Small Soldiers

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Small Soldiers
Promotional poster for US release of Small Soldiers
Directed by	Joe Dante
Produced by	Michael Finnell Colin Wilson
Written by	Gavin Scott Adam Rifkin
Starring	Gregory Smith Kirsten Dunst Jay Mohr Phil Hartman Kevin Dunn David Cross Ann Magnuson Dick Miller Wendy Schaal Robert Picardo Jacob Smith Denis Leary
Distributed by	- USA - DreamWorks - non-USA - Universal Studios
Release date(s)	July 10, 1998 (USA & Canada)
Running time	110 min
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	N/A
IMDb profile

Small Soldiers (1998) is an action/science fiction film, directed by Joe Dante.

[edit] Synopsis

The film's setting is New Braunfels, Texas. The movie is about action toys that begin a real war against each other, as a result of being inadvertently equipped with intelligent military computer chips.

Tagline: The few, the proud, and the small.

[edit] Detailed plot summary

At the beginning of the film toymaker Heartland Playsystems is acquired by the multinational conglomerate GloboTech Industries, which is expanding from manufacturing high-quality military hardware, into the more profitable consumer markets. Everyone at Heartland is fired except for two employees: a slick executive named Larry Benson (Jay Mohr) and the not so charismatic scientist Irwin Wayfair (David Cross), the two men responsible for developing the most popular toy in Heartland's history. GloboTech CEO Gil Mars (Denis Leary), pays a visit to Heartland to meet with Larry and Irwin concerning their newest projects.

Irwin offers up the Gorgonites, peaceful aliens whose mission is to gather information about Earth, prompting children to learn with them. Mars is not sold on the idea of educational toys, so Larry presents the Commando Elite, a special task force of action figures. Although Larry's video presentation is well done, with soldiers bursting out of their packaging and delivering one-liners, Mars announces that he wants action figures that are true to their commercials, and charges the pair with the task of developing these new "smart toys". He also ( despite Irwin's objections ) chooses the ugly-looking Gorgonites as their enemies.

Mars imposes a deadline of three months ( half of the usual time needed ) and the sycophantic Larry promises delivery. Omitting product testing to save time, the action figures are also fitted with surplus X-1000 "intelligence" chips designed for military use( The chips were never used by the military because they are fried by electromagnetic disturbances).

Alan Abernathy's family moves to New Braunfels, Texas, hoping to start over, after he was expelled from two schools for playing pranks. Stuart, his father, owns an unsuccessful, traditional toy store that sells no electronic toys or violent action figures. Stuart goes on an overnight business trip, leaving Alan in charge of the store. When a delivery truck arrives, Alan sees the boxes containing the Commando Elite and the Gorgonites bound for another toy store, and convinces the truck driver to leave him a complete set of each. Alan's plan is to sell them before his father returns; he believes that if he can prove how successful modernizing can be, that his father may have a little more faith in him. The driver helps Alan open the packages and activate the leaders of each side, and agrees that he will "lose" the delivery paperwork.

Alan's neighbor Christy Fimple ( on whom he has a massive crush ) drops by the store, and when Alan leaves the storage room to talk to her, Major Chip Hazard, a Commando Elite, becomes independently active and corners Archer, a Gorgonite. Upon Alan's return, they freeze, and when he leaves the store, Archer has stowed away in his backpack.

During the night, Chip Hazard activates the rest of the Commando Elite: Butch Meathook, Link Static, Brick Bazooka, Nick Nitro, and Kip Killagin. Hazard gives a rousing speech in front of an American flag (reminiscent of the speech in the movie Patton but using clichés and one-liners from famous speeches and other war movies). After a short close-up of the Gorgonite Slamfist, the storefront is shown and sounds of a battle can be heard, with the Gorgonites obviously on the losing end.

When Alan arrives at the toy store in the morning, the store has been trashed. He finds the remains of one destroyed Gorgonite and no sign of the Commando Elite. Alan calls the company to complain about the Commandos' actions, but receives only an indifferent response.

Outside, the Commando Elite have been watching the store closely. When Alan rides home on his bicycle, they follow him and find out where he lives. During the night, they enter the house, capture Archer, and interrogate him in the kitchen over the garbage disposal. Luckily, Alan awakens and manages to save Archer and drive off the Commando Elite, mortally wounding Nick Nitro in the process. Since the Commandos were asking Archer where the rest of the Gorgonites were, Archer knows that they were not in fact destroyed at the store.

The Commandos regroup in the Fimple's garage next-door, and ( in the tradition of the "A" Team ) begin to convert all the sharp tools and electrical items into makeshift vehicles and miniature weapons of mass destruction.

Alan returns to the toy store in the morning and finds the rest of the Gorgonites hiding in a dumpster: Ocula, Slamfist, Punch-It, Scratch-It, Insaniac, and Troglokhan ( the damaged Gorgonite ). The Gorgonites have repaired Troglokhan by using half of a radio, turning him into a Freakenstein. Alan takes all of the Gorgonites home with him.

That night, the Commando Elite tap the phone lines and find out about Alan and Christy's relationship. They incapacitate Christy's family and use the deactivated Nick Nitro's "X-1000" microchip, in conjunction with a wild array of electronic equipment and household appliances, to animate (in a scene reminiscent of the Frankenstein films) Christy's Gwendy Doll collection. When Christy arrives home, the Gwendy dolls quickly capture her.

The Commandos force Christy to make a hostage video that demands that the Gorgonites surrender to them. Alan tricks them by delivering a cardboard box labeled 'Gorgonites', which contains a cassette recorder playing a recording of pleading Gorgonite voices. Alan and Archer sneak into the house to rescue Christy,and a battle with the Gwendy dolls ensues.

Christy, Alan, and Archer make their escape on Christy's motor scooter, and the Commando Elite pursue them on makeshift combat vehicles. The protagonists escape by jumping over a stream while the Commando Elite crash and are destroyed - all but Chip Hazard.

As the parents meet and begin arguing about what has happened, Larry and Irwin from the toy company arrive in response to Alan's earlier phone call. They have learned about the dangers of the X-1000 chip from the designer, and are trying to circumvent any lawsuits.

A singed but intact Major Chip Hazard floats downstream, ending up at the local Toy World. There, Hazard finds and commandeers a delivery truck full of Commando Elite action figures. Returning to the Abernathy's, he activates dozens of Commandos and declares all-out war on the Gorgonites and their human allies.

The Commandos shooting nails, flaming tennis balls, and small fireworks at the house. The humans decide to try destroying the Commando Elite by frying their AI chips with an EMP. Alan heads to the top of an electric pole, hoping to short out the transformer and thus set off a pulse. Harassed by Hazard at the top of the pole, Alan grabs him and jams him between the transformers, setting off the EMP and shutting down the Gwendy dolls, the Commando Elite, and ( presumably ) the Gorgonites.

The next morning, Mr. Mars arrives in the morning in his trademark black helicopter. He has his assistant pass out huge checks to hush things up. Larry is fearful for his job, but Mars proposes that they add a few zeroes to the price of the Commando Elite and sell them to some rebels in Central America. Christie and her parents, along with Alan's parents, and Mr. Mars, leave, leaving Alan behind to clean his back yard.

While cleaning up his back yard, Alan discovers that the Gorgonites have survived by hiding under a fallen satellite dish, shielding them from the pulse emitted by the transformer. They still want to search for their home, Gorgon, and set out on Stuart's model ship in a river in Yosemite National Park. Alan is the only one to see them off.

[edit] Cast

• Gregory Smith — Alan Abernathy
• Kirsten Dunst — Christy Fimple
• Jay Mohr — Larry Benson
• David Cross — Irwin Wayfair
• Denis Leary — Gil Mars
• Kevin Dunn — Stuart Abernathy
• Ann Magnuson — Irene Abernathy
• Phil Hartman — Phil Fimple
• Wendy Schaal — Marion Fimple
• Jacob Smith — Timmy Fimple
• Dick Miller — Joe
• Robert Picardo — Ralph
• Tommy Lee Jones — Maj. Chip Hazard (voice)
• Frank Langella — Archer (voice)
• Ernest Borgnine — Kip Killagin (voice)
• Jim Brown — Butch Meathook (voice)
• Bruce Dern — Link Static (voice)
• George Kennedy — Brick Bazooka (voice)
• Sarah Michelle Gellar — Gwendy Doll (voice)
• Clint Walker — Nick Nitro (voice)
• Christopher Guest — Slamfist/Scratch-It (voice)
• Jim Cummings — Ocula (voice)
• Michael McKean — Insaniac/Freakenstein (voice)
• Christina Ricci — Gwendy Doll (voice)
• Harry Shearer — Punch-It (voice)

[edit] Characters

[edit] Humans

• Alan Abernathy: The protagonist of the movie has been expelled from two schools for playing pranks, though the rumors around his new school say ten. His parents moved to New Braunfels, Texas, hoping to start over. He befriended the Gorgonites.

• Christy Fimple: a girl on whom Alan has a crush and who happens to be his next-door neighbor. She was captured by the Commando Elite.

• Stuart Abernathy: Alan's father, who owns an unsuccessful, traditional toy store that sells no electronic toys or violent action figures.

• Timmy Fimple: Christy's brother.

[edit] The Commando Elite

The Commando Elite are the main villains of the film. This team is the enemy of the Gorgonites. Larry Benson is their creator. The Commando Elite consists of:

• Major Chip Hazard: The leader of the Commando Elite and the film's primary villain. He is the arch enemy of Archer, the leader of the Gorgonites, who was equipped with a (nonfunctional) pistol and later uses a knife. Alan puts him on the transformers and killed him. He is voiced by Tommy Lee Jones.
• Butch Meathook: The Commando Elite sniper, who is also equipped with grenades. He is voiced by Jim Brown.
• Link Static: The Commando Elite communications expert, capable of tapping phone lines. Link Static was voiced by Bruce Dern.
• Brick Bazooka: The Commando Elite artillerist. He was injured when pursuing Alan's bike, losing a leg. Brick was voiced by George Kennedy.
• Nick Nitro: The Commando Elite demolitions expert. Carries a lot of (toy) explosives, and can improvise demolition charges from household items such as spray cans. Nitro tried to attack Alan when he tried to rescue Archer, but ended up being thrust into the garbage disposal. Nitro lost his legs in the "attack". He then crawled in the Fimples garage and died in Major Hazards' arms. Nitro was voiced by Clint Walker.
• Kip Killagin: The Commando Elite's cigar-chomping covert operations expert. Notable about his gear are the oversized shuriken on his vest. Kip was voiced by Ernest Borgnine.

[edit] The Gorgonites

The Gorgonites are the heroes of the film. This team of mutant aliens are programmed to search for the peaceful land of Gorgon. Led by Archer, the Gorgonites have only two options when dealing with the Commando Elite, hide or die, this is hardcoded into their original programming. The Gorgonites consist of:

• Archer: The leader of the Gorgonites. As his name suggests, Archer is armed with a crossbow attached to his left arm. Archer is the bravest of the Gorgonites and convinces the others to fight. He is voiced by Frank Langella.
• Ocula: A one-eyed insect-like creature who is very shy. Ocula cannot speak like the others, and does not seem to put his only eye in jeopardy. Ocula and Slamfist see a giant one-eyed alien similar to Ocula on television, and Ocula thinks it is a relative. He is voiced by Jim Cummings.
• Punch-It and Scratch-It: Punch-It and Scratch-It are constant companions. Punch-It resembles a humanoid brontotherium, while Scratch-It looks like an orange legless monster who resembles a frog and walks on his hands and sits on Punch-It when travelling.
• Insaniac: A purple monster who is positively insane. He spins about like the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes and speaks very quickly. He has the personality of a comedian. His weapon is a ball-and-chain mace.
• Slamfist: Slamfist, a hunchback, is Archer's best friend. His left hand is replaced by large boulder-like fist. Slamfist is a bit dim-witted, but his fist is powerful.
• Freakenstein: Originally known as Troglokhan, Freakenstein is a Frankenstein's Monster-like creature. He was disassembled by the Commandos when they wreaked havoc in Alan's toy shop and rebuilt by the Gorgonites with a radio as part of the body.
• Stench: This Gorgonite only appears in the game version of Small Soldiers
• Nibble: A flying Gorgonite who is exclusive to the Small Soldiers game.

[edit] Trivia

• This was Phil Hartman's final film. The film was posthumously released less than two months after his murder.
  • The film included a short single blooper of Phil after the credits, followed by the words "For Phil".
• The voices of the Commando Elite, except for Major Chip Hazard and Link Static, are played by the actors of The Dirty Dozen.
• The voices of the Gorgonites, except for Archer, are played by the actors of This Is Spinal Tap.
• When this aired on Cartoon Network for the first time, it was also the first time any TV show or movie on the network, other than on the Adult Swim block of programming, said the word "ass."
• The scene where Chip Hazard is addressing his men is similar to a scene in the movie Patton where he talks about the coming war, the music is identical.
• The scene where Nick Nitro is fatally wounded and says "it's just a flesh wound" is possibly a reference to the black knight scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail .
• This is the only movie where the Dreamworks Logo shows the kid fishing on the moon falling into the water. The game version of Small Soldiers actually has the kid being thrown in by the Commando Elite.
• In the game version there were more Gorgonites. One was named Stench; needless to say, his abilities involved using horrid smells to defeat enemies. The other was Nibble, a flying creature with bat-like wings.
• There are several references to the Gremlins films:
  • Look closely in the scene when Ocula's eye is peering out; there is a torn picture of Gizmo the mogwai.
  • Irwin's password is "Gizmo" the name of the mogwai from the films.
  • The attack of the Gwendy dolls and the final battle between the commandos and the Gorgonites are similar to the Gremlin attacks.
  • More indirectly, actor Dick Miller has performed Murray Futterman in both Gremlins movies.
• At the end of the movie, Slamfist says "I hope we don't hit an iceberg." a possible reference to the Titanic.
• During the battle, when Slamfist is swinging on the bell, he is chanting "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" as a parody to "Hunchback of Notre Dame".
• During the finale, there is a direct reference to Apocalypse Now, with Chip Hazard flying into the house on a toy helicopter, whilst the Ride of the Valkyries plays. Hazard also says "I love the smell of polyurethane in the morning"
• The film is one of the few films to feature music by Led Zeppelin ("Communication Breakdown"), a band who are known to rarely license their music for use in films. The scene in which the song is used takes place in a bedroom covered with Led Zeppelin posters.
• The episode Grift of the Magi of The Simpsons features a toy called Funzo programmed to destroy other toys.
• In the scene where the commando elite are charging through the break in the fence they are chanting "I don't know what I've been told, but Gorgonite blood runs mighty cold." This is a reference to Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick) where the troops are chanting "I don't know what I've been told, but eskimo pussy is mighty cold.".

• In Alan's bedroom a Powerman 5000 poster can be seen above the stair.

• A TV commercial for Burger King, which had done a co-promotion with the film, shows Major Hazard being court martialed on the charge of taking an unauthorized abscence (or AWOL) from his base in order to go to a Burger King and purchase the new Rodeo Burger. The lawyer yells at Major Hazard "Did you order the Rodeo Burger?!", to which Hazard responds "You are darn straight I did!", shocking the courtroom with his response. Major Hazard is then handcuffed and being led away by military police soldiers who ask him "That Rodeo Burger, was it worth it?", and Hazard responds "You cannot handle the Rodeo Burger!" This commercial was clearly a parody of famous scenes in A Few Good Men.

[edit] External links

• Small Soldiers at the Internet Movie Database