Genre: Adventure/Fantasy/Animated.
Studio:
Dreamworks SKG.
Production Company:
DreamWorks Pictures.
Project Phase: In the Can.
Type of Animation: Computer generated.
Who's In It: Gregory Smith (Alan Abernathy); Kirsten Dunst (Christy Fimple); Denis Leary (Gil Mars); Kevin Dunn; Phil Hartman; Ann Magnuson; Dick Miller (Joe); David Cross (Irwin Wayfair); Jay Mohr (Larry Benson); Robert Picardo; Wendy Schaal.
Whose Voices Are In It: Tommy Lee Jones (Chip Hazard); Ernest Borgnine (Kip Killagin); Bruce Dern (Link Static); George Kennedy (Brick Bazooka); Clint Walker (Nick Nitro); Jim Brown (Butch Meathook); Frank Langella (Archer); Michael McKean; Christopher Guest; Harry Shearer; Christina Ricci; Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Who's Making It: Joe Dante (Director); Adam Rifkin, Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Zak Penn, Gavin Scott (ScreenwritersProducers); Paul Deason (Co-Producer); Marshall Harvey (Editor); Jaime Anderson (Director of Photography); Benita Allen-Honess (Assistant Director); William Sandell (Production Designer); Mark W. Mansbridge (Art Director); Rosemary Brandenburg (Set Designer); Robert West (Production Coordinator); Ken Pepiot, Stan Winston (Special Effects Supervisors); Ken King (Sound); Stan Winston Studios, Industrial Light & Magic (Special Visual Effects); Jerry Goldsmith (Musical Score).
Premise: Two opposing armies square off for battle. One side is made up of frightening creatures whose looks don't match the soft-hearted, kind souls they have. The other group is an ultra-aggressive battalion filled with an all-comsuming bloodlust, intent on blowing up everything they lay their eyes on. Both will fight to the bitter end for their honor, their land and their leaders.
But they better hurry up, because their owners' bedtime is comin' up fast.
Release Date: July 10, 1998.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
December, 1997... Brent Lynch tells us the name of the bad toys: Gorgonites. Dreamworks' also relayed to Lynch that toy manufacturer Hasbro (the maker of GI JOE) have signed on to produce same-size replicas of the war-loving commandos and the Gorgonites. n. Lynch also learned that one of the main live-action characters, a teenage computer nerd, is somehow responsible for starting the toy war.
He also got to sneak a peek at some advance CGI footage from the picture:
"The ILM CGI test footage consisted primarily of following the leader of the commandos as he made his way across a filled live action class room (i.e. at one point he bends backwards and two wheels come out of his back which he uses to scoot across the room with). While the CGI sequece was early, clearly the small soldiers themselves are meant to look like they could be plucked off the screen and put into a toy store. Other bits of the making of footage showed the designs for all of the other soldiers and the gorgonites and an amusing face-off between the leader of the soldiers and the leader of the Gorgonites."
[Undercover scoop submitted by Brent Lynch, CA's very own Action Man.]
January 15, 1998... Someone working on the crew of the picture tells us the film is either going to be "a treasured sleeper or waste of Dreamworks time. They still do not have a finished script. Despite the efforts of a truly professional and dedicated production company, the project is has all the earmarks of an uncontrolled creative circle jerk." The scooper goes on to say the fault lies with the writers, and urges Steven Spielberg to "get it together, after all your name is on it." ['SMLSLDR' wrote this to us.]
February 4, 1998... Tommy Lee Jones will lend his vocal talents to Chip Hazard, the leader of the soldier toys. [Contributed by 'Josh the Sandman', Todd Dupler.]
February 12, 1998... At the recent New York Toy Fair, interest in Small Soldiers ran second only to Godzilla hype. Burger King's locked in as one of the film's licensees. [Thanks to 'doyle'.]
February 22, 1998... [Page drafted by the collectable 'Deadpool'.]
February 23, 1998... Jerry Goldmsith, Joe Dante's composer of choice, will be scoring this film. [Info sent in by 'Poster Child' and 'Clops'.]
April 11, 1998... DreamWorks original trailer for Small Soldiers showed the good guy toys tying up a giant toy lizard that bore what was described by the Associated Press as "more than a passing resemblance" to Sony's new look of Godzilla. The tagline at the end of the trailer said 'Size Doesn't Matter,' obviously a parody of the Godzilla promotional tagline. This trailer was reportedly screened for exhibitors, who thought it was absolutely hilarious. But after Sony Pictures threatened to sue DreamWorks the trailer was scrapped. Damn! [Contributed by 'Superfly'.]
June 7, 1998... I saw a commercial over the weekend for Small Soldiers. I don't know why, but I didn't know it was live action mix with CGI until I saw the promo. And I've been reading the info posted in CA for months now... go figure.
"I didn't see any of the Gorgonites, but I did see many of the soldiers. They're bigger than I thought they would be. I expected GI Joe-like human proportioned soldiers. The soldiers in the movie are all barrel chested, hulking commandos, the type you might see in a comic book. The CGI is mixes in well with the live action. It's almost seamless. There was this funny scene where the commandos encounter some lifeless Barbie-like dolls frozen in a pose. One of the soldiers yells out, 'Sir, permission for some R&R!!!'.
"The live actors probably will take a back seat too the CGI characters. Though I was twinged with a bit of sadness, when I saw Phil Hartman in the commercial. He seems to play a Dad type of character. I thought he was only supplying a voice over, but I guess I was wrong. I have always enjoyed Phil Hartman's performances both on TV and film. When I see Small Soldiers, I will take special note of his presence. We'll miss ya Phil...
"All in all, the movie looks good. I can't guarantee it will give that ooh and ahh value that Toy Story did, but it should draw a lot of computer animation buffs."
[Commercial review sent in by 'Erwin'.]
July 7, 1998... Our first review of Small Soldiers arrives in our Inbox, and we're in luck: it's a big and meaty review! But SPOILER WARNINGS are given: the review also provides a general summary of the film's plotline. If you prefer to not unwrap your present early, the scooper gives the movie a luke-warm recommendation, saying that there are some very scary moments that don't seem geared towards too young of a crowd.
Drag your mouse across the clear area below to uncover the scooper's review...
"Sometimes horror movies are too ludicrous to be believed. This is one of them. This had everything, a great director, perfect cast, lots of production value
and what we've got is either...it's kind of hard to explain...
"The evil military hardware magnate Gil Mars (Denis Leary) has bought up the Heartland Toys corporation and orders designers Larry Benson (Jay Mohr) and
Irwin Wayfair (David Cross) to come up with a new superdelux set of action figures [let's face it - they were always dolls for boys] that would actually do
stuff that was shown on the commercials.
"Having been given 'the run of the store,' Benson comes across some super powerful artificial intelligence chips from the guided missile division of the
conglomerate.
"So we've got the Commando Elite®, programmed to be macho and always win, and the Gorgonites®, ugly and programmed to lose.
"Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith) is a recovering psychopath and high school freshman, who's minding his father's toy store and his own business, when Joe
the truck driver (Dick Miller) comes to deliver the weeks shipment. Seeing the nifty new do...action figures, he convinces Joe to drop off a set with the
promise he'd sell them by the time his father (Kevin Dunn), gets back from his 'how to succeed in business' seminar. Dad hates war toys.
"While he's setting up the display, Alan meets Christy Fimple (Kirsten Dunst), his next door neighbor, with whom he falls head over heels in love with.
"Around this time, he turns on the lead dolls, MAJOR Chip Hazard (voice of Tommy Lee Jones) and Archer (voice of Frank Langella) emissary of the Gorgonites. The
fight immediately begins.
"Major Hazard activates his commandos (voices of Bruce Dern,George Kennedy, Clint Walker, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown) and this activates The
Gorgonites (voices of Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer). The fun and games begin.
"Gerald Gutschmidt, Eric Matson and company do a great job with the computer animation, and the Stan Winston Studios provide animatronic puppetry where
things have to appear more 'realistic.'
"In other words, the special effects are brilliant. Pity you can't say the same for the live action cast. Phil Hartman, Ann Magnuson, Robert
Picardo and Wendy Schaal are all wonderful actors who are given little to do but scream and play tennis.
"On the other hand, this is a 75% cartoon and Dante lets the cartoon characters hog the screen as much as they like.
"Which they do. It's all pretty harmless until they start harming people. Then it gets scary.
"The commando elite uses a microchip from one of their fallen comrades to bring to life Christy's Gwendy doll collection (voiced by Sarah Michelle Geller and
Christina Ricci). The sight of a hundred Gwendys [this is Hasbro, Barbie is Mattel] swarming over Christy like a bunch of piranha or army ants is not only
scary, it's gross.
"By the time it's over the whole thing is a bit of a mess, a big, ugly cross between Terminator 3 and Dante's Gremlins.
"And they're marketing this to little children. Geez!"
[Review by Eric Lurio.]
"I saw Small Soldiers last night and it is sure a kiddie movie. There's lots of movie in-jokes, but its audience probably tops out at about 13. Kinda lame for older people." [A man of few words, this 'sdgeek'.]
July 8, 1998... Check out Jawad's Unofficial Small Soldiers Website for over fifty pictures showcasing the articulated action and mayhem you'll see in the picture. [Our 'Jawad' action figure comes with a DIVY-880 proto-blaster *and* 8 proof of purchase points!]
The Tag Lines:
"Big movie, small soldiers."
"Size doesn't matter."