The Brave Little Toaster (1987)
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A group of sentient household appliances embark on a perilous journey to find their long-lost owner.
The story
In a small wooden cabin, five midcentury electric appliances—Toaster, Radio, Lampy, Blanky, and Kirby—await the return of their owner, a young boy named Rob, who has not visited in years. Upon learning the cabin is about to be sold, the appliances decide to venture out to find him. They transform Kirby into a makeshift vehicle and set out toward the city. Their journey takes them through various landscapes where they face numerous harrowing adventures, including a fierce storm and a dangerous waterfall, as they struggle to remain together and find their way back to the master they love.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After deciding to find their owner, Rob, the appliances travel toward the city. They face a storm where Blanky is blown away and Lampy acts as a lightning rod, and they navigate a waterfall where they are nearly lost. They are eventually rescued by Elmo St. Peters, but they escape his shop before he can dismantle them. Meanwhile, Rob and his girlfriend Chris visit the cabin to collect the appliances for his move to college. The appliances arrive at his apartment but are cast out by his newer, more advanced machines. A television friend leads Rob and Chris to a junkyard where the appliances are being held. In a final confrontation at the junkyard, a large electromagnet threatens to destroy them. Toaster heroically jumps into the gears of a crusher to save Rob and the others, becoming mangled in the process. Rob repairs Toaster and takes all five original appliances with him to college.
- First release year
- 1987
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jerry Rees
- Writers
- Jerry Rees · screenplay; Joe Ranft · screenplay; Jerry Rees · story; Joe Ranft · story; Brian McEntee · story
- Cast and characters
- Deanna Oliver · Toaster; Timothy E. Day · Blanky; Thurl Ravenscroft · Kirby; Jon Lovitz · Radio; Timothy Stack · Lampy; Wayne Kaatz · Rob; Colette Savage · Chris; Phil Hartman · Air Conditioner
- Genres
- animated; musical; adventure
- Themes
- fear of abandonment; reunion; value of the past
- Tone and mood
- serious; dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- anthropomorphic objects; road trip
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1980 novella by Thomas M. Disch
- Franchise connections
- The Brave Little Toaster
- Content notes
- dark; scary; edgy
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews and was popular on home video, described as a 'kid's film made without condescension' and an 'overlooked classic'.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 79% · scale: percentage · review count: 14
- Awards and nominations
- Primetime Emmy Award · Outstanding Animated Program · Nomination; Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize · Dramatic · Win
- Production trivia
- Many CalArts graduates, including original members of Pixar, were involved.; The film was the first original animated film ever exhibited at the Sundance Film Festival.; The score was recorded with the New Japan Philharmonic.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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