 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Brave Little Toaster
- Review Date: May 19, 2003
- NR
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 1987
Common Sense Media says
Appliances make a suspenseful, incredible journey.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is the rare instance of a non-pet or child-based animated film. Appliances that are imbued with likable personalities and voices struggle with feelings of abandonment and obsolescence, and decide to set out into the city to find their master, the young boy who used to visit the summer cottage where they've been left. The movie has some funny moments but feels more like a journey film than a comedy, as the friends face and overcome some genuinely disturbing challenges. Appliances are dropped into waterfalls, sucked into quicksand, disarticulated, and chased by a malicious supermagnet at a dump.
What's the story?
Abandoned by the little boy they refer to as "the master" (voiced by Timothy Day), small cottage appliances work together to track him down in the big city. Along the way, they face unfriendly terrain, greedy repair-shop parts hunters, and jealous city appliances.
Is it any good?
Disney's THE BRAVE LITTLE TOASTER, which was written by sci-fi writer Thomas M. Disch, makes the audience root for the appliances and their plucky determination. It also opens the door to a dialogue about the disposable culture in which we live, where appliances can be dumped in favor of a newer model even when they work just fine. The animation seems a bit dated and grainy, but it somehow acts to reinforce the notion that the appliances are out of pace with their city competitors.
Visual comedy is at a minimum, though the scenes of the appliances considering different transportation modes (pogo sticks, refrigerators on wheels) are funny. Most of the humor comes from the smartly written dialogue and Radio (Jon Lovitz) runs away with all the good lines, as when he tells shorted-out Kirby to recover by making "even carpet sweeping motions!" Another nice touch is the appliances who seem to be channeling Hollywood celebrities, like the air conditioner who sounds suspiciously like Jack Nicholson. Children younger than 5 might enjoy the story but be frightened by the strong imagery -- even if it's just appliances being hurt, they're appliances the audience grows to care about.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how the friends worked together to travel from the country cottage to the city; What obstacles did they overcome? How did each of their skills -- Kirby's strength, Radio's navigational abilities -- contribute to them finding the master? What are some good things about using older items instead of buying new -- from an economic, environmental, and/or emotional standpoint?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
DO NOT LET LITTLE CHILDREN SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!
When I was around 6, my mother left me in the nursery while she went shopping at the grocery store, and the babysitter let us watch this movie. I was TRAUMATIZED when I saw it. It gave me nightmares for weeks. These scenes include the air conditioner blowing up, the lamp getting struck by lightning, the infamous clown scene (which made me cry), and the scene where the cars were being smashed by the compactor.
The scene with the compactor was the worst. About 8 cars are crushed into little tiny cubes that looked like bouillion cubes. Moreover, the cars are singing about death on the way to the compactor, and there is this big magnet picking them up that has these menacing eyes. Also, the compactor has these really menacing teeth that repeatedly open and close as the cars are being brought to it. This scene was entirely inappropriate for a children's film, as the cars are anthropomorphic in nature and you grow to care for them just before their lives are cut tragically short (I'm 22 years old and I still get tears in my eyes when I think about it. Maybe I'm just too sensitive).
Anyway, I say all of that to tell parents not to let little children see this movie. At an older age they may be able to handle it, but why would they want to? There are so many better cartoons out there.
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AGE
Favorite
This was always one of my favorite movies. Though last year when I had to junk my car I couldn't help but go back to the scene in the movie when they are in the junk yard and the cars are singing about how they used to be top of the line but now are worthless...
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AGE
A good movie for the family
But here's a recommendation, if your kids scare easy, have a parents watch this with them because there are some scary moments in this movie but nothing too frightening. I personally like the dark and depressing theme this movie has because it's very accurate with not only our throwaway society (And it makes us appreciate old appliances) but some of the appliances, cars especially, relate to real types of people. Also, the songs are the most unique you'll ever hear from Disney. Uusually, the rhythm is Disney is always beautiful and classical, but in this movie, you get a big combination of instruments and most of the time, a hint of funk which is weird for this kinda concept. Interesting fact: Most of the people who worked on the animations work for pixar now. Also, Jon Lovitz=instant win.
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AGE
I have to admit, this movie scared me so much as a child; I was young and sensitive so the movie's darker moments (especially a scene near the end) left a big impression on me. I would hide in my closet and cry when my mom tried to get me to watch it again. For this reason I cannot recommend it to very young viewers or very sensitive viewers; the imagery does stick with you.
However, I would encourage everyone else to watch it. This is one of those movies that gets better as you grow older. The main characters are likable and fun; they act like a family and stick together during tough times and even when they do not like each other.(Though they've been abandoned, they don't abandon each other.) The toaster even gets some character development during a certain scene and starts treating the blanket nicer. (The vacuum cleaner and the lamp also have their heroic scenes, as well as the toaster at the end; hence the title!)
Those same darker moments that used to scare me so much now get me to thinking about possible deeper meanings: for example the cars' stories, the A/C's fit, and the lonely flower. (IMDb has some great theories about these.) Of course, this movie also has some really light parts, the appliances clean the cottage to Tutti Frutti, they have some cute conversations, and nearly everything the radio says is hilarious especially if you get the references.
(Note that the radio does say d___ and h___ while quoting a line from Moby D--k in the waterfall scene if that is a concern for you.) (EDIT - Sorry for the obvious censoring; the site won't let me post the book's title!)
Overall, I give this movie a ten. It's a great heartwarming adventure story that's surprisingly dark for a children's film. If you want to show it too a kid, just make sure they are mature enough to handle it and you're all set!
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AGE
Uh.. I watched it when I was little but I"m not sure that all kids should.
This movie has a dark edge that can leave even adults moderately disturbed. One thing the common sense review didn't mention was the language. I think it's pretty bad for a young kid's movie: I know I noticed the number of times they said "stupid" and "idiot" and "shut up" when I was a little kid, because I wasn't allowed to say that.
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Very Scary for Small children.
This is the "Eraserhead" of kids movies. But it rocks. Watch it.
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Too scary for kids
There is a clown fireman in this movie that I was shocked not to read about in the violence review. It's scene is NOT appropriate for the age group this movie was made for. It appears out of smoke, with a huge red smile and green horns, holding sharp objects while looming above the viewer, then it leans forwards and urges to to "run" in a harsh whisper. I'm not joking, it made me cry for hours. It is not violent, but it gave me nightmares for five years. It is truly terrifying, and I didn't scare easily (I watched Jurassic Park, and Jaws as some of my favorite movies.) DO NOT make the mistake of letting children under nine see this. It scared me for life (so far).
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AGE
i liked it
it's a goodfilm for kids, but after being scared when a toaster and vacuum nearly get crushed after a long line of sad broken cars, they'll soon realize that appliances don't move nor talk. and that flowers fall in love with their reflections, then wither and die. kinda sad, really...
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AGE
I agree about the clown. I am 12, and it nearly scared me to DEATH! I am a DUDE! This demon is extremely freaky. Even if you are mature, do NOT let the easily scared see this
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AGE
This Movie is Da Shizzz!
I loved this movie like it was my own child! It probably had somethin' ta do wit da fact that me idol, Jon Lovitz was in it! 5 stars!
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| Studio: | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Director: | Jerry Rees |
| Cast: | Deanna Oliver, Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 90 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | July 10, 1987 |
| DVD release date: | September 2, 2003 |
| MPAA rating: | NR |
| MPAA explanation: | not rated |
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