The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars

This was released as the second film in the "Brave Little Toaster" trilogy, but is actually the final adventure. The third film, "The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue", takes place in between the original and this one. After all these years, I've finally seen the two late 90's direct-to-video sequels to the barely theatrical 1987 original, which I saw many times in my childhood, probably mostly before the sequels were made. I knew these two sequels weren't that popular, so I didn't have very high expectations for them. As it turns out, it's good I didn't, or I would have been let down. Neither of them is any match for the bizarre 80's Hyperion Pictures production, though both of them have their moments. "The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars" might be the worst of the three.

Rob, known as "The Master" to his childhood appliances, has graduated from college and become a veterinarian. He is now married to his long-term girlfriend, Chris, and they live in rural house, along with Rob's old appliances (Toaster, Blanky, Kirby, Lampy, and Radio), and Ratso. One day, the couple returns home with a new baby boy, Robbie. At first, the appliances are not sure how this will work out for them, but soon find themselves enjoying the company of the "Little Master". One night, the Hearing Aid, who lives in the kitchen drawer, sneaks upstairs while everyone else is asleep. The Toaster wakes up and can tell he's up to something, so he tells the others about it the next day. The following night, they all witness Robbie being sucked out the window in a beam of light, and soon learn that he has been taken to Mars! In order to try and get the baby back before his parents wake up and realize he is gone, the Red Planet is where the appliances must go!

Like the other two installments in the trilogy, this one features a bunch of songs. The baby song near the beginning seemed awfully sappy for a "Brave Little Toaster" song to me, but I guess the rest of them aren't that bad. I thought it would be kind of interesting seeing our appliance heroes on their only adventure away from Earth, but to me, it wasn't too entertaining after all. Neither of the sequels' plots can match the appliances' first adventure. The part where the appliances (original and new ones) are on their way to Mars and meet a bunch of helium balloons floating in space I found to be a weak moment, but I guess it's more for kids. "The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars" also lacks humour, much like "To the Rescue", but maybe even more so. There were parts I found amusing, such as Ratso making baby sounds into the intercom, but I don't think there were too many others. With Wayne Knight providing the voice of the Microwave, the character definitely could have been funnier.

I probably would consider this sequel slightly inferior to "The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue", but I feel I could give it the same rating, 6/10, instead of 5. Looking back, it doesn't seem all that bad, and has a pretty good ending. However, I certainly couldn't give either sequel the 8/10 I gave to the original. I haven't read Thomas M. Disch's "Brave Little Toaster" books, which the films are based on, but now that I've seen the entire film trilogy, I think the 1987 original was aimed at all ages, whereas the two late 90's sequels are more for kids. I'm not saying all adults should avoid them like the plague, I've seen worse kiddie flicks, but if you're an adult fan of the original, you could easily be disappointed by them. Regardless of your age, if you're going to watch all three movies, I suggest you watch this one last (even though it came in the middle), after you've seen the original and the other sequel, or else you could get confused.

Let me just say that the original "the Brave Little Toaster" is *still* one of the most charming animated features I've ever seen. It is, by turns, adorable, funny, sweet, and thrilling, and it didn't surprise me at all that some of its production team went on to produce "Toy Story", another one of my favorites.

With all that said, this sequel has some really big circuits to fill. It is a big disapointment. It's cute but instantly forgettable, and while the first movie had fantastic music (the score is one of the most hauntingly beautiful I've ever heard for an animated film), the songs in this outing will *really* make your toes curl. As if that wasn't enough to insult us fans of the original movie, for some reason they didn't think we'd notice that Radio has a different voice and that Chris and Computer have been totally redesigned (for the worse). What does it say that the best part of the video is the preview for "Kiki's Delivery Service"? Go watch that movie instead.

When I first saw this movie, I felt it was not very good at all: a thin plot, new characters with no introduction, and so on.

But then I saw Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue. If you watch Rescue between the original film and this one, then this one makes a lot more sense.

This animated, feature-length "Kiddie" film is definitely cute-cute-cute, but, then again, it certainly could have been a whole lot better, too.

Of course, all of your favorite electrical appliances are here, including - Toaster, Lampy, Radio, Kirby, and Blanky - And this tale is to be their bravest adventure yet.

Robbie, the master's baby, has been mysteriously beamed up to Mars. It's now up to our heroes, plus a houseful of new friends, like a fan, and a microwave, to reach the stars and bring the little tyke safely back home to Earth.

This is a delightful, little tale that overflows with friendship and courage.

So, get ready for a fun-filled mission with the brave, little Toaster, and all of his cool friends!

The Brave Little Toaster (1987) may have not been a realistic family film with living appliances, but it did have something special about it. The characters and scenes that were created using them were all memorable. While it's typically not associated with the Disney renaissance period, it is has a strong following behind it. But like many tent pole starters, the studio took advantage of it years later by creating direct-to-video sequels. While The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (1997) was by no means a match to the original, it did manage to remain fairly faithful to the universe that it was built upon. However, it was surprising to learn that much of the original voice cast did not return for the follow up. When it came to this entry, it's no longer surprising.

Once again written by Willard Carroll, the title to this sequel is by no means lying about its premise. The brave little toaster and friends indeed go to mars. All because of one tired hearing aid (Fyvush Finkel) who was planning to leave everyone else behind and it just so happens, Rob & Chris' child somehow gets entangled into the tractor beam that was supposed to take hearing aid. The story has gone full out wacky. Direction hasn't changed either with Robert C. Ramirez in charge. The plot here is just so outlandish that it mostly rejects any kind of sense the first two stories had. The characters actually make it to mars by riding a fan driven laundry basket powered by a microwave. Sorry what? There are just too many questions to ask related to this.

How does the microwave create enough power for the whole crew to break earth's gravity? What's the microwave even powered by? The first film had the sense to know that a battery was at least needed. Not to mention, Chris & Rob's baby is kept alive in space via a bubble. It's this kind of writing that really says the to the viewer that this is really a young kids film. Sure, the first film had some very adult themes, but this a complete departure from that entirely. That's not to say everything's bad,...but the story itself is. It's remarkably unrealistic to that of the what the original set up. Not to mention the execution of this story takes place in less than a day. In order to accomplish this, going from earth to mars round trip means the team must have been traveling super fast.

For voices, the cast from the second film return with some additions. Deanna Oliver, Thurl Ravenscroft and Timothy Stack all return for a third time as their respective characters. Eric Lloyd, Roger Kable, Andy Milder, Jessica Tuck, Chris Young and Brian Doyle-Murray all return from the second film for their roles. Lastly, extras to the story are Calculator (Stephen Tobolowsky), Microwave (Wayne Knight), Faucet (Farrah Fawcett), Fanny (Carol Channing) and Tinselina (Kath Soucie). All whom voice their characters well, some of which viewers may not recognize initially until the credits roll. It's just unfortunate that these talented actors are participating in such an average sequel. Thankfully, they at least know how to act.

The visuals to this entry are decent. Paul Lin who was animation director for this and the second film made the film look okay. For what the film had budget wise, this is passable animation. It's not expected to be anything blockbuster worthy. Music on the other hand was mixed this time. The songs created by William Finn are rather bland and don't contribute to any character development. This includes the lyrics written by Ellen Fitzhugh, which is just very boring. The only saving grace is that Jim Cummings sings one of those songs. As for the score, Alexander Janko returns to compose and while it isn't outstanding, he does have a reoccurring theme, which is appreciated. The music does fit the scene it is used for.

This third sequel is not a terrible film, but it certainly ignores practically all the setting up the original film made. The voice actors do well and the animation is still fair for the film that it is. However, the music is middling at best and the plot is just very silly.