Le Petit Grille-pain courageux : Objectif 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 movie is a ROLLERtoaster of electrifying songs, enlightening LIFE lessons, and mind-zapping use of LANGUAGE, which WILL envelope YOUR heart in a warm, comforting embrace of emotion. The CHARACTERS are merry and bright with a HINT of cheddar flavouring. I'm a BIG FAN of this movie because it was LITERALLY cinematic PERFECTION.

The first time I watched this movie, it was in my dad's basement in complete darkness. He had abandoned me to watch baseball or something, and I was terrified. This movie quickly became my new dad.

I have cried only twice in my life. The first time was when I lost my 1992 Captain America collector's card. The second was when I heard the gripping story of WonderLuxe appliances.

If you need something to fill the void in your soul, and you've already found Jesus, watch "The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars."

My son likes this movie, particularly the music. I have no strong feelings about it one way or another, except that the adults seem to be far too wide-awake and cheerful to be the parents of a new baby. My favourite part was hearing DeForrest Kelley as the voice of the Viking spacecraft.