Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

6/10

Starring

Rick Moranis

Matt Frewer

Marcia Strassman

Kristine Sutherland

Directed by Joe Johnston

In 1989, Disney pulled off a lucky sleeper hit called Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. The movie starred Rick Moranis, and while it wasn’t anything spectacular, it was different and cool. The concept and idea weren’t something I was too familiar with, and I remember how much it was worth seeing years later on VHS.
The movie’s main advantage was the build-up to the main event. It wasn’t packed with twists and turns or dark suspense, but it was straightforward and easy to follow. The moment the kids got shrunk, we went from watching a couple trying to solve their marital problems to seeing them desperately search for their tiny children.
The way the movie was done, when the children were in the yard, we started seeing things from the perspective of being the size of an ant (or even smaller).

Everything—from the way the actors reacted to their situation to how the director (on his debut) crafted and guided us through an unexpected journey—can only be described as something you’ll appreciate if you see it, even in the present day.

The movie’s plot starts with the introduction of a scientist/inventor, Wayne (played by Rick Moranis), who has turned his house and living area into his personal experimental lab. His obsession with work and results has led to marital problems with his wife.
They have two children: an older teenage daughter and a much younger, geeky son. Their neighbor has two sons who are around the same age as their kids.

While the kids are at home, the neighbor breaks a window while playing baseball. His older brother drags him over to apologize, which leads them to their father’s workspace. There, Wayne is working on a shrink ray. The baseball hits the machine, turning it on and shrinking everything in front of it. When the four kids enter the room, they get shrunk too.

Wayne comes home, frustrated that he can’t get the machine to work as he wants, and starts destroying it. He sweeps up the mess—and the shrunk kids—into a waste bag (unknowingly) and puts it outside in the yard.
The kids manage to get out and now must find a way to get back home and alert their father to reverse the shrink ray.

At the time of its release, it was Disney’s highest-grossing live-action film for several years. It grossed over 220 million on an 18 million budget and was a critical success. Disney couldn’t let this success go untapped and made two sequels, neither of which was as good or original as the first.