Small Soldiers (1998)

Director:

Joe Dante

Writers (WGA):

Gavin Scott (written by) and
Adam Rifkin (written by) ...

Release Date:

10 July 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The few, the proud, and the small.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Toy | Computer | Action Figure | Military | Battle

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The Commando Elite (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

108 min | USA:110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Philippines:G | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The piranha fish next to Alan's computer is a reference to Piranha (1978), also directed by Joe Dante.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Christy is knocked down by the girl dolls and falls onto the floor, her shirt rises slightly to reveal her belly. In the next shot, her shirt is down.

Quotes:

Archer: Greetings. I am Archer, emissary or the Gorgonites.
Alan: Awfully polite for a monster.

Movie Connections:

Features "WWF Raw Is War" (1997)

Soundtrack:

War

Here's why it's good.

When "Small Soldiers" came out, it was right after back-to-back school shootings (plus the murder of Phil Hartman), so there was some controversy about having a movie where toys get violent. But this movie is actually quite good. You see, it's not some ridiculous, rah-rah military movie; it sides with the Gorgonites (the soldiers' adversaries), showing how - whether or not they win or lose - they always remain supportive of each other.

As for the cast members, this is a Joe Dante movie, so Dick Miller and Robert Picardo get supporting roles. In this case, they play a delivery man and clean room technician, respectively. Phil Hartman is probably the funniest cast member, playing the ultimate suburban consumer (he wants to remove his neighbor's tree to make room for a satellite dish). All in all, this is definitely a movie worth seeing. As far as I remember, Joe Dante always does a good job.