Toys / YMMV - TV Tropes

Alternative Character Interpretation: The revelation of the true fate of 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 his wife killed?
Awesome Music: 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), Enya's "Ebudae", and Frankie Goes to Hollywood'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 Thomas Dolby. In addition to Thomas Dolby and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Trevor Horn was heavily involved on the writing and production side, making this film a sort of reunion for early-80s new wave acts.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- 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! War has changed!"
Memetic Mutation: Ironically enough, not from the film itself, which has largely been forgotten, but the first teaser trailer became one of these for a while, to the point that it was spoofed by The Simpsons with Mr. Burns in the wheat field in "Burns' Heir".
The Problem with Licensed Games: There was a video game adaptation of the movie that was released a few months for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis 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.
Questionable Casting: Michael Gambon as the father of LL Cool J.
Quirky Work: 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.
Retroactive Recognition: Jamie Foxx makes his film debut as Baker.
Special Effect Failure: 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
Strawman Has a Point:
- 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.
Uncertain Audience: 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.
Values Dissonance: This film was conceived and released in a time where realistic video games were still a novel attraction and Moral Guardians 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.
Values Resonance: 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 The Walls Are Closing In. Although the whole business was already there in The '90s, when the film was released, for someone watching the films after The New '10s' culture wars, it becomes an absolutely prizeless prescient satire.
Vindicated by History: The film's flaws have now been overshadowed by the lavish production values, and it's no longer viewed as Robin Williams' attempt to imitate Gene Wilder or as a Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory knockoff.

YMMV / Toys

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