Small Soldiers

Small Soldiers
Promotional poster for US release of Small Soldiers
Directed by	Joe Dante
Written by	Gavin Scott Adam Rifkin
Produced by	Michael Finnell Colin Wilson
Starring	Tommy Lee Jones Frank Langella Ernest Borgnine Jim Brown Bruce Dern George Kennedy Clint Walker Christopher Guest Michael McKean Harry Shearer Jim Cummings
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Production company	Amblin Entertainment
Distributed by	- USA - DreamWorks - International - Universal Studios
Release date	July 10, 1998 (USA & Canada)
Running time	110 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$40,000,000
Box office	$71,743,823

Small Soldiers is a 1998 American action/science fiction film written by Gavin Scott and Adam Rifkin, directed by Joe Dante and starring the voices of Tommy Lee Jones, Frank Langella, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, and Bruce Dern.

It was released on July 10, 1998 by DreamWorks and Universal Studios. Small Soldiers was Phil Hartman's last theatrically released film due to his death several months before its release.

Plot

The Heartland Toy Company is acquired (and renamed Heartland Playsystems) by the multinational conglomerate GloboTech Industries, a division of Gannett Company which is expanding from manufacturing high-quality military hardware. GloboTech CEO, Gil Mars, pays a visit to Heartland to meet with Larry Benson and Irwin Wayfair concerning their newest projects, which involve the creation of intelligent, interactive toys. Irwin introduces the Gorgonites, creatures built for educational purposes, but Gil is more interested in Larry's Commando Elite, a group of soldiers. After Gil watches an advert for the Commando Elite, he tasks Irwin and Larry to develop actual live-action toys capable of 'playing back'. Although originally not interested in the Gorgonites, he allows them to be incorporated into the line of toys as the Commando Elite's enemies. Gil also orders drastic shortcuts in the production time, which eliminates testing periods for product safety. That night, Larry searches through GloboTech's hardware online database and decides to use an intelligent AI munitions integrated circuit to power the toys, the X-1000, which are put on production. Unfortunately, as it later turns out, these chips tend to enhance their basic programming, making them capable of evolving but also prone to over-dedication in their basic pursuits.

A collection of the toys is distributed to an old toy store owned by the Abernathy family, their son Alan signing off for the toys without his father's consent. He and a delivery truck driver Joe investigate the toys, introducing the Gorgonites' leader Archer, and the Commando Elite's leader Chip Hazard. Alan's next door neighbor's daughter, Christy Fimple, on whom he has a crush, visits the store with her younger brother, shopping for a birthday present for him. That night, Alan discovers Archer has somehow snuck into his backpack and quickly realizes he is more than an interactive toy but a sentient individual, who is following his toy programming and trying to learn. The Commando Elite awaken and seek to destroy the Gorgonites, seemingly destroying the ones present in the toy store. Discovering Archer is still alive, Chip and his squad manage to pursue Alan to his home and attempt to kill him and Archer. Alan is attacked by Nick Nitro, whom he mortally wounds using a garbage disposal. The Commando Elite retreat to the Fimples' garage, where Nick dies in Chip's arms.

Alan and Archer search the toy store for the Gorgonites, eventually finding them in the dumpster outside. Taking them back to his house, Alan learns the group seek their homeland called Gorgon and mistake Yosemite National Park for their land. The Commando Elite, aware of Alan's interest in Christy upon intercepting a phone call occurring between them, invade the Fimples' house. They drug Christy's parents with sleeping pills, place her brother Timmy captive in a closet, turn Christy's collection of Gwendy dolls into auxiliaries, and finally capture Christy herself. They send a video message to Alan, telling him to surrender the Gorgonites or Christy will die. Using a cardboard box with the Gorgonites presumably inside it to distract the Commandos, Alan and Archer sneak into the Fimples' house to save Christy, who warms up to Alan for his courage. They are then pursued down the street by the Commando Elite who use heavily armed kit-bash vehicles, but they are all destroyed during the chase - except Chip, who locates a truck full of Commando toys (which have been recalled) driven by Joe.

At Alan's house, Irwin and Larry seek out Alan after monitoring a phone call from him regarding the toys and finding out the potential danger from the chips Larry had ordered. Chip attacks the house with a veritable army of Commandos, equipped with large numbers of improvised vehicles and weapons, including a miniature helicopter, a nail machine gun, and makeshift artillery, and a battle breaks out between the Commando Elite and the humans inside. During the battle, the humans realize they can fry the toys' chips with an EMP blast. Alan heads out to destroy a nearby powerline to overload it, which would create such a pulse; Christy, Irwin and Larry head to the Fimples' house to turn on all of the electronic items inside and wedge the power transformers open to reinforce the pulse. The Gorgonites, who have been hiding for most of the film, realize that hiding will not save them from the wrath of the Commandos; they exit the house and fight back against the Commando Elite. Chip flies to the top of the powerline pole to stop Alan, where he briefly battles and defeats Archer, who has been hoisted onto the pole to aid Alan. But just as Chip claims victory, Alan seizes Chip and jams him into the powerline, triggering an EMP blast which kills all of the remaining Commando Elite and Gwendy toys, including Chip.

The next day, while the police and firefighters are still mopping up the site, Gil arrives in his helicopter. He quickly proceeds to bribe Joe, the Fimples, and the Abernathys into silence and then orders Larry and Irwin to prepare the Commando Elite for actual military commando missions in South America for their effectiveness. Alan discovers that the Gorgonites survived the EMP blast by hiding underneath a large satellite dish that the Fimples bought, and since their mind is set on finding Gorgon, he accompanies them into Yosemite National Park and sends them out in a large toy boat from his father's store.

Characters

• Gil Mars, played by Denis Leary, is the head of a toy making company and the employer of Irwin Wayfair and Larry Benson and has a type of antagonist attitude.
• Alan Abernathy, played by Gregory Smith, is the trouble-making son of a shopkeeper and the main protagonist who has the horrific encounter with the Commando Elite.
• Irwin Wayfair, played by David Cross, a toymaker hired by Gil Mars and the creator of the Gorgonite toys.
• Larry Benson, played by Jay Mohr, a toymaker hired by Gil Mars and the creator of the Commando Elite toys.
• Christy Fimple, played by Kirsten Dunst, the daughter of the eccentric Phil Fimple and the love interest for Alan Abernathy, whom she helps to defeat the Commando Elite.
• Joe, played by Dick Miller, is a delivery man for Stuart Abernathy's toyshop, and a friend of his son Alan, whom Joe allows to take some of the Gorgonite and Commando Elite toys.
• Stuart Abernathy, played by Kevin Dunn, Alan's father and the owner of a toyshop, he eventually helps his son when they are menaced by the Commando Elite toys.
• Phil Fimple, played by Phil Hartman, is Christy's and her brother Timmy's eccentric father, who attempts to make peace with the Commando Elite toys, but is forced to fight against them. The character of Phil Fimple was originally chosen to be the only character to be killed off, but actor Phil Hartman was shot dead by his wife just before production began, so the character's life was spared.
• Irene Abernathy, played by Ann Magnuson, wife to Stuart Abernathy and mother to Alan, Irene is shown as over-caring over her son's wellfare and is also forced to fight when her family is menaced by the Commando Elite toys.
• Ms. Kegal, played by Alexandra Wilson, Gil Mars' personal assistant and a "walking encyclopedia", Ms Kegal provides Irwin Wayfair and Larry Benson with their security chips, but is forced to take Irwin's back after he reveals the password inscrived on it.
• Brad, played by Jonathan David Bouck, is Christy's motorcycling show-off boyfriend, who later abandones her when he finds her being attacked and tortured by her Cindy Dolls, whom the Commando Elite had brough to life.
• Marion Fimple, played by Wendy Schaal, is Phil Fimple's wife and the mother to Christy and Timmy Fimple, who is drugged by the Commando Elite and also menaced.
• Timmy Fimple, played by Jacob Smith, is Christy's younger brother, and son of Phil and Marion, whose constant nagging for them to get him the Commando Elite leads to trouble.

Gorgonites

• Archer, voiced by Frank Langella, is the wise and brave leader of the Gorgonites. As his name suggests, Archer is armed with a crossbow attached to his left arm.
• Ocula, voiced by the uncredited Jim Cummings, a shy one-eyed creature. It can only speak in whistles unlike the others, and does not seem averse to put its only eye in jeopardy.
• Punch-It and Scratch-It, voiced by Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest, are constant friends. Punch-It resembles a humanoid Brontotherium, while Scratch-It looks like an orange legless creature who resembles a frog and walks on her hands. She sits on Punch-It when traveling and is the only female Gorgonite.
• Insaniac, a hyperactive purple creature who constantly makes jokes and puns. He spins about and speaks very quickly. His weapon is a Flail.
• Slamfist, voiced by Christopher Guest, a kyphosis, is Archer's best sibling. His left hand is replaced by large boulder-like fist. He is intellectually slow, but his fist is a powerful and useful weapon.
• Freakenstein, voiced by Michael McKean. Originally known as Troglokhan, Freakenstein is a Frankenstein's monster-like creature. The Gorgonites' navigator, he was disassembled by the Commandos when they wreaked havoc in the toy store and rebuilt by the Gorgonites with a radio as part of the body.

Commando Elite

• Chip Hazard, voiced by Tommy Lee Jones, is the leader of the Commando Elite and the main antagonist.
• Link Static, voiced by Bruce Dern, is the communication expert.
• Brick Bazooka, voiced by George Kennedy, is the artillery expert.
• Kip Killigan, voiced by Ernest Borgnine, is the cigar-chomping covert operation expert.
• Butch Meathook, voiced by Jim Brown, is the heavyset sniper.
• Nick Nitro, voiced by Clint Walker, is the demolition expert.

Soundtrack

Main article: Small Soldiers (soundtrack)

A soundtrack containing classic rock blended with hip hop was released on July 7, 1998 by DreamWorks Records. It peaked at 103 on the Billboard 200.

Video game

Main article: Small Soldiers (video game)

A video game based on the film was released by Electronic Arts and developed by DreamWorks Interactive. It was released on September 30, 1998.

External links

• Small Soldiers at IMDb
• Small Soldiers at AllMovie