Small Soldiers arrived the same summer as Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line . It was never going to win Oscars, but as a piece of satirical filmmaking, it deserves a second look. It predicted the “smart toy” boom and the ethical dilemmas of AI decades before ChatGPT.
: The film highlights the recklessness of the tech industry, showing how Globotech releases a dangerous product without testing to boost quarterly profits. Groundbreaking Practical and Digital Effects small.soldiers film
If you haven’t watched Small Soldiers since you rented it from Blockbuster, do yourself a favor and stream it tonight. Look past the 90s CGI and appreciate the practical animatronics (courtesy of Stan Winston Studio). Listen to the dialogue. And remember: Everything else is just a toy. Small Soldiers arrived the same summer as Saving
What separated Small Soldiers from other "living toy" movies was the logic behind the animation. In an era rapidly shifting toward CGI, Dante made a crucial creative decision. While computer graphics were used for complex shots, the heart of the film relied on , animatronics, and puppetry created by the legendary Stan Winston Studio. : The film highlights the recklessness of the
Watching Small Soldiers as an adult is a completely different experience. As a kid, you focused on the cool explosions and the fact that Phil Hartman played a sleazy toy salesman. As an adult, you realize the film is asking hard questions:
This is the as a Trojan Horse. Parents took their kids to see colorful toys; they left watching a commentary on PTSD, blind patriotism, and the ethics of artificial intelligence.
While it received mixed reviews at the time, Small Soldiers has developed a significant cult following.