Establishing Character Moment: An In-Universe example. When Joe and Alan test out the Commandos and the Gorgonites, Joe activates Major Chip Hazard, and Alan activates Archer. Archer's phrase ("Greetings, I am Archer, Emissary of the Gorgonites.") leaves an impression on Alan that the gorgonite leader is " awfully polite for a monster". Archer who has sworn to protect his home world, destroys the Commandos' weaponry, defeats Hazard's troops, rescues the Gorgonites who were being held captive and goes to the Commandos' war torn home world.

Irwin Wayfair: Uh, sir? Uh, you know, that kind of computing power doesn't really seem feasible right now, and... Irwin: What if this kid's telling the truth? We can't have toys out on the market that may be dangerous.Selective Obliviousness: Chip Hazard clearly knows how he works, but loudly proclaims that "Everything else is just a toy" and completely rejects Archer's "Not So Different" Remark in the final act. Reed, Betsy (May 9, 2000). "Spielberg sued over Small Soldiers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023 . Retrieved October 4, 2023. He was also extremely arrogant and very narcissistic, taking immense pride in his very own complete precise main primary militaristic status and in his abilities. Because of his arrogance and narcissistic evil, he fails to see other threats and he mostly gets careless which lead to his downfall. He was highly very intelligent and shown to be a brilliant tactician, with an analytical mind and a even weaponry intellect. He on one occasion showed sympathy towards his prisoners, one example being the quote: In the morning, as the authorities clean up, Mars arrives by helicopter, paying off Joe and both families for the damage, and instructs Larry and Irwin to repurpose the Commando Elite for military use. Alan and Christy start a relationship, and he discovers the Gorgonites survived the EMP underneath the Fimples' satellite dish. Alan brings the Gorgonites to Yosemite, sharing a goodbye before sending them off in his father's toy boat to find their home.

Conservation of Ninjutsu: In the finale, an entire store line of Commandos are defeated by half a dozen Gorgonites with no casualties; the only part with any suspense is the showdown with (one) Chip Hazard. Archer is the only controllable character in the Small Soldiers PS1 game and the only controllable Gorgonite in 2 Player mode, the other being Chip Hazard. The CEO of Globotech, a weapons manufacturer that has begun producing kids' toys, is named Gil Mars. No Flow in CGI: The Gwendy Dolls notably have long hair before the Commandos bring them to life, but are all bald afterwards. This is obviously because animating long hair with late 90s CGI would have been a nightmare. One Gwendy Doll with hair is obviously a puppet. Larry: No. I mean, "Hey! Whoa! Oh!". Look, forget the "Oh", all right? I'm going to go down to legal and get the ball rolling on the countersuit.Designated Villain: invoked At the same time, Gorgonites are clearly peaceful despite their appearance. Due to Executive Meddling below, it did not bode well with the original creator.

Irwin is a shout-out to a real life toy company of the same name that distributes toys for well known companies such as Bandai and Milton Bradley. The next morning, Gil Mars arrives to bribe all witnesses to the crisis into silence. Larry is fearful to lose his job, but Mars proposes that they increase the price of the Commando Elite and sell them to the military of a South American nation. Alan and Christy kiss passionately. At the end of the film, the Gorgonites set out in search for their home, Gorgon, on Stuart's model ship in a river in Yosemite National Park. Bait-and-Switch: When Ralph (Robert Picardo), the X-1000 chip's creator, mentions that there was a problem with the chips, Irwin and Larry immediately assume it's that said chips caused the weapons they were inserted into to rebel. In actuality, the problem was that the chips were vulnerable to Electro-Magnetic Pulses, and the government didn't want to fork out the extra cash for the necessary shielding. Evil Plan: The Commando Elite are programmed with one goal in mind: Destroy the Gorgonites. Though the start of the conflict is Mars' plan to program them as such for greater profits.Kill the Lights: The Commandos cut off the electricity to the Abernathy residence, and the final battle begins. Alan and Archer are both relieved to see each other and Archer declares that they have won the battle and are finally free from the Commando threat. They then set off to find their home world Gorgon. Alan takes them to Yosemite National Park and they set sail using Alan's father's toy boat. Alan tells Archer that he understands why Archer is doing this, but he may not find Gorgon or even it's existence. Remembering the lesson Alan had given him about air, Archer responds that even if you can't see something, it doesn't mean it isn't there. Exact Words: When Larry is searching for processors in the beginning what he wants is a large supply. What he actually writes in the search is "surplus". Keep in mind his parent company is a weapons manufacturer... Arrowgram: The Commando Elite send Alan and the Gorgonites an arrow with a video tape of Christy telling Alan to surrender the Gorgonites or else the Commando Elite will kill her.

Its unknown weather Archer is finally aware that he's a toy or still continues to think like the real Archer emissary of the Gorgonites. which is why his final words to Allen was "Even if you can't see something it doesn't mean it isn't there". Meaning that he's finally realizing that he's not real, more than Gorgon doesn't truly exist in the real world. but rather accept living somewhere related to Gorgon. My Little Panzer: Toys with military-grade computer hardware built in. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? With the Commandos destroyed, the Abernathys and Fimples receive compensation for the damages. Alan sets off trying to find the Gorgonites and finds Archer's crossbow next to the Fimple's destroyed satellite dish. He lifts it off to see Archer and the other Gorgonites unharmed as the satellite dish shielded them from the EMP blast. He was a natural leader and an unerringly capable commander, taking charge in the final battle for the Gorgonites. He was also a psychotic sociopath, extremely self-centered and also seen to be a very complete dry psychopath. After Archer and the others say goodbye, Alan pushes the boat out to the river and watches them go, looking at them with great respect for their courage and determination. The boat sails on and reaches a spot that resembles Gorgon where the Gorgonites can finally live in peace.After the battle, Gil Mars has an idea to repurpose the Commando Elite for the military to send them to fight South American rebels instead of selling them to kids. On making the film, director Joe Dante recalled, "Originally I was told to make an edgy picture for teenagers, but when the sponsor tie-ins came in the new mandate was to soften it up as a kiddie movie. Too late, as it turned out, and there are elements of both approaches in there. Just before release it was purged of a lot of action and explosions." [3] The sword that comes with the toys of Archer were based off of the prop of the sword for the rod puppet but in the film it is shown to be in it's sheath before going missing.