The Brave Little Toaster (film)
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The Brave Little Toaster is an animated film from 1987, directed by Jerry Rees, written by Thomas M. Disch, and produced by Hyperion Pictures. The story followed five household appliances—Lampy, Blanky, Radio, Kirby (a vacuum cleaner), and the Toaster—on their quest to find their owner, Rob (also referred to as "The Master").
The film was based on the novella of the same name, written by Disch, which first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1980. Although appearing in a general circulation magazine, the story was written in the style of a children's fable. It was one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy stories of the early 1980s, and was nominated for both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novella. In 1988, it was the first and only animated film to be exhibited at the Sundance Film Festival until Waking Life (2001).
Disney withheld theatrical distribution for the film, intending it to be shown on the newly formed Disney Channel. The buzz it generated at Sundance disappated, and it only received limited theatrical airings, most notably at The Film Forum in New York City in 1990.
The Brave Little Toaster received an Emmy nomination for Best Animated Program in 1988. It was followed by two sequels, The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (1998) and The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (1999). They were released out of order; "To the Rescue" took place before "Goes to Mars" but was released afterwards. A DVD version of the film was released in 2003.
Two of the voice actors, Jon Lovitz (Radio) and Phil Hartman (several characters), were then-current cast members of Saturday Night Live. Another, Thurl Ravenscroft (Kirby), was best remembered as the voice of Tony the Tiger.
Many members of Pixar Studios were involved with this film, including John Lasseter, whose trademark A113 appears on Master's door, and Joe Ranft. Lampy is the predecessor to the desk lamps found in Luxo Jr..
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[edit] Characters
Toaster (voiced by Deanna Oliver), is the main character. He is, no doubt, brave (although he is afraid of water). He acts as the leader of the group, often breaking up fights between Lampy and Radio, and trying his best to cheer up Blanky when he's depressed. He could be classified as the stereotypical hero, a "Marty-Stu".
Lampy (voiced by Tim Stack), is an orange and yellow desktop lamp. Whenever Lampy is annoyed by Radio, which is often, the two always wind up fighting. Lampy can lose it when his lightbulb burns out or breaks out of too much electrical power. Lampy is said to be the most useful of all of the appliances to "the Master." He is the only appliance who is clearly literate, as he was seen writing a list of things to take to Mars, and was seen reading an address book. He has no arms but can use his electric cord and his plug as hands. He had his own brave moment when he electrocuted himself to get more power.
Radio (voiced by Jon Lovitz), is the most annoying of the group. He is a tube-based radio (the rare WFC-11-12-55). Radio and Lampy spend much of their time onscreen fighting. He is the only appliance character without a face.
Blanky (voiced by Timothy E. Day) is a fuzzy heating blanket and most likely the youngest appliance. He often has a point, and hates it when someone says "cross your fingers," since he has no fingers. Considered to be even more annoying than Radio by everyone in the group.
Kirby (voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft) is a vacuum cleaner. Although he is heavy, he can float on water. He doesn't clean up after cats because he is "allergic" to kitty litter. His catch phrase is "I just know I'm gonna regret this."
Air Conditioner (voiced by Phil Hartman) is an appliance that appears at the beginning of the movie. He has lost faith that the master is coming back, and taunts the others for hoping. They say he's only jealous, which sends him into a rage. He overheats and blows himself up. Near the end of the film, he is fixed by the master. It's a safe assumption to say that the character of the air conditioner is based off of Jack Nicholson.
T.V. (voiced by Jonathan Benair) is an old black and white television that the master brought with him when he first moved out of the cottage and into the city with his family. A very friendly fellow, he is overjoyed to see Toaster, Lampy, Radio, Blanky, and Kirby when they arrive at the master's apartment. His anthropomorphic traits differ from those of the other characters in that instead of having facial features that disappear when humans are around, he displays a newscaster-like character on his screen. Later in the story he uses this character to advertise Ernie's Disposal (where the master's other jealous appliances sent the main characters to) as a cheap appliance store in an attempt to get the master to go there and hopefully recover the five missing appliances. Changing his channel away from this character seems to immobilize him.
Giant Magnet Appears near the end of the film in Ernie's Disposal, He happily feeds the Car Crusher by using his circular surface to grab anything metal. When Toaster and the others escape him for the first time, he seems to become very keen on capturing them.
[edit] Controversy
Many parents were upset by some of the film's content, which they considered inappropriate or too graphic for children[citation needed]. Some of the scenes from the film were considered too dark to be in a children's movie, such as the scene in the appliance repair store which contained depictions of dismembered appliances singing a creepy song in a B-rated horror movie theme, the junkyard scene in which cars sing a haunting tune while being lowered into a compactor by a giant magnet, the part when The Master is almost crushed by the compactor, the scene where Air Conditioner goes ballistic and explodes, Toaster's clown-infested nightmare sequence, and a couple of swear words.
[edit] Trivia
In a sequence set in a recycling yard, cars being sent to a crushing machine sing a cover of a song originally performed by the country supergroup The Highwaymen, a quartet composed of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. The cover is particularly apt as the original song tells the life histories of four dead, archetypal Western characters. In the film, the automobiles, on their way to being recycled, sing the stories of their own archetypal histories. The parallels are deepened as the characters in the original song sing of remaining "alive" even after death, while the automobiles in the film will also continue after being recycled.
