The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue - A Movie Review

It’s up to us to save the animals. How many appliances have done that?

The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue is a 1997 sequel to the 1987 original. In the final week of his college semester, the worst thing possible happens. Losing his thesis to a widespread computer virus, the appliances want to help their master. Not only that but a plan to kidnap the animals in the veterinarian's office is devised.

Depending on who you ask, everyone will agree that The Brave Little Toaster was my childhood. Once I found out that there were two sequels, I know that six-year-old me was ecstatic. While the sequels may not have been a hit, To The Rescue is a strong character study.

The friendship between the five appliances has grown since the first film. They work together, understand the best ways to cheer one another up, and still have occasional bickers. Any friendship does. Most importantly, they learn from each other.

Nobody talks about how the appliance's friendship has evolved since the first movie. I love how Lampy travels from the master's dorm to the vet office just to be with his friends on weekends or even at night. It’s a strong example of the growth of their friendship.

I also noticed different characteristics of the appliances, mainly Blanky and Kirby. I honestly prefer Blanky’s character in the sequels to his whiny personality from the first film. As for Kirby, he isn’t given much to do in both sequels other than question everything. As a kid, I was rolling around laughing when he chased Mac around the room.

The character dynamics are my favorite aspect of this film. A set of animals with different personalities are looked after by Rob. They all have a story. Ratso is my favorite. Due to being a rat, he hasn’t experienced fair treatment. His character growth is strong.

Rob and Chris are given more screen time to let their characters evolve. I never took the time to pay attention to their arc because I was focused on the appliances.

The voice cast for To the Rescue includes several notable talents. Deanna Oliver, Tim Stack, and Thurl Ravenscroft return as voices. New credits include Roger Kabler, Eric Lloyd, Jessica Tuck, Chris Young, Andy Milder, Brian Doyle-Murray, Eddie Deezan, and the late Eddie Bracken.

The story is a little weak at some points but that doesn’t ruin it. It’s a kid's film. Kids' films are allowed to be as over the top as they want. The bad guy is written with obvious villain cliches from the beginning. That line, ‘I’m so bad’ was not necessary.

It’s the songs that aren’t fully needed. Since the original film had songs I can see why writers wanted to add them for the sequels. ‘Remember That Day’ is the best. Although random, 'Super Highway’ is a catchy tune.

Robert C. Ramirez and Patrick A. Ventura matched the tone and also the theme of friendship. Though it lacks adventure compared to the original. The film has its flaws, but the humor was on point. I laughed at a few jokes.

One scene completely moved me to tears when I was young. As noted by the title, bravery is a noteworthy theme across these films. This moment stands out more than all the brave moments in the series that doesn’t involve Toaster. Be warned, that the scene may be heavy for young children.

As silly as they are, these are fun films for children. The Brave Little Toaster franchise is entertaining for all kids. Go and binge the films. You will not regret it.