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Small Soldiers

Play trailer Poster for Small Soldiers PG-13 Released Jul 10, 1998 1h 50m Comedy Action Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
49% Tomatometer 47 Reviews 45% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
When teenager Alan (Gregory Smith) buys a set of Commando Elite action figures, he's unaware that they have been programmed with military technology. The toys, including leader Chip (Tommy Lee Jones), spring to life and start taking their directives seriously, beginning by "killing" their enemies, the toy Gorgonites. But Archer (Frank Langella) and the Gorgonites won't go down without a fight. Alan gets caught in the middle of the war, as does his neighbor and crush, Christy (Kirsten Dunst).
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Small Soldiers

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Critics Consensus

Small Soldiers has plenty of visual razzle-dazzle, but the rote story proves disappointingly deficient in director Joe Dante's trademark anarchic spirit.

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Critics Reviews

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Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: C+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Liam Lacey Globe and Mail ...this smells like a script slapped together around a toy-product launch. Rated: 2/4 Apr 12, 2002 Full Review Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times Though it starts promisingly, the picture ends as a standoff between the affection Dante and company bring to the project and its increasingly frenetic and tiresome emphasis on what special effects can make its little people do. Rated: 3/5 Feb 14, 2001 Full Review Justin Harrison The Spool Care matters in toymaking. Small Soldiers, all together a solidly good—if uneven—picture, shines in making that argument. Jul 10, 2023 Full Review Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight “Small Soldiers” also joins “Godzilla” in another way. They compete now for the worst film of the year with “Godzilla” ahead, but not far enough to out distance the horrid “The Big Hit.” Rated: 0.5/4 Feb 6, 2023 Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault Begins cynical and sleek and stays that way — and the subtext here is that militarism disguised as kids’ entertainment can backfire, or open fire on you. Rated: B Sep 2, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jay P Brilliant. Critics and audience alike didn't have a great childhood like I did. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/04/24 Full Review Derek L Even though Small Soldiers had what could had been a rather interesting concept, it is a real shame that despite this, the film fell after its first hurdle that led to an uninteresting result. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/16/24 Full Review kevin c Is kinda funny good for the kids Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/11/24 Full Review stefan G Love it . One of my fvourite Movies Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/18/24 Full Review love survives its one of the best movies I ever seen. kirsten dunst and tommy lee jones ware brilliant in it. its a fun movie for all ages. sure it have its problems but I still love it. 4/5. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/28/24 Full Review Pet P Such a great movie! A childhood classic for pre teens of my generation Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Small Soldiers

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Cast & Crew

Small Soldiers

Small Soldiers: Official Clip - The Gorgonites Fight Back Small Soldiers: Official Clip - The Gorgonites Fight Back 1:52 Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Have I Got a Shock for You Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Have I Got a Shock for You 1:42 Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Bombshells Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Bombshells 2:12 Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Pitching the Real Thing Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Pitching the Real Thing 1:59 Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Activating the Troops Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Activating the Troops 1:35 Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Bicycle Chase Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Bicycle Chase 2:12 Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Phil Surrenders Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Phil Surrenders 1:43 Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Speech of Speeches Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Speech of Speeches 1:02 Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Keeper of Encarta Small Soldiers: Official Clip - Keeper of Encarta 2:11 Small Soldiers: Official Clip - I Always Hated These Things Small Soldiers: Official Clip - I Always Hated These Things 1:59 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis When teenager Alan (Gregory Smith) buys a set of Commando Elite action figures, he's unaware that they have been programmed with military technology. The toys, including leader Chip (Tommy Lee Jones), spring to life and start taking their directives seriously, beginning by "killing" their enemies, the toy Gorgonites. But Archer (Frank Langella) and the Gorgonites won't go down without a fight. Alan gets caught in the middle of the war, as does his neighbor and crush, Christy (Kirsten Dunst).
Director
Joe Dante
Producer
Michael Finnell, Colin Wilson
Screenwriter
Gavin Scott, Adam Rifkin, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio
Distributor
20th Century Fox, DreamWorks SKG
Production Co
Universal Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, Amblin Entertainment
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Comedy, Action, Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 10, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$55.1M
Runtime
1h 50m
Sound Mix
SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
35mm, Scope (2.35:1)
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