“We’ll fight fire with marshmallows!”

Justin’s rating: Any movie with a Tori Amos song in it is a winner in my book

Justin’s review: Dreams. They’re both fascinating and terrifying when they’re your own, but listening to someone else’s dream is usually pretty dull. That is why, according to the brain inside my head, this 1992 Robin Williams vehicle flopped. People just ain’t as interested in dreams as they used to be.

Toys takes place in an odd fantasy world that’s almost-but-not-quite like ours. Tim Burton meets the light side of life, almost. At the beginning, we see Mr. Zevo (an old dying man who runs this gigantic toy factory sitting in the middle of nowhere) who is being visited by his brother (a militant general played by Michael Gambon).

Since Zevo’s son, Leslie (Robin Williams), doesn’t want the responsibility of running the factory, Zevo hands it over to the General, who has some pretty nasty plans to weaponize the place. Leslie eventually rallies to care about the place and ropes in his friends and general sense of whimsy to counter the General’s plans.

Going back to the dream reference, Toys is one huge surrealistic daydream: bright colors, odd references, and only one foot planted on earth. Just the way we like it. Every set is unique (from the funeral pavilion to the factory’s innards), every character very odd (Joan Cusack plays the child-like bizarro sister of Leslie), and even the music is not quite what you’d expect. I’m sure this film has been compared to Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory numerous times, but it doesn’t really strive to be a Willie Wonka (thank God — if I have to see one more of those stupid Oompa inderlude songs, I’ll go on a rampage).

At times Toys runs very much like a comedy where Robin Williams is a king in his own sandbox — just without the comedy. The fantasy element is surely the strongest thing going for this movie, and it ends up being a not at all subtle look at the dividing line between childhood and adulthood.

As you’ve probably guessed, this is another one of those critically reviled films that Justin has taken under his wing and nurtured over the years. Overall, I do like this film tremendously. It’s amusing, certainly different, and satisfying to watch. I would not put it on the “Perfected Masterpieces” shelf, since there are some rough areas that hurt the film in parts.

For example, Robin Williams portrays the child in all of us, irresponsible and imaginative. His journey to responsibility seems to strip that away from him (most notably when he has sex with his girlfriend) and stops being as sympathetic. Also, the end battle is very strange, to say the least. It doesn’t make much sense, but I guess that’s not too out of character for the film.

But! Don’t despair! LL Cool J is in this movie! Why! I don’t know!

Definitely not for everybody, particularly not for people who have long since transcended daydreams… but perhaps for you. Test the waters of oddity with Toys and see where you land.