Product Details

• Actors: Kirsten Dunst, Gregory Smith, David Cross, Jay Mohr, Alexandra Wilson
• Directors: Joe Dante
• Writers: Adam Rifkin, Gavin Scott, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio
• Producers: Colin Wilson, Michael Finnell, Paul Deason
• Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Live, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed: French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Dreamworks Video
• DVD Release Date: December 8, 1998
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (144 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783231199
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,078 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Small Soldiers" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Here's the pitch: "It's like Toy Story but these toys that come to life really kick butt!" That's essentially it for this breezy popcorn flick. In a very smart first 10 minutes, new toy-company owner Denis Leary tells his crew he wants toys "that play back." Hence the small soldiers land in Anytown, U.S.A., and the loner kid Alan (Gregory Smith) opens them up before they are supposed to be on the shelves. Those military-grade chips sure make them smart and give the toys plenty of pithy retorts to boot. Plenty of violence, er, action, most of it fun enough. The vocal talents, including Tommy Lee Jones, Frank Langella, and cast members of The Dirty Dozen are inspired characters, the humans less so. With Gremlins director Joe Dante at the helm, it plays like a sequel to that '80s fantasy. Amazing visual effects, of course. --Doug Thomas

Product Description

15-year-old Alan Abernathy, the son of a toy store owner, tries out some new action figures: The Commando Elite vs. 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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome special effects January 6, 2004

By Shelley Gammon TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:VHS Tape

For pure entertainment value and eye-candy alone, I really enjoyed this film. The acting was good, even though the plot was full of holes and the script had some extremely cheesy lines. It was good to see Phil Hartman on screen, but his talent was wasted in this flick - his character was a minor one and he didn't get many lines.

The premise: a military defense contractor expands its boundaries by buying up a successful toy company, hoping to put surplus chips to use by remarketing them as toys.

Two races of action figures - soldiers (human) and Gorgonites (totally dissimilar to each other, from the planet Gorgon, both are programmed to be mortal enemies. The soldiers are programmed to win, the Gorgonites are programmed to either hide or lose.

Apparently no testing takes place before they hit the shelves and the soldiers are ruthless, ripping the Gorgonites limb from limb.

They decide that children who play with Gorgonites must also be destroyed, as they are perceived as being collaborators with the enemy. Needless to say, this is entertainmen for grownups, not for little ones.

The chips that are used in them give them artificial intelligence - the ability to learn and to create new weapons using anything they find. Almost like "Universal Soldier" along with the passion and emotion.

Archer, protector of the Gorgonites, is the true heartwarming character of the film. He is homesick for Gorgon, and even though the planet only exists in the mind of the toymakers that marketed him, he longs to be home.

Alan, a boy trying to re-earn the trust from his parents, has a hard time proving that toys are the ones wreaking havoc until they are caught in the act.

In the end, it becomes a literal fight to the death between the small soldiers and the children and their parents.

The film falls short in that it doesn't know if it's a farce, a parody, a comedy, an action flick or a drama. They try to put in way too much, so most of it falls flat.

The scenes with the attacking Barbies is more creepy like "The Stepford Wives" than it is funny, even though you get the jokes in what are supposed to be comic relief moments.

Still, this is well worth watching for the animitronics and for sci fi concepts.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely delightful, action-packed and imaginative! December 22, 1998

By R. NEWALK

Format:DVD

my dvd arrived today, from amazon.com (great service!) i bought it after reading some of the other reviews by on line viewers, and DAMN! they were right! i had a ball! not really knowing what to expect, but relying on the past expertise of joe dante and the spielberg factory, i sat back and WOW! it floored me. great animation, great action, terrific and imaginative storytelling, with a really good cast. it was the most enjoyable purchase of this holiday season. and it really kicks b--t on the dvd format! great visuals, awesome 5.1 digital sound. now i know why it has been on the charts for so many weeks. all of you undecided's out there-go for it. you will have a ball. i recommend it to everyone and of all ages. you will not be disappointed. merry christmas, y'all and thanks to amazon.com for getting it to me in 2 days flat ane even with the holiday mail in full swing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A mirror of "Gremlins" February 18, 2002

By John A Carrigan

Format:VHS Tape

If you ever saw the movie "Gremlins" and enjoyed it, you will have the same reaction to "Small Soldiers". Although it is an action movie with a few rather violent scenes, the similarities between these two movies are unmistakable. Aspects of the story like the fact that the leader of the villians survives until the last 15 minutes of the movie and the fact that the villians manage to come back at the heroes in even greater numbers after they are seemingly destroyed make "Small Soldiers practically a reflection of "Gremlins". As I said before, if you liked one of these films, you will certainly like the other!