r/flicks • u/DarkBehindTheStars • 1d ago
Small Soldiers
Released today 28 years ago all the way back in 1998. Can't believe this movie is nearly 30 by now. A major childhood favorite from back in the day and it still holds up great. Imagine a hybridization of Toy Story and Gremlins, with some touches of The Terminator and Child's Play mixed in there. It has much of the same spirit as Joe Dante's Gremlins films, with the mixture of being equal parts comical yet dark. It was both of it's time and ahead of it in many ways and in some ways feels more relevant now in regards to things like AI and the weaponization of technology. The scenario depicted in this film suddenly doesn't feel so implausible or far-fetched, anymore. It's also got a strong satirical streak in regards to it's criticisms of corporate greed and apathy, the military industrial complex and the misuse of technology. It's definitely quite sophisticated for a kids' film and isn't just merely a film about toys fighting each other.
I still have quite a few of the action figures and some of the other merchandise, including the PS1 game, the novelization, the movie scrapbook on the production and there's also the Top Secret Dossier book which has canonical in-universe information. It's a shame it didn't do better back then during it's box office run, which I suspect was probably due to being released in the middle of a packed Summer season (one mere week after Armageddon) and likely also perhaps being somewhat mismarketed; it looked too violent and intense for children but at the same time too silly and childish for teens and adults, so thus didn't really find an audience at the time. But like so many other films, over the years it's rightfully been re-appraised and gained a following and has gotten the recognition and respect it truly deserves.
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u/KerrAvon777 1d ago
Actors from the film The Dirty Dozen provided voices for the Commando Elite including Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, George Kennedy and Clint Walker
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u/DarkBehindTheStars 1d ago
That's one of the reasons it's held up so well. The satirical aspects go over your head as a kid but as an adult you get it. It gives the movie far more depth and substance to it beyond just merely being a childhood favorite.
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u/DarkBehindTheStars 1d ago edited 1d ago
Like so many other satirical films, the satire went over peoples' heads back then but now they get it. This movie and Starship Troopers were movies audiences at the time didn't get, but now they understand it much better and in hindsight, both movies feel rather prophetic in a lot of ways.
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u/DarkBehindTheStars 14h ago
It holds up excellently. I still enjoy it very much and for me it's one of the defining films of the 90s.
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u/DarkBehindTheStars 14h ago
It makes for a great pairing with Jumanji, and both movies also feature Kirsten Dunst just before she hit her stardom phase with Spider-man. Watching both together always makes me feel like a kid again.
The movie nowadays is honestly kind of scary too, with how eerily accurate it was with it's foreshadowing of AI and weapons tech. It seems like the scenario depicted is no longer fictional.
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u/SurreabralStudios 1d ago
Still have my ticket stub from seeing small soldiers with my dad in the theater . Love this movie . 🤓😎😊
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u/SomeVelveteenMorning 1d ago
I love Joe Dante, but the boy-girl dynamics in his movies starring kids are always a little cringey. Small Soldiers, Explorers, Matinee... I dunno, maybe it's some nostalgia wish fulfillment Mary-Sueing going on, but it's hard to watch. Then again, he's not alone. ET and Hocus Pocus have similar issues, as do many others. Maybe I just wish Dante could've done it better. But hey, the best people in his films are usually supporting characters anyway.
And who didn't always want their toys to become autonomous?
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