Alright I've got another new Underrated Films review, and this time it's for an animated movie. Which I haven't done in two years. So yeah, long overdue and it's time to fix that.
The Brave Little Toaster is an independent animated musical adventure film based on Thomas M. Disch's 1980 novella of the same name. Production was done by The Kushner-Locke Company and Hyperion Pictures the latter of which was also the distributor. Jerry Rees directed and wrote the story with Joe Ranft and Brian McEntee.
The story is, five anthropomorphic household appliances named Toaster, Blanky, Kirby, Radio, and Lampy are waiting for a boy named they call "The Master" to return to the cabin his family use to vacation at. But after waiting so many years they've had enough and set out to find "The Master" for one big reunion.
Why It's Underrated
It just doesn't get enough attention. Whenever I see best animated movies I rarely see this one on countdowns. I didn't know about it until 2002 when I was scrolling through the guide on the old TV we use to have and saw the title when I scrolled to Disney Channel.
My Thoughts
If there's one slight issue I have it's the songs. There's only a total a four songs but I only remember two of them. One being "It's a B-Movie" and the other is "Worthless". The other two I'm drawing a blank on.
One positive you gotta give is the creativity. I would've never thought of making a movie animated or otherwise about ordinary household appliances. Who would've? Who would've thought to themselves "How do we make a toaster go on an exciting adventure?" But the filmmakers pulled it off. There's a lot of times when I actually felt worried about one of them getting hurt or worse die.
Speaking of death I gotta give the movie credit for not being afraid to have more mature material. Hell they movie isn't even afraid to show some appliances die, truly die. But even when there's no death the movie also tackles themes of friendship, usefulness, and feeling forgotten. Pretty good stuff for a movie where the filmmakers could've easily have gone down the laziest and most clichéd direction.
I also want to praise the characters. They all have easy but pretty realistic personalities. Blanky's the innocent kid, Kirby is grouchy, Lampy isn't the brightest (gotta love the irony in that), Toaster is well the brave one, and Radio is the talkative one. But what was also great about them was their development. Because of their different personalities often times they get into fights with one another. That not only makes their friendship believable but it also makes us relieved when they're on the same page or truly care about each other.
The last thing I'll praise is the animation. While not as polished as many other 80's animated movies, the animation is still a joy to watch. The expressive movements and facial expressions gives everyone their own personality.
When I was a kid I couldn't believe how good this movie was, and now as a man I can't believe how good this movie is. It's one of my favorite animated movies that doesn't come from Disney or DreamWorks.
My final rating is, Great.
That's gonna do it for me. Come back on Thursday, Aug 20th, for yet another installment of the Road to Avengers: Doomsday. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.
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