Small Soldiers (1998) dir. Joe Dante, Amblin Entertainment
Dante, small things that start out harmless and turn deadly plus Robert Picardo. Should be a slam dunk, right?
GloboTech Industries has its hands in many pies, including the recently purchased Heartland Toys. CEO Gil Mars (Denis Leary) wants toys, toys that move like they do in the commercials!
Larry Benson (Jay Mohr) comes up with the Commando Elite. Pretty much a GI Joe knockoff but they look pretty cool.
Irwin Wayfair (David Cross), however, comes up with the Gorgonites. A sort of furry He-Man knockoff.
Mars decides why not both? Make the army guys the heroes and the animal men the bad guys. Oh, and he also needs them ready to be on store shelves in three months. Larry decides to cut a few corners, namely stealing Irwin's password plus some fancy microprocessors from the war division.
The Abernathy family runs a small toy shop. The son Alan (Gregory Smith) signs off on a shipment, and with deliveryman Joe (Dick Miller) activate Archer (Frank Langella) and Chip Hazard (Tommy Lee Jones), leaders of the Gorgonites and Commandoes, respectively. Alan's next door neighbor and girl next door Christy (Kirsten Dunst) buys Chip for her little brother's birthday. Alan later learns that Archer is alive but only when they're alone.
He's a bit annoyed when he comes back to the store and finds the Gorgonites toys trashed. He comes back home and is attacked by Commando Elite member Nick Nitro (Clint Walker). He manages to wound the toy, but his dad (Kevin Dunn) and his mom (Ann Magnuson) find his explanation to be a little lacking, especially when he insists his toy can back him up.
The next day they head back to the store and activate the surviving Gorgonite toys, but the Commando Elite have hacked the phone lines. They know where their enemies are, and they know who Alan cares for. Can they stop the full fury of the Commando Elite?
Not bad, but a bit too much like Gremlins but not as mean spirited. Honestly a bit too late in the toys too. I mean if this had been made in 1989 I think the GI Joe/He-Man expies would have gone over a bit better.
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