When "Small Soldiers" came out, it was right after back-to-back school shootings (plus the murder of Phil Hartman),so there was some controversy about having a movie where toys get violent. But this movie is actually quite good. You see, it's not some ridiculous, rah-rah military movie; it sides with the Gorgonites (the soldiers' adversaries),showing how - whether or not they win or lose - they always remain supportive of each other.

As for the cast members, this is a Joe Dante movie, so Dick Miller and Robert Picardo get supporting roles. In this case, they play a delivery man and clean room technician, respectively. Phil Hartman is probably the funniest cast member, playing the ultimate suburban consumer (he wants to remove his neighbor's tree to make room for a satellite dish). All in all, this is definitely a movie worth seeing. As far as I remember, Joe Dante always does a good job.

SMALL SOLDIERS is, essentially, Joe Dante's third GREMLINS film, except that the antagonists aren't gremlins this time around but instead normal, plastic toys who have been brought to life via military technology. It's along the same lines as TOY STORY, which came out at around the same time, but I think the Dante movie has the edge; it's live action, for a start, and the special effects used to animate the soldiers are remarkable.

The film goes for a light action-adventure template with plenty of laughs thrown into the mix along the way. Like GREMLINS, there's a lot of small-scale stuff going on here, like fireworks being used as weapons and characters encountering the dangers of garbage disposal units. It's a kid's film, with child actors in the lead roles, but one of those ones that adults are sure to enjoy too.

Cast-wise, we're handed decent turns from Gregory Smith (before he won popular attention with EVERWOOD) and Kirsten Dunst (just before she graduated to adult roles in SPIDER-MAN). Elsewhere, we get Denis Leary chewing the scenery as the slimy corporate villain, and Dante lucky charm Dick Miller as an unlucky delivery driver. Best of all are the voice actors hired for the soldiers; they're led by Tommy Lee Jones but boast plenty of veteran talent, including Ernest Borgnine and Frank Langella. Overall, Dante gets the tone just right, leaving this a highly enjoyable family adventure.

GloboTech Industries is a giant defense industry and consumer conglomerate which acquires the little Heartland toy company. Irwin Wayfair (David Cross) and Larry Benson (Jay Mohr) are two designers who come up with two new lines of toys called Commando Elite and Gorgonites. GloboTech CEO Gil Mars (Denis Leary) wants to make the most advanced toys ever and Larry uses an overly powerful government military microchip. Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith) is new in town working at the family toy store after getting kicked out of two schools. They get a delivery of the new GloboTech toys. Christy Fimple (Kirsten Dunst) is his next door neighbor with a little brother Timmy (Jacob Smith). Gorgonite emissary Archer befriends Alan. Commando Elite Chip Hazard leads his squad to destroy the Gorgonites.

The idea is great. It doesn't need the exposition of the military-corporate conglomerate. It just needs the toys, the kids, and havoc in a small town. The toy company is a waste of time. It just needs the military showing up at the end to clean things up. Cross and Mohr add nothing to this. It would be even better if they concentrated solely on the kids fighting the toys.