Small Soldiers
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Synopsis
When high-tech military microchips are mistakenly installed inside a new line of action figures, a militant commando toy squad becomes sentient and launches a full-scale suburban assault against peaceful alien creatures and the teenagers trying to protect them.
Plot
Defense conglomerate Globotech takes over Heartland Play Systems, prompting abrasive corporate CEO Gil Mars to demand action figures that can walk, talk, and interact autonomously. In response, toy developers Irwin Wayfair and Larry Benson bypass safety regulations by equipping their new toy lines with surplus military microprocessor chips developed for defense weaponry. The toys consist of two factions: the patriotic Commando Elite, led by the fanatical Major Chip Hazard, and the Gorgonites, a peaceful race of monstrous alien outcasts programmed to seek their lost homeland of Gorgon, led by the philosophical Archer.
In the quiet suburb of Winslow Corners, teenager Alan Abernathy manages his father’s independent toy shop while his parents are away. Alan convinces Globotech delivery driver Joe to leave behind early shipments of the toys. For more 90s cult cinema retrospectives, streaming links, and film analysis, explore MovieToWatch. When the microchips activate, Chip Hazard and the Commando Elite break free from their packaging, declare war on their programmed enemies, and trash the shop. Alan rescues Archer and discovers the creature is fully sentient and peaceable. However, Chip Hazard marshals his commando squad, raiding a nearby home to manufacture crude DIY weapons out of power tools, modified lawnmowers, and kitchen cutlery, intent on exterminating all Gorgonites and any human allies standing in their way.
Ending Explained
The Commando Elite take Alan’s neighbor Christy Fimple hostage using weaponized, reprogrammed Gwendy fashion dolls, before laying siege to the Abernathy household with improvised flamethrowers and incendiary bottle rockets. Alan, Christy, and their families fight back alongside Archer’s hidden Gorgonites, defending the fortified house. Realizing the only way to disable the Commandos’ military-grade circuitry is with an electromagnetic pulse, Alan devises a plan to trigger an EMP by shorting out the local electrical power grid at the town substation.
Christy maneuvers through the firefight to reach the transformer pole, while Alan climbs to the transformer unit above. Major Chip Hazard hijacks a toy helicopter, attacking Alan in mid-air atop the power lines. Archer intervenes, grappling with Chip Hazard on the electrical cables and knocking him into the high-voltage lines with an iron pole. Alan drops a power line directly into the transformer, detonating a massive EMP blast that fries every Commando Elite figure across the neighborhood. Following the wreckage, Globotech CEO Gil Mars arrives via helicopter, buying off the families with hefty hush-money payouts. The surviving Gorgonites emerge from hiding in Alan’s father’s boat. Alan and Christy take them to a nearby river, watching Archer and his clan embark on a wooden toy boat downriver to begin their search for Gorgon.
What We Think About This Movie
What We Liked
Stan Winston's stunning practical animatronics seamlessly paired with groundbreaking Industrial Light and Magic digital effects.
Tommy Lee Jones and Frank Langella lending serious gravitas to Chip Hazard and Archer.
Joe Dante's biting corporate satire poking fun at military defense contractors and commercialized toy tie-ins.
The wonderfully creepy Frankenstein-like sequence involving mutated, sentient Gwendy fashion dolls.
What We Didn't Like
Tonal confusion that makes it too frightening for young children yet overly simplistic for mature audiences.
Suburban neighbors and townspeople who react with bizarre indifference to catastrophic domestic destruction.
A predictable teen-romance dynamic that relies on formulaic high-school outcast tropes.
Who Should Watch
Fans of Joe Dante's trademark brand of subversive dark comedy and 80s creature-feature mayhem like Gremlins.
Admirers of late-90s practical puppet craftsmanship and Stan Winston studio creations.
Anyone looking for a unique military-action satire disguised as an adventure flick.
Who Should Skip
Parents expecting a gentle, wholesome family movie for young children.
Viewers easily frustrated by cartoonish logic gaps and implausible suburban set pieces.
Movie Details
Where to Watch Small Soldiers in the USA
Frequently Asked Questions About Small Soldiers
Was Small Soldiers Phil Hartman's final live-action film?
Yes, Small Soldiers was the final live-action film released during actor Phil Hartman's lifetime before his tragic death in May 1998, two months prior to the film's premiere.
Who voiced the Commando Elite and the Gorgonites?
Major Chip Hazard was voiced by Tommy Lee Jones, while Archer was voiced by Frank Langella. In an inside homage, the rest of the Commando Elite were voiced by cast members of The Dirty Dozen (Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, George Kennedy, Clint Walker), while the Gorgonites featured members of the comedy troupe This Is Spinal Tap (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer).
Who created the action figures for the film?
The practical puppets and animatronics were engineered by the legendary Stan Winston Studio, while computer-generated sequences were handled by Industrial Light and Magic.
Why was the film rated PG-13 instead of PG?
Despite being marketed alongside toys and fast-food tie-ins, the MPAA slapped the film with a PG-13 rating due to its intense action, dark comedic tone, and violent suburban combat sequences.
