Joe is a delivery truck driver that works for Heartland Play Systems, having survived Globotech Industries' acquisition of Heartland Toy Company. A well-meaning and loveable every-man, Joe is the catalyst of the film, allowing Alan Abernathy access to the Small Soldiers toys before their official release, instigating the plot.
Small Soldiers (film)[]
Joe is first seen dropping off a delivery to The Inner Child, a traditional children's toy shop owned by Stuart Abernathy, which is currently being minded by Alan, his son. During an exchange about the new Small Soldiers toys, the old friends mutually decide to preview the Chip Hazard and Archer figures, despite the risk to Joe's livelihood in doing so. Caving to Alan's pleas, Joe ends up fronting a whole set of the animatronics for him to sell, for the sake of their struggling family business.
Later on, Joe is sent to pick up the recalled Small Soldiers from Toy World, and just as he is about to leave, Chip Hazard takes him hostage. With a knife to his throat, Joe is forced to drive the toy to the Abernathy house, where he is left in the truck, gagged, with his hands taped to the steering wheel.
In the aftermath of the showdown at the Abernathy house, Gil Mars orders Joe to move the Heartland Play Systems-branded truck before the news crews see it. Upon refusing, Mrs. Kegel prints off a check for $500,000, immediately buying his compliance.[1]
Personality[]
Joe is a salt of the earth, blue-collar worker with a chip on his shoulder about capitalism and Big Business. He openly shares his disgust for corporations with anyone who will listen, and is always swinging for the little guy, going so far as to put his own job in jeopardy to help Alan's family store out. Despite his hatred of the power of money, he is just as easily bought off as anyone else; an act of comedic hypocrisy often seen in Joe Dante's films.
Trivia[]
- Dick Miller is a favourite character-actor of Joe Dante's, appearing in many of his other films, such as Gremlins.[2]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Dreamworks (1998). "Small Soldiers Top Secret Dossier", ISBN 0-14-130242-9
- ↑ Criterion (2019). https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6176-that-guy-dick-miller That Guy Dick Miller. "Another of Miller’s close friends was Joe Dante, who cast him in nearly every one of his projects and gave him some of his strongest supporting roles in such films as The Howling (1981), Gremlins (1984), and Innerspace (1987)."