It Came from Disney!

Bob goes Iron Chef with the Pop Art Mickey Toaster

- by Bob McLain, January 9, 2011

In my day, toasters were sturdy and dull, their purpose to brown a white slice of bread (brown bread, in my day, wasn't known as healthy whole wheat but rather as 'kept it too long'). Many of those old toasters were over-achievers and blackened toast instead of browning it. However the toast came out, you were thankful for it, you slathered it with butter and jam, and you walked uphill fifteen miles to school in a cyclonic blizzard.

Nowadays, it's all gotten so ... spiffy!

And by that I mean the toasters. As if it weren't enough to greet Mickey in one of the Disney Parks, not enough to see him adorn countless examples of the Chinese economic miracle (previously known as 'Made in China'), now you can see him on your toast, too.

Lock your doors and look to the sky! Today in It Came from Disney I present:

Pop Art Mickey Toasters!

At First Glance

A toaster isn't inherently scary or strange. The Pop Art Mickey Toaster looks quite nice, actually, and fits the fire-engine red color scheme of any family kitchen. Although burning effigies of Mickey (and some of his friends) onto toast may sound like medieval torture, it's not a bad way to distract children for a few moments on a busy morning and the end result does resemble the manufacturer's claims, provided that you don't do anything foolish like try to jam a thick waffle or English muffin in the toaster and expect magic.

The Pop Art Toaster Phenomenon

Well, maybe phenomenon is too grand a word to describe the simple marketing premise behind Pop Art Toasters, especially since I'd never heard of them until a few weeks ago, but a phenomemon is inherently scary so grant me my eccentricities.

Linda Carlish, the owner of New York promotional merchandising company LC Premiums Ltd., was traveling in China a few years ago when she saw a toaster that 'browned' a smiley face onto bread. If a smiley face, Linda thought, why not something else - anything else?

A brand was born.

The Pop Art Toaster is nothing more than a plastic or chrome toaster that comes with a set of removable, interchangeable stencils. By sliding a stencil into the toaster, you cause the design on the stencil to burn more quickly onto the bread. The rest of the bread is covered by the stencil and toasts more slowly. But it does still toast. The stencil design is visible because it's darker (browner, or if you leave the bread in there long enough, blacker) than the surrounding area. What a sharp, simple concept!

As you might imagine, there are lots of different stencils available. For a minimum order of 300 toasters, you can even have your own stencil made. (Great for Saudi royalty or other wealthy extended families.) And if you're sick of things on your toast - such as 'Bite Me', one of the less kid-friendly stencils - all you have to do is remove the stencil and use the toaster as, well, a plain toaster.

And by 'plain toaster', I mean plain toaster: two slots, seven heat settings (only one of which you'll probably ever use, though the 'defrost' setting does sound handy), and a removable crumb tray. The slots, unfortunately, are on the small side, and if you use big, thick slices of bread, you'll find they don't descend fully into the toaster. Regular slices of bread, frozen pancakes, (small) frozen waffles, and Pop-Tarts fit fine.

Pop Art and Disney

Pop Art and Disney: a marriage made in toast heaven? You bet.

The Pop Art Mickey Toaster is not a 'special' version of the toaster but rather a standard bright red Pop Art Toaster with the addition of four Disney stencils depicting Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Donald.

If you don't like Mickey, or the color red, you can opt instead for the Princess Pop Art Toaster (in white) or the Fairies Pop Art Toaster (in light blue). Both are exactly the same toaster but with different stencils: a castle, heart, crown, and glass slipper for the Princess version and a Tinker Bell, pixie dust, flowers, and 'Pixies Rule' message for the Fairies version. (Sorry, if you want 'Bite Me', that's another model.)

Obviously, you shouldn't have to buy all three toasters since stencils are interchangeable. Once you have a Pop Art Toaster, any stencil will fit. The challenge is to find someone who'll sell you Disney stencils without the toasters.

Each Disney Pop Art Toaster costs $34.99 if you buy it direct from the Pop Art Toaster Store. Shipping is rather high for a relatively light-weight plastic toaster: $10.00 for UPS Ground. But here's a tip: enter the code 'FREESHIP' during check-out and get it shipped free! You can also buy it from Target, though it's only available on-line - but you can return it to a store even though you bought it on-line.

Tough choice: free shipping or easy in-person return.

Not so tough is where you shouldn't buy a Pop Art Toaster: the on-line Disney Store which not only jacks up the list of the Pop Art Mickey Toaster to $49.99 but then only discount it to $39.99, five bucks above the actual list price! And besides, they're out-of-stock.

The Pop Art Mickey Toaster in Action

With all that out of the way, it's time to put the toast to the test.

Having the kitchen to myself, I put on my Mickey Ears, my Disney Name Badge (Bob!), and my special Disney fanny pack, and got down to business. For a pure experiment, I used a pure white slice of Wonder Bread. It fit adequately into the Pop Art Mickey Toaster. I left the setting cranked up to high, its permanent spot in this house, and put 'er down. When I smelt toast, I let 'er up. Result: a nearly perfect likeness of Mickey burnt onto a semi-crisp slice of toast.

Was it the best toast I've ever had? Nope. I'd have preferred it crispier. But if the toast gets too crispy, the stencil design blackens. Fair trade.

A similar experiment with a small frozen pancake worked equally well. And the stencil design was down-right scintillant on a Pop-Tart with white frosting. But frozen waffles? Don't bother. Ditto English muffins.

Bob's Bottom Line

Sure, there's stranger Disney stuff out there, and the Pop Art Mickey Toaster just barely qualifies as 'It Came from Disney' material. (I'm just starting you guys off easy!) I didn't even pay for mine. I got it as a gift. Would I have shelled out $35 for one? Maybe...

But now that it's here, I use it often - for the kids, wise guy! - and they're very happy to eat a dirt-cheap slice of 'stencil toast' versus their usual pricier morning favorites like Toaster Streudels. Over time, I suppose you'd get your money back.

I'm a kitchen snob and invest in snobby kitchen gadgets. My 'bread-and-butter' toaster is a Dualit. Does the Pop Art Toaster compare? Um, no. But can the Dualit toast bread that makes my daughter smile? Um, no.

If you're sensible about what you put into it, the Pop Art Mickey Toaster does what it's advertised to do. It's a cool, clever novelty item. Its retro look is attractive and, in a pinch, you can use it as a regular ol' toaster (for when your Dualit goes on the blink).

The Pop Art Mickey Toaster may have come from Disney but it's staying with me.

Don't stop there! Check out more It Came from Disney!...