The Brave Little Toaster (1987)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Jerry Rees

Writers:

Thomas M. Disch (book)
Thomas M. Disch (story)

Release Date:

10 July 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

Imagine if Your Toaster Went on a Journey of its Own!

Plot:

A group of dated appliances that find themselves stranded in a summer home that their family had just sold...

Plot Keywords:

Toaster | Baby Carriage | Commerce | Apartment | Junkyard

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jon Lovitz	...	The Radio (voice)
Timothy Stack	...	Lampy / Zeke (voice) (as Tim Stack)
Timothy E. Day	...	Blanky / Young Rob (The Master) (voice)
Thurl Ravenscroft	...	Kirby (voice)
Deanna Oliver	...	Toaster (voice)
Phil Hartman	...	Air Conditioner / Hanging Lamp (voice)
Joe Ranft	...	Elmo St. Peters (voice)
Judy Toll	...	Mish-Mash / Two-Face Sewing Machine (voice)
Wayne Kaatz	...	Rob (The Master) (voice)
Colette Savage	...	Chris (voice)
Mindy Stern	...	Mother / Two-Face Sewing Machine (voice)
Jim Jackman	...	Plugsy (voice)
Randall William Cook	...	Entertainment Center (voice)
Randy Bennett	...	Computer (voice)
Jonathan Benair	...	Black and White TV (voice)

Also Known As:

The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre | West Germany:o.Al. | USA:Not Rated | UK:U

Company:

Hyperion Pictures

Trivia:

The German dubbed version of the film swaps the genders of two main characters: Toaster is voiced by a man, and Lampy is voiced by a woman.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the appliances are about to leave, there is a shot of the front door with its knob on the left. When Kirby finally opens it, the knob switches sides.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The Radio: Good morning, good morning, gooooood morning!

Movie Connections:

References North by Northwest (1959)

Soundtrack:

April Showers

A bizarre yet totally engaging little film.

I watched this film about a thousand times when I was a kid and upon a nostalgia induced viewing of it on the Disney Channel, it has joined my list as one of the most oddly pleasurable films ever made. First of all, you have to give it credit for its premise alone. Take a standard road trip buddy picture and cast it with talking household appliances. Acid induced? Maybe. But they take this ridiculous premise and roll with it, turning it into something that is honestly funny, sometimes sweet and strangely enough, kind of thought provoking in it's own way. The dialog is almost Toy Story sharp at times, referencing everything from Joan Rivers to Teddy Roosevelt, and just like it's computer animated descendant, throws around some heavy ideas. We watch as cars reminisce about their glory days before being crushed into cubes, look on in horror as appliances are gutted barbarically at a used parts store and root our quaint heroes on as they are confronted with the techno marvels of the modern age. The characters just struggle to get home but the movie is about the struggle to stay relevant when you're constantly being replaced by a faster model. An interesting idea when you think about it, and a fun, cool little movie worth seeing no matter what your age.