With the Cold War over, Globotech Industries—the world leader in high-tech weaponrys—is looking for ways to diversify, and wants to bring its advanced battlefield technology to the home market. So CEO Gil Mars (Denis Leary) acquires Heartland Play Systems, giving toy designers Irwin Wayfair (David Cross) and Larry Benson (Jay Mohr) just 3 months to enhance their two upcoming action figure lines—the Gorgonites and the Commando Elite—so that the figures can actually come to life like how they are depicted in the TV commercials. The Gorgonites are a peaceful race of alien monsters, led by leader Archer (Frank Langella), who just want to find and return to their homeland. The Commando Elite are squad of bloodthirsty military soldiers led by Major Chip Hazard (Tommy Lee Jones), who are determined to wipe out the “Gorgonite scum”. In order to meet Mars’ ambitious deadline, Larry decides to make use of one of Globotech’s enhanced munition X-1000 microchips to power the toys, without really considering the implications, and without really safety testing the action figures before rushing them to market.

Teenager Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith, Everwood) is trying to regain his parents’ trust after some recent incidents that had caused him to have to change schools twice. His parents, Stuart (Kevin Dunn) and Irene (Ann Magnuson), own a small, fledgling toy store. Alan is reluctantly put in charge while his father is away at a seminar. He manages to acquire an early set of the Gorgonite and Commando Elite toys, and plans to sell them before his father returns, to make some money for the store and prove himself. However, before he can sell them, the toys come to life, with the Commando Elite soldiers hunting down the Gorgonites, and wrecking the store in the process. Gorgonite leader Archer managed to escape the carnage, and asks Alan to help him find the other Gorgonites, who went into hiding as the battle broke out. Alan is soon joined by neighbor/crush Christy (Kirsten Dunst, Spider-Man) and together they come up with a plan to stop the Commando Elite. However, they quickly discover that they are up against a formidable and well-armed enemy, and that stopping this squad of small soldiers is not going to be an easy task. As the battle spreads, they realize they’re going to need some help before the whole neighborhood falls into ruin.

Small Soldiers was originally released by DreamWorks in 1998, which was likely their response to the success of Disney’s Toy Story. It is a fun action/adventure film the whole family can enjoy. The mix of live action with puppetted/CG characters gone amok was a perfect fit for director Joe Dante, who had already directed something similar with 1984’s Gremlins. Though here there isn’t really that horror element, and Archer isn’t as cute and cuddly as Gizmo. While technology has certainly improved over the past 25+ years since this film was released, the movie stills holds up quite well, with just a couple of small effects not quite working. It really feels like these toys have come to life, with humans being dragged into the battle between these two feuding armies.

The cast it great, with Gregory Smith and Kirsten Dunst leading the charge against these toy soldiers come to life. There is a bit of innocent teenage romantic chemistry between them. While the film has a lot of action, there is also quite a bit of humor mixed in. Much of this comes from the bumbling, nerdy toy designers, as well as from the actors playing the teens’ parents, such as insufferable neighbor Phil Fimple (Phil Hartman) and his wife & Marion (Wendy Schaal). The film is actually dedicated to Hartman, who was passed away shortly before the movie was released.

The voice cast that bring these toys to life is also great, especially Tommy Lee Jones as the gruff leader of this army of small soldiers, and Frank Langella as the more peaceful Archer. But the filmmakers also got creative with the supporting casting, giving viewers a The Dirty Dozen reunion among those playing the voices of the other soldiers (Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, George Kennedy, Clint Walker & Bruce Dern) and a This is Spinal Tap reunion for the voices of the other Gorgonites (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean & Harry Shearer).

I hadn’t seen this film in decades, but thought it still held up quite well, making for a fun watch. Paramount has released Small Soldiers on 4K Ultra HD for the first time in new Limited Edition SteelBook packaging. The film only just got its first Blu-ray release four years ago, so this likely uses the same remaster. The 4K picture quality is generally strong, giving some slight enhancements over the previous Blu-ray release. The picture has a slight but pleasant grainy look, which is to be expected versus today’s completely digital films. I was worried if, with a film like this, the older effects would still hold up to a 4K release, but nothing really stood out as obviously an effect, except one short scene where a stick of dynamite was placed in a box.

At first the picture looked slightly flat to me, but as the movie went along, I noticed more and more detail in faces and characters. This won’t be a reference disc, but the film looks very good and should please fans. As for the audio track, dialogue was clear throughout, and effects, explosions and projectiles sound great, making nice use of the stereo and surround channels to provide an immersive experience. The track also does an excellent job of showcasing composer Jerry Goldsmith’s wonderful score.

There is no new bonus material exclusive to this release. In fact, all of the bonus material only resides only on the included Blu-ray disc. The ported material is from the original DVD release and consists of an 11-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, a 5-minute gag reel, and the film’s trailer, all presented in SD.

The new SteelBook packaging looks great, featuring color artwork of the characters on the front, the X-1000 chip on the back, and silhouettes of Archer and Chip Hazard and the X-100 chip on the inside. The two discs are placed overlapping on pegs on the right side of the case, and an insert providing redemption instructions for a 4K digital copy sits on the left side. A J-card looped over the back provides an overview plus the contents/technical information.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:49:39)

4K Ultra HD:
• 2160p / Widescreen 2.35:1
• Dolby Vision / HDR10
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English, English SDH

Digital (code may not be valid after 7/22/2027):

• 4K Digital Copy redeemable via Fandango at Home (Not Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:
Bonus material can only be found on the Blu-ray disc. It is the same material from the previous Blu-ray/DVD releases.

• A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Making of Small Soldiers (11:20)
  An EPK style look at the making of the film, including working with the director, creating the animatronics, creating the digital effects, combining these in animation, recording the voices, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Joe Dante, producers Michael Finnell & Colin Wilson, action figures & animatronic designer Stan Winston, ILM special effects supervisor Stefen Fangmeier, and stars Gregory Smith (“Alan Abernathy”), Kirsten Dunst (“Christy Fimple”), Kevin Dunn (“Stuart Abernathy”), Ane Magnuson (“Irene Abernathy”), Denis Leary (“Gil Mars”), Tommy Lee Jones (“Chip Hazard”), Frank Langella (“Archer”), Christopher Guest (“Slamfist/Scratch-It”), Harry Shearer (“Punch-It”), Michal McKean (“Insaniac/Freakenstein”) & Christina Ricci (“Gwendy”). Presented in 4:3 Full Frame Format.
• From the Cutting Room Floor: Bloopers (4:56)
  Laugh along as the cast flub their lines, crack each other up, and deal with misbehaving props. Presented in 4:3 window box format.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:13)
  Presented in 4:3 window box format.

Final Thoughts:

Small Soldiers is a fun film the whole family can enjoy. Despite the massive advances we’ve seen in digital effect over the past 25 years, the film still holds up quite well. Combining the talented voice cast with the more comedic live action cast leads to a fun blend of action and humor. Paramount’s 4K release looks and sounds great, providing a slight improvement over the previous Blu-ray release. The new SteelBook packaging is beautiful, and the release comes with a 4K digital copy. The release does not include any new bonus material, just 19 minutes of material ported over from the original DVD release. Those who already own the Blu-ray release will need to decide if the premium price is worth the double-dip for the new SteelBook case and 4K disc, but I suspect this will be more for die-hard fans/collectors unless it goes on sale.