Small Soldiers *** (1998, Kirsten Dunst, Gregory Smith, David Cross, Jay Mohr, Phil Hartman, Kevin Dunn, Dick Miller, Ann Magnuson, Dennis Leary) – Classic Movie Review 1175

Director Joe Dante’s 1998 release is a patchy but lively and exuberant toy-action comedy adventure. The tale is daft and thin, but there are plenty of goodish jokes to spin it out in the adroit screenplay by Ted Elliott and Zak Penn.

When missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, high-tech toy soldiers begin to take their battle programming too seriously and go gunning for rival toys. Kirsten Dunst and Gregory Smith play teenagers Christy Fimple and Alan Abernathy, caught in the middle of a war between the two factions of sentient toy action figures, the Gorgonites and the Commando Elite.

Good special effects and a nice dark tone help a lot, so that the film can appeal equally to adults and a younger audience. It’s the only DreamWorks animated film to receive a PG-13 rating.

Jay Mohr, Phil Hartman, Kevin Dunn, Dick Miller, Ann Magnuson, Dennis Leary, Wendy Schaal, David Cross and Alexandra Wilson also star. Frank Langella is the voice of Archer, the leader of the Gorgonites, Tommy Lee Jones, is the voice of Chip Hazard, the leader of the Commando Elite, and Bruce Dern is the voice of Link Static, the communication expert. It’s nice that George Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown and Clint Walker from The Dirty Dozen provide the voices for the rest of the Commando Elite.

Hartman plays Phil Fimple, Christy’s father, in his last role in a major film before his death and the film is dedicated to his memory.

Dante’s films include Piranha (1978) and The Howling (1981), Gremlins (1984), Gremlins 2 (1990), Explorers (1985), Innerspace (1987), The ‘Burbs (1989), Matinee (1993) and Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003).

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(C) Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Film Review 1175

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more film reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/