History YMMV / TheBraveLittleToaster

** A meta example: John Lasseter was fired from Disney for badgering them to make this film with hand drawn characters in a CG environment. which was not considered time- or cost-effective enough. A year before this film was released, ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' used this exact method [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail to huge success]] and it became one of their biggest assets for all of their future traditionally-animated films. And then Lasseter briefly became the CEO of the Mouse House, producing a string of computer-animated blockbusters.

** A character named Kirby who sucks things up, [[VideoGame/{{Kirby}} eh]]? (Granted, that character was probably also named after the ''actually'' Kirby vacuum brand).

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The song "Cutting Edge" rather viciously skewers the "Greed is good," style-over-substance consumerism culture of the 1980s ("An ultra-nylon life of ease" = "A synthetic, disposable life of instant gratification").

** At the time, "Cutting Edge" was more about how {{new media are evil}} and flashy, style-over-substance appliances were no match for older ones which simply did their job like the protagonists. As the decades go by and the view of hyper-consumerist, "greed is good" culture of the 1980s becomes significantly more negative due to the long-term harm of Reaganomics, creating a greater wage gap between the wealthy and everyone else, they come off as symbolic of [[CapitalismIsBad something significantly more evil]].

* CultClassic: Despite making virtually no money or impact on the general public due to how poorly its distribution was handled, it was a ''massively'' popular home video release in the late 80s/early 90s and, for many millennials, is considered one of the best animated films of [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation it's era]].

* AnimationAgeGhetto: [[WordOfGod In his own words]], Jerry Rees, along with his small team, set out to make a film that was sophisticated enough for adults to appreciate without relying on ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead''-[[AllAdultAnimationIsSouthPark style humor]], paying special attention to CharacterDevelopment, using a professional Hollywood score (Music/DavidNewman), and especially sound design (all of the sound effects are foley). Sadly, this trope still reared its ugly head when the film screened at Sundance and [[https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/104bza/comment/c6abyl1 several judges told Jerry Rees point blank that it was the best film there]], but they were afraid of losing credibility for giving the honor to a "cartoon."

* ViewerGenderConfusion: The titular toaster. Their voice is rather androgynous and they're only referred to by male pronouns once in the film ("Where's Toaster?" "He sank!"), though the character's actress referred to them as "she" in one interview, and the director referred to Toaster as a girl both in an interview and a Reddit AMA. This is wholly avoided in the book, where the appliances characters are all referred to as the genderless "it." Because of these reasons, Toaster is referred to by both male and female pronouns.

* LGBTFanbase: The titular toaster has become something of a non-binary icon among LGBTQ+ fans since TheNewTens, thanks to its AmbiguousGender.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: The titular toaster. Their voice is rather androgynous and they're only referred to by male pronouns once in the film ("Where's Toaster?" "He sank!"), though the character's actress referred to them as "she" in one interview, and the director referred to Toaster as a girl both in an interview and a Reddit AMA. This is wholly avoided in the book, where the appliances characters are all referred to as the genderless "it."

* StrawmanHasAPoint: While he's still clearly doing it to bully them, the Air Conditioner isn't wrong to say that it's unrealistic for the main characters to expect a now-grown child, whom they haven't seen in approximately ten years, to not only remember them but want to come back to them and that accepting it is easier than holding out. The fact that the Master ''does'' eventually come back to get them and that they're even reunited at all is sheer coincidence. [[TropesAreTools Granted, the AC only feels this way because, unlike the others, he doesn't have an emotional connection with the Master]], and his bullying is more a defense mechanism, as evidenced by how he [[BerserkButton literally explodes from anger]] when the others call his bluff.

* DesignatedVillain: Of all of the characters who stand in the way of our heroes, Elmo St. Peters is the only one who doesn't realize he's doing is wrong, since he has no way of knowing the appliances he's dismantling are sentient. As far as he's concerned, not only is he running an honest business, but a practical one as well. The absolute worst things he does is be slightly wasteful by cannibalizing parts from still-working appliances and lie to his customers that the parts he's selling them are being sold new. In any other movie, he wouldn't be a villain at all.

* AllAnimationIsDisney: This is where things get a little confusing. To make a long story short, it was ''supposed'' to be a Disney movie, but they shelved it, pushed it onto Hyperion (with Creator/WangFilmProductions in Taiwan handling most of the physical production. Director Jerry Reees and most of the American staff went to Taiwan for six months to supervise, however), then re-purchased and distributed it. The only part of the production Disney had was opticals, titles and lending out the Disney Chorus to sing on the soundtrack. Fox also financed some of the film in exchange for the foreign rights.

* DesignatedVillain: Of all of the characters who stand in the way of our heroes, Elmo St. Peters is the only one who doesn't realize he's doing is wrong, since he has no way of knowing the appliances he's dismantling are sentient. As far as he's concerned, not only is he running an honest business, but a practical one as well. In any other movie, he wouldn't be a villain at all. Before the Magnet loses it in anger, anyway.

** On the appliance side of things, the magnet and the trash compactor could easily be considered this. The magnet physically cannot move itself, someone else is doing it and picking up the cars. The magnet very likely doesn't actually want to be doing any of it, but it's helpless in its own way to do anything.

** On the appliance side of things, the magnet and the trash compactor could easily be considered this. The magnet physically cannot move itself, someone else it doing it and picking up the cars. The magnet very likely doesn't actually want to be doing any of it, but it's helpless in its own way to do anything.

* DesignatedVillain: Of all of the characters who stand in the way of our heroes, Elmo St. Peters is the only one who doesn't realize he's doing is wrong, since he has no way of knowing the appliances he's dismantling are sentient. As far as he's concerned, not only is he running an honest business, but a practical one as well. In any other movie, he wouldn't be a villain at all.

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Creator/ThurlRavenscroft, usually known for playing broadly comedic characters in classic Disney films, really gets a chance to show off a subtler range of emotions as Kirby. As it turned out, not only could he pull off grouchiness and gravitas without a hitch, but he could even be [[NightmareFuel genuinely frightening]] at times.

** A character named Kirby who sucks things up, [[VideoGame/{{Kirby}} eh]]? However, since Kirby vacuums existed decades before the game, it's probable Kirby's name comes from the vacuum.

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Creator/ThurlRavenscroft, usually known for playing broadly comedic characters in classic Disney films, gets a chance to show off his broader range of emotions as Kirby. As it turned out, not only could he do grouchiness and emotional gravitas, but he could even be genuinely frightening at times.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Immediately after recording all of their lines, both Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman were cast on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', where they became two of the most popular comic actors of the '90s.

** At the time, "Cutting Edge" was more about how {{new media are evil}} and flashy, style-over-substance appliances were no match for older ones which simply did their job like the protagonists. As the decades go by and the view of hyper-consumerist, "greed is good" culture of the 1980s becomes significantly more negative due to the long-term harm which Reaganomics creating a greater wage gap between the wealthy and everyone else, they come off as symbolic of [[CapitalismIsBad something significantly more evil]].

** Rob/The Master not only wants to continue using older but still reliable appliances instead of buying new ones, but goes to the trouble of repairing the toaster after it's most likely been mangled beyond use, just because he believes in getting as much use out of it as possible without having to buy a new one (and considering his success, he probably knows how to do that with ''all'' of the appliances, meaning they'll be around for quite a while. From an emotional standpoint, it shows he appreciates them as much as they appreciate him, but from a practical standpoint, he's wisely avoiding the vicious cycle of buying things only to eventually throw them away, thus preventing pollution through mass consumption. Today, buying secondhand is often promoted as a useful, even fun, way of undoing the negative effects of pollution (up to and including climate change), which makes Rob not only look more compassionate but more progressive as a result.

* DesignatedVillain: Of all of the characters who stand in the way of our heroes, Elmo St. Peters is the only one who doesn't realize he's doing is wrong, since he has no way of knowing the appliances he's dismantling are sentient. As far as he's concerned, not only is he running an honest business, but he's upcycling. In any other movie, he wouldn't be a villain at all.

* CultClassic: Despite making virtually no money or impact on the general public due to how poorly its distribution was handled, it is ''massively'' popular among children of the late 80s/early 90s who saw the film repeatedly on video and TV. Chances are, you've either never heard of this movie or you've seen it and love it. It helps that it's considered to otherwise be a top-notch movie in its own right, meaning it has a healthy shelf life.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: While he's still clearly doing it to bully them, but the Air Conditioner isn't wrong to say that it's unrealistic for the main characters to expect a now-grown child, whom they haven't seen in approximately ten years, to not only remember them but want to come back to them and that accepting it is easier than holding out. The fact that the Master ''does'' eventually come back to get them and that they're even reunited at all is sheer coincidence. [[TropesAreTools Granted, the AC only feels this way because, unlike the others, he doesn't have an emotional connection with the Master]], and his bullying is more a defense mechanism, as evidenced by how he [[BerserkButton literally explodes from anger]] when the others call his bluff.