limelemonrocks The Brave Little Toaster is a film I loved when I was younger but now, it's just average. This movie is about five appliances, a toaster, a vacuum, a radio, a lamp, and a blanket who go into the city to find they're master because when he was younger, he wasn't taking care of his appliances. Willard Carol was the producer of The Brave Little Toaster, and the creator for Oz Kids believe it or not. This movie had some greta voice cast like Jon Lovitz, Thrul Ravenscott, and Phil Hartman. I found this film to be very funny at times, and it's also a little scary at parts. One of the reasons I only five this 6 out of 10 stars is this film wasn't as good as The Lion King. I guess The Lion King is better because, it has a better story, songs, characters, animation, and it's more popular. Decent film, not bad or great either.

Theflyace Sometimes there comes a film that falls under the radar, despite earning positive reviews from many important critics. The Brave Little Toaster is a gem of creativity from a team of Disney animators independently of their corporate masters which never got the release it so richly deserves. Thanks to its smart writing, near-perfect direction, a glowing voice cast, and not half-bad animation, Toaster is cooked to the right shade of entertainment. In an isolated summer cabin, five anthropomorphic household appliances (a toaster, a vacuum, a desk lamp, a radio, and an electric blanket) wait forlornly in anticipation for the return of "The Master," a little boy whom they formed a bond with before his "2,000 day" disappearance with his family. Fed up with waiting, Toaster (outstandingly voiced by Deanna Oliver) decides its time for them to set out toward the "City of Light" to find him. Their journey includes the stuff of adventure including appliance mutilation at a parts shop, a waterfall, evil modern appliances, and a sadistic junkyard magnet. Along the way, they learn to deal with their differences and band together to get home.This film, based from the novella by Thomas M. Disch, was originally a vehicle for a young animator's directorial debut. That animator was John Lasseter, who sought to combine 2-D characters on a computer background in-house at Disney. Unfortunately, Disney's films were in the malaise era, therefore it's penny-pinching management pulled the plug on the project and fired Lasseter from his job. The project was then taken to independent studio Hyperion, where it ended up in the hands of Lasseter's good friends, animators Jerry Rees (Tron) and Joe Ranft (later Pixar writer) who transformed the novella into a smart screenplay that, unlike Disney, wasn't afraid to take risks with its imagery or ideas. Despite a budget that is practically an eighth of what it takes to produce decent animation, the heart and creativity gives it that special edge.What sets this film apart from other animated films during that time, and even some features nowadays is the way Rees and Ranft got a handle on their characters. Just like the finest work at Pixar (where Lasseter and Ranft expanded on these achievements even more) each character has a special personality, and has the voice cast to match. The cast includes great voice actors and some great comedians, like SNL alums Jon Lovitz (as the loud and bombastic Radio) and Phil Hartman (who hilariously impersonates both Jack Nicholson and Peter Lorre in great cameos), Disney/Tony the Tiger voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft as the rumbling vacuum Kirby, Groundlings Deanna Oliver and Tim Stack as Toaster and Lampy, respectively, and Timothy E. Day as the sweetly innocent Blanky.What makes Toaster very unique is its unabashed ventures into nightmarish imagery and scary sequences. There are plenty to go around in this movie, which some have seen as totally unnecessary and cruel. However, they're no scarier than the original Disney features, which themselves dabbled in darker images to offset the whimsy and sweetness. These scenes also add to the emotions of the journey that anything may face. I must say the darkest, but also the best, has to be the Junkyard sequence which is accompanied by the Van Dyke PArks song "Worthless," which evokes more emotion in five minutes than many features can't achieve in two hours. This movie has all the right elements that work to a very good degree. David Newman and Van Dyke Parks' score and songs are pretty impressive, and dare I say brilliant. Jerry Rees' direction is pitch-perfect, the writing is good, the characters are good, its good to look at. This is a good, and very underrated movie. Give it a watch, and you will not be disappointed.

skysearch Well I'm glad this review allows for some level of anonymity, because what comes next could get me cast in one of those unmanly beer commercials. As the Dad of two, I've probably been forced to watch ~100 animated films. The BLT is without question in my top 5… and the same goes for my kids, who wanted to watch it over and over again. Yes, the title and premise are silly enough, but what's really wimpy is how emotionally attached you become with the characters. In the classic mold of "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Incredible Journey", this band of vulnerable underdogs is determined to reach their destination, and have to overcome all kinds of obstacles. I think it's an especially great move for little ones, with just the right amount of drama and suspense… though some parts might be a little scary for the overly sensitive. The music is really catchy also, and unfortunately, have found myself singing it in business meetings, lunches and while hanging out with friends in the man cave; NOT GOOD!

Illyngophobia To my memory, this was one of the first animated movies I grew up with as a child. And it's still as moving, powerful and entertaining now, as it was when I was young.TBLT is one of the most underrated movies that I've ever seen,and it's such a shame that it doesn't get the recognition it deserves, especially with a mediocre rating on Rotten Tomatos. The movie may seem to be a typical animated movie; with cutesy scenes and diverse characters for the kids, and that humor that it seemed only our parents would get. But that's not true at all. Just like how this may have been my first animated movie, it was also my first adult movie. This is one of the first and probably one of the few or only animated movie I've seen that was very complex and had a lot of depth to it. For "kids" standards, this was a very dark movie.Two scenes that seems to stick with a lot of people is the "death" of Air Conditioner, who overheats after being ridiculed by the other characters because their master never played with him and when one of the main characters, Lampy sacrifices himself to recharge their dead car battery during a lightning storm.But for me, one of the most memorable and most touching, moving and saddest scene is the infamous flower scene; where Toaster is in behind a shrub and sees a lonely flower under a bright light. The flower mistakes Toaster's reflection for another flower and falls in love with it. After Toaster tells the flower that its only a reflection, the flower dies before Toaster's eyes.All of these scenes (Especially the flower scene) are made even more touching and moving thanks to the beautiful music by David Newman. When we aren't being taken away by beautiful score; we're being entertained by fun and crazed songs such as "More", a song that screams the 1980s about how technology becoming obsolete. "Worthless", a song highlighting the accomplishments and failures of junkyard cars before their deaths and "City of Light", which plays as Toaster and the others are making their way to the city to find their master,Rob.Thomas Disch, the author of the book passed away 2008; but his work and legacy lives on. Thank you Mr.Disch for shaping my childhood.