Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, The
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Williams on September 23rd, 2003
This is a sequel to the little known Brave Little Toaster released by Disney in 1987. The first movie was very well written with memorable characters who appealed to kids and their parents alike. It is surprising that it did not get as much attention as it deserves and now languishes on the $0.99 rental shelf. I always worry when Disney releases sequels that are “Direct to video” because that usually means, “It’s so bad that it would cost us millions if it were released in theaters.” “Direct to video” is now u…ually synonymous with the names Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lungren. Yikes!
The first movie that I watched that Disney released “Direct to Video” was Lion King II : Simba’s Pride. That movie was so bad that it tainted the original for me. I’m hoping the new special edition DVD will restore it’s glory in my mind. The cast returning from the original are Deanna Oliver as the Toaster; Thurl Ravenscroft as vacuum cleaner, Kirby; and Tim Stack as the desk lamp, Lampy. New voices include those of Eric Lloyd as the Blanky and Roger Kabler as Radio. I especially liked Wayne Knight ( Jerry Seinfeild’s postman – everyone’s favorite Neuman) as the annoying microwave. While the voice acting is inspired, the material they have to speak is not.
The human family has been expanded with the addition of a baby who somehow gets “spacenapped” and taken to Mars where our heroes have to attempt a rescue. The only interesting thing about Mars is the leader of the Wonderlux appliances who holds daily elections to remind himself of his popularity. That’s about the highlight of this movie, as it lacks any memorable Disney tunes. Other than that, there’s the inside joke that faucet is played by Farrah Fawcett. Yeah…I’m sure the kids really appreciate that one.
Video
The colors were surprisingly drab and lifeless on this 1.33:1 full frame transfer. There was major artifacting whenever anything moved on the screen. The animation style used for this movie was no different than what you would expect from average Saturday morning cartoons which is a major disappointment considering the level of animation that one would expect from Disney, given their recent efforts seen in Tarzan and the Lion King.
Audio
The movie is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with decent separation of sound in the rear speakers. The songs lacked any punch and there was little use of bass effects. The sound effects were decent though.
Special Features
The special features consist of Storyboard-to-Scene comparisons where the viewer can compare separately or simultaneously (by pressing the rarely used ‘angle’ button on the remote) story boards with the full movie. Kind of neat but it gets old fast.
Final Thoughts
I watched this with my two and a half year old and she lost interest in it quickly. I’m not sure that an older child would react any differently. Not one of Disney’s best efforts by a long shot.
Special Features List
- Storyboard-to-Scene comparisons
January 27th, 2004 at 1:03 pm
I liked it; but not as good as the original. Not by far.
May 27th, 2005 at 5:11 pm
DISNEY PRESENTS THE BRAVE LITTE TOASTER
June 3rd, 2005 at 10:16 am
THE BRAVE LITTLE TOASTER