Little Marines (film)

Plot

Little Marines is an action/adventure/comedy film set in Little Rock, Arkansas. The film portrays a journey embarked upon by three boys across the woodlands near their home town to spend a summer vacation together camping in the wilderness. The film lacks the “traditional plot” of other films and focuses more on the life of the three boys in general.

The film opens on the last day of school in Bryant, Arkansas. The audience is introduced to the three main characters leaving school and heading home to enjoy their summer vacation. They later meet up at Stevie's house and discuss the camping trip they've been planning on taking.

The next morning Chris, Noah, & Stevie head out on bike to a remote campsite. Once there they construct a teepee, gather fire wood, swim, tell stories, reminisce, build a zip-line, and have a semi-dangerous encounter with a hooligan named "Snake" who temporarily terrorizes the three boys with a paintball gun.

Characters

The main characters are Stevie (Stephen Baker), Chris (Steve Landers Jr.), and Noah (Noah Williams). Although the characters ages are never officially confirmed the film does offer some visual clues as to how old they may be. For example, in the beginning of the film we see the three boys leaving class on the last day of school. One of the characters (Noah) then boards a school bus and heads home. This leads the audience to believe that the characters are roughly around a junior high school age.

Chris appears to be the apparent leader of the three boys and dialogue between the characters also suggests he is the oldest. He is referred to by Stevie and Noah as “Captain”. He lives with his family in a small trailer home suggesting he comes from a lower-income household.

Noah appears to come from a middle-class home and lives with his mother. His father died in the Vietnam war before he was born. The film portrays Noah in several flashback sequences with his best friend Matt. It is revealed in these sequences that Matt has recently succumbed to cancer leaving Noah with an emotional burden.

The wealthiest of the three boys is Stevie, although from an affluent household Stevie reveals later in the film his father has very little interest in him. He is also the most comedic of the three boys.

Cast

Soundtrack change

Upon original VHS release the film included several popular songs that were played throughout the duration of the movie. These songs were later replaced with instrumental synth-music on the DVD version of the film due to copyright issues. Two examples of which include the removal of The Village People's "YMCA" and Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" which was used for the end credits of the film.