The Brave Little Toaster - A Movie Review

Do you ever wonder if the appliances throw a party as soon as you leave the house?

Based on the book by the late Thomas M. Disch, The Brave Little Toaster is a 1987 animated film about five appliances traveling into the world to find their owner. Along this perilous journey, they encounter a waterfall, an evil shop appliance owner, but most importantly they learn about friendship.

When I was six years old, I watched The Brave Little Toaster every single day! There was even a day when I watched it twice! Yes, I was a big fan of this film. The Brave Little Toaster is a fun animated film with catchy songs, a message about friendship, and the importance of bravery.

Toaster, Blankey, Lampy, Radio, and Kirby (a vacuum cleaner) are appliances that share an unlikely friendship. Right off the bat, the film introduces us to the characters and their personalities, displaying how they relate to their position. The film does not shy away from showing their fights, disagreements, and how they don’t understand each other.

Making this journey helped them realize the hidden depths that they chose not to see. Because they never had to rely on one another before its a time to establish differences and work as a team.

I like how the central character is not the only one to get their time to shine. Each character reflects a moment of bravery. Toaster keeps the group together, declares the idea to go out and find their master, but he has his flaws. That is the best part of this movie. Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes. But we can work to fix those mistakes.

As the voices of the five appliances Deanna Oliver, Timothy E. Day, Tim Stack, Jon Lovitz, and the late Thurl Ravenscroft are spectacular. I especially loved Jon Lovitz as the quirky radio who always makes entertaining announcements. Other talents to include are Phil Hartman, Joe Ranft, Jonathan Benair, Wayne Kaatz, Colette Savage, and a number of other talents who brought this film to life.

I remember turning up the volume and danced around to the songs. My favorite scene of all is when the appliances do their chores as Radio plays Tutti Frutti by the late Little Richards. Other songs to include are ‘City of Light’, ‘It’s a B Movie’, ‘Cutting Edge’, and ‘Worthless’.

Animation for the film is well-crafted. The hand-drawn animation is rare these days. The animators must have had to think about how a lamp or a toaster would move on its own. That’s what I love about animated movies. It’s all about imagination.

Jerry Rees created a film for all generations to enjoy. Over time, the message of this film has evolved for me. As I have been trying to figure out why this movie had such an impact on me when I was six, I believe that it was the friendship of the five appliances.

I do have to say that this is more of a film for young adults than child audiences. The film is dark and contains scenes frightening for children. For example, the song ‘Worthless’ heavily contains references to suicide. The clown scene scared me as a kid.

Despite how this movie has become dated, it’s still a fun film to see how technology has changed over the last three decades. We have become more and more attached to technology.

The Brave Little Toaster will always be one of my favorite childhood films. It is an unforgettable work of animation. I recommend that you watch this film if you have not seen it.