The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (1999)

During much of the 1980s, Disney was not performing well financially or critically. Release after release, almost all of their films weren't making the cut. Whether it was based on content or something else, viewers and critics alike at the time were unimpressed. That's not the case now however for many of the once unnoticed movies have found a home for those who appreciate the quality they gave. But of those, there were some movies that got recognized for being well done. A couple years before Disney hit it big with The Little Mermaid (1989), another animated film came out that has made a lasting memory for many children, that being The Brave Little Toaster (1987). As odd as the premise was audiences and critics were surprised to see how mature some of the basic themes and concepts were for the plot. Not surprisingly, Disney went on to release a Direct-to-Video sequel of the original 10 years later. Even though it was a few years in where Disney started cranking out sequels, it could've been bad but it holds up somewhat here.Picking up some time after the first events, audiences rejoin the living household items once more but this time, they're in the master's (Rob) veterinary clinic. The master is also ready to graduate and in order to do so, he must submit his 600-page thesis. One night while doing the finishing touches, a power surge occurs causing Rob to lose all his work. Fearing he won't graduate, it's up to the little toaster and friends along with some animals to save the day. Directed by Robert C. Ramirez who's better known for directing The Prince of Egypt (1998) prequel Joseph: King of Dreams (2000) and written by Willard Carroll who served as executive producer to The Brave Little Toaster (1987), manage to put together an acceptable sequel considering the circumstances. It's not at the same level as the original but it's an allowable follow-up. What doesn't work in this sequel are a few components. The most typical of reasons being continuity errors; ones that go beyond the physical realm that the first had established. Things don't just materialize.The other two problems deal with characters. The new animal additions to the original group is okay but they do feel a bit tacked on. It just feels very obligatory and one of the main animal's motive changes without reason. Then there's the role of Rob's underling named Mack who works as an assistant to him. Right when the character is introduced, his personality immediately gives away what kind of character he will be. No questions. Aside from these problems, there isn't much else to point out. Even with these problems dealing with development in certain characters, the script still contains some material that is dark when looked at under certain lenses. With that said, credit is due for at least not making the overall execution feel completely pointless. Some sequels get completely diluted and end up having no risk involved. When it comes to characters, unless the viewer wanted to know who voiced them, most would unknowingly discover that the majority of the original cast from the original did not return. Since the release of this was a decade later, seeing why some actors who voiced childlike characters is understandable. Yet as to why Jon Lovitz, Timothy E. Day, Wayne Kaatz and Colette Savage did not return is beyond understanding. They did after all voice important characters. Thankfully the actors who do replace the old cast maintain the same quality performances. Jessica Tuck who voices Chris, Chris Young as Rob, Eric Lloyd as Blanky and Roger Kabler as Radio all sound very similar to that of the original actors and that's great. Returning from the original is Deanna Oliver as Toaster, Thurl Ravenscroft as Kirby and Timothy Stack as Lampy, which is great to hear as well. For new members of the cast, Jay Mohr plays the voice of Mack, Andy Milder voices the scruffy Ratso, Alfre Woodard voices Maisie the mama cat, Danny Nucci plays a Hispanic Chiwawa, Andrew Daly plays Murgetroid the snake and veteran actor Eddie Bracken voices Sebastian the monkey. There's even a voice appearance from Brian Doyle-Murray playing a computer.The animation is actually another decent quality to this sequel. This is mostly because The Brave Little Toaster (1987) itself did not set such a high bar. If anything, the animation here is on par with its predecessor and that's okay. Taking into account that it was also animated on a smaller budget is important to recognize if the quality remains fairly the same. The film score was unfortunately not composed again by David Newman. In replace of him, Alexander Janko composed the music. This was Janko's first film composition and seeing that he frequently orchestrates more than composes, it's interesting that Janko made out rather sufficiently. The score itself consists of organic orchestra and uses those elements to its advantage. By this, the cues that involve the darker themes work properly. The songs that the actual characters sing aren't that bad either. Tunes like "Remember That Day", "Tap to the Super Highway" and especially "Chomp and Munch" are fairly catchy and can get the viewer to emote. The sequel itself isn't memorable as to its predecessor but it isn't all fluff either. There are some mature themes involved, the music is composed nicely and the voice cast perform well. It's just all the extra characters and an unexplained motivation that make it feel forgettable to some degree.

I saw this a few times, each time was just as bad. It continues from the first in the series, but Lovitz as the Radio is replaced, there are some annoying songs, The internet was introduced, along with a whole new line of strange characters including a pregnant cat, a very stereotypical Hispanic chihuahua and a rat that seemingly has no purpose. The Master, Rob, is in college with his girlfriend, and he has to write a thesis statement. Rob's girl keeps getting hit on by this pimp-looking fat guy in a lab coat, who tries to sell all the animals in the college to be test subjects in a medical research laboratory. The plot kind of takes a turn for the crazy when the appliances discover an enormous but outdated computing system, one that needs a bulb to survive and help them rescue the animals. When the Radio accidentally breaks the bulb, the other appliances yell at him, so he wanders off behind a box and performs self-surgery to remove his own bulb and slide it over to them. The toaster, rather apathetically, declares the radio dead (this scene traumatized my sister and I when we were kids.) Anyway, after the new bulb is donated to the large computing system, all that's left is to save the animals and stop Mr. Unmemorable-Named Pimp Guy from selling them off.For kids, this film is okay, save for the radio's suicide (although he lives because Master and the girlfriend repair him). If you grew up with the original though, you may be disappointed by this lousy sequel, complete with some highly dopey songs that just don't compare with the original, and some very pointless characters added in just for the hell of it. The animal rights activism gets very annoying, not to get into a debate in my review but there are two sides to every story, not just, "aw, don't hurt the poor little fuzzy kitties!" It's about saving lives, cancer research that could save millions of humans (and animals, too). I'll bet P.E.T.A. is a huge fan of this movie. My favorite character of the franchise has always been the radio, so it was disappointing that John Lovitz was no longer the voice actor of Radio. I thought the fat lab guy hitting on Rob's girlfriend was a little weird and out of place.If you are looking for a movie to show your kids, I suggest you try the original from 1987, because not only is the radio scene disturbing, but the whole concept of just what is supposedly going to happen to the animals in the lab could be extremely disturbing to kids, and if you're a parent you might want to save yourself the trouble of explaining animal testing to your kid. There were several actions the characters did that appeared perverted and I think were there intentionally (in the VHS tape I ordered of it the fat pimp-like lab guy reaches for the girl's butt, that's one example). To be honest, it all depends on what you consider appropriate for your children, and if you're watching it for nostalgic value as an adult, you won't find it here.

There are several instances in this movie that are highly sexual in nature! Computers talking about how it "feels good when you stroke me on the inside" referring to a scene when an old computer accesses a new one to retrieve a lost file. Several other sexual references of this type are all over this one. I was watching it with my kids and promptly turned it off after the first two...watched it by myself after they were in bed and was shocked that a KIDS movie references being "turned on" in a sexual manner and the stroking part was way over the top in my opinion...even the first movie has several sexual references but this one..it takes the cake!! I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE GETTING THIS AND THINKING IT IS OKAY FOR CHILDREN!!!

I love The Brave Little Toaster, it is funny with a great atmosphere and a likable story and characters. Neither of the two sequels are bad as such, but both are lacking in the first's charm, but both are watchable compared to other animated sequels I have the misfortune of seeing(ie. The Secret of NIMH 2:Timmy to the Rescue).I do think The Brave Little Toaster is too short, consequently the story is rather predictable and rushed and lacks the haunting and eerie yet charming. The new characters are a mixed bag, Mack is interesting in a way as is Wittgenstein, but Ratso starts off a little bland and superfluous. The songs aren't as memorable, and while Radio has his moments he is not as funny or as sweet.That said, the animation is good enough, the colours are quite nice and the characters are drawn well. The characters are still very likable, I liked some of the suspense and while not as funny or as poignant here the writing did at least make me laugh and cry. Another plus is the voice acting, which is really very good.In conclusion, a watchable sequel but lacking. 6/10 Bethany Cox