Film

The Brave Little Toaster

Name: The Brave Little Toaster
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy, Family
Released: 1987
Cast: Deanna Oliver, Jon Lovitz, Timothy Stack, Phil Hartman, Timothy E. Day

A 1987 animated film where five household appliances—a toaster, radio, lamp, blanket, and vacuum—embark on a cross-country journey to reunite with their young owner. It's whimsical and oddly touching, treating inanimate objects with genuine emotional weight. A cult classic that appeals to both children and adults nostalgic for pre-digital companionship.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you miss the gentle, slightly melancholy charm of old hand-drawn cartoons and don't mind your fantasy with a lump in its throat.

Skip it if you want sharp pacing or slick modern animation, since this is a gentle, rambling road trip that favours mood over momentum.

What it asks of you: Ninety unhurried minutes, light in tone but wistful underneath, with a small-scale world you settle into rather than get swept along by.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Toy Story1995

The spiritual successor: toys with distinct personalities on a quest to reach their beloved owner. Same emotional engine, stunning animation leap, and real stakes beneath the humor. Pixar perfected what Toaster pioneered.

But If you want pure whimsy without darker turns, Toy Story's existential dread and body horror moments might unsettle you.

Watership Down1978

British animated epic where animals undertake an odyssey driven by genuine peril and emotional stakes. Gorgeous, haunting, surprisingly brutal—proves animation can devastate adults while enchanting children.

But The violence is real and unapologetic. Rabbits die badly. It's not the cozy adventure the premise suggests.

The NeverEnding Story1984

A boy and a magical creature journey together against despair itself. Same bittersweet tone, practical effects that age beautifully, and the understanding that growing up means losing something precious.

But Pacing drags in places. The second half loses momentum, and some of the practical puppetry looks dated even by 80s standards.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Brave Little Toaster

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Koyaanisqatsi1983

Both films treat the relationship between humans and objects as philosophically rich; Koyaanisqatsi asks what happens when that bond tips from companionship into consumption.

A feature-length avant-garde meditation on humanity's relationship with technology and nature, shot without dialogue and set to Philip Glass's hypnotic score. It reverses Toaster's premise: instead of appliances yearning for human connection, it shows humans increasingly consumed by machines.

But It has no plot, no characters, no conventional narrative structure. If you need story to sustain attention, you'll find it tedious rather than transcendent.

An American Tail1986

Animated mouse immigrant seeks his family across dangerous America with pluck and heart. Spielberg's earnest belief that small creatures deserve epic journeys; Bluth's draftsmanship is magnificent throughout.

But The sentimentality is thick. If you need irony in your family entertainment, this will feel treacly and manipulative.

The Black Cauldron1985

Dark Disney fantasy with real menace and animation that still astounds. A pig and a boy battle genuine evil; the film trusts its young audience to handle actual stakes and atmospheric dread.

But It's genuinely unsettling. The villain is grotesque and the tone is heavier than most '80s children's films—some kids find it frightening rather than thrilling.

The Secret of NIMH1982

A mouse widow fights to save her family with courage and ingenuity. Hand-drawn animation of stunning technical ambition; treats rodent characters with the dramatic weight of Shakespearean heroes.

But Animation quality is uneven in places. The plot becomes convoluted in the third act, and some pacing issues test patience.

Spirited Away2001

A child navigates a magical world populated by spirits and strange beings with her wits and heart. Miyazaki's masterpiece about displacement and love; the animation moves like nothing else, and it earned every accolade.

But Subtitled, operatic, and deliberately paced. If you need constant action and Western narrative structure, its dreamy logic will frustrate you.

The Tale of Despereaux2008

A small mouse with big dreams navigates a storybook kingdom to save what he loves. Gorgeously designed, emotionally intelligent, and genuinely funny without ever winking at the camera.

But It's syrupy and earnest to a degree that will feel cloying if you're skeptical of sentiment. The animation, while pretty, isn't as inventive as it aspires to be.

Charlotte's Web2006

A pig and a spider's friendship across species and mortality itself. Faithful to the novel's quiet devastation; the voice cast (especially Julia Roberts and Dakota Fanning) grounds the fantasy in genuine feeling.

But The animation is functional but pedestrian. It prioritizes emotional faithfulness over visual innovation, which some find dull.

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya2013

Both treat childhood wonder and the ache of separation with equal seriousness; both ask what we're willing to lose to stay connected to those we love.

A girl of supernatural origin must navigate the human world and the expectations placed upon her. Isao Takahata's final film is hand-painted animation of staggering beauty; every frame is a watercolor. It's about belonging and the cost of it.

But It's contemplative and elegiac—a film about loss disguised as a fairy tale. The pace is glacial and there are no rousing action sequences, only the slow ache of understanding.

The Secret of Kells2009

Both feature a young human bonded to a non-human companion; both insist that the real journey isn't geographical but emotional—about learning what deserves your loyalty.

An Irish animated film about a boy, a fairy, and an illuminated manuscript. Hand-drawn in a style that feels like Celtic knotwork brought to life—visually unlike anything else, with genuine stakes and a protagonist who must choose between safety and purpose.

But The Irish setting and mythology are dense and require engagement. If you're looking for the broad comedy and accessibility of mainstream animation, this will feel oblique.