Filmmaker Joe Dante once again shows off his great skill for anarchic storytelling with this 90s family comedy. Jay Mohr plays Larry, a toy company marketing executive eager to please his new boss Gil Mars (Denis Leary). So what he does is arrange to have highly advanced military microchips planted inside his company's latest toy line. These are a badass commando squad, led by Tommy Lee Jones as the voice of Chip Hazard. And the squad has been programmed to believe that an unhandsome group of alien toys, the Gorgonites, are their mortal enemies. (The leader of the Gorgonites is a majestic, soft-spoken beast voiced by Frank Langella.) The squad ends up unleashing Hell on a picture-perfect community in the name of annihilating their foes.
Eventually building to a frantic, high-energy action climax, "Small Soldiers" may not represent the best of Dante's work, but it does serve its purpose. Besides, your younger family members are sure to take to the toy characters, well designed by Stan Winstons' Studio and well realized by a combination of digital animation and animatronics. As usual, the score by Jerry Goldsmith plays a big part in the appeal, and the cast is full of familiar faces: Kirsten Dunst, the great Phil Hartman (in his final film role), Kevin Dunn, David Cross, Ann Magnuson, the almighty Dick Miller, Wendy Schaal, Belinda Balaski, Robert Picardo, Rance Howard, and Jackie Joseph. But the most fun that Dante and company have is in the selection of voice-over talent that is certain to appeal to buffs: cast members of "The Dirty Dozen" (Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, George Kennedy, and Clint Walker), along with Bruce Dern, as the members of the squad, and the members of "Spinal Tap" (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer) as the voices of the Gorgonites. And Sarah Michelle Gellar and Christina Ricci are the voices of the various Gwendy dolls.
Once again, we can tell that Dante himself is as much of a classic movie fan as many of us, judging by his in-jokes and references. For example, a one-eyed Gorgonite named Ocula sees "The Crawling Eye" on TV, and it seems to be love at first sight.
Good fun overall.
People who sit through the end credits will be rewarded with a brief outtake with Hartman, to whom the film is dedicated.
Seven out of 10.
Eventually building to a frantic, high-energy action climax, "Small Soldiers" may not represent the best of Dante's work, but it does serve its purpose. Besides, your younger family members are sure to take to the toy characters, well designed by Stan Winstons' Studio and well realized by a combination of digital animation and animatronics. As usual, the score by Jerry Goldsmith plays a big part in the appeal, and the cast is full of familiar faces: Kirsten Dunst, the great Phil Hartman (in his final film role), Kevin Dunn, David Cross, Ann Magnuson, the almighty Dick Miller, Wendy Schaal, Belinda Balaski, Robert Picardo, Rance Howard, and Jackie Joseph. But the most fun that Dante and company have is in the selection of voice-over talent that is certain to appeal to buffs: cast members of "The Dirty Dozen" (Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, George Kennedy, and Clint Walker), along with Bruce Dern, as the members of the squad, and the members of "Spinal Tap" (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer) as the voices of the Gorgonites. And Sarah Michelle Gellar and Christina Ricci are the voices of the various Gwendy dolls.
Once again, we can tell that Dante himself is as much of a classic movie fan as many of us, judging by his in-jokes and references. For example, a one-eyed Gorgonite named Ocula sees "The Crawling Eye" on TV, and it seems to be love at first sight.
Good fun overall.
People who sit through the end credits will be rewarded with a brief outtake with Hartman, to whom the film is dedicated.
Seven out of 10.