The Brave Little Toaster - Revision history

Eb at 02:34, 3 July 2025

2025-07-03T02:34:40Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:34, 2 July 2025
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	'''''The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances''''' (1980) is a novella by [[Thomas M. Disch]], later published as a children's book and adapted into an {{wp\|The Brave Little Toaster\|animated movie}}. It describes the quest of five appliances leaving their cottage, whose owner has been away for several years, to find him in the city.		'''''The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances''''' (1980) is a novella by [[Thomas M. Disch]], later published as a children's book and adapted into an {{wp\|The Brave Little Toaster\|animated movie}}. It describes the quest of five appliances leaving their cottage, whose owner has been away for several years, to find him in the city.

	This was Disch's first work for children,<ref>Others are ''The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars'', ''A Child's Garden of Grammar'', and an autobiographical essay in the ''Something About the Author'' series. [https://compassrosebooks.blogspot.com/2016/12/tom-disch-1940-2008-was-gifted-poet.html ''The Tale of Dan de Lion''] arguably qualifies too, although this tiny picture-book poem can't have been seen by many children, as it appeared only in a very limited edition.</ref>, but it originally appeared in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''. Book publishers were uninterested at first; according to Disch, they felt kids would not care about talking inanimate objects. Fifteen years later, ''Toy Story'' thoroughly disproved that theory—and this was a precursor to ''Toy Story'' in more ways than one: the Disney employee who had read the novella and convinced Disney to buy the film rights was John Lasseter, later a co-founder of Pixar, who originally pitched it as a computer-animated project.		This was Disch's first work for children,<ref>Others are ''The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars'', ''A Child's Garden of Grammar'', and an autobiographical essay in the ''Something About the Author'' series. [https://compassrosebooks.blogspot.com/2016/12/tom-disch-1940-2008-was-gifted-poet.html ''The Tale of Dan de Lion''] arguably qualifies too, although this tiny picture-book poem can't have been seen by many children, as it appeared only in a very limited edition.</ref> but it originally appeared in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''. Book publishers were uninterested at first; according to Disch, they felt kids would not care about talking inanimate objects. Fifteen years later, ''Toy Story'' thoroughly disproved that theory—and this was a precursor to ''Toy Story'' in more ways than one: the Disney employee who had read the novella and convinced Disney to buy the film rights was John Lasseter, later a co-founder of Pixar, who originally pitched it as a computer-animated project.

	Once the movie was in production (funded by Disney but made by Hyperion Pictures, more cheaply and without computers), Doubleday published the book. These notes refer to the 1986 Doubleday edition, with illustrations by Karen Lee Schmidt; see '''[[/Editions/]]''' for others.		Once the movie was in production (funded by Disney but made by Hyperion Pictures, more cheaply and without computers), Doubleday published the book. These notes refer to the 1986 Doubleday edition, with illustrations by Karen Lee Schmidt; see '''[[/Editions/]]''' for others.

Eb at 02:34, 3 July 2025

2025-07-03T02:34:07Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:34, 2 July 2025
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	'''''The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances''''' (1980) is a novella by [[Thomas M. Disch]], later published as a children's book and adapted into an {{wp\|The Brave Little Toaster\|animated movie}}. It describes the quest of five appliances leaving their cottage, whose owner has been away for several years, to find him in the city.		'''''The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances''''' (1980) is a novella by [[Thomas M. Disch]], later published as a children's book and adapted into an {{wp\|The Brave Little Toaster\|animated movie}}. It describes the quest of five appliances leaving their cottage, whose owner has been away for several years, to find him in the city.

	This was Disch's first work for children ~~(the others~~ are ''The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars'', ''A Child's Garden of Grammar'', and an autobiographical essay in the ''Something About the Author'' series), but it originally appeared in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''. Book publishers were uninterested at first; according to Disch, they felt kids would not care about talking inanimate objects. Fifteen years later, ''Toy Story'' thoroughly disproved that theory—and this was a precursor to ''Toy Story'' in more ways than one: the Disney employee who had read the novella and convinced Disney to buy the film rights was John Lasseter, later a co-founder of Pixar, who originally pitched it as a computer-animated project.		This was Disch's first work for children,<ref>Others are ''The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars'', ''A Child's Garden of Grammar'', and an autobiographical essay in the ''Something About the Author'' series. [https://compassrosebooks.blogspot.com/2016/12/tom-disch-1940-2008-was-gifted-poet.html ''The Tale of Dan de Lion''] arguably qualifies too, although this tiny picture-book poem can't have been seen by many children, as it appeared only in a very limited edition.</ref>, but it originally appeared in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''. Book publishers were uninterested at first; according to Disch, they felt kids would not care about talking inanimate objects. Fifteen years later, ''Toy Story'' thoroughly disproved that theory—and this was a precursor to ''Toy Story'' in more ways than one: the Disney employee who had read the novella and convinced Disney to buy the film rights was John Lasseter, later a co-founder of Pixar, who originally pitched it as a computer-animated project.

	Once the movie was in production (funded by Disney but made by Hyperion Pictures, more cheaply and without computers), Doubleday published the book. These notes refer to the 1986 Doubleday edition, with illustrations by Karen Lee Schmidt; see '''[[/Editions/]]''' for others.		Once the movie was in production (funded by Disney but made by Hyperion Pictures, more cheaply and without computers), Doubleday published the book. These notes refer to the 1986 Doubleday edition, with illustrations by Karen Lee Schmidt; see '''[[/Editions/]]''' for others.

Eb at 06:12, 29 January 2025

2025-01-29T06:12:05Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:12, 29 January 2025
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	Once the movie was in production (funded by Disney but made by Hyperion Pictures, more cheaply and without computers), Doubleday published the book. These notes refer to the 1986 Doubleday edition, with illustrations by Karen Lee Schmidt; see '''[[/Editions/]]''' for others.		Once the movie was in production (funded by Disney but made by Hyperion Pictures, more cheaply and without computers), Doubleday published the book. These notes refer to the 1986 Doubleday edition, with illustrations by Karen Lee Schmidt; see '''[[/Editions/]]''' for others.

			Doubleday also published Disch's sequel ''{{wp\|The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars}}'', which Disney made a much less successful direct-to-video movie from. His last experience with that industry left him even more disappointed: he wrote the original story treatment for the massively successful ''The Lion King'', but it was uncredited work-for-hire that paid badly since writers on animated projects were not covered by the WGA at the time.<ref>{{cite article\|author=Chandler, David\|date=2018\|title=Creating ''The Lion King'': Story development, authorship and accreditation in the Disney renaissance\|url=https://intellectdiscover.com/docserver/fulltext/josc/9/3/josc.9.3.329_1.pdf?expires=1738030973&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=FF0E10964B0DDEF23FA50C8F2B9DE475\|publication=Journal of Screenwriting\|pub-date=Vol. 9, No. 3\|accessed=January 28, 2025}}</ref>

	== Major characters ==		== Major characters ==

Eb: /* listened to the radio sing song after song */

2025-01-27T06:37:55Z

listened to the radio sing song after song

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	=== listened to the radio sing song after song ===		=== listened to the radio sing song after song ===

	(p. 54) The idea that the radio is always ''performing'', rather than just passively conveying other people's performances, is used heavily in the movie adaptation where the dialogue voiced by Jon Lovitz includes ~~a lot of~~ free-association medleys of songs and commercials.		(p. 54) The idea that the radio is always ''performing'', rather than just passively conveying other people's performances, is used heavily in the movie adaptation where the dialogue voiced by Jon Lovitz includes free-association medleys of songs and commercials.

	One thing Lovitz sings in the movie, very briefly, that viewers who recognize it might find a wee bit odd or inappropriate, is ''not'' from this book: the Al Jolson version of {{wp\|My Mammy\|"My Mammy"}}. However, there is a Disch connection there and I strongly suspect it was an inside joke by the filmmakers rather than a coincidence. Disch's science fiction novel ''[[On Wings of Song]]''—published in the same magazine as ''The Brave Little Toaster'', one year earlier—was a bitter satire involving the rise of a pop star who is famous for a combination of bel canto opera and blackface minstrel songs, including that one.		One thing Lovitz sings in the movie, very briefly, that viewers who recognize it might find a wee bit odd or inappropriate, is ''not'' from this book: the Al Jolson version of {{wp\|My Mammy\|"My Mammy"}}. However, there is a Disch connection there and I strongly suspect it was an inside joke by the filmmakers rather than a coincidence. Disch's science fiction novel ''[[On Wings of Song]]''—published in the same magazine as ''The Brave Little Toaster'', one year earlier—was a bitter satire involving the rise of a pop star who is famous for a combination of bel canto opera and blackface minstrel songs, including that one.

Eb at 02:29, 25 January 2025

2025-01-25T02:29:02Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:29, 24 January 2025
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	This was Disch's first work for children (the others are ''The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars'', ''A Child's Garden of Grammar'', and an autobiographical essay in the ''Something About the Author'' series), but it originally appeared in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''. Book publishers were uninterested at first; according to Disch, they felt kids would not care about talking inanimate objects. Fifteen years later, ''Toy Story'' thoroughly disproved that theory—and this was a precursor to ''Toy Story'' in more ways than one: the Disney employee who had read the novella and convinced Disney to buy the film rights was John Lasseter, later a co-founder of Pixar, who originally pitched it as a computer-animated project.		This was Disch's first work for children (the others are ''The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars'', ''A Child's Garden of Grammar'', and an autobiographical essay in the ''Something About the Author'' series), but it originally appeared in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''. Book publishers were uninterested at first; according to Disch, they felt kids would not care about talking inanimate objects. Fifteen years later, ''Toy Story'' thoroughly disproved that theory—and this was a precursor to ''Toy Story'' in more ways than one: the Disney employee who had read the novella and convinced Disney to buy the film rights was John Lasseter, later a co-founder of Pixar, who originally pitched it as a computer-animated project.

	Once the movie was in production (funded by Disney but made by Hyperion Pictures, more cheaply and without computers), Doubleday published the book. These notes refer to the 1986 Doubleday edition, with illustrations by Karen Lee Schmidt.		Once the movie was in production (funded by Disney but made by Hyperion Pictures, more cheaply and without computers), Doubleday published the book. These notes refer to the 1986 Doubleday edition, with illustrations by Karen Lee Schmidt; see '''[[/Editions/]]''' for others.

	== Major characters ==		== Major characters ==

Eb at 20:17, 22 January 2025

2025-01-22T20:17:06Z

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			{{#addbodyclass: tiled-toc tiled-toc-no-chapters}}
	'''''The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances''''' (1980) is a novella by [[Thomas M. Disch]], later published as a children's book and adapted into an {{wp\|The Brave Little Toaster\|animated movie}}. It describes the quest of five appliances leaving their cottage, whose owner has been away for several years, to find him in the city.		'''''The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances''''' (1980) is a novella by [[Thomas M. Disch]], later published as a children's book and adapted into an {{wp\|The Brave Little Toaster\|animated movie}}. It describes the quest of five appliances leaving their cottage, whose owner has been away for several years, to find him in the city.

Eb: /* the vacuum cleaner, being the oldest ... it was a Hoover */

2025-01-22T18:48:23Z

the vacuum cleaner, being the oldest ... it was a Hoover

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:48, 22 January 2025
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	(p. 9) How old is this oldest of the appliances? This story begins on March 8, 1976, and the appliances were abandoned in the cottage on September 25, 1973,<ref>''The Brave Little Toaster'', p. 12.</ref> after having been brought from the city "years and years and years ago" (except for the toaster, who arrived at some point after that). Appliances did generally last longer in those days than now, so "the master" (who isn't as young as he is in the movie) could've had some items from 20 years earlier—but then he might've been more attached to them as antiques and wouldn't have left them behind. So let's say they're early '70s or late '60s devices.		(p. 9) How old is this oldest of the appliances? This story begins on March 8, 1976, and the appliances were abandoned in the cottage on September 25, 1973,<ref>''The Brave Little Toaster'', p. 12.</ref> after having been brought from the city "years and years and years ago" (except for the toaster, who arrived at some point after that). Appliances did generally last longer in those days than now, so "the master" (who isn't as young as he is in the movie) could've had some items from 20 years earlier—but then he might've been more attached to them as antiques and wouldn't have left them behind. So let's say they're early '70s or late '60s devices.

	[[File:Dialamatic-ad.jpg\|thumb\|right\|300px\|Hoover Dial-a-Matic Model 1170 (1969)]] However—if one really cares about being historically consistent (which I have no reason to think Disch really cared about, but he might have done so for fun)—the vacuum, and therefore all the other appliances, arguably can't be older than 1969. That's the year when {{wp\|The Hoover Company\|Hoover}} released its first ''self-propelled'' vacuum, the Dial-a-Matic Model 1170 (shown at right); the vacuum being able to roll around via its own motor is an important plot point in this story. You might argue that all of these appliances seem to be able to crawl around on their own anyway, but since we're told that this vacuum is envious of newer vacuums for their other design features like disposable dust bags<ref>''The Brave Little Toaster'', p. 11.</ref> and ''not'' for being self-propelled, I feel confident that it does have that as a mechanical feature and not just a magic/anthropomorphic one.		[[File:Dialamatic-ad.jpg\|thumb\|right\|300px\|Hoover Dial-a-Matic Model 1170 (1969)]] However—if one really cares about being historically consistent (which I have no reason to think Disch really cared about, but he might have done so for fun)—the vacuum, and therefore all the other appliances, arguably can't be older than 1969. That's the year when {{wp\|The Hoover Company\|Hoover}} released its first ''self-propelled'' vacuum, the Dial-a-Matic Model 1170 (shown at right); the vacuum being able to roll around via its own motor is an important plot point in this story. (That doesn't mean fully self-directed like a {{wp\|Roomba}}—just that the Model 1170 could keep going in whatever direction you pushed it.) You might argue that all of these appliances seem to be able to crawl around on their own anyway, but since we're told that this vacuum is envious of newer vacuums for their other design features like disposable dust bags<ref>''The Brave Little Toaster'', p. 11.</ref> and ''not'' for being self-propelled, I feel confident that it does have that as a mechanical feature and not just a magic/anthropomorphic one.

	The vacuum cleaner portrayed in Schmidt's illustrations doesn't seem to be any particular Hoover; it's kind of a cross between the 1170 and later '70s models that didn't have such a tall center piece.		The vacuum cleaner portrayed in Schmidt's illustrations doesn't seem to be any particular Hoover; it's kind of a cross between the 1170 and later '70s models that didn't have such a tall center piece.

Eb at 00:00, 19 January 2025

2025-01-19T00:00:08Z

Show changes

Eb: /* the toaster, a bright little Sunbeam */

2025-01-18T22:40:49Z

the toaster, a bright little Sunbeam

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:40, 18 January 2025
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	=== the toaster, a bright little Sunbeam ===		=== the toaster, a bright little Sunbeam ===

	Sunbeam toasters were made from 1949 to 1997.<ref>[https://www.timstoasters.com/models-years/ ''Tim's Toasters~~'']. Retrieved~~ December 31, 2024.</ref> The main thing that made a Sunbeam different from other toasters, besides being especially brave and optimistic, was its fully automatic system: instead of pushing down a lever, just dropping in the bread triggered a mechanism that lowered the bread and started the heating element, and after reaching the right temperature it would smoothly raise the bread up again.		Sunbeam toasters were made from 1949 to 1997.<ref>{{cite article\|title=Sunbeam Models & Years.\|url=https://www.timstoasters.com/models-years/\|publication=Tim's Toasters\|accessed=December 31, 2024}}</ref> The main thing that made a Sunbeam different from other toasters, besides being especially brave and optimistic, was its fully automatic system: instead of pushing down a lever, just dropping in the bread triggered a mechanism that lowered the bread and started the heating element, and after reaching the right temperature it would smoothly raise the bread up again.

	A common early-1970s model was the AT-W:		A common early-1970s model was the AT-W:

Eb: /* listened to the radio sing song after song */

2025-01-01T20:24:45Z

listened to the radio sing song after song

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:24, 1 January 2025
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	(p. 54) The idea that the radio is always ''performing'', rather than just passively conveying other people's performances, is used heavily in the movie adaptation where the dialogue voiced by Jon Lovitz includes a lot of free-association medleys of songs and commercials.		(p. 54) The idea that the radio is always ''performing'', rather than just passively conveying other people's performances, is used heavily in the movie adaptation where the dialogue voiced by Jon Lovitz includes a lot of free-association medleys of songs and commercials.

	One thing Lovitz sings in the movie, very briefly, that viewers who recognize it might find a wee bit odd or inappropriate, is ''not'' from this book: the Al Jolson version of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Mammy "My Mammy"]. However, there is a Disch connection there and I strongly suspect it was an inside joke by the filmmakers rather than a coincidence. Disch's science fiction novel ''On Wings of Song''—published in the same magazine as ''The Brave Little Toaster'', one year earlier—was a bitter satire involving the rise of a pop star who is famous for a combination of bel canto opera and blackface minstrel songs, including that one.		One thing Lovitz sings in the movie, very briefly, that viewers who recognize it might find a wee bit odd or inappropriate, is ''not'' from this book: the Al Jolson version of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Mammy "My Mammy"]. However, there is a Disch connection there and I strongly suspect it was an inside joke by the filmmakers rather than a coincidence. Disch's science fiction novel ''[[On Wings of Song]]''—published in the same magazine as ''The Brave Little Toaster'', one year earlier—was a bitter satire involving the rise of a pop star who is famous for a combination of bel canto opera and blackface minstrel songs, including that one.

	=== the toaster's own favorite melody, "I Whistle a Happy Tune" ===		=== the toaster's own favorite melody, "I Whistle a Happy Tune" ===