Independent Films, Film Profiles

The Brave Little Toaster (film)

The Brave Little Toaster is an animated film from 1987, directed by Jerry Rees, written by Thomas M. Disch, produced by Hyperion Pictures along with The Kushner-Locke Company and released by Walt Disney Pictures (who were the original producers). It is well known for its extremely dark and unsettling undertones that are somehow overshadowed by the simple, fun feeling of the film. The story follows five household appliances - the Toaster (a toaster), Lampy (a desk lamp), Blanky (an electric blanket), Radio (a vacuum tube radio) and Kirby (a Kirby Model G4 vacuum cleaner) - on their quest to find their owner, Rob (also referred to as "The Master").The film was based on the novel of the same name, written by Disch, which first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1980.In 1988, it was the first animated film to be exhibited at the Sundance Film Festival, and the only one for ten years until 1998's I Married a Strange Person.Two of the voice actors, Jon Lovitz (Radio) and Phil Hartman (Air Conditioner/Hanging Lamp), were then-current cast members of Saturday Night Live and guest stars for The Simpsons later on. Another, Thurl Ravenscroft (Kirby), was best remembered as the voice of Tony the Tiger, and some voice works on classic Disney films.Many members of Pixar Animation Studios were involved with this film, including John Lasseter, whose trademark A113 appears on Master's door, and Joe Ranft.The film opens with a slow pan into a seemingly abandoned cabin in the woods with very calming music in the background. A radio activates and begins to give the news as the other appliances (a lamp, an electric blanket, a vacuum cleaner, an air conditioner, and a toaster) wake up. Viewers learn that they have been left in the woods for many years by their master, a young child. Every time a car passes, they swarm to an overlooking window, hoping that he has returned. This is to the great amusement of the Air Conditioner, who was always jealous that the master played more with the others than himself. When the others confront him when he claims that their master won't come back, he overheats in rage and explodes.After the five appliances find out that the cabin is for sale, implying the coming of a new master, Toaster announces that they must go out to find their own master. Using an office chair pulled by Kirby, the vacuum cleaner, and power supplied by a "JUNKO" car battery found in the cabin's cellar, the group sets out into the world, heading for the "City of Light"; the Radio acts as a navigator.That night, the appliances enact the first of many fights, having found themselves slightly off-course. Toaster suggests that they sleep until morning. Blanky (the electric blanket) crawls around the others, wanting to sleep with someone due to his habit, but is refused by all, even Toaster. He finally falls asleep hugging a picture of the master that he brought along.In the morning, the group finds themselves in a colorful meadow that is home to many curious animals who have presumably never seen appliances before. When their attention becomes too much for Toaster, he hides in the forest, only to find a lonely flower. The flower sees its reflection on Toaster's metal surface and embraces it. Toaster flees in confusion, only to look back to find the flower has wilted. Afterwards, he decides to be nicer to Blanky because of this.Leaving the meadow, the group camps out in the woods. Lampy, feeling awkward, asks Toaster the reason for which he is being kind to Blanky. After several failed attempts to explain by making similar emotions of compassion to warmth, Toaster describes the feeling he has as a glow. Lampy, understanding, recalls feeling the same way when he thinks about the master.Toaster then has a nightmare about being reunited with the master only to have him taken away by a puff of smoke. A demonic evil clown dressed as a firefighter then emerges and attacks the appliance with a stream of water in the form of flying forks. Toaster wakes up as he falls into a bathtub, to find that a storm is brewing in reality. Blanky is swept up by a gust of wind and disappears into the night. The others try to follow him, but their car battery ceases to support them. Remembering the description of compassion, Lampy points to the sky by acting as a lightning rod to conduct electricity and recharge their battery, but also breaking his bulb and collapsing.The next morning, Lampy is revived, but still burned and a tiny bit sick and Kirby helps Blanky out of a tree, into which he had been blown by the wind. However, although the others are friends now, the long-aloof Kirby still distances himself from them. When they reach a waterfall, Kirby almost swallows his own power cord. Kirby then says a speech about about how much he'd be better off without his friends. The group attempts to cross the waterfall by climbing across attached with their cords. Unfortunately, they slip and fall, leaving only Kirby on the cliffs as he watches the others plunge towards the water. The vacuum finally shows his love for his friends by leaping off the cliff himself and saving them. When they come to shore, they realize that, although safe, they are completely lost-in this case, a barren marsh.After the waterfall peril, Kirby slips and falls into a very thick tar pit, accidentally pulling the entire group into the pit. Radio is the last to submerge; he plays a final song ("My Mammy") as he sinks. A rotund man, Elmo St. Peters, overhears this and pulls the appliances out. They are taken to a junk shop, where they are told by the many appliances there that life is a precarious, frightening situation for them (like a "B-Movie"), largely because Elmo is prone to dismantle any appliance on which he lays his hands on and sells its components.To the appliances, a junk shop such as their location is like a butcher shop for appliances, with many parts lining the walls, from gears to batteries and such. This is further shown as after a customer arrives, he asks for a blender motor: Moments after a timid blender hides behind a box of corn flakes, They see the entire device being taken apart; Even Kirby shuts his eyes during this process. As Elmo leaves to give the customer his order, oil drips from the vice handle used to hold the blender in place, somewhat mimicking a horror movie scene where blood is dripping.The customer returns and asks for radio tubes, putting Radio in danger. As Elmo begins to cheerfully take him apart, the other four decide to break the unwritten appliance code of never coming to life in the presence of a human (or any other living thing, or organism)-quite similar to the scenario from Toy Story where the toys come to life to scare Sid away. They dress as a ghost to scare Elmo away. The plan works; the group (along with every other appliance in the shop) escapes. Traveling through the night in a baby stroller possibly containing another battery, they finally make it to the city.Meanwhile, we find the master, Rob, who is now eighteen and getting ready to leave for college. Because he needs appliances for his dormitory, he returns to the cabin in search of the protagonists.As Rob and his laconic girlfriend, Chris, leave, the appliances find their way to his apartment. The "Cutting Edge" appliances inside decide to dump the newcomers into a wastebin assuming Rob will take them to college instead because of their greater technological sophistication.Rob finds the cabin empty, fixes the Air Conditioner, and goes home in dejection. Hope is not lost; the Black and White TV, an old friend of the group who is now living in Rob's city house, broadcasts advertisements for the dump where the appliances have been taken ("Ernie's Disposal"), advertising it as an attractive store ("Crazy Ernie's Amazing Emporium of Total Bargain Madness") where Rob decides to go to buy replacements.The appliances, meanwhile, find themselves being stalked through the junkyard full of used cars by a Giant Magnetic Crane, who intends stubbornly to drop them into a Trash Compactor decorated to look like a monster. As the Crane grabs car after car, the cars sing their histories ("Worthless") to the dismayed protagonists. Rob arrives in time to save the appliances (aside from Toaster, whom he does not see). As he is leaving, the Magnet comes down and grabs them all, including Rob, and drops them on a conveyor belt delivering objects for the Trash Compactor. In an act of self-sacrifice, Toaster jumps into the Compactor's gears and manages to stop the machine from destroying his friends and the Master.Rob returns to the apartment with all of the appliances in tow, including the mangled Toaster. Despite Chris' skepticism, he then fixes Toaster and takes all of them to college with him.