Post "Ramble: Brave Little Toaster" by "JennyNicholson" from patreon

Occa Americana

This video is a JEM

t0adgh0st

Extremely late to this but I think the scene with the AC exploding was the first time I experienced real anxiety and I don't think ive ever been truly calm since. I think the other scary parts freaked me out but the AC altered my brain chemistry for life.

Knox

I was so endeared by Jenny getting emotional about the toasters being proud of the Master growing up happy

PikaLeaf

Yeah, I've never had another kind of toaster lol.

Firiel Gardner

To my memory literally every family I knew growing up had a regular toaster. I'm a housecleaner now and every house has a toaster as well. Maybe it's a California thing, but I feel like actual toaster ovens are way more rare here (or I'll see them in office spaces and stuff but not for home use as much).

Magistrissa

Chicken Run too, I was always very scared of the pie factory. (I still love that movie)

Markus D

We had a discussion about that "to the showers" line in earlier comments, and it was agreed upon that it's probably just the sports metaphor about being "done" and not that the writers thought they should bring up the Holocaust in The Brave Little Toaster of all things.

Markus D

Toaster ovens are basically just "what if oven, but smaller?" Honestly, air fryers are kind of like that too, but specifically a convection oven.

Markus D

It's not. If you look at other comments, basically everyone is like "what are you talking about, Jenny?" I'm Canadian, and while some people (like myself) just have toaster ovens, I grew up regularly seeing four-slice toasters like that.

Valentine

its definitely not a rich person thing, toaster ovens arent that expensive. they might be more expensive than a toaster but they are also way more versatile. theyre basically like when you want to heat something up quickly, so you dont wanna start the oven, but you also dont want it to be all sad and soggy like some stuff gets in a microwave.

Valentine

i had no idea what she was talking about when she said that cuz like, i have a toaster oven now but i grew up with a toaster like that, and so did like literally everyone i know. most people i know still have them and dont have a toaster oven at all. maybe its a cali thing.

Amber

I was today years old when I learned that not all toasters look like that. Maybe it's an aussie thing...

Penny Cain

The movies theme is *Environmentalism*. They just don’t have much to say about it. Feel bad about landfills, feel bad about consumerism, feel bad about the whales. Skks Skks skks

Corie

I just heard that, and am also concerned about the lamp's comment about "the showers."

Magistrissa

I do in fact have a little silver vertical toaster that I got cheap from a regular store. Toaster ovens are the mysterious foreign entity for me. They dwell in the mists of Avalon with air fryers and dehumidifiers.

Magistrissa

I feel so validated for how terrified I was of this movie as a kid, how miserable it was, the underlying dread at the prospect of watching it again- I think I hid the VHS at the back of the cabinet so I wouldn't have to see it. Actually I put off watching the ramble video because I was worried you'd be like blithely recounting the horror while I'm having flashbacks. I'm a fan of showing kids dark stuff (kids like angst and gore, which is why I'm willing to tell older ones Grimm fairy tales), but it has to be *for* something, and you have to have a safety net. Also when the lamp talks about having its bulb burnt out and worrying it'll be thrown away, saying he thought it was "to the showers" for him.... please tell me that's a basic sport joke. This movie is dark enough, the alternate meaning is too awful to contemplate.

Soam x

The lamp always doing the reading for them (the address the toaster was struggling with, the room number on the door) is a nice callback to him being the appliance that would help “the master” with reading and is a little detail I love and never realized til watching this ramble

Rebecca B

I have only a very vague memory of this movie, my mom showed it to me as she'd seen it as a kid. I only remember the junkyard scene, which made me vaguely uneasy.

Markus D

It's like quicksand!

Markus D

It is kind of funny that the ultimate solution to worrying about mortality in the film seems to be "when you're happy, you'll stop thinking about it so much."

Markus D

The thing about watching the movie as a kid and assuming that "kids in an older generation just felt more strongly about their appliances" was very relatable. The scenario I thought of as a kid along those lines that I remember most is that in the part of "Hakuna Matata" where Timon cuts off Pumbaa and says "not in front of the kid" I spent YEARS just thinking "Okay, that's like, a sex joke or something, and I'll get it when I'm older". But no, he was just cutting off Pumbaa saying the word "farted" for some reason, which I never assumed you would have to censor for a kid, especially after telling him a story about how people didn't like him because he had... bad-smelling farts (that story is very weird). Yeah, I could've figured out from context cues, but I 1. Didn't like the song so I didn't understand what the lyrics were for that part exactly and 2. My mind apparently hyper-focused on the idea that whatever Pumbaa was going to say was something you shouldn't say around kids, and considering the whole joke up to that point was about farting and toilet humour was pretty common in cartoons for kids, I never thought that that would be an issue.

Malcolm Cooke

Yo, Phil Hartman is the Aircon? Awesome!

Zofia Graham

The way Jenny talks about being a kid is so relatable I've never heard anyone describe kid emotions as accurately as she does

Josh Evans

I heard the 60's song 'The Letter' by The Box Tops today, trying so hard to pick what it reminded me of. 'Worthless' from Brave Little Toaster 😅

Robert Romero Jr

Your adhd is strong in this one. Man when I wrote this down it was only 15 min in. I didnt know how right I was.

Kailyn K.

Also, it was so cool to connect how this movie is a precursor (and "first pancake") to Toy Story. I feel like it could be seen as a precursor to Cars, considering Lasseter's involvement. I mean, "Worthless" is the emotional climax of the movie, and its not even directly about the characters. The film also goes out of its way to celebrate landscapes of the American west- the backgrounds are often the prettiest part of the film.

Kailyn K.

I feel like this movie doesn't have themes as much as it has intense preoccupations. With mortality and obsolescence, loneliness... I loved how you asked with the Worthless song "who was this for?" I think parents? I think this movie plays into a kind of "adultification" of kids and kids media that appealed to late boomer and Gen X parents. Like parents who felt jaded by more earnest media that's more developmentally appropriate for kids. We had this movie on all the time, and I feel like my parents were more engaged with it, and put it on TV for us, slightly more than the Disney films. And my husband's parents banned Disney or "saccharine" stuff from their home, so this is one of the few childhood movies we have in common. But, its so dark! I also felt really scared by a lot of it, and it's a distressing film as an adult, with no real message about how to deal with mortality.

Jack Bandit

for the love of god that damn flower scene use to ruin me as a child. full on tears. oof!

Anika Binding

Why do kids and family movies love horrifying conveyer belts of death?? Like I had such a terrible fear of it bc I kept seeing it everywhere! Monsters Inc, 101 Dalmatian’s, Robots, the Star Wars prequels, Toy Story, you name it! I really thought that being crushed or baked into something on a conveyer of doom was the most likely thing in the world.

Scrum Diddely Umptious

Im convinced this movie awakened hoarder tendencies in me lol I was deeply horrified at the notion that objects had feelings for so long after watching it. I still talk to my computer sometimes, usually to encourage it to not die cause its old and the hardrive screams sometimes.

Lizzie

Is this an American thing to not have regular toasters, or just a California thing?!

Laura Robinson

That is the dumbest thing I have ever confessed about myself in public but just the idea of an old Indy car dying truly broke my heart.

Laura Robinson

okay I watched Worthless because I remembered that song kind of slapping from when I was a kid. I'm in my 30s now and when we hit the old, old Indy Car (I grew up in, and still live in, Indianapolis) I honestly started to cry and had to stop.

firelizard

(absentee patron here) i remember my family had one of the brave little toaster sequels on vhs, but idk if we ever saw the original at all. i feel like the animation was better? there were a lot fewer outdoor scenes too… the sequel we had was one where the human and his gf are going through a rough patch for whatever reason, and there’s a computer character it think, and i remember something about computer viruses? i’m almost certain they don’t call him “master” in this sequel i saw—that surprised me. but i also can’t remember his name. i remember liking the songs? idk, it’s definitely one of those movies that’s wormed its way into my childhood memories. i can’t remember specifics at all tho. my grandmother had a kirby vacuum exactly like this one so i think i remember liking him best.

Nicole

Where are you getting microwaves? Toasters were like $5 at Sears but speaking of microwaves, most of them came with low income houses and apartments. I never saw a toaster oven in them.

melanee

If anything microwaves would be a rich person thing when you compare price points of the most expensive versions—both are pretty economical imo. Maybe it’s more popular on the west coast though - as someone who lives in the southwest it’s a great appliance to have in the summer since using an oven can heat up the whole kitchen.

Javy Dobles

"is the toaster a boy or girl?" um they're a toaster

Elaina

SAME. I think about it constantly still. There's another part of the movie embedded into my skull as well; I haven't made it completely past the air conditioner part (this is like, opening old wounds) but I do remember thing awful part where all these appliances are going to be murdered in a scrap yard. This is just a scary movie for kids, plain and simple. And just makes us feel guilty for capitalism??? It's not our freaking fault they break!

Elaina

I am still severely traumatized by the air conditioner scene. Like, I think of it multiple times a year, it's absolutely awful!

Elaina

Definitely not! My broke ass family has had this same toaster over since.... the 80s?? It was given to my GRANDMOTHER from her dad, and it's still used regularly. Those things are great! Edit: I'm in Appalachia!

Zoë Collis

Not to add to the arbitrary push down toaster discourse, but to add to the arbitrary push down toaster discourse; I have actually never used a toaster oven outside of when I worked in a Subway, I'm from Australia so just wanted to add a little international 2 cents. The norm has been push down toasters my whole life and I've never seen anything to the contrary including in American media, was genuinely mind blown to hear of your alternate toaster oven roots, Jenny.

Nicole

I think the toaster oven thing may just be a california thing or a rich person thing. I never even saw a toaster oven until like 2009.

Hazel Davis

Ooh yes, that's a great vid! And PUR's Murder She Wrote series is so good too. All of her stuff actually.

Hampton Calhoun

I haven't finished the video but I hope She knows the guy behind this is also the guy who did cranium command.

Lelling

I'm a year late to this but Pushing Up Roses made a great video titled The Weird Origins of The Brave Little Toaster that explores a lot of how it was made, the novella, the meaning and themes the author wanted to impart, etc. It's a very interesting watch.

Daisy Frabell

Man, I think I might have some low key trauma from this film. I hadn’t seen it since I was a child, although I never forgot it and had it categorized as ‘moving’ and ‘beloved’, but associated it with this deep emotion of despair. I think all the points you were making about the appliances would be irrelevant to their humans were very apparent to me as a child, and I honestly forgot that the guy ever showed up to claim them. And then, you said the bit about making it hard for kids to get rid of broken or redundant things, and I’m like, “shit, is that why?!?” Not the only reason I fight hoarding tendencies, obviously, but excuse me while I go have a mini breakdown about it 😂🙃 The good news is, now you have forced me to revisit it, all of the comedy is clearer to my adult brain, and the inevitability of death is less paralyzing, and I really enjoyed the movie(bits)! An amusing romp. Crazy fascinating how my brain is so different faced with the same experience after a few decades on earth. The Jenny Grasp of Childhood Perspective continues to be spot on.

Tyler Gordon

I've always had one of the push down toasters, including right now. They're the default around here, I know a lot of people who have then with four slots. It was really cheap, like $15

Jessica Dunne

The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars is so heavy handed in its like reagan era themes of individualism and the joys of being exploited under capitalism. its absurd to look back at how Normal the first movie is in comparison. Really hope jenny watches the second one just to see the sweet toasters insane villain arc

Mel Vitta

Yeah, there was something compelling about how dark the film was when I saw it as a kid. For sure the scenes with the AC, the flower, the clown, the junk shop, and especially the junkyard, all of those were very creepy and messed up, but in a way that doesn't go TOO far for kids.

Mel Vitta

Yeah I was born in '85 and saw this right around when it came out, so I definitely was the right age for this to become an obsession. I find it funny how you had a disconnect with how the appliances looked, for me many of them were virtually identical to things we had around the house. Our toaster was similar, albeit a more modern version of that classic design, we had a lamp that was literally the same lamp, a clock radio with similar design elements as the radio in the movie, and more important of all, we had a Kirby vacuum, which was THE EXACT vacuum from the film.

Toony Loony

i absolutely adored this movie as a child and still do love it with all my heart so to hear you get saddened and frightened by all the darkness i went crazy for as a kid was quite eye-opening lol. still adore it though i can do the air conditioner’s monologue by heart

Soren Tutauha

literally lol

george putnam

i never watched the movie my younger siblings did and their impression of it was enough to scare me away

Vaelyhn

Wait Jenny, you didn't have a regular push down toaster as a child? You used a toaster oven to toast your bread??? I've never not owned a push down toaster.

Isabella

Sorry this is an old comment and it’s not quite the same but one of my favorite bars plays old black and white movies on mute on giant projected tv screens for the vibes, I love it haha

Nicholas Lanier

Just watched this and came here to say: the sequel is even more disturbing and low-key terrified me as a kid lol

Ash Evan Lippert

I didn’t remember much about this movie other than the junkyard sequence, and having a kind of—not just fear—but revulsion to it as a kid? I think I found it ugly and kinda… grimy. All Dogs Go To Heaven was another kids film that gave me a similar vibe, but for whatever reason I enjoyed that one much more. It’s funny, watching the clips included in the video, towards the end I was convinced I had started to see the film’s themes show through. While I haven’t thought this through to the point of complete coherence, it seemed like it was saying something about… disposability in modern culture? Seeing value in the people, and even the objects that make up a part of our lives, beyond their utility? Appreciating things in our homes, maybe, like in a similar way to how Marie Kondo integrates Shinto beliefs into her tidying philosophy? Idk, it seemed to be driving at something, especially in the last few sequences. So I was disappointed when I found out the writers didn’t seem to have any of this is mind, lol I do very much agree with the comment above that, whether purposely or not, the film taps into the childhood unconscious mind, and relationships to neglectful parental figures, when the world seems arbitrary, inexplicable, and unstable, and abandonment is a very real, deep fear. I feel like this is probably part of the reason why so many kids have the same reaction to the movie, finding it viscerally terrifying. It still doesn’t seem like a very good movie, but I feel like it’s interesting and memorable in that regard

Simone Williamson

Lmao geat ramble. I actually loved BLT as a kid, especially the weird less scary sequels. But I loved the first one too, I feel like it was part of the beginning of my love for weird horror and derranged nonsense. Also yes absolutely fucked up my relationship with objects and throwing things away as a kid.

EHL Shock

This has nothing to do with the brave little toaster but I'm curious if Jenny has ever watched Shelley Duvall's Fairy Tale Theatre. I feel like a retrospective and ranking of the films in the series would make for ridiculously good content

Lindsey Phillips

When I was a kid they would show this all the time in preschool, elementary school, and after school clubs. And every time they did I'd have to be removed from the room crying and screaming in terror, usually around the time of the air conditioner scene. I couldn't handle it. I have never seen anything past around 1/4 through the film, let alone the ending. I could sit through the scary tunnel in Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory over and over and not even process that it's scary or weird, but that air conditioner that screams in rage until it explodes and commits suicide is the biggest trauma of my childhood.

Dino

Grew up watching my cousin’s VHS copy of this movie. Your assessment was completely right and totally explained my uncomfortable feelings with the movie as well! There’s no theme! What’s the message? That explains why it feels so empty and unsatisfying.

Fiona Stirling

You should totally do a video on The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars it’s like ten times more absurd than this movie

TheParappa

Came for the movie commentary, stayed for the roast of stupid youtube comments at the end.

Roan Everly

10 minutes in - Lampy is love, Lampy is life. Out of the whole cast, the animators were the most inventive with how he moves and emotes. Long, cylindrical faces like his have a lot of appeal in hand-drawn animation because, when drawn volumetrically, are super convincing (or "real"). Maybe we associate a long face shape to dogs or horses. It's a good thing he's friend-shaped bc he's a complete dick personality-wise lol.

Charlie Edwards

It has unfortunate implications but being ‘sent to the showers’ is a thing in sports which ig is the intended meaning. It’s used when someone has been pulled early for a bad performance, and having to take an early shower in the locker room

Simone Persson

I had a small collection of VHS-tapes as a kid and I would watch them all over and over again, except for that one. I watched it once and absolutely hated it! Most stressful watch ever! 😩

Marcy Bennett

… and the air conditioner is hot…

jg

so brave

c

solely from the content of his sermon I believe it's possible the pastor genuinely though gaston was the hero because what on earth was he talking about

Julia takla

i was very thrilled to see porgy and felt it was quite a treat to have him so thank you

Steve Ray

Fun Fact For The Day: Back in the 1980's, when The Brave Little Toaster was produced, people were far less anxious and superstitious about demonic possession, and especially about "the Witches' Syntaxe." "The Witches' Syntaxe" is a kind of double-speak that (supposedly) lets devil-worshippers not only *hide * imps, curses, and evil hexes inside ordinary words and phrases, but also *spread* that darkness into the soul of every place and person where "witche-wordes" are said aloud, read silently, or even thought of, knowingly or not. Back in 1987, everyone was focused on *visible* dangers -- like AIDS, bills, and Soviet nukes; but in 2023, we've progressed to where demonic possession is simply unacceptable. Nowadays, we all watch each other for signs of evil, and we *always* keep an ear out for words a witch could hide a demon in and use against us -- words like "showers."

SimmerRose

Ok…thank you for clarifying….I do theatre professionally and have always been ~the music kid so therefore a sports metaphor would go right over my head😅

Penguin Gabe

dont ever give doug an inch, he'll take a mile

Doll D

You take a shower after you are done playing a sport, so hitting the showers means you're done. Its on the same level as 'stick a fork in us, cause we are done!' which i also hope has no holocaust connection

Doll D

Not to be the nostalgia critic apologist. But in his old more serious out of character review for the Brave Little Toaster, he said it was as good as a movie about a toaster going on an adventure could be, good but not phenomenal or super special.

Markus D

Me neither, as someone who was a kid in the late 90s/early 2000s. It still strikes me as a weird design though, because I can't find any pictures of electric blankets where the dial is RIGHT ON THE BLANKET like that. I always see it attached a little bit down the cord--Now that I think about it, the blanket also doesn't seem to have a cord on it? Is it a battery-powered blanket? Even then, I can't find a picture of any electric blanket where the control isn't slightly separated from the fabric itself. The way it was drawn also always made me think of "custard" more than fabric (I guess mostly because it has very rounded edges; it never really seems to properly look like a rectangle), but I don't know if that's just me.

Markus D

That makes more sense. I'd be scared of changing tall overhead lights due to a fear of heights. I do it in my own apartment but the ceiling isn't all that high and I use lamps more than the overhead lights regardless.

Markus D

Someone else in the comments here said that it was common athletic slang in the '80s, and it makes sense to think of "being punished for poor performance" as being "sent to the showers" when it comes to sports, but it does hit very... ambiguously and inappropriately when you use it in a moment that seems to imply a fear of DEATH.

SimmerRose

RIGHT?!? It’s horrifyingly inappropriate!!! Like what the fuck!

SimmerRose

OK I THOUGHT THE SAME THING???? WHY WOULD YOU WRITE “to the showers” IN A MOVIE?!?!?? IM DISGUSTED

Joshua Marchant

Does anyone else get the feeling the Wikipedia page was written by the director? Or maybe just a very ardent fan?

Joshua Marchant

Me too!! I read that the voice actors were allowed to ad-lib a lot but maybe that’s one take they shouldn’t have used…

SimmerRose

I’m sorry, did the lamp say TO THE SHOWERS??? When he thought he was broken?? Is there a meaning to this phrase that I’m unaware of?? Because my brain is going ONE PLACE?????

LuckyBlackCatXIII

I know this is weeks old but I might have an answer: I think the difference they were trying to establish between the two characters is how they view appliances? The parts guy only sees the value of broken appliances for what parts of them still work and the money he can make off of that, while The Master is more sentimental and goes out of his way to fully refurbish things that others would toss out for losing their main function (which is a theme of BLT: usefulness, how you perceive your own value vs the value others see from you). Though the message gets muddled given...The Master would still need spare parts to refurbish the things he likes, but the BLT isn't known for its groundbreaking writing and at least it's a fun ride!

Tricia B

Still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you think no one has owned a toaster since the 80s and toasters and toaster ovens aren't completely different appliances with different purposes.

Markus D

I thought that too until I watched this video, because I forgot that it was voiced by a child and all about the whole weird "calling the kid 'master'" thing. Upon reflection, the blanket acts more like a child while Piglet has more of the disposition of a very anxious adult.

Doll D

This is the first time I have ever heard of someone only having a toaster oven and not just a toaster.

Jane Mahoney

I've only ever seen like...40 percent of this movie but the blanket always reminded me of Piglet from Winnie the Pooh

Markus D

I feel like Eeyore doesn't quite work though because he's sad and down on HIMSELF but he's not really mean or judgemental of others.

Markus D

Same. I live in Ontario, and I just have a toaster oven, but I grew up with a pop-up toaster. In my experience, whether or not someone has one depends on if they regularly eat toast or not.

Markus D

But... does that make sense in context? Wasn't he worried about dying? I've never heard "hit the showers" or a similar term being used metaphorically.

Markus D

I think the face is on a dial, but I still don't consistently see it correctly because they decided to put absolutely no printed markings on it (probably because that would be more to animate).

Markus D

I guess that second point you're making about playing into children's fears is part of why the Toaster's nightmare can read as kind of a cute joke, because while all this stuff is presented as scary, like Jenny pointed out, it's funny because the scary stuff includes like... bathtubs and forks, which aren't usually frightening to children.

Markus D

Yeah, it's really off-putting because it makes the relationship feel reminiscent of some kind of slavery. It's part of why I don't love the concept of "living appliances" because the relationship appliances have with humans is "they are tools for doing things that are harder or impossible to do by hand". We don't "love" them; it's a "relationship" based on them being made to be useful to us. I'm not a big fan of Toy Story, but at least that focused on a type of inanimate object that humans form emotional connections to and aren't made to serve such utilitarian purposes.

Libby

I burned my finger on a light bulb at like 5 so it was formative but also I don’t actually have lamps I only have overhead lights which you have to stand on a ladder to change and I’m terrified of heights as well as of burning myself so it’s kind of a combo deal. They either don’t get changed or my fiancé will change it when he gets around to it. I don’t mind sitting in the dark I’ll survive.

Markus D

I was with you in the first half being the same baffling thought I had, but I have no idea how you refuse to change light bulbs. You just unplug the lamp and screw a bulb in. It's not especially dangerous. Wear gloves if you're really worried.

Marina Vollin

Man, I haven't really heard of this movie, none of it looked familiar... except that car crushing scene which I am 100% sure I have seen at some point in my very early childhood. Crazy how it's still stuck in my head somehow.

Poo In An Alleyway

I had no idea that was an electric blanket. I honestly had no clue for years what that object was supposed to be.

Evan Samanas

Sports bars should absolutely sprinkle in some animated movies on mute for the vibes

Kylie

Buddy, do I have news for you. You can make toast however you damn well please for any meal day or night. There aren’t rules about it or anything. Eat the toast! Taste the freedom!

Steve Ray

Toast Swatches - https://www.adsoftheworld.com/campaigns/toaster-swatches

Steve Ray

That's only for cinnamon toast, which is a dessert, not true toast.

Ann Parker

I've been referring to my inordinate attachment to inanimate objects as "Brave Little Toaster Syndrome" for years, it's something I actively had to work on as I grew up. Also this movie gave me a phobia of fire until I was about 15 (the fire clown) so I guess that's two for the price of one. I used to hide behind the couch when the narcissus flower dies of grief (I was too young to realize that I didn't like most of this move besides the Lamp and Radio so I did watch it many times)

Kelly

I and my broken broken iPods from high school sitting in my closet feel you

Meg

I hated this movie as a kid. Too sad, too mean, too relentless. Ugh, thank you for roasting it. But I had to lol at the third act completely abandoning the premise that the appliances needed to be plugged in to move.

Mr Cheeks

WUT? > I’m 27 and I’m still terrified of changing them and refuse to do so

Meg

I literally cried when I threw out my TV with a built-in VHS player. I was almost 30 years old at the time. My husband still makes fun of me for it lol.

fae

He went to the dump for new appliances, the TV, being their old friend that he had brought with him when he left, showed him the ad when he came back to his apartment after his current appliances sent the old ones to the dump. When he got there, he saw and recognised them on the conveyor belt.

Libby

Hey does the lamp insinuate he is going to face the fate of a fucking holocaust victim????? Like when his bulb goes out and he’s so jazzed that the little boy changed a light bulb (which I guess he should be bc I’m 27 and I’m still terrified of changing them and refuse to do so)

Chloe Imogen

Same!! I've always had an upright toaster and I don't think I've ever known anyone with a toaster oven. I wonder if it's a regional thing?

zandy

"This is difficult to pin-point regarding the little toaster because it is so poorly written" in particular made me laugh

Eric Kaplan

Camp Concentration, and committed suicide. So your instincts were right -- the original was darkly satiric ad not innocent or fun at all.

Eric Kaplan

Tom Disch who wrote the book BLT was based on was a very very dark bleak comic science fiction writer and poet. He wrote the Genocides and

Nomnaut

Speaking of sad or traumatizing childhood cartoons, how about Watership Down (1978) or Rats of NIMH (1982)?

Captain Langosta AKA The Yellow Dart AKA Kyle

Jenny's powers have affected reality. I can no longer recall the taste of upright toast, nor the sound of the spring popping up, nor the touch of the heat dial. I'm naked in the dark. There's nothing--no veil between me and the horizontal mouth of the toaster oven. I can see it with my waking eyes!

Katrina Gluch

in re to buying animation cels: https://animationlegends.com/products/the-brave-little-toaster-mix

Lily

hi! english teacher here! i want to clarify what you were saying about theme. you are correct in your thinking i just want to explain it further. so, depending on who you ask, theme can have different definitions and sometimes people use the term “central idea” interchangeably with theme. what i teach my students is how the NYS tests define it. Theme is a basic concept, in the case of the little toaster some might be “abandonment, one’s purpose, and service to others.” Central idea however must be a claim or provable statement about the piece of media. One could also consider it the lesson you glean from a story. This is difficult to pin-point regarding the little toaster because it is so poorly written, but i’ll try anyway. (Central Idea: The key to happiness is serving those who you love.) Also note that a theme/central idea should be able to be generically applied to the world at large and not just the characters within the story. hope that helps :)

Narcissa Deville

I'm realizing that I never actually watched this movie before. I think I've seen bits and pieces. But Brave Little Toaster goes to Mars I really loved and actually what's interesting is that it has a whole message about capitalism and how it creates things to break down which was unexpected.

jess

The air conditioner’s death terrified me as a child. I always had to leave the room during that scene lol

Shiny Skunk

is this movie to blame for me having weird anxiety about throwing old stuff away? damn this was like therapy.

Shelby Hill

WHAT SENATOR??

Isaac

Being terrified of the ending of brave little toaster goes mars is seared into my memory. The actual ending is not seared into anything - I don’t remember that at all. Something to do with sacrificing an organic doll? But gosh was I scared of it.

Miriam Aberdeen

I hadn't ever heard of this film until this review. Seems like a solid 3/5 on the traumatising children's films scale, with Watership Down being peak 5/5

Scott Carter

It seems to me the theme of the movie is: if you’re only happy when you’re of service, then go and find the service even if your life is out in danger from it. Which is a TERRIBLE theme

kat

i’m sorry but i feel like the air conditioning thing is the funniest thing i’ve ever seen in my life

Arisa C

Wow the brave little toaster has the same message as marie kondo, that you should appreciate your household objects and thank them for the utility they provide you.

Alysse F

I had this movie on vhs from a disney channel recording, and it played alot at home growing up, Baby's First Horror Movie. All the songs are bops, the banter is part of my family's lexicon, and it definitely influences my stance on products' obsolescence as a designer. I made a costume based on the song "Cutting Edge" for d23 mousequerade 19' and had so many people come up to me professing their love for Brave Little Toaster and our shared scarred psyche. Thanks for this!

Alexandria Ritz

I hate how they call him the master it's so strange

Sarah Jesness

I didn't like this movie as a kid either. I quite liked darker stuff as a kid, but a movie has to be more than that, and the darkness needs to have some purpose. Is it in service to the theme? Is it helping the character grow? Is it important to the plot, or does it at least show who the bad guy is? This movie just felt scary for the sake of being scary. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was one of my top favorite movies as a kid (tied with Mulan) even though some of the scenes really scared me. It was dark and scary, but those scenes served purposes, even if it was just showing us who the bad guy is. Your video also got me thinking... This movie has scary scenes but they don't really play into fears that are common in children. I'm not sure if I can fully articulate it right now, but I feel like that's important. Like, playing into a child's actual fears gives them something to connect to. Most scary or dark scenes in children's media feature things like parental death, or they play into the sense of helplessness that kids have.

Alexander Clare

This was one of those films that was always on rotation in my house growing up. It wasn’t until I was older that I even considered or noticed how dark it was. I do appreciate the breakdown and willing to acknowledge how it just kinda fails as a movie but I still love the chances they were willing to take with it. And Disney are cowards for not putting it on Disney+.

Jen D

My brother and I were obsessed with this movie as kids. Our mom always said it was dark. I did not understand then. Now, I do. I also had no idea it was an electric blanket until now. Whoa.

Devin Beliveau

I definitely watched this movie as a kid and the blanket is the design I remember the most cause it reminded me of the doorknob from Alice in Wonderland.

Jay bird

My toaster has always and probably will always be in the style of the little toaster lol

Beepski Meepski (Ashley)

I HAVE NEVER FELT MORE JEALOUS OVER A PLUSH IN MY LIFE. The old Herbie films were my favorite and to THINK!!! YOU COULD ACQUIRE SUCH A LARGE PLUSH!!!! AUGH

Patar

You should mount the animation cell on a mirror! You would have a mirror with a little toaster on it :o

Jaz Mei Luo

Why would I buy a push-up toaster when I already have a toaster oven that is so much more versatile in use

Kyle Lowe

For the interview YouTube video that you felt was too long, there's a website called Videoticle that will strip the automatic captions and turn it into an article if you want to skim/search for something in a YouTube video!

Idle Oath

According to the novella, the appliances' preferred pronouns are "it." They admonish an animal I can't remember for calling one of them "he" if I recall correctly, but it's been a while.

Sarah Parker

I truly never would have figured out that was supposed to be a baby blanket

Lindsey Keefer

We had Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars on VHS and I lovedddd it. They use a popcorn popper to lift off into space. They ride in a giant ice cube tray as a boat.

Lukoncio

For me personally this movies themes are about mortality and pourpouse in life, with utensiles being mortal beings that base theyre life around humans and theyre usefullnes to them. This themes i think are pretty strongly implied in the songs and sets of the movie, but It obviusly isnt perfect, the ending really ruins any progression the movie could had have with a plot point of finding your on path on life, but ultimetly It was a childrens movie so i don't ask It to don't complete the "my owner loves me and i always be with him" story line.

Richard Lyth

Jenny wondering where to put the animation cell from Brave Little Toaster - surely it belongs in the kitchen?

Madeline

Ah, I see. Makes sense

Shaun Cheah

HE RUNS THIS HOUSE

Shaun Cheah

That's intentional; it happens to all the rambles to keep them from being added to public playlists and leaked to non-Patreons in that manner.

Shaun Cheah

Works for me in the Netherlands, was able to watch it all in one window while harpooning RuneScape tuna on the Karamja docks in another.

stormy waters

Ah, thanks. That makes me feel A LOT better.

William

There are pretty terrifying sequences. Maybe I'm broken, but me and my siblings loved this shit. Haven't seen it in at least 15 years.

Katherine Stuart

I always interpreted this movie as being about self doubt/anxiety and fostering better self worth. You don’t have to be the best, or always useful to be loved. You deserve to be loved regardless, you just had to learn to believe it/have faith that the people who are supposed to love you will.

Becca Flowers

im so glad someone else has said this already because i came here to make sure jenny knows she has to watch to the rescue before goes to mars!!!

Lamb

as an animator, just cut the cell it is your property at that point all it will do is lower the value and if you don't care then thats good. I definitely would want the toaster to just hang out in the corner of an empty frame, though. Mysterious.

Jiminy’s Journal

Just a heads-up: Goes to Mars is the tgird one, chronologically. It MAY have come out second, but it also references the other movie.

Ted Trainor

"Hit the showers" or similar phrases were common athletic terms, at the time

michael

that toaster is so cute

Taylor Brown

i used to think that heated blanket was a bar of soap IN a blanket, and i’m only now realizing i was wrong

Taylor Calloway

My blanket from my childhood is named blankie, and this movie series was absolutely one of my favorites as a very little kid. The Mars ones is amazing. This movie both traumatized me and was one I rewatched EVERY time I went to my grandmothers house. So idk what that says about me. I remember being terrified of pretty much all of it.

Cameron Lee

I noticed that too but then thought maybe it was meant to be a sports phrase.. is that something sports people say? Idk but it came across way darker

stormy waters

@36:40 - Oh. my. god. When the lamp is talking about it all being over, it says "to the showers." ...a holocaust joke? Because Ouch. And wow. And Yikes.

Steve Ray

Janna Jackson Gorog

This was a wild viewing experience for me because I thought that the Brave Little Toaster was one of my favorite movies as a little kid…but I don’t think I ever actually saw this one. I think I saw the sequels and assumed they were the original one.

Janna Jackson Gorog

Same here! I’m wondering if I am actually remembering “The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue” or “Goes to Mars.” Those came out closer to when I was born than this one.

Rachel Cook

Loving this. Someone may have already pointed this out but Thurl voiced one of the busts in the graveyard of the HM and Tony the Tiger. The ghost host was Paul Frees. I get them mixed up a lot too.

Nicole Knapp

I used to have horrible, extremely vivid dreams of getting crushed by gears when I was a little kid. It wasn’t until I rewatched The Brave Little Toaster in middle school that I realized it was because of that scene at the end!! This movie is freaky.

Mandi Schmidt

I’m in art school, and for my animation pre production class we had Jerry Reis on zoom to watch our short films and give us pointers, it was maybe not the most helpful person to have in but he seemed like a nice guy at least. It was also funny because I had never seen this movie, so I watched it before we have the guest speaker and was thoroughly confused at his credentials

Nerine

On the subject of things with faces, Japanese mythology has the notion of "Tsukumogami," items that obtain a soul after 100 years of use. There is, of course, an anime: "We Rent Tsukumogami" -- I think Jenny would like the comb. The objects don't go on a journey, but they do help a pair of siblings in their amateur sleuthing.

Alex Andra

Anyway I would watch this movie as a kid with my cousins when I would visit them in the summers, they owned it on VHS. I have fond memories of watching it but looking back I think I just have fond memories of my cousins because every scene I remembered from this movie was horrifying. The junkyard scene was definitely nightmare fuel. Also this might be from one of the sequels but does anyone remember a scene of a ceiling fan detaching from the ceiling and just flying away?? That made me afraid of fans for a while lol

Alex Andra

I'm still secretly hoping the Barbie video will see completion in time for the Margot Robbie movie. But I know that's probably such a beast of a video to make

Neil B

"At least the toaster will live." Should have been the movie tagline.

Amy Shine

Oh my god. I'm the first pancake.

rava

I remember being absolutely terrified by this movie when I was a kid, and watching this video reminds me of all the reasons why. Ironically it seems that the book the movie is based on is actually way LESS dark than the movie and also has a better message. There's a summary of the plot over on wikipedia but I won't spoil it in case anyone wants to try reading it themself. Basically not only did the writer do a not-great job writing a movie script, he also made it a great deal darker and changed the ending completely.

Vincent Briggs

I've never seen this movie, but I saw the trailer for the Mars sequel SO MANY times because it was on one of the VHS tapes my siblings and I watched a lot. It's neat to get some more context for it! From the comments it sounds like the most popular kinds of toasters are different in different regions? Here in Eastern Canada everyone has a popup toaster, and has for as long as I can remember. There are some toaster ovens too, but in my experience they're definitely not as common, it's like an extra thing you can add if you have enough counter space. My roommate used to have one, but gave it away because we never used it, and my uncle has one that just sits forgotten in a cupboard.

Molly

I definitely saw this as a kid and remember liking it, but not a single clip you included is familiar to me, so I must not have seen it often or something. Btw: -The youtube video was not blocked for me in US. -I looked it up and Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars is ALSO a novella and all the novellas are made for children. -I wonder if this was filmed before the live action Barbie trailer has been blowing up everywhere bc I was going to bet Jenny was super glad she's been working on that vid and it could potentially be dropped mid barbie-mania when that comes out.

Jesus

I definitely was so confused by the blanket, cuz like, I think I knew it was a blanket? But the face unit thing always tripped me up, and I never knew what the hell it was XD However, what you said about not being familiar with that style of toaster low-key blew my mind. I guess I don't have a good idea of what the cultural zeitgeist regarding toasters was in the 90's. We always had the vertical push-down toasters, so whenever they appeared in any sort of media, I was just like "yeah, a toaster, I'm familiar". It actually wasn't until I was like 10 that I first saw a toaster oven at a friend's house, and it was so weird to me. I had heard the term, but never really knew what it was. So now I'm not sure if your family home or my family home was atypical for our style of toaster appliance.

Christopher E Musgrave

The Nostalgia Critic deserves so much worse

Christopher E Musgrave

Brothers Quay Brave Little Toaster remake when

Comfy

I've got premium but it's still location-locked in Australia

David Elizabeth Strider

I cannot stress enough how incredibly sad the blanket makes me-- i never watched this as a kid i saw snips and posters on tumblr as a teenager but i have always been put into empathy overload at the sheer sight of the blanket

Kiwi

I think the movie does a pretty decent job of communicating an anti-consumerism theme; as a child the boy isn't really capable of doing much more to maintain his possessions than change a light bulb, but as he grows up he becomes capable of repairing the AC and the toaster. It demonstrates that though new appliances can be bought, old ones have value and shouldn't be discarded while they still work (fight to keep them out of the dump). It all crystalizes when the improbably hot gf asks "why don't you just buy a new toaster?" Because you don't need to if you can keep repairing what you already have. Idk, slap a cute homeward bound plot on top of it to have the excuse of drawing toasters against pretty outdoor scenes, teach kids about the value of caring for your stuff. Anyway I'm a Brave Little Toaster apologist I guess.

Hope Reed

blocked in Canada smh

Sam Martin

That was a perfect, little trip to a terrifying memory, thanks Jenny! Always brightens my day to have a ramble to listen to.

David A Behlman

Holds up better than the Felix the Cat Movie!

Aramis Calcutt

Thanks. Don’t really understand what connection Jenny made between what was happening in the movie and this news story.

Chris Tierney

Thank you, I'm sure you're right. Sports metaphors generally don't occur to me and my initial interpretation was very wtf even for this extremely wtf movie!

Doctor Starky

I wanna buy one and make it into a shrinky dink

Doctor Starky

I'm pretty sure he meant 'hit the showers' as in 'okay boys, we're done with soccer practice for now. Time to hit the showers!'

Elizabeth Havens

this movie traumatized me as a kid, can't wait to confront it!

Birthe_bird

Is it bad that my favourite part is her dumping on the nostalgia critic?

Towers of Hanoi

Biz Barclay and Jenny Nicholson both putting out brave little toaster videos? Is it a brave little toaster anniversary or something?

Birthe_bird

Same! Which would at least be an actual message

Gillder

I grew up with this movie, and it still has a very special place in my heart, but as an adult, I can't really say it's a GOOD movie. :P It's definitely a fun movie though! The animation is great in my opinion and all of the songs are absolute bops!

Kelly Evans

The theme for LBT also seems to be traumatized and abandoned characters finding family in eachother after losing their worlds? And the theme for BLT could be something about sacrificing yourself for love? But not knowing if the master loves them back? It's not a great lesson, sounds like my relationships. In reality why would he give a shit about old appliances? Why would he look for them in a dump? Like no one would ever do that lmao I didn't find this movie traumatizing at all. I liked that they stayed together. But then again I was abandoned by both parents a few times so I felt connected to the idea of abandonment. My mom even came back to get me after a few years, just like the "master" does. If you're abandoned you wait and if you're good they'll come back lmao. Also my mom had me watching the devils advocate around the same age, so this wasn't that bad. The movie that traumatized me as a kid was Air Bud when the kid yells at the dog to get him to run away. I cried for hours lmao Would jenny ever do the devils advocate? Is that too dark? I really need someone to cover how batshit that movie is.

April Feldman

Ahhh I remember this movie!! It terrified me. I remember that the lamp was my favorite, and I liked the beginning of the movie when they were all in the house, but the rest of it really scared me. My older sister LOVED this movie though- and her favorite part was the end when they all were about to get crushed, so she would make us watch that part over and over again and it was low key traumatizing. Also, I wanted to say that I love how in the toaster's dream, the clown looks like a firefighter. Like the toaster's biggest fear is starting a fire and then being doused by the evil firefighters. That's amusing to me.

Anna

Hey, did any fans of the Easter play video happen to watch this year’s installment? I just saw that it’s streaming online tonight. It’s called “Beauty and the Beaster”, might check it out 😄 Looks like neither of Jenny’s predictions for this year’s IP panned out

Audrey lopata

I wonder if the popularity of pop-up toasters is regional? I grew up in the Midwest in the late 80s/ 90’s and everyone had pop-up toasters. But maybe in California they’ve been out of style for ages?

Christian von Koenigsegg

Jenny, I recommend watching: "The Pixar Story" documentary, The Brave Little Toaster has some drama behind it as a milestone in CGI history and I think you would find it interesting. I may be spreading blasphemous rumors but I've heard that Judith Holmes (Clarke) had a key role in the Brave Little Toaster story .

Keifer Sisters

Jenny! *Never* buy animation cells or drawings on eBay, they're nearly always fakes. Auction houses and galleries are your best bet, and yes, please never cut them! 😅

run_away

I'm glad jenny mentioned the meanness. The big thing when I was young was talking about how scary the furnace scene was, but the thing I really remember about this film was how much of an asshole everyone was to each other lol.

Joy Wood

Would you be willing to post/tweet the animation cell you bought in celebration of making it through this awful movie? So curious to see what you picked! :)

Rae Leo

I think tigger is more like the radio than the lamp. rabbit is the scaredy-cat and they have eyore to be the grump

Penguin Gabe

God I love how you came into this hating the movie but an hour in youre crying because the toaster cant find his master. Amazing stuff jenny this is why we pay you the big bucks

Jamin Shih

We coincidentally watched the two sequels the day before this ramble and they’re a trip. Did not expect the brave little toaster to quell an appliance rebellion and embrace human servitude on Mars.

Natasha Morehouse

I loved the brave little toaster when I was a kid but it also made me think cars were sentient and I was sad every time I saw a car accident because I thought they could feel pain

Brian Balster

i bought one last year too.. toasters Rock! (except when they escape and try to return to former masters

Kim Stiens

I didn't have any issue accessing the Youtube one despite not having a VPN - maybe Premium users are allowed to see the illegal content lol

Brian Balster

do you ever wonder what Jenny's neighbors think, while she's recording? 'oh! No! OHHHH!H OOHHHH! NOOOOO!! That hot babe stole all my stuff!' Come to think of it.. They're probably used to her by now : )

Kay Claire

I think I've watched this film once during my entire childhood and it left 0 impressions on me lmao

AppleSnaps

Whoa, that huge Herbie plush was amazing.

Rachael

Yeah, we always had one, and they weren’t old or vintage, just cheap ones from Walmart or whatever, they’ve always been available. I love it when Jenny speculates and ends up somewhere wildly off-base tho, and “pop-up toasters must have gone out of fashion for awhile” is a hilarious one.

Katie Kelley

We always had a popup toaster in the 90s and 2000s. Once we upgraded to the 4 slot toaster, oh boy!! Toaster strudels for days.

Marlito

Thinking about how the only song/sequence I remembered form this movie was the Worthless number... so there's that. Thanks for the food though, Jenny!

Jenny Nicholson

I don't think so because they have the whole scene with the junk shop where he repurposes old parts (he rips out the blender's motor to sell to a guy who's trying to repair his own blender instead of just buying a new one) and that's also framed as horrifying. How many toasters died for the master to fix him at the end.....

Natalie Arnold

"Hey kids!! RECYCLE!" as a driving force for cartoons was kind of not quite a thing yet iirc? It was about to be, but when this movie was being made, not so much. Plus its not like kids can control whether their parents throw away the toaster.

Miles le Fay

This movie traumatized me as a child. To be honest, and I know this is sacrilege, but I don’t really like Toy Story for the same reasons I don’t like this movie. I can’t handle the cognitive dissonance of ignorant bliss in the face of literal constant existential horror. Toy Story 3 and A.I.: Artificial Intelligence both explore the theme of understanding how usefulness, agency and self-worth interplay in an unjust world far more effectively than either Brave Little Toaster or Toy Story do.

Coral Peterson

To this day I feel guilty when I want to replace items that aren't literally broken (even if they are quite old/worn), because otherwise they aren't fulfilling their "purpose". I can't solely blame this movie, but I'm sure it didn't help. I also remember being afraid of it generally, and the lamp being stuck by lightning being particularly scary.

LynStars

You should look up the author of the novella -- I was surprised to find out that his life story is pretty dang sad. (But I'm with Jenny, I don't have positive memories about this movie. I think it disgusted me as a kid? Idk if 'afraid' is the right word, but I definitely found this off-putting.)

Brian L Hughes

I got such Star Wars vibes from the conveyor belt scene, It reminded me of Anakin and Padme in the robot factory.

Tim Goodman

I have no memory of this movie existing, but I'm happy to listen to Jenny talk about it for over an hour.

Derick Gadd

Holy shit they killed the air conditioner.

Hanna Hays

Thank you sir! 🥹👏

Eric MacMillan

I got you fam

Minnie

Also thank you for reminding me how much I love SOUR.

Monica McFadden

Oh, thanks for the link! I like it, it's whimsical. It reminds me of the One Hundred and One Dalmatians book, where the author was having fun exploring a mindset that was a little bit alien. How would a dog, or appliance, view the world and what would they misunderstand?

Halli Gomberg

I always thought it was about recycling and not throwing away things that are still useful?

Minnie

I definitely remember this movie being on allllll the time as a kid. And then I also tried to rewatch it when I was older and I was like… this movie is dark, sad, and kind of ugly to look at. I can’t wait for the Starcruiser video!! You’re the best, Jenny.

Cynethryth

Oh my, part 1 is already so charming! Thanks for sharing!

Naomi M

Its funny, while I have seen this one I'm more familiar with... whichever movie where they have the reel to reel era, vacuum tube powered supercomputer infected with a virus (I feel like it's the second one, little toaster to the rescue, bc I'm pretty sure I haven't seen the one where they go to space)

M

I think I also saw this movie in bits and pieces on TV as a kid, but I mostly remember not liking it and not wanting to watch it whenever someone put it on 😂

Melinda

The address that they give for the Master's house is the address for CalArts.

Cynethryth

I had no idea this film was based on a novella, either. Reading the synopsis on Wikipedia suggests that the film took a lot of vignettes directly from the novella, but made them worse somehow. Especially the ending, which seems to be about learning to move on and that your worth isn't tied to one person. It honestly sounds like a better story than this film. I'd be interested in a ramble where you compare and contrast the novella and the film, actually!

Ava Jeanne

I owned this on VHS as a kid and watched it over and over and over again. I was really confused when years later, people were like REMEMBER THAT SUPER SCARY TOASTER MOVIE!? I was like you mean my beloved childhood film that put me to sleep every night? As an adult I look back it now and think it maybe had an influence on my interest in horror

O

How do you make a film about a toaster in space creepy and upsetting??? 🤦‍♂️ does the creators of these films even LIKE children?????

O

I suggested that in the Jenny reddit and oh boy were some people mad that us lowly bad car teirs dared ask them to suggest a topic, even though it's a good topic that I assumed a lot of us would want to see

Dan Gibbins

I have not fully recovered from the unexpected twist of Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts singing Time Warp.

Dan Gibbins

File that next to "Daddy Tops" under "Things 80s animation writers managed to get away with."

Dan Gibbins

(I had to pause this one to catch the last stream of Church of the Rock's Beauty and the Beaster, I'm sure we all understand) As a kid I can't say I had a special bond with my toaster. Sure I didn't want the toaster to be sad or neglected but not because we had a close relationship, that's just common courtesy. And "Because WHY" also sums up my reaction to Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars. Loved the Plush Herbie cameo (he's so big!) and always glad to see Mr. Porg back.

tofu nugget

Jenny almost crying because she felt bad for the toaster when they learned the human is all grown up now is so pure it made me feel sad too 😭

O

It's funny she brought up Winnie the Pooh, because as a kid the blanket was my favorite because Piglet was my favorite, and they have a similar personality. But also my childhood stuffed animal was a little Piglet hand puppet and the Blanket looked so similar to him (the dial being big and round like his nose, and because he was a hand puppet, his body was flat when the hand was out of him). Aside from the movie being scary because it's a scary, bleak movie in general, it terrified me because I identified the Blanket so much as my beloved Piglet puppet, and the Winnie the Pooh characters were never in mortal peril. I used to have nightmares about this movie where my beloved puppet was left behind in a house that was being sold and had to go on these terrifying adventures to get back to me.

teacupful

No I lied, I also remembered the vacuum appearing to choke on his own cord. I can't remember which was the chicken or the egg, but as a kid I was always terrified of vacuuming over the cord, and I don't know now if that was caused by the movie or if the loud scary sound of a stuck vacuum made the scene in the movie scarier.

David A Behlman

I was a fan of this as a kid, because I actively preferred movies/shows about non-human characters. "If I'm gonna watch a movie it better about something else, I see people all the time!" BUT I always hated knowing the A/C breakdown was going to have to happen. I was horrified not only at this break down, but his entire existence disturbed me to think about: he could never move. WHAT I had forgotten the flower reflection bit but seeing it again reminded that this movie is relentless with it's sad imagery. The Vacuum sucking up his own cord is such a visceral moment of body horror. I also hated that. Why was I always down to watch this? The Lamp getting struck was scary but also a great moment for the character, he was by far my favorite. Everyone preferred the Radio... Which reminds me that in middle school my class watched this as a way to discuss personality types. (Wouldn't Tigger be the Radio?)

teacupful

This is also what I thought as a child! Literally "why didn't they remove that at the store mom told me not to mess with those".

Sarah, the Creator

What if we all work together to make the next ramble topic 'Jenny becomes a dedicated Brave Little Toaster channel forever (serious)'. Idk if it'll hold up in court but worth a shot??

David A Behlman

because it was traumatizing!

Chris Tierney

I'm sorry but did the lamp make a gas chamber joke??

Girafarig

the original novella has the toaster recounting the story of an abandoned dog finding its way to its master 💀 thats so fun that you predicted that exactly right !!

David A Behlman

It seems to me Jenny's family was just streets ahead with their Toaster Oven usage and never had a simple regular toaster, so that's her normal.

Anna O.

I remember my parents buying a toaster oven circa 2003 when we moved to a new house and promptly ripped out the kitchen to redo it, and we spent like a month using the sink and counter in the basement as a makeshift kitchen with a microwave and a toaster oven. That was my first encounter with one and I was sixteen. I have a pop-up toaster but it's never occurred to me to get a toaster oven, although I have been told they are handy.

Anna O.

I'm not sure why I saw this so many times as a kid, but I did, and it's so dark in so many ways.

Leanora

I never saw The Brave Little Toaster as a kid, and this is the first time I realized that it is not the same as The Little Engine That Could, which I am much more familiar with

Kitty ( The cursed existence of financial instability ) fo

I remember this movie being one of those childhood pstd movies

Sierra Thomander

I loved this set of films as a kid haha

Alice

Watching this made me want to check out the original novella, and I found a dramatic reading on YouTube! I think it's better than the movie in most ways. It has a lighter, more consistent tone, and definitely has stronger themes. My own take is that the story is about identity. The toaster initially accepts the identity given by it's master, but everyone else it encounters (the flower, squirrels, and pirate) project their own identity when they literally see themselves reflected in the toaster. The toaster is able to learn how to assert itself, and it encourages the other appliances to do the same. When they discover their master has no need for them any more, they all choose to find a new owner in the end. If you aren't sold yet, part 3 is an episode completely absent from the film where the appliances need to explain to some squirrels how they're agender. It warms my NB heart :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwJbosRAsuU&list=PLQqflTVqpAyZbPRP_5QCe-ypde3kMpuDC

Matt Grippi

This was possibly my most watched movie as a kid but you referring to it as a boy is tripping me out. My sister and I were positive the toaster was a girl my whole life. I guess it is a boy? Idk why this matters to me it’s a toaster

Ted Koutz

Started calling my cat The Brave Little Toaster when I wasn't using her name, only had vague childhood memories of the movie. I also think this would be an ok horse name

Steven Clark

Back in the seventies and eighties, Federico Fellini was mostly known for the general horniness of his movies. Now, he's remembered more for the artistic quality of his work, but back then the presence of bare flesh and sexual tension made people think of Fellini. So, that car is remembering a beach party so horny that even Fellini would have been haunted by it for the rest of his days.

Natalie Arnold

I didn't even know there WERE sequels. I remember this as one of the movies I always wanted to rent but I think I just liked the VHS box art or something beccause I remember -nothing- about the content.

Alex Theisen

Without my VPN it looks like it’s up in the USA

Gian Balangue

I think the only one I've seen is the Mars sequel, and even then, I only really remember it because I used the VHS case as a building block with my toys lol

Steven Clark

https://twitter.com/JennyENicholson/status/1641582010916569090

Bison

YouTube is a bloody mess

Hanna Hays

Looking to the future, can someone in the higher tiers suggest the topic of “Jenny Reviews the 2023 Easter Church Play” for the April ramble lol

Catherine Geeslin

This movie scared me permanently. That clown scene……….💀

erin 🤸‍♂️

what are you gonna do, suck me to death?

Anna Surman

I accidentally fell asleep while watching this and let me tell you I had the strangest dream about my kitchen appliances with Jenny as the voice of god at some points lol

Madeleine Jubilee Saito

Please report back: What did you like about it? And what do you think about what Jenny shared?

Jessica Carter

I watched Brave Little Toaster a few times as a kid but the only thing I can remember about it is how scary it was to me when the vacuum sucked up it's cord. Made me scared to do any vacuuming myself lol

Vee Hoffman

Literally sending messages to my millennial squad about this video like "you no longer have an excuse not to be a Jenny Nicholson patron, COME ON."

Marge

The first time I saw this movie was during a sleep over and it was on the TV at 3am. I thought it was a fever dream until I was like 20 years old.

Skylin.

Im feeling so emotional.

Luis

I hugged my toaster after the ramble but then it burned my hand 😡

Vincent

YT working for me in the US, no VPN

Moira Laidlaw

Would love a ramble where Jenny reads the novella of the Brave Little Toaster

Aramis Calcutt

Link?

Dave Ruff

I was missing Aragog and the cute hats, so I'm glad you addressed that hot topic at the very end.

Mike Wagner

Born in 87' and watched the movie a few times on VHS. The appliances seemed older to me back then, but I just assumed that was because they were from a cabin. I grew up in the midwest where a lot of families had "camps" and every camp I went to had appliances that were out of date. I think people would just get new stuff and dump the old at their camp, or things were rarely used so they would last longer out there. Not what I think the movie was doing, but how my little kid brain justified it.

Mikey Lemon

This movie entranced me so hard as a kid by just how terrifying it was. When I was little I loved the sadness and creepiness of it all. I think it’s probably still one of my favourite scary movies. We even named our vacuum kirbbie

Austin P. Smith

As a kid I didn't know there were sequels I just saw the one where they went to mars and let me tell you it was creepy and upsetting

Kylie

My family also had a toaster oven in the 90s, and I remember when I was six or seven really contemplating if it was better to put the butter on before or after toasting the bread.

Evan L Rodríguez

For a live action remake of the film, they shouldn’t render the appliances in CGI, but instead use actual appliances. They don’t have faces, they’re just normal appliances that project their voices from nothing. It would be a good homage to those old pet adventure films where they’d just have footage of animals moving through set pieces with lines of dialogue added in. I feel like it would heighten the comedy of the emotionally intense scenes for these faceless machines to be so vocally expressive, but it’s just a vacuum.

Bryan Sutton

" This is just going to give people a complex about throwing away their old appliances. " OMG it all makes sense now!

Michael Apgar

For what it's worth the Youtube link seems to be working perfectly fine for me (I'm in California)

Madison Alexander

I grew up in California around the same time Jenny did and almost everyone had a toaster except for a few people with toaster ovens. I've never even used toaster ovens because they seem complicated and kinda freak me out lol

Callie Koch

I completely had the same experience as you, this movie freaked me out as a kid. Pretty sure it instilled a bit of hoarding mindset in me too lmaoo

Molly

I'm going to wait until this one goes up on youtube because it's freezing every few seconds. :(

Tiffany Webb

I have no conscious memory of this move, but I do have deep emotional scars because of it.

Tama Hero

As a kid I had a nightmare that my mom got angry and exploded like the air conditioner. Actually I rewatched this movie a lot as a kid, I dont know if its just because my parents were older when they had children but a lot of the appliances we had were similar to the ones in the movie. And I remember really enjoying the Tutti Frutti part of the movie. But maybe the reason thats the majority of what I remember about the movie is because they dont leave the house til 1/3rd of the way in. I definitely remember enjoying Goes to Mars a lot more. Same with Fievel, I liked the lighthearted Goes West more than the original.

Lumi Næss

This reminds me of a movie I saw when I was 5 called The trumpet of the swan. It was an ugly duckling story about a swan who was born mute but ended up learning to play the trumpet. I remember really liking it and every adult who saw it said they loved it too, but then I watched it as an adult and it was really bad. Even worse than this tbh. I wonder if those adults just lied or what. lol

Katie Rose

there's the A113 calarts easter egg but the part that made me really groan was that the address for his house/apartment is also the address for calarts (minus one 0, 2470 instead of 24700)

Nicola Callahan

The junk yard scene was so sad to watch as a kid. I remember actually thinking it was pretty dark compared to the other movies I watched. Like, even as a child, this movie felt scary, but not in a fun way.

Bullseye

Well, it *is* bad to vacuum over the cord. It'll get tangled up inside.

Dalton

The only memories I have of this movie were from the scary clown dream and maybe the air conditioning unit but in my mind they all morphed into like one terrifying entity.

Courtney Sheffield

I'm still scared to vacuum over the cord and give my vacuum a seizure.

Tzivia Kleinbart

Spent my morning watching this movie for the first time just so I could watch this rant. My only knowledge of it was that one of the Disney VHS’ I had as a kid has a preview of this movie before it and I remember thinking it looked cute but never watching it. It gave me really big Toy Story vibes and had a surprisingly good soundtrack, but overall just okay. I love that radio.

Steve Ray

That isn't a final solution; a final solution would involve a guarantee that no machines ever got made in the future.

Bullseye

Ties into Madeleine JS's theory.

Steve Ray

All toasters are non binary, because they have a dial for adjusting how dark you want the toast.

Shan Bro

This movie occupies a weird space for me because the only time I ever watched it as a kid was at hockey summer camp. Like 5 days of physical activity then 1 afternoon of watching a miserable animated movie, every year without fail. I remember the relief when I returned one year and instead of watching the brave little toaster we watched the mighty ducks.

Kathy H.

I think she's referring to the goat-eater she was tweeting about

CheeseDuck

Loving the hot toaster vs toaster oven discourse. I grew up and entered adulthood being mildly afraid of toaster ovens, because in the original The Sims toaster ovens would constantly lead to death by immolation if used with a low cooking skill. So I thought they were exceptionally dangerous in real life as well. A “brave little toaster oven” would have been like a horror movie for me, so I’m glad they went with the other type.

MilesKaySolomon

I was obsessed with Herbie as a kid. I think the movies are delightful. I wanted a bug so bad.

Markus D

See, I think there's a point here, as well as with what Jenny said, how everything is basically ruined by the ending just being "and they find the master and are all happy" because the idolization of the master was really unsettling in my opinion, so having it be INTENTIONALLY unsettling works a lot better than it just being like how appliances think of love and we just have to accept it at face value.

Bryan Sutton

Yeah I thought I was going insane! As far as I'm aware, people continued to use toasters throughout the 90's and 2000's. My family certainly did.

apelsindipp

honestly i got way too invested in this movie

Madeleine Jubilee Saito

+1

Marissa HV

The baby blanket does seem like a weird choice at first, granted, but in hindsight that's realistically the only appliance in this film I can imagine an adult actually having nostalgic childhood memories about.

Andrew Becker

This is one of those movies you remember about after having a really bad nightmare or just otherwise unsettling dream in your 30s about one of the characters from the movie and you wake up in that state where you still feel the emotion you did in the dream and it takes you a minute to realize that it was a movie character as the emotion slowly fades as you're like, "was there a movie about a talking vacuum cleaner when I was little" so you ask your sisters and they tell you what it's from and you remember what it is and you're just kinda shook from the experience and now you have a vague fear of vacuum cleaners from then on out. Might just be me. But also I lived in NJ when I saw this and had no idea why that was the blanket's face either.

Claudia

It was so scary!!!! It will scars me now!!!

teacupful

The air conditioner having a violent emotional breakdown and then his smoking corpse are the ONE THING I remembered from this movie as a child.

Trystan

The magnet, a sentient machine, feeling an undeserved spitefulness towards other similar sentient machines and leading them willfully into a destruction machine as a final solution. If it's not satire it's some pretty obvious allegory.

Kelly

"this song is just going to give people a complex about throwing away appliances for the rest of their lives" adult me hoarding unusable devices for decades because I don't want to hurt their feelings

meowmaoist

need a follow up on this one

meowmaoist

dying laughing at work rn

Victoria

I think my memories match up a lot with Jenny's here. I watched this on TV when it was on as a kid but I never owned it and I don't think I even rented it. I was always confused by the electric blanket. I also remember not knowing what the AC unit was because most homes in my region didn't have AC!

Aramis Calcutt

Senator? What senator was vacuuming things orally?

Claudia

Plus the scenes about the junk shop--- "it's bad to reuse parts from broken appliances"

Markus D

Totally agree about there being a weird school of animation fans who kind of just think "dark = good" but then they basically over-rate movies that are dark even if they're basic like this movie or The Land Before Time because they were scared by them as kids.

Cedonia Peterson

I watched the original *maybe* once, but I saw Little Toaster to the Rescue countless times when I was little (I thought it was the only one for a long time lol). It's a weird movie, but it kind of fascinated me as a kid.

Jenny Nicholson

That whole verse confuses me tbh

Larry Bewarey

toaster thing tripping me up. we always had a toaster and so did everyone i knew. we still have a toaster i got like last year at wallmart. its not retro just a regular toaster.

S G Matthews

I can confirm from my childhood trauma that the scene with the Toaster and the Flower was definitely part of the version I saw on the Disney Channel. I can also confirm that I feel really bad throwing away appliances because of this movie. More significantly though, as to the question as whether the Toaster is male or female… the novella establishes that all the appliances are Non-Binary and use “it,” which confuses the animals they interact with. It’s been a while, but I think the novella is pretty thick with allegory about LGBTQ+ identity and religious faith… which wasn’t going to make it in an animated feature from the Eighties, so you end with something lacking in theme.

Rae Rocole

It's funny that this is the topic because my SO and I were just talking about how this movie fucked me up as a kid. Like, I already anthropomorphize my possessions enough as it is. I don't need the added guilt that they'll feel emotional anguish when I throw them away! My SO, on the other hand, is normal and well adjusted and just thinks it's a cute kids movie.

Toaster

Same! Maybe a regional thing? I’m in Midwest USA and everyone I knew growing up in the 90s/00s had vertical toasters

Claudia

this movie scared me so much as a kid, I'm watching the video now and this primal fear has welled up from my depths

Madeleine Jubilee Saito

HOT TAKE: This movie makes zero sense as a film for children but makes perfect sense if you read it with a psychoanalytic lens. For children who grow up with emotionally withholding or neglectful parents, there are often a few characteristics in how they relate to parents: (1) feeling like they exist to serve the parent (2) total idealization of the parent — remembering them as completely loving, kind, perfect (3) a sense of hostility and resentment towards siblings, who they transfer their anger at the parent onto (4) idea that all will be solved if they can convince the parent to love them / return to them, and the idea that it’s their responsibility to do the great task of making this happen. The brave little toaster maps onto this perfectly. It’s the nightmare of an emotionally-neglected child fantasizing about undertaking that great journey that will make their parent love them. This explains the total flatness and incongruence of the master character: he doesn’t make sense or feel real because he’s how a neglected child views their parent: Perfectly loving, but for some reason tragically separated from the child in a way that is the child’s responsibility to resolve. There are no themes because this one comes to us straight, undiluted from the unconscious. I think part of the reason it’s so punishing is that a neglected child will often be made to feel they need to “prove” or “earn” the attention of the parent. Undergoing extreme discomfort or sacrifice is comforting, because it means the parent will have to comfort you. Similarly, neglected kids often have warm memories of being cared for when sick, because it’s one of the only times a neglectful parent will be nurturing. This makes sense of the really weird, grim moment at the end, where the Master is lovingly restoring the toaster. TLDR: appliances as protagonists make no sense, except as the projection of how a neglected child views their parent. :-( Great video, I enjoyed / suffered lol! Thank you Jenny! Sources / further reading: “Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents: Practical Tools to Establish Boundaries and Reclaim Your Emotional Autonomy” by Lindsay C. Gibson, “The Drama of the Gifted Child” by Alice Miller, “For Your Own Good” by Alice Miller

Monica McFadden

Someone please put 'Jenny reacts to the Wikipedia article on the Brave LIttle Toaster novella' on future polls because I'm reading it right now and it's great. At one point the appliances apparently have a heated argument about whether using an abandoned rowboats makes them 'no better than pirates', then there's a whole aside about how appliances hate and fear pirates. (I would suggest reacting to the actual book except it costs $175 on Amazon, yikes. The first review of it starts 'At what point can the pathetic fallacy become lamentable idiocy?' which is a ringing endorsement.)

Cy Langford

I feel like the Mario movie is the newest theme-less movie, and I tried my darndest to find one. (I also loved every second of it, but that's beside the point). Also, regarding Brave Little Toaster goes to Mars... the balloon song slaps.

Monica McFadden

I think a lot of the people who are nostalgic for this movie really just remember the songs because, yeah, the plot doesn't make sense. What child has ever loved a vacuum cleaner? But 'Worthless' is so good and it's lyrics are so intriguing. I wonder what 'Fellini just couldn't forget' means.

Drew Hitchcock

I think you can argue that the movie has a theme, but that it's creepy and kind of Calvinist. The appliances lost faith in The Master and so they have to pass through a series of trials, which nearly destroy all of them and The Master himself. But if they had kept their faith in The Master for a few more days, he would have saved them from the cabin without any fuss. So you could say the movie is about keeping faith in your masters and that they love you and haven't forgotten you, even if there is no direct evidence of that.

Three Memes in a Trenchcoat

I’m so glad I never watched this movie as a child, holy shit it would have terrified me.

Hazel Singh

why did I think you were talking about actual electric blankets at first because I didn’t understand how they worked?

Steven Clark

In a way, I kind of sympathize with the Nostalgia Critic's line of thinking because kids are always going to get stuck watching a lot of bad movies, so it really is better if some of those are bad in a weird/scary/sad way instead of just being boring. Then again, I guess that void is being filled by irresponsible youtubers now, so I guess Jaystation really does contribute something to society.

Bullseye

You'd think they'd all want to sleep with the blanket!

Bullseye

I'm American, and my parents have always had both a regular toaster with the slots and a toaster oven. They only use the toaster oven for stuff that won't fit in the slots. They've gone through a few different toasters with slots, but they still have a toaster oven from the 1970s.

TV_Walkman

The way my high school lit teacher taught theme was ”a theme must be a whole sentence.” She distinguished between theme and topic like that, where topics would be something like ”love” and themes would be something like ”love causes pain but it's still worth it.” I think it's a really good way to distinguish it! but it's given the biggest pet peeve in the world....

Austin F

also that comment on the video about what the cars represent is me writing an essay in high school at the last minute about a book i only read the sparknotes for

Luis

Yes the perfect Easter treat! Also love the bucket hat I'm hoping they become popular again.

kiranokira

Also in Dublin but it's not working for me! Excited for the topic, though!

Luis

HUGE GRACIOUS POWERFUL

Jennifer W

lost it when she saw them proud of his graduation photos, so pure

Kodey Chism

Jenny feeling genuinely sad for the appliances, with misty eyes and a pink nose is the singular most wholesome thing ever. She said "It's not fair" and I went aweeee. Cause I felt the same way revisiting this as adults with my sister!

Natalie

I'm American and most people I know have a regular toaster. Sometimes a toaster oven too. Regular toasters are MUCH faster at making toast, and tend to keep the toast a little fluffier/more moist (in a good way) because a toaster oven is, as it sounds, a very small oven, so the bread is farther away from the heating element it takes more time and therefore dries out the bread.

Becca Darling

My heart hurt for you when you got sad for the appliances

🫰 jeanette rankin is my bias 🫰

California must be a different country. I grew up in the early 2000s and I didn't hear about toaster ovens till like 2011 when my cousin bought one for college. No one had one out on their counter. Regular toasters where everywhere following children around

Jennifer W

👏 non-binary 👏 toasters 👏 are 👏 valid 👏

Jason Perez

“Kinda like that senator actually” I hope you make jokes about him and never let him live it down

Carrie Marshall

The flower bit was def in TV showings of the movie, I still have a VHS tape recording of UPN that I watched a lot as a kid! This movie is so bonkers to look back on, I remember watching it a lot but it certainly weirded me out, especially the junkyard bit. Also I was a Blanket kid, he was my favorite when I was little. Everyone was so mean to him, now I’m like damn, guys!

Jennifer W

maybe I'm just some kind of appliance-rube but I've never seen one of those over here 😅 I guess I've seen them on like US TV shows but I always assumed they were a fancy thing and most people just had regular toasters. the US truly is on the cutting edge of bread-heating tech I guess

Jenna Stoddard

Jenny your toaster ramble is the least relatable thing you've ever said. But I was always a sensitive child (my parents took me on alien escape in 1998 even though I was afraid of the bugs life show) and brave little toaster def was too scary for me

Shred Cadmium

BIG PORG 🙌

Jenny Nicholson

Most people I know just have a toaster oven, so the food goes in horizontally on the rack. Are those not in other countries? I think they're more useful since you can warm toast after you butter it or reheat stuff like pizza. Or bake cookies if you just want a couple and don't want to preheat a real oven lol

Austin F

the guy taking the appliances apart looks really similar to peter griffin to me lol

TalkieSoundBox

I'm so glad jenny also did not understand the electric blanket as a child. I always thought the blankets face was one of those loss prevention anti theft tags that got left on the blanket by accident and was confused as to why it did not explode and get ink all over it.

Madeline

I'm able to watch the video from the US, but it's been categorized as "for kids" lol

Jennifer W

wait, as a British person, I have literally never seen a toaster with any design other than the vertical one?? what kind of toaster innovation have you got going on over there?

Tall Jeff

Wow I saw this plenty as a kid and I do not remember any of the parts yo you showed what the hell

OrangeFlavouredPineapple

Unfortunately, the Youtube link isn't working in Australia. But, the Patreon link works.

Markus D

I also never liked the movie, but my reason was opposite to yours! I don't like movies where the characters are inanimate objects, unless it's some sort of magical scenario, because I'm not really able to sympathize with them or care about them being in peril because I'm just so consciously aware of how they aren't living beings.

T. Fazekas

The burden of fame. Little doubt subscriber number has to factor into what gets on their radar. Not a Toasty myself but can’t wait to watch.

Trevor Atwood

I'm within a year or so of you age wise and it is BONKERS to me that you didn't have a toaster! I've always had one!

Carla Carroll

Admittedly that song is real fucked up

Carla Carroll

Excited to watch this but shattered that you aren't a fan of the movie! It's one of my childhood favourites, and the song "worthless" is on some of my current playlists

Paul O'Regan

This website shows which countries a Youtube video is blocked in: https://polsy.org.uk/stuff/ytrestrict.cgi The video is blocked everywhere except the USA.