Synopsis
Big Movie.
When missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, the toys soon begin to take their battle programming too seriously.
When missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, the toys soon begin to take their battle programming too seriously.
Gregory Smith Kirsten Dunst Denis Leary Phil Hartman David Cross Jay Mohr Kevin Dunn Ann Magnuson Wendy Schaal Jacob Smith Tommy Lee Jones Frank Langella Ernest Borgnine Jim Brown Bruce Dern George Kennedy Clint Walker Christopher Guest Michael McKean Harry Shearer Sarah Michelle Gellar Christina Ricci Dick Miller Belinda Balaski Jackie Joseph Rance Howard Cheri Oteri Robert Picardo Archie Hahn Show All…
M. James Arnett Seth Arnett Michael Owen Bob Herron James Ryan Mike Smith Jill Brown Pat Romano Mark Aaron Wagner Shawn Kautz Cinda-Lin James Shawn Robinson Jared S. Eddo
Mark A. Mangini Ken King Julia Evershade John Roesch Eric Lindemann Hilda Hodges Susan Dudeck Carolyn Tapp John Pospisil Mary Jo Lang
Маленькие солдатики, Mali vojnici, スモール・ソルジャーズ, Žaisliniai kareiveliai, Мали војници, Солдатики, 晶兵总动员, Pequeños guerreros, Små soldater, Chipkatonák, ทหารจิ๋วไฮเทคโตคับโลก, Pequenos Guerreiros, Malí válečníci, חיילים קטנים, Soldați mici, Μικροί στρατιώτες, Petits soldats, Küçük Askerler, Малките войници, سربازان کوچک, 스몰 솔저, Mali żołnierze, Pienet soturit, 晶兵總動員, 魔幻小戰士, Đội Quân Tí Hon
"I think WWII was my favorite war."
A film that investigates the ways we sell war to young boys under the guise of "action" by having action figures literally ingest the brutal policies and tactics of the American military ("How could they be dangerous? Everything on 'em are standardized!") due to ludicrously overt corporatism and militarism—the enemy line of "monsters" they create to affirm the existence of the army ones are even pacifists, simply seeking a homeland. Dante expertly weaves the cutesy domestic Spielberg movie with the use of war movie tropes/imagery to create a microcosm that is at once disarmingly adorable (every wide shot of an intricately designed makeshift vehicle traversing a lawn is hilarious) and genuinely horrifying.
As…
78
A desecration of hollow, toothless American values. Joe Dante is as sharp as ever in this mix of militarized corporate absurdity and cartoon seige picture. He has such a knack for small-scale mayhem, and the effects are top-tier: you hardly see the seams.
If I had a dollar for every time Phil Hartman played the annoying neighbor in a late 90’s comedy about the dangers of consumerism I’d have 2 dollars💵. But it’s weird that it happened twice.😝
Cliche joke but I had to do it.🙃 Anyway, the 2nd of my classic Boxing Day double feature.
It’s super fun. Like Gremlins fucked Toy Story.🔫
Not much more to add but campy B-movie vibes. I thought this was straight horror as a kid.😆
Anyway, wocka wocka watch it if you like goofy fun!🦵🏻 I’m spaced.
“Small Soldiers” teaches children valuable life lessons about: conflict resolution, sharing, and the social degradation resulting from an unchecked military industrial complex.
Joe Dante’s movie about toy commandos that come to life was widely critiqued on release for being too frightening for its kiddie target audience.
Well, you know what else is frightening, children? War.
You don’t get to play with the toy plastic guns unless you know what the real things do, so director Dante is here to give the youngins an education on militaristic imperialism.
This is not, at all, a glib take on Dante’s talking action figure flick. It is, without exaggeration or satire, the actual message of “Small Soldiers,” which features battling figurines who are strapped…
All Gorgonite Scum Must Die.
Did another episode of e1's Pop that Corn about this Joe Dante VHS classic.
One of my favorite parts of this movie is that they got several of the surviving cast members of the Dirty Dozen (Borgnine, George Kennedy and Clint Walker) to voice The Commando Elite. All I can think about is if Cassavetes has lived long enough or if Bronson had said yes to voicing a toy.
"We have met the enemy, and he is you!"
you know that sneaking suspicion you had that corporate/military hegemony was slowly supplanting your rights and accumulating your property?
"It's a baton death march!"
The big budget children's entertainment of the 1990s is the savage attack on American values of the 21st century. I would have been 10 when I saw this in theaters (I remember it was the first time I heard anyone use the expression "it sucks"), and at the time I was surprised to see the titular soldiers revealed to be the villains of the piece, but I was too young to really appreciate the (barely) subtext about consumerism, capitalism, militarism, and the disgusting babies the three make together. This is about a giant, unambiguously evil corporation selling a false narrative to kids, about heroic soldiers who are actually bloodthirsty dunderheads fighting against evil monsters who…
A casual reminder that if the toys from Toy Story wanted to they could probably kill us all
Of the 3 popular films about war from 1998 (The Thin Red Line, Saving Private Ryan, Small Soldiers) Small Soldiers is the smartest, and maybe the best. Dante skewers the military, capitalism, and toy companies all while keeping a black comic tone. Severely unappreciated film.
Seriously one of the best films of the '90s. And I'm always amused at how slyly Dante digs at Spielberg. This is as scattered in its war movie references as Saving Private Ryan, but it has a coherence of vision and theme than Spielberg's confused war movie, not to mention a far deeper and more insidious message.