Put-upon Alan tries to help out his dad (played by Kevin Dunn, a somewhat absentee father) by picking up a small batch of toys from his truck driver pal, so that he can sell them and make some money for their toy store before his dad returns from a trip.
It's only his luck that he gets this first batch out and activates them before they are supposed to be released - only to find out that over-achiever Larry (played by the great Jay Mohr) used the password of his buddy Irwin (David Cross) to order some defense department computer chips to bring the toys to life, give them a real kick. It looks like it may have been just a bit too much.
The Commando Elite, headed by Major Chip Hazard, are out to defeat the Gorgonites once and for all, and they pull out all the stops to do so, including turning the Gwendee (think Barbie, but without the associated licensing costs) dolls of Alan's neighbor (and target of his affection) Christy against her in a strange mad scientist lab-like scene that transforms itself into a Lilliput of sorts. Then the Commando Elite head for the garage, where they make all sorts of deadly machines from the tools found there.
The movie is actually pretty entertaining, likely because of the bevy of comic talent found in the cast. But probably the most notable part of this film is that of the voice talent, which is behind the action figures that come to life, and not in the actual actors.
Tommy Lee Jones was the most recognizable, as the power behind Major Chip Hazard, while Frank Langella provided the voice of the Major's opponent, Archer, and Jim Brown, Bruce Dern, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Christina Ricci also made their presence known, er, heard, along with a host of others.
A small cameo by Cheri Oteri and the late, great Phil Hartman made for an odd Saturday Night Live connection that I have to confess to not really understanding.
Rated PG-13 for some menacing action/violence and brief drug references. While PG-13 movies may typically not be that bad, you might want to keep an eye on younger kids who watch it, as there are some potentially dangerous activities suggested, such as dropping sleeping pills into alcoholic drinks, shooting nail guns as weapons, the firing of flaming tennis ball 'bombs' and the climbing of an electrical pole to short-circuit two (electrical) transformers. It's all in good fun, of course, but younger kids might not be able to distinguish between the fantasy and reality.
Other than the violence, which is almost cartoonish (though the people are real, not animated), there is little that would be inappropriate to younger ages other than some adult language in the first few minutes of the movie.
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