If you grew up in the ’80s or ’90s you may remember a little film called The Brave Little Toaster. It was a heartwarming Pixar prototype that involved household appliances that were abandoned by their owners at a vacation house. This movie was meant for children, and even has a Toy Story kind of vibe even though it was conceptualized and produced years prior. Think about it, there were what were considered to be inanimate objects that came to life when their owners weren’t around, and they all had distinct personalities and a penchant for adventure. The only difference is that The Brave Little Toaster often took turns around very dark corners– corners that would even be considered extreme for an adult audience.
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While the overall resolution of the film is optimistic, we have to not think of the destination, but rather the journey. Through their abandonment, their emotional breakdowns, and their game plan to find their owners and finally go home, there are sequences that are absolutely jarring, and most viewers who grew up watching this film still shudder when they think about some of the sequences in this film. So let’s have a “toast’ for some of the underlying horror that could be found in The Brave Little Toaster, and talk about how dark this “kids movie” really gets.
The Air Conditioner Blowout
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Firstly, let’s talk about how strikingly similar the air conditioner sounds to the voice of Jack Nicholson (actually voiced by Phil Hartman doing a Nicholson impersonation). When Toaster, Blanky, Lampy, Radio, Plugsy, Kirby, and the Radio all start plotting to escape the vacation home and find their owner, the scene is interrupted by a manic and jarring laughter. This laughter is coming from the Air Conditioner, the one appliance that is mounted into the wall and cannot leave. When the gang tries to calm him down, he short circuits and blows out entirely; his face contorts, and he bellows and contorts angrily as he lets out his final breaths. Air Conditioner Dies in the wall, and he’s left behind early on in the film. It’s safe to say that Air Conditioner conditioned the younger audience of this film to treat household appliances with a little more kindness after viewing The Brave Little Toaster.
The Clown Fire Dream Sequence
When Toaster drifts off into a restful sleep, he has the nightmare that ends up haunting an entire generation of children into never wanting to make toast again. It starts off peaceful enough. The “master,” Rob, was making toast, and happily making silly faces in the reflection of the toaster, but it doesn’t take long for our innocence to be taken away. Smoke starts pouring out of the electric socket, and a towering clown that would make Pennywise blush rises out of the smoke holding a hose and a fork only before getting right up in Toaster’s face and whispering “run” through his teeth. Toaster runs off, but next thing he knows he’s hanging high above a pool of water, and he can’t hold on for much longer before dropping into certain death. Luckily, this harrowing piece of nightmare fuel was in fact a nightmare, and we’re brought back to reality after being scarred for life.
The Shopkeeper Gutting the Appliances for Parts
When a happy repair shopkeeper takes all the battered appliances into his shop, he’s unaware that the gang is sentient. He’s a happy-go-lucky, pot-bellied man trying to make ends meet, and he’s overly enthusiastic about his job. If a customer needs a blender motor, he just goes into the back and disembowels a blender, and wraps up the part for his customer. From the gang’s perspective, they’re literally witnessing murder at the hands of a man who’s having a little too much fun dismembering their friends and selling their parts to the public. In a sense, we can’t really put fault on the shopkeeper. He’s not aware that these appliances are living and breathing beings. He’s just trying to make a living. But the viewer knows, and it’s unnerving to see this scene play out.
The Junkyard
When the gang ends up in a junkyard, cars break out in song singing about how worthless they are as they get systematically smashed to bits. Once again, the gang witnesses the whole scene play out in horror. They hear the origin stories of the cars. They all started out with promise, and had fulfilling lives before ending up here, sending the message to all that it doesn’t matter where you come from, you’re going to end up here sooner or later. The gang of misfit appliances all have the look on their faces as if they know they’re next, and as the scene plays out, the viewer is also about to make the same assumption. The most unnerving part of all is how upbeat the musical number is while the animation plays out a scene of total carnage and destruction. If you thought the furnace scene from Toy Story 3 was a bummer, then you haven’t seen The Brave Little Toaster.
A Happy Ending?
While all the appliances are worse for wear by the end of the film, their Master Rob does end up finding them and bringing them to his new college dorm, giving them a second chance. Once again, the destination ends up giving us a happy ending, but the journey along the way had scarier moments than some horror films made specifically for adults.
