PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *comedy,*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological, sociological*
When SMALL SOLDIERS first came out, I dismissed it as director Joe Dante dipping once more into the well that gave us the two GREMLINS films. On re-viewing SOLDIERS-- moderately successful in theaters, though it's close to being the director's last major theatrical film-- I like it somewhat better than either GREMLINS film.
Dante's been quoted as saying that he hoped to make the film a bit edgier, appealing to older teens, but producers overruled him, possibly in the hope of being able to merchandise the film's miniature warriors-- the super-pumped mercenaries called the "Commando Elite" and monster-men called "Gorgonites"-- to younger kids. This may have had one good effect, in that the film is forced to place more narrative emphasis on the way the two sets of toys impact on the viewpoint character, a teen boy named Alan.
Though Dante is not credited among the five screenwriters, the script is filled with several horror-movie references, a characteristic of many of his earlier films. The Gorgonites, a melee of oddball monster-types, are originally designed to represent the "peaceful warrior" type seen in many 1980s cartoons, while the militaristic Commando Elite are based on the hyperbolic action films of the same era. Both groups are originally created as toys, but a foolish scientist implants in them "microprocessing chips" designed for munitions application. They fall into the hands of Alan, who hopes to use them to turn a profit, and instead ends up trying to keep the fanatically hostile Commandos from wiping out the pacific Gorgonites. Naturally, as in the GREMLINS films, everyone in Alan's sphere-- his family, the neighbors, and the cute girl who likes him-- get drawn into the struggle.
Since Alan's dramatic development is fairly slender, I label SOLDIERS a comedy, since so much of it depends on enjoying the hyperbolic militarism of the Commandos. At the same time, even though the Gorgonites are the sympathetic toys, it's interesting that Alan himself has a history of destruction-- he was kicked out of school for arson-- and that his slight "bad boy" rep is exactly what draws the cute girl to him. That said, though the film takes great pleasure in spoofing the excesses of tough-guy action-films, the pathos of the embattled Gorgonites comes through as well. Bad puns abound as well, with the standout going to "Baton Death March."
When SMALL SOLDIERS first came out, I dismissed it as director Joe Dante dipping once more into the well that gave us the two GREMLINS films. On re-viewing SOLDIERS-- moderately successful in theaters, though it's close to being the director's last major theatrical film-- I like it somewhat better than either GREMLINS film.
Dante's been quoted as saying that he hoped to make the film a bit edgier, appealing to older teens, but producers overruled him, possibly in the hope of being able to merchandise the film's miniature warriors-- the super-pumped mercenaries called the "Commando Elite" and monster-men called "Gorgonites"-- to younger kids. This may have had one good effect, in that the film is forced to place more narrative emphasis on the way the two sets of toys impact on the viewpoint character, a teen boy named Alan.
Though Dante is not credited among the five screenwriters, the script is filled with several horror-movie references, a characteristic of many of his earlier films. The Gorgonites, a melee of oddball monster-types, are originally designed to represent the "peaceful warrior" type seen in many 1980s cartoons, while the militaristic Commando Elite are based on the hyperbolic action films of the same era. Both groups are originally created as toys, but a foolish scientist implants in them "microprocessing chips" designed for munitions application. They fall into the hands of Alan, who hopes to use them to turn a profit, and instead ends up trying to keep the fanatically hostile Commandos from wiping out the pacific Gorgonites. Naturally, as in the GREMLINS films, everyone in Alan's sphere-- his family, the neighbors, and the cute girl who likes him-- get drawn into the struggle.
Since Alan's dramatic development is fairly slender, I label SOLDIERS a comedy, since so much of it depends on enjoying the hyperbolic militarism of the Commandos. At the same time, even though the Gorgonites are the sympathetic toys, it's interesting that Alan himself has a history of destruction-- he was kicked out of school for arson-- and that his slight "bad boy" rep is exactly what draws the cute girl to him. That said, though the film takes great pleasure in spoofing the excesses of tough-guy action-films, the pathos of the embattled Gorgonites comes through as well. Bad puns abound as well, with the standout going to "Baton Death March."
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