Small Soldiers – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Small Soldiers

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie1998

35%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Toys with military AI chips wage war in suburbia—sounds fun until the action figures start using nail guns on actual humans.

6.3/10

50%

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Small Soldiers

movie

PG-13, 1998

35%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Toys with military AI chips wage war in suburbia—sounds fun until the action figures start using nail guns on actual humans.

6.3

50%

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6.3/10

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Screenwise Verdict

Small Soldiers is a weird artifact of late-90s filmmaking when studios thought 'dark toy movie' was a viable genre (see also: Toy Story's evil cousin). The premise is clever and the practical effects hold up, but the execution is messy—too violent for young kids, too juvenile for teens, and too chaotic to deliver its anti-militarization message effectively.

The real problem is that it's just hard to watch in 2025. The pacing drags, the effects look quaint, and the whole thing feels like a relic. Kids raised on Marvel's slick action and Pixar's emotional depth will find this clunky and uninteresting. The 45% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes tells the story—even people who wanted to like this couldn't quite get there.

If your 11-year-old is curious because they stumbled across it on streaming, fine, but don't expect them to make it through. There are better ways to spend 110 minutes of family movie night.

Age Fit

Common Sense Media's 11+ recommendation is spot-on. This isn't for younger kids who think they're getting a fun toy adventure—the violence and intensity are real. Older tweens who can handle action and understand the satire might appreciate it, but honestly, most modern kids will find it dated and not particularly engaging.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

The film's core premise involves military-grade AI chips turning toys into actual weapons that attack humans, including children. The 'good' Gorgonites are kind and cooperative, but the Commando Elite are violent, destructive, and relentless. The tone is chaotic and often mean-spirited, with property destruction, physical attacks on people, and a general atmosphere of aggression. Not a lot of modeling of healthy behavior when your action figures are trying to kill you.

Imaginative

The concept of toys coming to life with military AI is genuinely creative for 1998, and the practical effects work with the action figures is inventive. The idea of two warring toy factions—peaceful monsters vs. aggressive soldiers—flips expectations. However, the execution leans heavily on destruction and combat rather than exploring deeper creative possibilities. It's imaginative in premise but conventional in delivery.

Safe

This is surprisingly violent for what looks like a kids' toy movie. The Commando Elite use actual weapons (nail guns, power tools, explosives), attack humans including a teenage girl, and cause significant bodily harm. There's property destruction throughout, some frightening sequences, and the overall intensity is higher than parents would expect from the toy-movie packaging. Common Sense Media pegs it at 11+, which tracks—this isn't a surprise-friendly family film.

Enriching

There's a thin anti-war, anti-militarization message buried in here about corporate greed and the dangers of weaponizing everything, but it's drowned out by the spectacle of toy combat. The film doesn't really develop its themes or offer much for kids to think about beyond 'cool, fighting toys.' The Gorgonites' pacifism is present but underdeveloped. Mostly just loud action without meaningful takeaways.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Creative premise that asks 'what if toy soldiers took their programming literally?' with surprisingly good practical effects for 1998
The Gorgonites are genuinely sympathetic characters—peaceful monsters just trying to find their way home
Could spark conversations about militarization, corporate responsibility, and how we market violence to kids
Nostalgic for parents who saw it in theaters as kids, though that nostalgia may not translate to their children

⚠

What to Watch For

Way more violent than the toy-movie packaging suggests—Commando Elite use power tools, explosives, and cause real injuries
Frightening sequences where toys attack a teenage girl in her home, including one creepy scene with Barbie-like dolls
The chaos-to-calm ratio is heavily skewed toward chaos; this is loud, destructive, and relentless
Late-90s pacing and effects feel dated—modern kids may find it slow and clunky compared to current action films

Conversation Starters

"Why do you think the Commando Elite took their 'battle programming' so seriously? What does that say about how we design toys?"
"The Gorgonites look scary but they're actually peaceful. Have you ever judged someone or something by how they look?"
"If you could design a toy, would you want it to be more like the soldiers or the Gorgonites? Why?"
"The company put military chips in toys to make more money. Do you think that was a good decision?"

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