The Brave Little Toaster

The Brave Little Toaster is a 1987 feature film released by Disney and Hyperion Studios. It is based on the novella of the same name by Thomas S. Disch.

Plot
In the movie a toaster named Toaster, a blanket named Blanky, a lamp named Lampy, a radio named Radio, and a vacum cleaner named Kirby awake in a cabin in the woods to find their master gone. They hear a car outside but when Blanky looks out the window he notices that the car is leaving and goes to get a picture of the master and begins to cry much to Kirby's disturbance who tries to grab the picture from Blanky which causes the frame to break but the picture isn't broken. They soon come face to face with Air Conditioner who is mean to them because the Master never played with him like he did them that he tells the Gang that the Master isn't coming back and then he blows up in angerness. Soon the gang hears another car approaching but when they look out the window together they find out that it's a Real Estate Man putting up a FOR SALE sign and now they know that the Master is gone. The Toaster decides that they should go to the city and find the Master. They use an electric chair which Kirby pulls to travel. That night they camp in a clearing. Blanky tries to snuggle up with someone but noone will let him snuggle up with him so he goes to sleep sadly with noone to snuggle up to. The next day they come to a meadow where they meet a bunch of animals who fasinate their reflections in Toaster and some mice befriend Blanky until they try to pull him down a hole and try to eat his picture of the Master. Shortly afterwards they continue their journey and travel into a dark forest where they camp under Blankey. Toaster thanks Blankey for letting them camp underneth him and he snuggles with him which remainds Lampy of the time when his bulb burned out and the master put in a new bulb and Lampy just glew. That night Toaster has a bad nightmare that a Firefighter Clown kidnaps their Master and that Toaster falls into a bathtub. When Toaster and the gang awake it's raining and Blanky gets blowing up in the trees and the gang can't see him because of the darkness and Lampy's lightbulb goes out. The next day the gang still searches for Blanky and finds him up in a tree nearby and Kirby rescues him. As they continue their journey they come across a waterfall and when they try to get across it with Kirby's help Toaster, Lampy, Radio, Blanky and the electric chair all fall into the water. Kirby jumps in and saves them all. When he brings them ashore Toaster walks away sadly because he believes that he's gotten the gang lost but comes back to help pull Kirby along but as they do Kirby falls back into the water and sinks as do Toaster, Blanky and Lampy. Just as Radio is about to do the same a man named Elmo St.Peters pulls the applances out and puts them into the back of his big red pickup truck and takes them to a parts store. Once there they meet a Ceiling Lamp who gives Lampy a new lightbulb and tells them that StPeters is quite an amazing fellow. The gang watch in horror as StPeters takes a blender apart and sells it's motor to a costumer. Knowing what their fate is the gang try to escape but StPeters comes back and tries to take Radio apart to sell his tubes to the same costumer who bought the blender motor. With an idea from Lampy the gang manage to scare StPeters and knock him out, rescue Radio, and escape the parts store as do the other applances who were all ready in the store. Meanwhile Rob the Master is living in an apartment in the city with his Mom and is packing to go to college. His girlfriend Chris comes to pick him up to take him to the cabin and pick up the radio, toaster, blanet, lamp, and vacum cleaner so Rob can use them at the dorm at his college. Shortly afterwards the gang arrives at the apartment but find out that the Master isn't there and decide to wait for him there. The other applances in the apartment are jealous of the Master's likes for the Toaster and his friends and throw the gang into a dumpster to Ernie's Disposal hoping they will get taken to the dorm by the Master. At the cabin the Master doesn't find the applances but manages to fix Air Conditioner who comes back to life happily and the Master returns sadly to his apartment in the city. At Ernie's Disposal which turns out to be a junkyard the gang watches in horror as a Giant Magnet picks up old cars and puts them on a machine that crushes them to peaces. At the apartment the Master sees a commercial for Ernie's Disposal on the Black and White Television and has Chris take him there. Once there the Master finds Radio, Kirby, Blanky, and Lampy but just as he's picking them up the Giant Manget picks him and the applances up and puts them on the machine but just as the machine is about to crush them Toaster jumps on and manages to stop it. At the apartment Rob fixes Toaster and puts him and the other applances in Chris' car and they head off to college. The applances are happy they completed their mission and found the Master and they can't wait to have more adventures at the Master's College.

Cast
Deanna Oliver - Toaster

Timothy E. Day - Blanky/Young Master

Jon Lovitz - Radio

Timothy Stack - Lampy

Thurl Ravenscroft - Kirby

Phil Hartman - Air Conditioner/Hanging Lamp

Joe Ranft - Elmo St. Peters

Wane Kaatz - The Master

Colette Savage - Chris

Mindy Stern - Rob's Mother

Production
The story was bought by the Disney Studios in 1982 and John Lasseter and Thomas L. Wilhite wanted to make an animated feature of it with 2D/3D animation but with a dislike for the story from animation administrator and former Disney CEO Ron Miller John Lasseter was fired from Disney Studios and the Hyperion Pictures company took the project with them but Disney managed to back the project and Hyperion Pictures produced the film and Disney distributed it. Jerry Rees a friend of John Lasseter was chosen to direct the film and wrote the screenplay along with Disney Storyman Joe Ranft.

Release and Reception
The Brave Little Toaster was released on July 10th 1987 and made its way to the Sundance Film Festival the following year. The film became a cult favorite with audience and got a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Washington Post called it a kid's film made without condescension. It was followed by two sequels The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars and The Brave Little Toaster To the Rescue.

Songs
City of Light

It's a 'B' Movie

Cutting Edge

Worthless

Chomp And Munch

Trivia
Jon Lovitz the voice of Radio and Phil Hartman the voice of Air Conditioner both starred on Saturday Night Live during the making of this film.

"A113", the number that appeared on the Master's Door at his apartment was the number of John Lasseter's room at CAL Arts College. It has since appeared in every Pixar film as a reference to the same studio room.