Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

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.

My Take: A fine family entertainment with some neat special effects.

I grew up watching and enjoying this funny, fast-paced fantasy adventure. But when I watched it back then, I always seemed to start it on the part with the scorpion and the ant, so I only watch a few parts. But I finally found it on DVD and watched it from the beginning. And I really enjoyed it. It's really a fantastic fantasy, with elaborate special-effects and lavish "enlarged" sets.

The film is quite like the fantasy films filmmaker Steven Spielberg produced, like "Back to the Future" and "Innerspace" for instance. It depicts the adventures of average people, thrust into an adventure of a lifetime, and then must find away to get back safely. That's kinda like the premise of "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids", a group of neighborhood kids get shrunk to size by a weird machine crazy inventor Rick Moranis invented. Disney triumphs in creating an enjoyable fantasy that's sure to be a charm. The stop-motion effects are still impressive, even if special effects in the 80's have certainly moved on. It's one of the best live-action Disney efforts and a fine fun for the entire family.

This film is followed by a sequel "Honey, I Blew up the Kid", which is not quite as zany and imaginative as its predecessor.

Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.

"Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" is a quite unusual adventure/comedy film, one of the most eccentric movies of all time. It's one of those live-actions films produced by Disney's studios.

The movie's title refers to Wayne Szalinski, a stereotypical nutty/mad scientist. He invents a machine with the ability of shrinking objects to a size even smaller than ants. This character is portrayed by Rick Moranis, the perfect actor for a role like this (with his intellectual looks).

Rick Moranis is funny as Wayne Szalinski, Matt Frewer is hilarious as the impatient and temperamental "Big" Russell Thompson. The kids also do a good job: Thomas Wilson Brown as the clever "Little" Russell Thompson, Jared Rushton as the paranoid Ron Thompson and Robert Oliveri as the nerd Nick Szalinski. One of the funniest parts for me is when "little" Russell forces his brother Ron to confess that he broke Szalinski's window with his baseball.

The Szalinski kids (Nick and Amy) and the Thompson kids ("Little" Russell and Ron, the Szalinski's neighbors) are accidentally shrunk by the machine and thrown into the garbage by accident. Because they are so tiny, they live a big adventure full of dangers and nightmares (from insects to a remote-controlled lawn mower) until reaching their house, something which would only take seconds on their normal size.

The story becomes a bit odd and of a somehow discussable taste, but it also makes the difference... for good and for bad. However, I must be fair: at least this is a thousand times better than those stupid "Problem Child" movies. Not that they have anything in common, but...

Overall, nothing extraordinary, but amusing, hilarious, great fun, entertaining, original, bizarre and with some funny lines («French class» is just one among many others). There's also a certain 80's charm on it.

The success of this movie inspired a very imaginative 3D film created as an amusement for Disneyland parks around the world called "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience".

Basically this one great and fun adventure movie, for kids especially. It's a Disney movie, so it's most definitely kid orientated, which means that it doesn't have the most complicated script, drawn out characters, or other mind boggling elements but it more than serves its purpose.

What is the most appealing aspect of "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" are its adventures elements. It was a great move to let the movie for most part be set in the backyard of an ordinary house, of a not so ordinary family. The shrunken kids have to overcome all sorts of dangers in the backyard, such as 'giant' insects, water drops, muddy rivers, lawnmowers and of course avoid being squashed by humans. A new adventure and obstacle awaits at every corner, which makes sure that there is always something happening in the movie and makes things flow well.

The movie is perhaps more adventurous and fun than really funny. The most comical aspects of the movie mostly come from the adult cast, from actors such as Rick Moranis and Marcia Strassman as the parents and Matt Frewer and Kristine Sutherland as the neighbors. They mostly make sure that the movie is a perfectly enough watchable and entertaining one for adults. Rick Moranis of course suits the role very well as a nutty scientist. He is perhaps also known best for his roles in the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"-movies than any other one.

The movie is well made and Joe Johnston shows himself again a capable director. I have always liked him as a director. He never made any really great movies but his movies are always entertaining, which always make a Joe Johnston movie a pleasant one to watch. This movie was his directorial debut and he could had done a lot worse.

The movie has some good effects, also especially considering the time it got made. The movie uses all kinds of effects. Mostly of course consisting out of over-sized sets and objects but also stop-motion effects, mechanical effects and some early special effects. Especially the over-sized objects aren't really convincing looking and are obviously made out of light and non-nature materials but I don't know, this seemed sort of right and a suiting style for a kids movie such as this one. The musical score by James Horner is also a perfectly fine one.

About as good and entertaining as a kid's movie can get, though there is also plenty left to enjoy for adults.

7/10

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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