Live post: The Brave Little Toaster

[clearblacklines]

This is a live post! I'm typing this as I watch The Brave Little Toaster for the first time EVAH. Thanks to lady_amasis and all the other people who "recced" this movie. I was too curious not to check it out.

This is my real-time response to watching the movie, so spoilers, naturally.

Comments

[jesspark]

Hooollllyyy crap. The Brave Little Toaster! I remember watching this on TV when it first came out; I was probably five or six, and, to this day, I am devastated by the flower scene. Loved that movie, though -- my parents taped it for me and I've watched it quite a bit over the years, although not recently -- and your post served not only to remind me of it (and of how scary and depressing it can be!), but I also found out that my husband has never seen it! Oh, it's at the top of the Netflix queue now, you better believe it. =) I'm curious as to what he'll think of it, especially after reading your reactions in this live post.

Also, I'm uploading the soundtrack as I speak type; it should be ready for download in about half an hour if you're interested. :)

[clearblacklines]

I'm kinda torn between being really impressed and really disturbed. The first viewing really packs a punch, but I think if I watch it again it won't feel as distressing. I think it's just the dissonance of seeing such cute and adorable objects (designed obviously to make you feel attached to them) going through one horrible event after another.

Also yay, soundtrack! Some of the songs are catchy, I really liked the B-movie horror one.

[jesspark]

I totally agree... it was a very different little film. I just looked back at your Jodi Benson interview post and saw that The Brave Little Toaster was mentioned there as a traumatic animated movie, and I can understand why! It definitely made an impact on me as a kid.

If you haven't already, look up the history behind The Brave Little Toaster's production -- it was a surprisingly long, hard road. John Lasseter was one of the guys who pitched it (originally, he wanted it to be CG, like the test done for a film based on Where the Wild Things Are), but company politics got in the way, The Brave Little Toaster didn't get made at that time, and apparently Lasseter was fired. Yikes!

Also: soundtrack! Insert obligatory "delete after twenty-four hours" CYA message here, and enjoy! ;D

[jesspark]

Update: the soundtrack link is no longer good; apparently, 4shared received a complaint that the file contained "illegal or abusive information," so it was deleted.

[clearblacklines]

John Lasseter was one of the guys who pitched it

That actually explains a lot, because as I was watching, I felt that some of the storytelling elements felt awfully similar to what ended up in Toy Story -- humanising objects, feeling of abandonment, ending up in the care of a "villain" that cannibalises their parts, final vindication that their master loved them all along.

I managed to download the soundtrack before it got deleted (yay, thanks!) but I have to say I'm surprised that it got a "illegal or abusive information" notice. That's a first for me. O.o

[jesspark]

Me, too. Freaked me right out. Apparently, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, they are a-followin' your journal. Or something. :\ Big Brother is watching!

Agreed on The Brave Little Toaster's similarities to Toy Story -- reading about the pawn shop owner, I thought, "Wow, it's a grown-up Sid!", and now I'm even more eager to watch it again.