Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.

Director:

Joe Johnston

Writers:

Stuart Gordon (story), Brian Yuzna (story)

Stars:

Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rick Moranis	...	Wayne Szalinski
Matt Frewer	...	Big Russ Thompson
Marcia Strassman	...	Diane Szalinski
Kristine Sutherland	...	Mae Thompson
Thomas Wilson Brown	...	Little Russ Thompson (as Thomas Brown)
Jared Rushton	...	Ron Thompson
Amy O'Neill	...	Amy Szalinski
Robert Oliveri	...	Nick Szalinski
Carl Steven	...	Tommy Pervis
Mark L. Taylor	...	Don Forrester
Kimmy Robertson	...	Gloria Forrester
Lou Cutell	...	Dr. Brainard
Laura Waterbury	...	Female Cop
Trevor Galtress	...	Male Cop
Martin Aylett	...	Harold Boorstein

Storyline

On the brink of perfecting his state-of-the-art matter-shrinking machine, the suburban paterfamilias and indefatigable inventor, Professor Wayne Szalinski, realises that his device truly works, when it zaps both his kids and their friends. Now, to return to the relative safety of their home while being reduced to a mere quarter-inch size, the minuscule humans must venture out into the dense and perilous landscapes of their now-immense backyard--a hostile environment where nearly everything spells trouble. Can the kids exit the green maze of grass in one piece?

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Plot Keywords:

shrinking machine | sudden change in size | shrinking ray | neighbor neighbor relationship | teenage boy | 

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Taglines:

The most astonishing, innovative, backyard adventure of all time!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

As much as anything else, the success of this film led to Joe Johnston being given the opportunity to direct Disney's "The Rocketeer".

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Goofs

(at around 21 mins) Szalinkski says that the Shrink Ray works by reducing the empty space in matter. If this is true, then the children's mass and weight would be exactly the same despite the reduced size. The trash bag Scalinkski would weigh several hundred pounds, the ant would not have been able to hold them, and the ground would have been compressing under the children's feet: the small surface area of their feet would mean that they would be exerting many tens of thousands of pounds of force per square inch.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mailman: Good morning, Quark.

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Crazy Credits

The film opens with an animated boy and girl being shrunk and then they are chased by items such as a toaster, a dog, a vacuum, and at the end of the intro, they are trapped in an envelope

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Adam Driver/Chris Stapleton (2016)

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Soundtracks

Theme from 'Amarcord'
Written by Nino Rota

User Reviews

welcome to the jungle

The subject of the man who's shrinking isn't new because Jack Arnold had broached it (with brio) in "the incredible shrinking man" thirty-two years ago. Here, in this new variation of the man who's shrinking it's not one man but four teenagers who shrunk. Moreover, the philosophical and pessimistic sides have disappeared. Instead, Joe Johnston made a familial comedy and a vibrating movie, often funny with some quite successful special effects. He also succedded in changing a familiar place (the garden) that you think you know like the back of your hand into an unfriendly jungle where the insects are as huge as elephants and the humans become unwittingly monsters: Wayne Szalinski, in spite of him, will put to the test several times the teenagers and he'll nearly eat his son for his breakfast. This doesn't stop the movie from being quite conventional. It's not surprising as the screenplay was written by Tom Schulman, the one who wrote the screenplay of this overrated and conventional movie that is "Dead Poet Society" (the two movies were launched at the same time). Here, for example, Ross' father attempts to lay down to his elder son, his likings and passions but then, he'll find out that it's not the right way to gain his son's affection. The movie doesn't also avoid certain clichés: Rick Moranis epitomizes the model crazy learned: he's wearing glasses, he invented a machine supposed to be revolutionary and his odd habits make the neighbours (the Thompsons) mistrustful and distant. But they'll show gratitude to him because he'll know how to come back their children to their human height. Nevertheless, Johnston and Schulman reach their goal: entertain the spectator without any ulterior motives. So "honey I shrunk the kids" remains a pleasant comedy that was designed to please to a large public

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

USA Mexico

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 June 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grounded

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,262,961, 25 June 1989

Gross USA:

$130,724,172

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$222,724,172

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Silver Screen Partners III, Doric Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1