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Small Soldiers

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Small Soldiers

PG-13

Released Jul 10, 1998

1h 50m

Comedy

Action

Fantasy

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50%

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50 Reviews

45%

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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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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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Jennie Punter

Toronto Star

Small Soldiers is no Toy Story, but director Joe Dante delivers a moderately entertaining movie with high production values and low-brow parody.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 19, 2025

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C+

Sep 7, 2011

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

...this smells like a script slapped together around a toy-product launch.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 12, 2002

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Justin Brown

Medium Popcorn

This movie's completely out of control but it's incredibly entertaining.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 26, 2025

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Brandon Collins

Medium Popcorn

This movie's a fun time; although there's a lot of disturbing stuff in this...

Rated: 3/5

Feb 26, 2025

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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

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Reily M

It's Pretty Good, Could Have Been Better. It's Basically A DreamWorks Version Of Disney And Pixar's Toy Story, Kinda. The Characters Are Good, The Score Could Have Been Better But Is Alright, The Acting Is Very Good, And It Is Enjoyable To Watch. 4/5 Stars

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/12/25

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Delazea B

One of the best movies out there, people don’t truly understand the value of the movie wish there was a sequel maybe one day!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/26/25

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Brad S. R

It shows its age, to be sure, but there's a lot of upbeat silliness to love in this '90s pre-teen boy action flick.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/20/25

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Hawk W

I wish they made a sequel

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/08/25

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Richard L

Sure, Small Soldiers isn't going to win any awards for its script (those cringe one-liners, wew) or its score, but the character designs are timeless, as are the wonderful practical effects (as expected of Stan Winston), and if it was just 30 minutes or so shorter it'd be just loveable enough to be a childhood classic.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/08/25

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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

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Joe Dante

Director

Kirsten Dunst

Christy Fimple

Gregory Smith

Alan Abernathy

Jay Mohr

Larry Benson

Phil Hartman

Phil Fimple

Kevin Dunn

Stuart Abernathy

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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: DreamWorks SKG, Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures
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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