* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: The revelation of the true fate of [[spoiler:Leland's wife]] can cast his actions in a whole new light. Given that he was insincere about that, he might be also lying when he claims his reason for his project is just to make cheaper armies. What if his true reason to develop drone warfare is to reduce or eliminate risky undercover missions like that which got [[spoiler:his wife]] killed?
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Whatever you feel about the movie, the soundtrack had a few dynamite songs. Standouts include Wendy & Lisa's "The Closing of the Year" (the opening and closing theme), Music/{{Enya}}'s "Ebudae", and Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood's "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" during the final confrontation with the war toys. The very awesome ear worm from the "music video" is called "The Mirror Song," and was performed on the soundtrack by Music/ThomasDolby. In addition to Thomas Dolby and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, [[Music/TheBuggles Trevor Horn]] was heavily involved on the writing and production side, making this film a sort of reunion for early-80s new wave acts.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** General Leland's plan is obviously meant to be insane, but a decade after the movie came out unmanned drones controlled remotely and raining death on their targets became a major part of the US military arsenal. Even more so, drones and other military weapons are being operated by video game controllers, because that's what new recruits are used to.
** "There isn't going to ''be'' another war -- not like you and I know it! [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots War has changed!]]"
* MemeticMutation: Ironically enough, not from the film itself, which has largely been forgotten, but the first ''teaser [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwVqtzoBNSM trailer]]'' became one of these for a while, to the point that it was spoofed by ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' with Mr. Burns in the wheat field in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E18BurnsHeir Burns' Heir]]".
* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: There was a video game adaptation of the movie that was released a few months for the Platform/SuperNintendo and Platform/SegaGenesis released by Imagineering. The premise is where you fought against General Leland's army of toys. It was critically panned by video game magazines and critics, such as Game Pro, for many reasons. For one, the game was only four stages long. Another, the visuals were subpar. A lack of two-player mode was also a missed opportunity. The AI also has an unlimited amount of toys at its arsenal, but you don't have that luxury.
* QuestionableCasting: Creator/MichaelGambon as the father of Music/LLCoolJ.
* QuirkyWork: The absolutely insane premise and dream-like qualities (which turn to nightmare) is difficult to put into words. The epilogue with the elephant tomb somehow taking off and flying over the hills might be the confirmation that we are meant to see the film as a glorious bad trip.
* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/JamieFoxx makes his film debut as Baker.
* SpecialEffectFailure: The wire used to hold up Kenneth's tombstone when it takes off and goes flying around the countryside in the end credits is ''incredibly'' obvious.[[note]] To be fair, it really wasn't intended to be a special effect shot. They simply filmed the helicopter lifting the statue and flying it away after production wrapped. The visual was dreamlike, though, so it ended up placed behind the credits and it wasn't worth the extra effects work to edit the cable out so it ''looks'' like a mistake.[[/note]]
* StrawmanHasAPoint:
** Leland's plan to make war toys (before he comes up with the concept of actually militarizing them) makes solid economic sense. Zevo Toys seems to operate almost entirely on making toys that would be considered extremely retro, as well as handful of extremely common and oft-duplicated novelties. Granted, this is supposed to be a fable, but in the real world such a company would probably crash and burn the first time the economy took a dip. And while his security measures are a little extreme, the factory apparently had ''no'' security before he arrived, with the response to industrial espionage apparently just to sigh and throw up their hands.
** The military aspects of his plan also make sense. Managing drones ''is'' much cheaper than putting an army on the ground with all the logistics that entails, not to mention it leads to fewer deaths of the military using the drones. In-universe, the officers he proposes it too actually ''agree'' that it's a good plan - it's only after he flips his lid in the meeting that they refuse to work with him. All of this can give the feel that the film is trying to load the dice against a particular stance without having any real argument.
* UncertainAudience: The film is clearly trying to have its cake and eat it by featuring bright, outlandish art designs and simplistic morals that can be understood by children, while also featuring its share of adult humor and more complex themes. However, it never quite manages to strike the right balance between the two approaches, resulting in the film's tone tending to shift wildly from scene to scene.
* ValuesDissonance: This film was conceived and released in a time where realistic video games were still a novel attraction and MoralGuardians still made a lot of fuss about violence in entertainment and media, especially in regards to children and their well-being. The story frames in a cartoonishly evil light not only that Leland wants to develop war toys, but also that he devises a plan to lure children with first-person shooter video games in order to make them killing machines, because those were ideas that ''were'' still being seriously discussed at the time. Obviously, a modern viewer, from a time when that kind of myths have mostly died off from the mainstream, might find the film's mood an overreaction hard to relate with.
* ValuesResonance: The film savagely parodies political correctness, not only by having the Zevo board ramble about who might get offended by toy giant ears, but also more explicitly when they test several kinds of toy vomits, going on and on about race representation (yes, on the vomit) all while barely paying attention that TheWallsAreClosingIn. Although the whole business was already there in TheNineties, when the film was released, for someone watching the films after TheNewTens' culture wars, it becomes an absolutely prizeless prescient satire.
* VindicatedByHistory: The film's flaws have now been overshadowed by the lavish production values, and it's no longer viewed as Creator/RobinWilliams' attempt to imitate Creator/GeneWilder or as a ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' knockoff.
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