Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

Absent-minded genius Moranis accidentally shrinks his kids to microscopic size and they end up in the yard. At their size, they must fight dangerous creatures like ants and bees and menacing household items like a lawnmower and a garden hose before they can traverse back to the house and hope to be restored to normal size. Amusing Disney comedy is fun for the whole family. The special effects are pretty good as simple household objects are shown as humongous from the perspective of the kids. Moranis is likable as the mad inventor and Strassman is cute as his wife. The young actors don't try to be too cute and Frewer is funny as the neighbor whose son has also been shrunk.

Timeless classic. Great adventure movie than never gets old. Yes the effects and props aren't what they used to be, but its still enjoyable today. There's some 80s adventure movies that seem really silly when you watch them today, movies like explorers are just ridiculous when you watch them now, but this has stood the test of time and my son will definitely be watching this with me when hes a bit older.

Or as my mom would say "cute". This is by far one of the finest family films I have ever seen. I consider "Toy Story" and "Babe: Pig In The City" as its only rivals for my favorite family film. Anyway, it's by far a very enjoyable movie, with nice special effects (the giant insects) and a real play-fun spirit like the part where they eat a giant oreo cookie or slept in the lego block. The kids are indeed very likeable, and the movie even has a sense of adventure. I'll never forget the giant (well, giant to them anyway) water drops that were terrorizing them and Amy slowly falling into a pool of mud and grime(and the grimy pool with the dead ant floating in it they found earlier). I'll always remember the funny way the dad said "Russel!" and the overviewed music they had at the beginning where they first saw the large outside or Wayne's shouting of "Get off the grass!!". I really can think of very few things I didn't like about this film. I now wonder exactly how many times they had a shrinking story (from an episode of a show or a video game etc.) that had the words "Honey, I Shrunk The .....". I recommend it to your kids. They won't be disappointed. A 10/10. Nice sequel too.

Could it possibly be that in the movie "Dinosaur" when he was dodging the fireballs that was a reference to this movie with how they were dodging the water drops?

Being a somewhat big fan of Rick Moranis, I had high expectations when I first saw this movie. I must say, I was not disappointed. The acting was terrific.

***Spoilers*** Wayne Szalinski (Moranis) is a nutty scientist who invents strange things. One invention, a shrinking machine, just makes things blow up. At first. Then, a next door neighbor, Ron Thomson, (Jared Rushton) hits a baseball in Wayne Szalinski's lab- in the attic.

Soon, four kids are the size of a grain of sand. Only a quarter inch tall, they make their way home. They have many adventures in the backyard, which is a jungle to them. The adventures include encounters with swarming bees, an ant, a lawn mower, and much more.

After a near misadventure with a bowl of cereal, the kids are found. Wayne fixes his machine, and the kids are enlarged back to normal size.

Later, both the Thomson's and Szalinski's are in the kitchen. On the table is a turkey the size of a piano.

This is a well-made movie. It may be a little scary for some younger kids, but it is well worth watching more than once.

My Score: 8/10

Whilst watching Honey I Shrunk The Kids on DVD, it occurred to me how much things have changed in the last twenty years: records and typewriters, which feature in the film's opening animated credits, no longer exist ('what are they?', asked my bemused 7-year-old daughter); spectacles have got a lot smaller (the one's sported by the youngest kid in this film are enormous!); computers are now everyday household appliances—not just the play-things of crazy inventors; telephones are a lot easier to use now they don't have cords; Rick Moranis is no longer a box-office draw; and special effects look a whole lot different now we have CGI (not necessarily better, just different).

One thing that hasn't changed, though, is this film's ability to entertain: Joe Johnston's directorial debut is just as enjoyable today as it was when I first saw it two decades ago.

Rick Moranis stars as crazy inventor Wayne Szalinski, whose latest creation, a miniaturisation ray, has one major teething problem: it tends to make things explode. After the machine is whacked by a stray baseball, it finally begins to function correctly, but accidentally shrinks Wayne's children, pretty blonde teen Amy (Amy O'Neill) and chip-off-the-old-block younger son Nick (Robert Oliveri), plus Russ and Ron, the neighbours' sons, to microscopic size. Oblivious to the fact that his machine is now working, and that it has miniaturised his kids, Wayne destroys his machine, sweeps up the pieces (scooping up the four tiny children in the process) and takes the trash to the bottom of the yard.

Now, if they are to have any chance of being returned to normal size, Amy, Nick, Russ and Ron must make a dangerous trek through their yard, facing a variety of dangers on the way.

Utilising detailed oversize props and sets, plus an impressive (for the time) combination of blue screen technology, matte paintings, and stop-motion animation effects, director Johnston creates a string of spectacular set-pieces that sees the children being bombarded by giant water droplets from the garden sprinkler, taking a flight on the back of a bee, being attacked by a scorpion, and befriending a baby ant. Johnston's younger cast members all give credible performances, whilst Moranis does what he does best: acts nerdy and looks worried a lot.

Of course, this being a Disney movie, there is the obligatory happy ending, which sees Wayne finally perfecting his invention and returning the kids to full size. And this being a Disney film, everyone involved learns a valuable lesson in how to get along with others, despite their differences. Which is nice.