Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 American comic science fiction film. The first installment of the titular film series was the directorial debut of Joe Johnston and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The plot involves the story of an inventor who accidentally shrinks his own and his next door neighbor's children to a quarter of an inch (6 mm) with his electromagnetic shrinking machine and accidentally throws them out with the trash, where they must venture into their backyard to return home while fending off insects and negotiating hazards.

This article is about the film. For the franchise, see Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (franchise). For other uses, see Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (disambiguation).
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoe Johnston
Produced byPenney Finkelman Cox
Screenplay byEd Naha
Tom Schulman
Story byStuart Gordon
Brian Yuzna
Ed Naha
Starring
Music byJames Horner
CinematographyHiro Narita
Edited byMichael A. Stevenson
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Release date
  • June 23, 1989 (1989-06-23)
Running time
93 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$18 million
Box office$222.7 million[1]

Rick Moranis stars as Wayne Szalinski, the inventor who accidentally shrinks his children, Amy (Amy O'Neill) and Nick (Robert Oliveri). Marcia Strassman portrays his wife, Diane, to whom he delivers the titular line. Matt Frewer, Kristine Sutherland, Thomas Wilson Brown, and Jared Rushton star as Russ, Mae, Russ Jr., and Ron Thompson, respectively; the Szalinskis' next door neighbours.

An unexpected box office success, it grossed $222 million (equivalent to $457.89 million in 2019) worldwide, and became the highest-grossing live-action Disney film ever, a record it held for five years. It was met with positive reviews from both critics and audiences, who praised the story, visuals and innovation. Its success spawned a franchise, including: two sequels (with a third in development), a television series, and theme-park attractions.

Plot

A scientist and inventor named Wayne Szalinski lives in a house in suburban Fresno, attempting to create a ray gun capable of shrinking objects, but cannot get it to work properly. His marriage to his wife, Diane, is strained, because she has to be the breadwinner, which worries their two children, teenage daughter Amy and preteen son Nick, who has inherited Wayne's inventive ingenuity and intelligence. One morning, their next-door neighbors, Mae and Russel Thompson Sr, are getting ready for a fishing trip, but their oldest son, Russ Jr. is less than enthusiastic, as his and his father’s interests often clash. However, their younger son, Ron is excited.

Shortly after Wayne leaves for a conference, Ron accidentally hits his baseball through the Szalinskis' attic window, which inadvertently activates the machine and blocks its targeting laser. Caught by Russ Jr., he is made to confess to Amy and Nick. Ron and Nick go upstairs to retrieve the ball and clean up the mess, only for the machine to shrink them.

At his conference, Wayne is dismissed for failing to provide proof of his shrinking machine and leaves in frustration, although he is given credit by Dr. Brainard, the only scientist at the conference who took Wayne and his idea seriously without wanting proof. Wayne appreciates Brainard's support and thanks him as they walk out together. Amy and Russ Jr. are shrunken when they go to check on Ron and Nick. When Wayne returns home, they try to get his attention, but their voices are too small and he is unable to hear them. Frustrated by his day, his thinking couch disappearing, and the broken window he discovers, he snaps and starts smashing the machine. He then sweeps the debris and the kids into a dust pan and takes them out in a trash bag. They escape from it, but are forced to cross the unmowed yard's wilderness to get back to the house.

Meanwhile, Diane returns home from work and she and Wayne make up from an argument they had the previous evening, but they soon grow concerned about Amy and Nick. While trying to summon their dog, Quark, Nick falls into a flower and Russ Jr. are carried away by a pollen picking African bee. Wayne realizes that a baseball was what caused the attic window to break, since Nick does not play sports. Investigating, he discovers his thinking couch has been shrunk, and is happy that his machine finally works. But his happiness is only short lived when he realizes what happened to the kids and tries to find them, only to accidentally activate the sprinklers, causing chaotic torrents to come down on them. Amy nearly drowns when she is knocked into a pool of mud, but Russ Jr. saves her with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

That evening, Russ and Mae are forced to call off their trip, because their sons haven't returned yet and they call the police to report them missing. Wayne tells Diane about what happened to the kids and she joins in the search. Eventually, she convinces Wayne to tell Russ and Mae, who are extremely skeptical.

Meanwhile, the kids' hunger is saved by one of Nick's discarded oatmeal creme cookies, but their meal is interrupted by an ant scouting it. Ron decides to tame it in order to take them home and they quickly grow attached to "Antie" and try to set him free, but he instead decides to follow them like a pet. As night falls, the kids find a Lego block in which to camp for the night and Russ Jr. and Amy begin to make out after admitting their feelings for each other. However, they are interrupted by a scorpion, which traps Ron in the Lego. Antie comes to rescue Ron, but is fatally stung before the kids unite and wound the scorpion, driving it off.

The next morning, Tommy, Nick's friend, returns to mow the lawn. The kids barely escape, seeking shelter in an earthworm burrow, and Wayne and Diane stop Tommy just in time to save them when they are blown out of the burrow by the lawnmower's blades. Quark chances upon them and while the kids are riding him into the house, Nick loses his grip and falls into Wayne's bowl of Cheerios. Wayne scoops Nick up in a spoonful of Cheerios, and appears destined to unknowingly eat his own son for breakfast. As Wayne opens his mouth to eat Nick, Quark bites Wayne in the ankle, making him aware of Nick and the others' presence.

Back in the attic, the kids make Wayne realize that the laser was generating too much heat, causing things to explode, until it was blocked by the baseball. He corrects the mistake and Russ volunteers as a subject for a successful test. The kids are then returned to their normal sizes and reunited with their parents, all making up with each other.

A few days later, at Thanksgiving, the Szalinskis and Thompsons, now close friends, are toasting over an enlarged turkey. Russ Jr. and Amy are dating now, while Ron and Nick are friends, and Quark is eating from an enlarged Alpo bone. Nick finally gets a joke that Russ Jr. told him about learning CPR in "French" class, at which he laughs.

Cast

Production

The project was originally brought to Disney Studios by Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna. Gordon was hired to direct the film and Yuzna to produce. The film was written as Teeny Weenies by Stuart Gordon, Ed Naha, and Brian Yuzna. Tom Schulman was later added as a screenwriter. Gordon originally prepped the film but had to drop out as director shortly before filming began due to illness. Joe Johnston was brought in to replace him.

As Teeny Weenies seemed to appeal more to a child demographic, the name was changed to Grounded to appeal to a more mature audience. That name was later rejected in favor of The Big Backyard. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, based on a line of dialogue from the film, ultimately became its title.

The film was heavily influenced by 1950s fare, such as The Incredible Shrinking Man.[2]

Casting

Judy Taylor, Mike Fenton, and Lynda Gordon were the casting directors. Before Rick Moranis was cast as Wayne Szalinski, the script was written with Chevy Chase in mind because of his popularity in National Lampoon's Vacation. He was filming the second sequel, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and was too busy to portray Wayne.

John Candy was also considered for the role of Wayne. He declined, but suggested to director Joe Johnston that his friend, (and costar of SCTV, Little Shop of Horrors and Spaceballs), Rick Moranis, would be a good choice. Marcia Strassman portrays Wayne's wife, Diane, who is having marital troubles with him.

Matt Frewer and Kristine Sutherland portray Russ and Mae Thompson, the Szalinskis' next door neighbors and parents of Russ Jr. and Ron. Russ is very demanding of Russ Jr. and can't understand why he isn't more interested in masculine things such as football and fishing (until the end of the film, when he learns to accept him for who he is). He is dimwitted and clumsy and secretly takes to cigarettes when he is nervous or scared. On the other hand, Mae is a very nice person and friendly with the Szalinskis.

The film needed four teenagers to play the leads. Russ Jr., portrayed by Thomas Wilson Brown seems to be interested in Amy, and less in football, while Ron, Jared Rushton, appears to be more straightforward and a bully toward Nick, although he warms towards him. Rushton has quoted that he took the role after thinking that the script was "appealing" and he thought his character had progressed throughout the film with his personality.

Amy O'Neill and Robert Oliveri were cast as Amy and Nick Szalinski, Wayne and Diane's kids. Oliveri commented that he was in awe about watching his stunt double do his stunts. He later starred as Kevin Boggs in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. O'Neill thought the film was a fun experience and that doing off-set activities, such as swimming or playing cards, was fun to do with the other younger cast members. She accepted the role because it was a "Disney movie."[3]

Direction

Joe Johnston was selected to direct the film for his directorial debut, having been mostly working on films as an effects illustrator and art director. It was filmed at the backlot of Churubusco Studios in Mexico City. Gregg Fonseca[4] was the production designer and was in charge of managing several different sets for the scenes in it.

Some filming took place in the streets of Mexico City. In the scene where Diane walks out of the mall to the pay phone, a sign says "Beverly Hills Mall", but is in fact Plaza Inn a mall in Mexico City.

Special effects were heavily used for the film, such as the electronically controlled ants and bees. For the most part, the production team tried to use practical effects that would work in camera. For the scene where Wayne lands in the Thompsons' pool, Moranis jumped off a flying board in the form of a teeter-totter on a swing set. A stuntman pushed the board, sending him flying through the air and landing on a mat.[5] Numerous storyboards were used for the film, particularly in the sprinkler and bee scenes.[2] Scale models were also used for the bee scene, with miniature Russ Jr. and Nick plastic figures attached. Forced perspective was used in the giant cookie scene, to make it seem bigger.[2] The child actors were strapped in for the scene with the broom. The bristles were actually pieces of foam that were carved and tied to a rig system.

Reception

Box office

The film opened on June 23, 1989, in 1,371 theatres.[1] It opened at number 2 in the United States behind Batman, with a weekend gross of $14,262,961, Buena Vista's biggest 3-day weekend of all time.[6] It earned $130,724,172 domestic and $92,000,000 in other territories, earning a grand total of $222,724,172.[1] Attached to it was Disney and Amblin Entertainment's first Roger Rabbit short, Tummy Trouble, executively produced by Steven Spielberg, produced by Don Hahn, directed by Rob Minkoff, and also composed by James Horner.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 76% based on reviews from 33 critics.[7] Metacritic gave the film a score of 63 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[8] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[9]

Caryn James, of The New York Times, gave a positive review, saying: "As sweet, funny, and straightforward as its title."[10] Variety gave another positive review stating, "[It's] in the best tradition of Disney – and even better than that, because it is not so juvenile that adults won't be thoroughly entertained."[11] A rare negative review came from Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, who stated: "The special effects are all there, nicely in place, and the production values are sound, but the movie is dead in the water."[12]

Awards

James Horner won an ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Films and was also nominated for a Saturn Award. The film was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. Thomas Wilson Brown, Jared Rushton, Robert Oliveri and the Special Effects Crew were also nominated for a Saturn Award. The Special Effects Crew won a BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects. Amy O'Neill and Jared Rushton were each nominated for a Young Artist Award and director Joe Johnston was nominated for a Fantasporto Award.

The film was presented in the 100 Greatest Family Films, in which Amy O'Neill and Thomas Wilson Brown talked about it for MTV.

Soundtrack
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Soundtrack album by
James Horner
ReleasedMarch 6, 2009
GenreSoundtrack
Length51:10
LabelIntrada Records
ProducerJames Horner
Simon Rhodes

After going years unreleased, James Horner's soundtrack to the film was made available by Intrada Records on March 6, 2009. The song that Amy dances to in the kitchen is "Turn It Up" by Nick Kamen, written by Jeffrey Pescetto and Patrick DeRemer.

The soundtrack was limited to a 3,000-copy release. Horner's main title music incorporates cues from the score by Nino Rota from Federico Fellini's film Amarcord (1973) and Raymond Scott’s piece "Powerhouse B" (1937),[13] the latter often referenced in Carl Stalling’s Warner Bros. cartoon scores. Scott's piece was used without payment or credit, leading his estate to threaten legal action against Disney. Disney paid an undisclosed sum in an out-of-court settlement and changed the film's cue sheets to credit Scott.[14] Horner’s main title music underscores all the major moments involving Szalinski’s technology.

With 15 tracks, Horner produced the record with longtime engineer Simon Rhodes while it was originally performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Track listing
  1. "Main Title" – 1:59
  2. "Strange Neighbors" – 1:49
  3. "Shrunk" – 5:37
  4. "A New World" – 3:31
  5. "Scorpion Attack" – 3:34
  6. "Test Run" – 2:08
  7. "Flying Szalinski" – 1:59
  8. "Night Time" – 5:04
  9. "Watering the Grass" – 4:13
  10. "Ant Rodeo" – 3:45
  11. "The Machine Works" – 2:05
  12. "Lawn Mower" – 5:45
  13. "Eaten Alive" – 2:44
  14. "Big Russ Volunteers" – 1:24
  15. "Thanksgiving Dinner" – 5:27

Sequels

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid

In 1992, Disney released the first sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, with Moranis, Strassman, O'Neill, and Oliveri reprising their roles as Wayne, Diane, Amy and Nick Szalinski. As the title suggests, Wayne succeeds in enlarging his two-year-old son, Adam, to gigantic proportions as one of his size-changing experiments goes awry.

Disney Parks attraction

A three-dimensional film called Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! complete with physical effects such as wind and water was created as an attraction at Walt Disney World's Epcot in 1994, and later made its way to Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris with all four parks featuring the attraction by 1998. The film was a replacement for the Michael Jackson film Captain EO, a musical film launched in 1986.

The film begins as a mock award show by "The Imagination Institute" that is intended to honor Wayne as "Inventor of the Year." Instead, the audience is "shrunk" and threatened by Quark, Gigabyte (Nick's pet python), Diane, and even Adam, among other thrills. It reprises most of the original cast and adds Eric Idle as the host of the award show.

Honey, I Shrunk the Audience was removed from all four Disney parks over the course of 2010. Disney elected to return Captain EO to all four parks to honor Michael Jackson following his death in 2009.

Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves

In 1997, Disney produced the second sequel, Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, as a direct to video release. Rick Moranis was the only returning actor from the previous films who reprised his role, with Amy and Nick having gone off to college and Quark's disappearance never being explained. Many new characters were added such as Wayne's brother, Gordon, and his family. This time, the parents are shrunk and need to be rescued by their kids.

TV series

The last incarnation of the franchise was the television program Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show. Peter Scolari took over as Wayne and Nick and Amy both returned as characters, roughly the same age as in the original film, and played by new actors. Its plots involved other wacky Szalinski inventions (rarely the shrinking machine) that do not work quite as expected and land the family in some type of humorous mixed-up adventure.

Future

On February 21, 2018, it was announced that live-action remakes of several films are in development as exclusive content for Disney+, with one of those named in the announcement as being Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.[15] It was later confirmed that a "legacy-sequel" film titled Shrunk is in development to be released theatrically, with a plot that centers around Nick Szalinski as an adult scientist. Josh Gad will star as Nick in the film.[16] On December 5, 2019, it was reported that Joe Johnston is in talks to return as director.[17] On February 12, 2020, it was reported that Rick Moranis will come out of his long semi-retirement to reprise his role as Wayne Szalinski (no word on the size of his role) and that Johnston is now confirmed to direct.[18][19]

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See also

References
  1. "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)". Box Office Mojo. October 24, 1989. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  2. The Making of 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'. 1989. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  3. The Making of 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' Part 3. 1986. Retrieved October 17, 2009 – via YouTube.
  4. Sometimes billed as "Greg Fonseca".
  5. The Making of 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' Part 2. 1986. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  6. Murphy, Arthur D. (October 31, 1989). "Leading North American Film Box Office Weekends in History". Variety. p. 53.
  7. {{cite web |title=Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) |url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/honey_i_shrunk_the_kids |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes] ]}}
  8. "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids". Metacritic.
  9. "Cinemascore :: Movie Title Search". 2018-12-20. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  10. James, Caryn (June 23, 1989). "Review/Film; 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  11. "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids". Variety. December 31, 1988. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  12. Ebert, Roger (June 23, 1989). "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movie review (1989)". Chicago Sun-Times.
  13. Broxton, Jonathan (June 27, 2019). "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids - James Horner". MovieMusicUK.us. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  14. "Use of Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse"". Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  15. "Disney Planning Another 'Muppets' Reboot for Its Streaming Service (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  16. Sciretta, Peter (May 13, 2019). "Exclusive: 'Honey I Shrunk The Kid' Reboot 'Shrunk' in the Works With Josh Gad to Star". /Film. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  17. Shuler, Skyler (December 5, 2019). "Original 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids' Director Joe Johnston In Talks To Return For The Reboot". The DisInsider.
  18. Gemmill, Allie (February 12, 2020). "It's Happening: Rick Moranis Is Coming Back for a 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' Sequel". Collider. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  19. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 12, 2020). "Rick Moranis Closes Deal To Return To 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids' Franchise With 'Shrunk' At Disney". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
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