When a young boy and his family go on holiday, their household appliances, led by the toaster, think they've been abandoned. They decide, rather than be left alone in the house for who knows how long, to try to find him. So begins a dangerous and amusing venture through the city and countryside. This should read: When a young boy and his family don't come one year to their holiday home, their household appliances, led by the toaster think their master might be in trouble. They decided that rather than stay where they are, they'll try to find them. So beings a dangerous and amusing adventure through the countryside and into the big city.

The film was a smash hit at the Sundance Film Festival, but failed to find a distributor. It was aired on the Disney Channel in 1987, then had appeared in the Park City Film Festival in 1988, before finally having a brief theatrical release at New York's Film Forum in May 1989, but still failed to find a distributor. It was actually shown in parts at various theaters as a serial from week to week, and in 1991, it was distributed on video. In October 2003, it finally had a DVD release alongside its two sequels.

The Radio:
I think Houdini did this once, and if I remember right, he was out of the hospital in no time.


Lampy:
Well, that's encouraging.

Continuity: The character's electrical cords constantly appear, disappear and change length throughout the entire film.

by Van Dyke Parks