1987 Directed by Jerry Rees
A group of dated appliances find themselves stranded in a summer home that their family had just sold decide to, a la The Incredible Journey, seek their young 8 year old "master". Children's film which on the surface is a frivolous fantasy, but with a dark subtext of abandonment, obsolescence, and loneliness.
Watched this tired and stoned. Saw it dozens of times throughout childhood. Very strange film.
Watching The Brave Little Toaster is like unfolding some torn and discarded scrap of paper attempting to illuminate that line between the innocently childlike and the eerily psychedelic.
Intentionally or not, this tends to circle around and cross that line quite a few times over its (brief) length, whether it's the HOLY-SHIT-THIS-IS-DARK literal "meltdown" of the air conditioning unit near the beginning or the clearly-in-on-it-to-some-extent and 100,000% unnecessary "nature scene" with the bucktoothed squirrels and sinister-smiling faux-idyllic surrounding scenery.
The story is largely nonsense, whether or not you account for internal consistency. It doesn't even necessarily function on the most basic level.
The "characters" have…
Poor lamp. Poor vacuum. Poor radio. The toaster gets title rights, and all because of one heroic act in the finale?
Please.
They all deserve medals for, you know, not dying during their journey to the big city. It ain't easy being an appliance, you know.
So... It's back to that stupid static again. You think I don't know what's going on in here? I know what goes on in this cottage. It's a conspiracy and every one of you low-watts is in on it. Just 'cause you move around, you think you're better than I am. I'm not an invalid. I was designed to stick in the wall! I like being stuck in the stupid wall! I can't help it if the kid was too short to reach my dials...
IT'S MY FUNCTION!
September 2017
Scavenger Hunt #30
TASK #21: A 2D-animated Disney film!
Before co-writing the live-action Casper and My Favorite Martian films (yes, really), Deanna Oliver was the voice of the title character for this film. The Brave Little Toaster is arguably one of Disney's most overlooked, even underrated films. It's also arguably one of their darkest films, with a lot of imagery that's actually quite unexpectedly chilling. I can only imagine how traumatized little children might've been after watching this. Even with weird and freaky moments, this is still a rather perfectly charming little film with great animation, fun and upbeat songs, and even an enjoyable adventure that makes it all the more entertaining.
Probably the most watched film of my childhood BUT on the rewatch now that I'm an adult...there is some fucked up shit in here.
- Sexualized Appliances
- A Fucked Up Nightmare with a Clown
- A Racist Table Lamp
- Anti-Semitic Jokes
- A Climax Involving Suicide
- A Blink-and-You'll-Miss-It Picture of a Half-Naked Woman
Whhyyyyyyyyy the hell did my parents let me watch this as a kid?!
I bought this used DVD and now feel realllllllly weird having it in my film library.
That was not nearly as enjoyable as I remembered as a kid. It has value though, if only because it was obviously the inspiration for the plot of my favorite Pixar film, Toy Story 3.
Probably the most watched film of my childhood BUT on the rewatch now that I'm an adult...there is some fucked up shit in here.
- Sexualized Appliances
- A Fucked Up Nightmare with a Clown
- A Racist Table Lamp
- Anti-Semitic Jokes
- A Climax Involving Suicide
- A Blink-and-You'll-Miss-It Picture of a Half-Naked Woman
Whhyyyyyyyyy the hell did my parents let me watch this as a kid?!
I bought this used DVD and now feel realllllllly weird having it in my film library.
Scavenger Hunt #30
Task #16: A film that is more adventure than action
Five appliances embark on a journey to reunite with their old master. There's a simplicity to this animated feature that makes it hard to resist. Charming and funny, peppered with some effectively dark touches. Helped by good voice work and a fantastic soundtrack of catchy Van Dyke Parks songs and David Newman's evocative score.
Touching story but...
He's just a dinky toaster. You can buy these for $10 at target. From the boy's perspective, he should be more upset about losing that heat blanket, or possibly the vacuum. Those are more expensive items to replace.
In the end, this movie is definitely a didactic commentary on the toxicity of one sided relationships. The toaster is so dependent on someone that gives him nothing. It's quite unfortunate really.
In watching this movie, it reminds me a lot of Toy Story in many respects: talking inanimate objects when they come to life. The Brave Little Toaster basically has the same premise as Toy Story, but replace the talking toys with talking domestic appliances: the owners of the home leave the house with the belongings being left behind and forgotten about, an ill-fated quest to find their way back home and coming up against a deadly foe. Toaster and company set out on a big adventure.
I loved Toy Story 2 in particular, but I would be wrong in dismissing this movie, as it has as much charm and an equally appealing and diverse set of characters as the former.…
September 2017
Scavenger Hunt #30
TASK #21: A 2D-animated Disney film!
Before co-writing the live-action Casper and My Favorite Martian films (yes, really), Deanna Oliver was the voice of the title character for this film. The Brave Little Toaster is arguably one of Disney's most overlooked, even underrated films. It's also arguably one of their darkest films, with a lot of imagery that's actually quite unexpectedly chilling. I can only imagine how traumatized little children might've been after watching this. Even with weird and freaky moments, this is still a rather perfectly charming little film with great animation, fun and upbeat songs, and even an enjoyable adventure that makes it all the more entertaining.
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