has a darker side to it. Again, comparing it to 'Gremlins', it's a good bit of a toe-dip into something that, while fun, is taken a bit more seriously. These soldiers actually do kill more than just a few Gorgonites. I don't see a lot of confusion in who it's catering to. Back when it was released, I considered it one for the kids looking for a darker side. 'Monster Squad' is another example I could throw out there where it's got some language and some violence, but it's something your parents would still let you watch.

This doesn't come in as a super high recommendation, considering it seems very clear that this title has just as many disliking it as liking it. I would recommend indulging in your curiosity though, if you've always wondered what this one is like. You may be pleasantly surprised at some of the stuff it has to offer. I haven't even brought up some of the other appearances in this, which include Kevin Dunn and Ann Magnuson as Alan's parents and Phil Hartman and Wendy Schaal as Christy's parents. Hartman's probably the best part of this movie, honestly - his performance is very 'Simpson'-esque. While there are still a few cringe-worthy moments here and there, if you can just manage to make that part of the fun of it all, it works as something outlandishly fun and entertaining.

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