The Brave Little Toaster

The animated movie of this title is actually based on a science fiction story by Thomas M. Disch, first published in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine after being rejected by several publishers as an independent book. It won the 1981 British Science Fiction Award, and after that was optioned by Disney, so it could not be published in book format until the film was released. It was finally published as a children's book in 1986 (the movie came out in 1987), and in 1988 a sequel was published, "The Brave Little Toaster Goes To Mars." This was also made into an animated movie, but the third movie, "The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue" was not written by Disch.

I watched this movie when I was a young boy, and found it entertaining. As I reflect on it as an adult, however, I find it a strange surrealist propoganda for materialism and hording of empty, meaningless possessions.

As a child does, the young viewer places himself in the boys shoes...whos parents have packed him up and moved from one town to another. Instead of missing his friends or teachers or geographic features he held fondly...he misses his vapid, trifling things.

Fortunately for him, inanimate objects in this strange world are clandestinely alive, and dearly wish the boy back. So they set out to travel the incalcuable distance in order to bask again in the loving light of their previous owner.

The plot is, actually, now that I think of it, quite similiar to a later Disney film, Toy Story 2. Myself being the cynic I am, I hope they come out with a version in which all the items are boxed up, napalmed, then burned by the boy. As the brave little toaster and his little pals scream as they're consumed in the flames, the boy realizes they are alive and takes joy in their pain. Now there's an ending I'd like to see; but Disney ain't got the balls for it.