The Brave Little Toaster is one of the best pieces of animation. Ever. If you’ve seen it then you know why. If you haven’t seen it then this probably sounds like hyperbole. Many films get talked up as one of the best so why should this be any different? Well, considering the film finally dropped on Disney+ on May 25th, 2026, now’s a good time to go into it.
A Brief History Of ’80s Disney
In 1987, the Disney Renaissance had not yet happened. That would come two years later in 1989 with the release of The Little Mermaid. What we had at the time were Disney films that have been looked on more as cult classics in hindsight. The year prior in 1986 we got The Great Mouse Detective and in 1988 we got Oliver & Company. Sandwiched in-between was The Brave Little Toaster. It could’ve had a theatrical release but Disney instead opted to release it to its Disney Channel cable offering.
There’s a lot that went on behind the scenes which would serve for a different article for a different time. You could even write another piece about all the animators, producers, and writers involved in this who went on to work in the Disney Renaissance period and moved on to Pixar. The amount of talent they had working on this thing was phenomenal and it shows. It especially shows when you compare it to the Toy Story franchise. The Brave Little Toaster was originally a novella that scriptwriter Joe Ranft adapted into a screenplay alongside director Jerry Rees. Ranft would later create the original story for Toy Story.
It shouldn’t be entirely surprising then to learn that this story about a toaster and its friends basically begins with them realizing they’ve been alone for sometime. Their owner, “The Master” as they refer to him, hasn’t been around in a very long time. They set off to find him. So Toaster, Blanky (an electric blanket), Lampy (a desk lamp), Kirby (a vacuum), and Radio (a uh, radio) go off in search of him. Their journey is one that tests their friendship, their faith in the person who cared for them, and their own existence.
Appliances and Existentialism
Like what Toy Story did across three films regarding existence and existential dread, The Brave Little Toaster does it all in one movie. The score by David Newman is consistently tinged with sadness. Even the happier times seem to be dipped in a kind of melancholy. Kids may not notice this as much. The animation is still bright and jovial to them. Adults however will be hit a lot harder by this. The darker subject matters about questioning your purpose in life and confronting obsolescence, are undoubtedly present. These aren’t fears for children though. For them, this is too far off in their future to even register as a concern. These are adult fears that you would only know from experience more of life and aging.
Like many a good Disney film too, The Brave Little Toaster gives us a few memorable songs. It has four original numbers written by Van Dyke Parks actually. One of them stands out above all the others, “Worthless.” That’s not to say the others aren’t great. “City of Light” is wonderfully catchy and “It’s a B-Movie” is an amazing tribute to old sci-fi and horror movies. In some ways it’s like a cousin to “Science Fiction/Double Feature” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. “Worthless” though, it’s the heart of the film’s drama and emotional conflict.
Just Watch the Movie Already
The best Disney films are the ones that take on new meaning as you get older. That’s one of the reasons why A Goofy Movie has seen such a cultural renaissance. Here, when you watch The Brave Little Toaster as a kid, you’re focused on their journey. You just want the appliances to find their master and you worry whether or not they’ll make it. When you’re older and watch this, you know that it doesn’t matter if they find The Master. You know that everything has its end point and you can’t avoid it. That’s just the way it is. But at least when you watch Toaster and his friends, you can believe there’s always a happy ending. And that’s something we all need to believe in our hearts sometimes.
The Brave Little Toaster is now streaming on Disney+.
