Adult Animation Revolution: ‘Small Soldiers: War For The Necron’
by Tito W. James
Small Soldiers: War for the Necron is a Proof of Concept trailer from Comadran Studios. Small Soldiers was a 1998 action comedy film depicting two factions of toys which turn sentient after being programmed with a military microprocessor. The film combined live-action and animation and was originally intended to be an edgy action film for teenagers before being rebranded as a kid-flick to appease toy sponsors. The result was a cult-film that traumatized a generation of kids who thought they were watching Toy Story.
The short film manages to capture the edgy tone of the original film without getting lost in the “gung-ho” ’80s muscleman clichés. We’re introduced to a new team of soldiers and monsters that lean more Mass Effect than G.I. Joe. The result is a captivating short film that’s surprisingly emotional and sets up a world I’d love to explore further. Small Soldiers:War for the Necron does what any great reboot should and captures what makes the original film fun and exciting while also making the concept compelling to a new audience. I hope the team at Comadran Studios is able to bring their vision to completion.