Small Soldiers: Difference between revisions

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''[[Badass Boast|Everything else is just a toy.]]''
 
Small Soldiers is a 1998 action/comedy film directed by [[Joe Dante]], best known for his work on the ''[[Gremlins]]'' franchise. It focuses upon the Heartland Toy Company, a conglomerate that gets swallowed up by GloboTech Industries, an organization that deals in high-tech military hardware. The members of the board of Heartland deduce that implanting military AI chips into their newest set of action figures would grant kids a more interactive experience; however in doing so, manage to grant the two lines (the Commando Elite and their enemies, the Gorgonites) literal intelligence. The Gorgonites have a pacifist mindset while the Commandos are basically of [[AIA.I. Is a Crapshoot|the warmongering variety]], who will stop at nothing to [[Fantastic Racism|destroy the Gorgonite scum]], and anyone who allies with them. Their battle takes place in [[Suburbia]], where young Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith) befriends the Gorgonites due to his being left in charge of his father's toy shop, and he vows to help them achieve their goal before the Commando Elite can find and take them apart. He gets help from his neighbor and love interest Christy Fimple ([[Kirsten Dunst]]).
 
The film was a modest box office hit, earning $54,682,547 in the United States market. It was only the 42nd most successful film of its year but more than covered its budget. It received mixed reviews. Some critics enjoyed the "smart satirical" plot and the [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to numerous pop culture elements. Others felt that it put too much emphasis on the special effects and too little on character development. Both Gregory Smith and Kirsten Dunst were nominated for Young Artist Awards and lost. Smith lost to Miko Hughles of ''[[Mercury Rising]]''. Dunst lost to [[Lindsay Lohan]] of ''[[The Parent Trap (1961 film)|The Parent Trap]]''.
 
The robotic characters consisted of:
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* '''Archer''' (Frank Langella). The brave and wise leader of the Gorgonites. His weapon of choice being a crossbow.
* '''Freakenstein (f.k.a. Troglokhan)''' (Michael McKean). A [[Frankenstein's Monster]] look-alike. The navigator of the Gorgonites.
* '''Insaniac''' (Michael Mc Kean). A hyperactive Gorgonite. He spins about rather than walk, speaks fast and constantly makes jokes and puns.
* '''Ocula''' (Jim Cummings). Gorgonite with a single eye. Can only speak in whistles and is rather shy.
* '''Punch-It''' (Harry Shearer). Gorgonite resembling a humanoid Brontotherium. Best friend of Scratch-It.
* '''Scratch-It''' (Christopher Guest). Gorgonite resembling a frog with no hind limbs. Walks on front Limbs. She is the only female gorgonite and the best friend of Punch-It.
* '''Slamfist''' (Christopher Guest). A Gorgonite hunchback. His left hand consists of a boulder-like fist. A slow-witted bruiser.
 
'''The Commando Elite:'''
* '''Chip Hazard''' ([[Tommy Lee Jones]]). Leader of the Commando Elite.
* '''Brick Bazooka''' (George Kennedy). Artillery specialist of the Commando Elite.
* '''Butch Meathook''' (Jim Brown). The sniper of the Commando Elite.
* '''Kip Killigan''' (Ernest Borgnine). Covert operations specialist of the Commando Elite.
* '''Link Static''' (Bruce Dern). Communications officer of the Commando Elite.
* '''Nick Nitro''' (Clint Walker). Demolitions expert of the Commando Elite.
 
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Actor Allusion]]: [[Tommy Lee Jones]] voices Major Chip Hazard, who at the end of the second act [[Batman Forever|gets horrific burns down one side of his face]]. The Commandos all bear some resemblance to their voice actors.
* [[AIA.I. Is a Crapshoot]]: Subverted. The chips enhance programming that is already present, so the militant Commando Elites become bloodthirsty, monstrous warriors and the weaker Gorgonites become cowards who only hide from battle.
* [[All-Star Cast]]
* [[Amusing Injuries]]: Most injuries are played seriously, even those that happen to the toys. However, Brick Bazooka getting torn in two is made rather funny by the fact that he has to crawl over to his bottom half to reply to his in-built radio. If he didn't get fully repaired in the next scene, maybe not so much.
* [[Armies Are Evil]]: Oh yeah.
* [[Armoured Closet Gay|Armoured Closet Toy]]: Chip Hazard clearly knows ''how'' he works, but loudly proclaims that "Everything else is just a toy" and completely rejects Archer's [[Not So Different]] speech in the final act.
* [[Awesome McCoolname]]: The Commando Elite, both as a group name and as individuals. Special acknowledgments go to Nick Nitro and Butch Meethook.
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: [[Hey, It's That Guy!|Kirsten Dunst's]] character seems to get a little overly excited about the prospect of tearing apart the baddies with whatever household objects she happens to have on hand.
* [[Billing Displacement]]: Kirsten Dunst is the first billed despite playing the love interest.
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* [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]]: The Commandos are all human soldiers (for a dash of [[Armies Are Evil]] as well), while the good ones are nonhumans. The fact that the peaceful Gorgonites were designed as aliens from the start seems to indicate that Irwin at least holds this opinion.
** Then again the two lines (Commando and Gorgonite) were not originally intended to be used together, adding a in universe case of [[Executive Meddling]] to the mix.
* [[Improvised Weapon]]: The Commando Elite are experts at this. Among the household implements they convert into weaponry are a toaster that fires flaming CDs, a tennis-ball launcher firing kerosene-soaked balls, and a catapult made from a mousetrap and a spoon.
** The CEO, seeing the havoc the toys created (And giving everyone truckloads of cash not to press charges or talk about it), decides the best thing to do with the obviously-dangerous toy line is to add some zeroes on the end of the price and sell them as automated weapons instead.
* [[In Memoriam]]: A dedication to Phil Hartman at the end of the movie.
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* [[Literal Genie]]: The Commando Elite. They follow their orders to kill the Gorgonites to the '''extreme'''.
* [[Loud of War]]: The Commando Elite blast "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls to demoralize the Abernathys and the Gorgonites. The tipsy wife of the electronics geek exclaims "I love this song!"
* [[Manly Tears]]: With the exception of [[The Stoic|Chip Hazard]], who simply wipes away a [[Single Tear]], the Commando Elite blub unrestrainedly as Nick Nitro dies.
* [[McNinja]]: Kip Killagin has two outsized shuriken prominently displayed on his chest. Almost certainly intended as an in-universe bit of silliness on the part of his designers.
* [[Meaningful Name]]: Chip Hazard, ''Major'' Chip Hazard.
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* [[Pre-Mortem One-Liner]]: "Have I got a shock for you!"
* [[Rage Breaking Point]]: "Don't tell me to calm down; calm was killing me."
* [[Robotic Assembly Lines]]: Begins with a production line of the titular toys being manufactured (including Terminator-style skeletons and Uncanny Valley-ish rubber "skins").
* [[Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You|Major Chip Hazard is About to Shoot You]]: An in-universe promotional image for the Commando Elite line uses this very heavily.
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]]: The CEO spends his second scene handing out cheques to every disgruntled party, all of whom immediately stop complaining when they see the numbers.
** [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules]]: Alan's dad puts his foot down and refuses to be paid off after what they witnessed. [[Averted Trope|Then he sees how much money the check is for.]]
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** The final line: "[[Titanic|I hope we don't hit an iceberg!]]"
** When the first Gwendy soldiers begin to move, Brick Bazooka shrieks, "[[Frankenstein|It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!]]", complete with maniacal laughter.
* [[Testosterone Poisoning]]: The Commando Elite all have [[Awesome McCoolname|ridiculously manly names]]. And [[Heroic Build|builds]]. And attitudes.
* [[The Singularity]]: {{spoiler|the soldiers learn how to reverse engineer their chips and create a army of [[Nightmare Fuel|franken-Barbies]]}}
* [[Ugly Hero, Good-Looking Villain]]: Archer and Chip.
* [[Verbal Tic]]: Link Static, Commando Elite communications specialist, bookends his sentences with white noise.
* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: Christy's boyfriend tries to {{spoiler|save Christy from the Gwendy dolls, gets attacked by the Commando Elite}}, runs out of the house, and presumably escapes... except his motorcycle is still outside later. Where'd he go?