Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Encyclopedia
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

. The directorial debut of Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston
Joseph Eggleston "Joe" Johnston II is an American film director and former effects artist best known for such effects-driven movies as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, the period drama October Sky, The Wolfman, and Captain America: The First Avenger.- Life and...

 and released through Walt Disney Pictures
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

 and Silver Screen Partners III, the film tells the story of an inventor who accidentally shrinks his and his neighbor's kids to 1/4 of an inch with his electromagnetic shrink ray and sends them out into the backyard with the trash.

Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...

 stars as Wayne Szalinski, the inventor who accidentally shrinks his children. Marcia Strassman
Marcia Strassman
Marcia A. Strassman is an American actress best known for her roles as Julie Kotter in the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter and Diane Szalinski in the 1989 feature film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, its first sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3-D film spin-off Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! which...

 portrays his wife, Diane, the "honey" in the film's title, the titles of the sequels, and the Disney park attraction. Matt Frewer
Matt Frewer
Matthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...

 and Kristine Sutherland
Kristine Sutherland
Kristine Sutherland is an actress best known for her role as Buffy Summers' mother Joyce Summers on the television show Buffy The Vampire Slayer.-Early life:...

 star as the Szalinskis' next door neighbors, Russ and Mae Thompson. Thomas Wilson Brown
Thomas Wilson Brown
Thomas Wilson Brown is an American actor, who began his career at the age of eleven by playing Augie, the nephew of Scott Glenn and Kevin Costners' characters in the Lawrence Kasden western classic Silverado....

, Jared Rushton
Jared Rushton
Jared Michael Rushton is an American musician and former actor. He is best known for his roles in numerous late eighties films including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big, and Overboard. He has been nominated for a total of two Saturn Awards and two Young Artist Awards...

, Amy O'Neill
Amy O'Neill
Amy O'Neill is a performer and a former actress. After appearing in several sitcoms and starring as Molly Stark on The Young and the Restless in 1986, she was cast as Amy Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award...

 and Robert Oliveri
Robert Oliveri
Robert Oliveri is a former American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Nick Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award and a Saturn Award. He reprised the role in the 1992 sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3D...

 star as Russ Jr. and Ron Thompson and Amy and Nick Szalinski.

Plot

Having problems at home with his wife Diane (Marcia Strassman
Marcia Strassman
Marcia A. Strassman is an American actress best known for her roles as Julie Kotter in the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter and Diane Szalinski in the 1989 feature film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, its first sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3-D film spin-off Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! which...

), struggling inventor Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...

) has created an electromagnetic shrink ray - unfortunately it only seems to make things explode. While at work, his neighbor's son, Ron Thompson (Jared Rushton
Jared Rushton
Jared Michael Rushton is an American musician and former actor. He is best known for his roles in numerous late eighties films including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big, and Overboard. He has been nominated for a total of two Saturn Awards and two Young Artist Awards...

), hits a baseball into the Szalinskis' attic window and activates the shrink ray. He and his older brother Russ (Thomas Wilson Brown
Thomas Wilson Brown
Thomas Wilson Brown is an American actor, who began his career at the age of eleven by playing Augie, the nephew of Scott Glenn and Kevin Costners' characters in the Lawrence Kasden western classic Silverado....

) and Wayne's children, Amy (Amy O'Neill
Amy O'Neill
Amy O'Neill is a performer and a former actress. After appearing in several sitcoms and starring as Molly Stark on The Young and the Restless in 1986, she was cast as Amy Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award...

) and Nick (Robert Oliveri
Robert Oliveri
Robert Oliveri is a former American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Nick Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award and a Saturn Award. He reprised the role in the 1992 sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3D...

), go up there to retrieve it. Luckily, it got stuck in the machine and blocked one of the laser components, resulting in it only releasing enough energy to shrink things instead of blowing them up, and the kids, a nearby couch, and chair are shrunk by the beam when it fires.

As Wayne comes home from a presentation at the lab, he notices his children and "thinking couch" missing. Without an explanation for this occurrence, he begins to get angry at the machine for being joked about at work. He begins to destroy it as the kids, now 1/4 of an inch tall, try to get his attention but to no avail. He begins to sweep up the mess and accidentally dumps them into the trash with it. They escape it and find themselves at the far end of the backyard. Knowing that crossing it to get back to the house will take hours at their size, they begin to climb a flower to see how far the house is. While clinging to it, Nick and Russ are attacked by a bee. They cling to it for dear life and are separated from Ron and Amy.

Russ Thompson Sr. (Matt Frewer
Matt Frewer
Matthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...

), Ron and Russ's father, is getting aggravated at his missing sons since he was planning a fishing trip with the family. Russ, who secretly likes Amy, often feels small compared to his dad's standards since he was cut from the football team (although it is revealed later on that he actually quit it). While looking at the attic floor, Wayne finds his "thinking couch" in a miniature form. He soon concludes that he shrunk the kids. Diane comes home and he tells her this. She becomes infuriated with him and tries to help search for the kids.

Meanwhile, Wayne accidentally turns on the sprinklers while searching for the kids in the backyard. Giant splashes of water soon surround them. Amy begins to drown in the muddy water near the flagstone while Wayne stops the sprinklers. Russ saves her before she dies and gives her CPR. The four children continue their journey. On their way, they find a cream cookie in the yard. As they eat some of it, they meet an ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

 who befriends the group, nicknamed "Antie" by Ron. Wayne and Diane decide to tell Russ Sr. and Mae (Kristine Sutherland
Kristine Sutherland
Kristine Sutherland is an actress best known for her role as Buffy Summers' mother Joyce Summers on the television show Buffy The Vampire Slayer.-Early life:...

) about the shrinking of their children. They are not pleased, but Mae seems to understand more. At the end of the night, the children decide to sleep in one of Nick's blue Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

 bricks. During the night Amy and Russ admit their feelings for each other and share a kiss, but are interrupted by an attacking scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...

. Antie is stung and fatally wounded by the scorpion's stinger while trying to rescue them, though they scare it off by bombarding it with stones and sharp sticks (Ron is able to put out two of its eyes). They comfort Antie who within moments dies from the poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....

.

In the morning, Nick's friend, Tommy, comes to mow the lawn (as part of a deal he made with Nick at the beginning of the film). The children hear the lawn mower and descend into a wormhole to escape. Wayne and Diane rush outside to make him stop, but unfortunately he does just as the lawn mower is over the hole. It sucks the kids out of it. They are not killed, but barely fail to get Wayne and Diane's attention. They realize that their voices are too high and quiet to be heard by them, but that they can be heard by Quark, the Szalinskis' dog. They hold on to his fur and ride him back to the house.

While Wayne is eating a bowl of Cheerios
Cheerios
Cheerios is a brand of breakfast cereal by General Mills introduced on May 1, 1941 as the first oat-based, ready-to-eat cold cereal. Originally named CheeriOats, the name was changed to Cheerios in 1945 because of a trade name dispute with Quaker Oats. The name fit the "O" shape of the cereal pieces...

 with milk, Nick accidentally lands in it when Quark jumps on the table. The group try to get Wayne's attention as Nick is about to be eaten. Quark bites Wayne's leg, who freezes with the spoon halfway to his mouth. Looking through a magnifying glass at it, he sees Nick. The kids communicate to their parents that the baseball went through the window and started the shrink ray. Armed with this information, Wayne pieces together how the accident made it work and brings the kids back to normal size after testing it by shrinking and regrowing Russ Sr.

A few months later, during Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...

, the two families share an enlarged turkey together and are happy. Russ Sr. has come to terms with his son quitting the football team, the two dads become friends, Wayne and Diane patch up their problems, Nick and Ron finally become friends, and Russ and Amy begin dating. The movie ends with Quark eating a giant milk bone as a Thanksgiving treat. But as the movie begins to black out, it suddenly reopens to Nick, realizing a joke that Russ made earlier about learning CPR in French class. The movie closes with him laughing, getting the joke.

Cast

  • Rick Moranis
    Rick Moranis
    Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...

     as Wayne Szalinski
  • Marcia Strassman
    Marcia Strassman
    Marcia A. Strassman is an American actress best known for her roles as Julie Kotter in the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter and Diane Szalinski in the 1989 feature film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, its first sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3-D film spin-off Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! which...

     as Diane Szalinski
  • Amy O'Neill
    Amy O'Neill
    Amy O'Neill is a performer and a former actress. After appearing in several sitcoms and starring as Molly Stark on The Young and the Restless in 1986, she was cast as Amy Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award...

     as Amy Szalinski
  • Robert Oliveri
    Robert Oliveri
    Robert Oliveri is a former American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Nick Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award and a Saturn Award. He reprised the role in the 1992 sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3D...

     as Nick Szalinski
  • Matt Frewer
    Matt Frewer
    Matthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...

     as Russ Thompson Sr.
  • Kristine Sutherland
    Kristine Sutherland
    Kristine Sutherland is an actress best known for her role as Buffy Summers' mother Joyce Summers on the television show Buffy The Vampire Slayer.-Early life:...

     as Mae Thompson
  • Thomas Wilson Brown
    Thomas Wilson Brown
    Thomas Wilson Brown is an American actor, who began his career at the age of eleven by playing Augie, the nephew of Scott Glenn and Kevin Costners' characters in the Lawrence Kasden western classic Silverado....

     as Russ Thompson Jr.
  • Jared Rushton
    Jared Rushton
    Jared Michael Rushton is an American musician and former actor. He is best known for his roles in numerous late eighties films including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big, and Overboard. He has been nominated for a total of two Saturn Awards and two Young Artist Awards...

     as Ron Thompson
  • Frank Welker
    Frank Welker
    Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...

     as Special Vocal Effects(voice)

Production

Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

 wanted to make a film that dealt with miniaturization
Miniaturization
Miniaturization is the creation of ever-smaller scales for mechanical, optical, and electronic products and devices...

. The film was written as Teenie Weenies by Stuart Gordon
Stuart Gordon
After the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...

, Ed Naha
Ed Naha
Ed Naha is an American science fiction and mystery writer and producer. He was born June 10, 1950 in the town of Linden, New Jersey. His first known publication was artwork that appeared in the first issue of Modern Monsters magazine, dated June 1966....

, and Brian Yuzna
Brian Yuzna
Brian Yuzna is a director, writer and producer of films.- Life :Yuzna grew up in Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Panama before moving to the United States in the 1960s.- Career :...

. Tom Schulman
Tom Schulman
Thomas H. Schulman is an American screenwriter most famous for his screenplay Dead Poets Society which won the Best Screenplay Academy Award for 1989....

 was later added to the group of screenwriters. After Teenie Weenies seemed to appeal more to a children demographic, the name was changed to Grounded to have a more mature audience. It was later rejected and The Big Backyard was chosen.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, a line stated in the film, was finally chosen as the last name. The film was heavily influenced by 50s films such as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is a 1958 American science fiction feature film produced by Bernard Woolner for Allied Artists Pictures. It was directed by Nathan H. Juran from a screenplay by Mark Hanna, and starred Allison Hayes, William Hudson and Yvette Vickers. The original music score was...

, The Amazing Colossal Man
The Amazing Colossal Man
The Amazing Colossal Man is a 1957 black-and-white science fiction film, directed by Bert I. Gordon and starring Glenn Langan. The film revolves around a 60 foot mutant man produced as the result of an atomic accident....

, and The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Incredible Shrinking Man is a 1957 science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold and adapted for the screen by Richard Matheson from his novel The Shrinking Man ....

.

Casting

Judy Taylor, Mike Fenton, and Lynda Gordon were the casting directors for the film. Before Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...

 was cast as Wayne Szalinski, the script was written with Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...

 in mind because of his popularity in National Lampoon's Vacation
National Lampoon's Vacation
Vacation, sometimes referred as National Lampoon's Vacation, is a 1983 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron and Anthony Michael Hall...

. Chase was filming the sequel, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Christmas Vacation is a 1989 Christmas comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. It is the third installment in National Lampoon's Vacation film series, and was written by John Hughes, based on his short story in National Lampoon Magazine, Christmas ‘59...

, and was too busy to portray Szalinski.

John Candy
John Candy
John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...

 was also a choice for "nutty" inventor Wayne Szalinski. Candy, who declined the role, suggested to director Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston
Joseph Eggleston "Joe" Johnston II is an American film director and former effects artist best known for such effects-driven movies as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, the period drama October Sky, The Wolfman, and Captain America: The First Avenger.- Life and...

 that Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...

 should portray Wayne. Marcia Strassman
Marcia Strassman
Marcia A. Strassman is an American actress best known for her roles as Julie Kotter in the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter and Diane Szalinski in the 1989 feature film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, its first sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3-D film spin-off Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! which...

 portrays Wayne's wife, Diane, who is having marital troubles with her husband.

Matt Frewer
Matt Frewer
Matthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...

 and Kristine Sutherland
Kristine Sutherland
Kristine Sutherland is an actress best known for her role as Buffy Summers' mother Joyce Summers on the television show Buffy The Vampire Slayer.-Early life:...

 portray Russ Thompson Sr. and Mae Thompson. Russ Sr., who is the father of Russ Jr. and Ron, is very demanding on his older son and can't understand why he can't be more interested in masculine
Masculine
Masculine or masculinity, normally refer to qualities positively associated with men.Masculine may also refer to:*Masculine , a grammatical gender*Masculine cadence, a final chord occurring on a strong beat in music...

 things such as football and fishing (until the end of the film, when he is okay with it). He is usually dim-witted and clumsy and takes to cigarettes when he is nervous or scared. On the other hand, Mae is a very nice person and friendly with the Szalinskis, unlike her husband.

The film needed four teenagers to play the leads. Thomas Wilson Brown
Thomas Wilson Brown
Thomas Wilson Brown is an American actor, who began his career at the age of eleven by playing Augie, the nephew of Scott Glenn and Kevin Costners' characters in the Lawrence Kasden western classic Silverado....

 and Jared Rushton
Jared Rushton
Jared Michael Rushton is an American musician and former actor. He is best known for his roles in numerous late eighties films including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big, and Overboard. He has been nominated for a total of two Saturn Awards and two Young Artist Awards...

 had been picked to portray the neighbor's kids, Russ and Ron. Russ seems to be interested in Amy, and less in football. Ron appears to be more straight-forward and a bully near Nick, though 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
Amy O'Neill
Amy O'Neill is a performer and a former actress. After appearing in several sitcoms and starring as Molly Stark on The Young and the Restless in 1986, she was cast as Amy Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award...

 and Robert Oliveri
Robert Oliveri
Robert Oliveri is a former American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Nick Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award and a Saturn Award. He reprised the role in the 1992 sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3D...

 were cast as Amy and Nick Szalinski, the children of Wayne and Diane. Oliveri would comment that he was in awe about watching his stunt double do his stunts. He would later star as Kevin in Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...

's Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The film shows the story of an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands. Edward is taken in by a suburban family and falls in love with their teenage daughter...

. 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."

Direction

Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston
Joseph Eggleston "Joe" Johnston II is an American film director and former effects artist best known for such effects-driven movies as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, the period drama October Sky, The Wolfman, and Captain America: The First Avenger.- Life and...

 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
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

 at the end of 1988 and the beginning of 1989. Greg Fonseca was the production designer and was in charge of managing several different sets for the scenes in the movie.

Some filming took place in and around Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...

. In the scene where Diane walks out of the mall to the pay phone, there is a sign that says 'Beverly Hills Mall.' It is unclear if the whole film takes place in Beverly Hills or just that scene, as this contradicts one assertion in the sequel
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid is the 1992 sequel to the 1989 film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Directed by Randal Kleiser and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, Robert Oliveri and Amy O'Neill, who reprise their roles as Wayne, Diane, Nick, and Amy Szalinski...

 that Wayne Szalinski was originally from, and thus the Szalinski residence depicted in Honey, I Shrunk The Kids is in, Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...

.

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 simple effects that would work. For the scene where Wayne lands into the Thompsons' pool, Moranis jumped off of 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.
Numerous storyboards were used for the film, particularly in the water sprinklers scene and the scene involving the bee. Scale models were also used for the bee scene, with miniature Russ and Nick plastic figures attached. Forced perspective
Forced perspective
Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking and architecture...

 was used in the giant cookie scene, to make the cookie seem bigger. 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.

Box office

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids opened on June 23, 1989 to a grand total of 1,498 theatres. The film opened at #2 on opening night, behind Batman
Batman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...

, with a total of $14,262,961. The film earned $130,724,172 domestic and $92,000,000 overseas, earning a grand total of $222,724,172. Attached to the film was Disney and Amblin Entertainment's first Roger Rabbit short, Tummy Trouble, executively produced by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...

, produced by Don Hahn
Don Hahn
Don Hahn is an American film producer who has produced some of the most successful Walt Disney animated films of the past 20 years. He currently owns his own film production company called Stone Circle Pictures.-Early life:...

, and directed by Rob Minkoff
Rob Minkoff
Robert R. "Rob" Minkoff is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing the Academy Award–winning animated feature The Lion King ....

.

Critical reception

The film has earned a 74% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

, with generally positive reviews. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

, of the Chicago Sun Times, gave a negative review, stating: "The special effects are all there, nicely in place, and the production values are sound, but the movie is dead in the water." Caryn James, of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, gave a positive review, saying: "As sweet, funny, and straightforward as its title." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

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."

Awards

James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...

 won an ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Films and was also nominated for a Saturn Award
Saturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...

. The film was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. Thomas Wilson Brown
Thomas Wilson Brown
Thomas Wilson Brown is an American actor, who began his career at the age of eleven by playing Augie, the nephew of Scott Glenn and Kevin Costners' characters in the Lawrence Kasden western classic Silverado....

, Jared Rushton
Jared Rushton
Jared Michael Rushton is an American musician and former actor. He is best known for his roles in numerous late eighties films including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big, and Overboard. He has been nominated for a total of two Saturn Awards and two Young Artist Awards...

, Robert Oliveri
Robert Oliveri
Robert Oliveri is a former American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Nick Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award and a Saturn Award. He reprised the role in the 1992 sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3D...

 and the Special Effects Crew were also nominated for a Saturn Award. The Special Effects Crew were also won a BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects. Amy O'Neill
Amy O'Neill
Amy O'Neill is a performer and a former actress. After appearing in several sitcoms and starring as Molly Stark on The Young and the Restless in 1986, she was cast as Amy Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award...

 and Jared Rushton were nominated for a Young Artist Award
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...

 and director Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston
Joseph Eggleston "Joe" Johnston II is an American film director and former effects artist best known for such effects-driven movies as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, the period drama October Sky, The Wolfman, and Captain America: The First Avenger.- Life and...

 a Fantasporto
Fantasporto
Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from...

 Award.

The film was presented in the 100 Greatest Family Films, in which Amy O'Neill and Thomas Wilson Brown talked about the film for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

.

Soundtrack

After years without releasing James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...

's soundtrack to the film, Intrada Records
Intrada Records
Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California...

 released it on March 6, 2009. The song that Amy dances to in the kitchen is "Turn It Up" by Nick Kamen
Nick Kamen
Nick Kamen is an English male model, songwriter and musician, and brother of session guitarist Chester Kamen and artist Barry Kamen.-Career:...

, written by Jeffrey Pescetto and Patrick DeRemer.

The soundtrack was limited to a 3,000 copies release. Horner’s main title music is a nod to Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott was an American composer, band leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor....

’s 1937 Powerhouse B
Powerhouse (song)
Powerhouse is a instrumental musical composition by Raymond Scott, probably best known today as the iconic "assembly line" music in animated cartoons released by Warner Brothers.-History:...

 tune, often referenced in Carl Stalling
Carl Stalling
Carl W. Stalling was an American composer and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.-Biography:Stalling was born to Ernest and...

’s Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

 cartoon scores. 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 conducted at the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...

.

Track listing

  1. "Main Title" – 1:59
  2. "Strange Neighbors" – 1:49
  3. "Shrunk" – 5:37
  4. "A New World" – 3:31
  5. "Scorpian 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

In 1992, Disney released the first sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid is the 1992 sequel to the 1989 film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Directed by Randal Kleiser and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, Robert Oliveri and Amy O'Neill, who reprise their roles as Wayne, Diane, Nick, and Amy Szalinski...

, with Rick Moranis and Marcia Strassman reprising their roles as Wayne and Diane Szalinski. As the title suggests, Wayne succeeds in enlarging his two-year-old son to gigantic proportions as one of his size-changing experiments goes awry.

A three-dimensional film
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...

 called Honey, I Shrunk the Audience
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience
Honey, I Shrunk The Audience! was a 3-D film spin off of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series that was shown at several Disney theme parks.-Synopsis:...

complete with physical effects such as wind and water was created as an attraction at Walt Disney World's Epcot
Epcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...

 in 1994, and later Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo Disneyland
is a 115 acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside of the United States and opened on April 15, 1983...

 and Disneyland Paris. The attraction is a mock award show by "The Imagination Institute" that is intended to honor Wayne Szalinski as "Inventor Of The Year." Instead, the audience is "shrunk" and threatened by a giant dog (Quark), a giant python, a giant woman (Diane), and even a giant kid (Adam), among other thrills. The attraction reprises most of the original cast and adds Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....

 as the host of the award show. The attraction is currently closed at all of its locations due to the return of Captain EO
Captain EO
Captain EO is a 3-D science fiction film starring Michael Jackson and directed by Francis Ford Coppola that was shown at Disney theme parks from 1986 through the 1990s...

(which was ironically replaced by Honey). Currently no return dates have been confirmed.

In 1997, Disney produced the second sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves is a 1997 direct-to-video sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. It is the last film in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise...

as a direct to video release. Only Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...

 reprised his role in this film, with Nick and Amy having gone off to college. Many new characters were added such as Wayne's brother and his family. This time, it is the parents who are reduced to minuscule size, and need to be rescued by their kids. Wayne's niece Jenny Szalinski was played by Allison Mack
Allison Mack
Not to be confused with Alison MacAllison Mack is an American actress. She is best known for her role of Chloe Sullivan on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Early life:...

, and a friend by Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Milena "Mila" Kunis is an American actress. Her work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy...

.

The last incarnation of the franchise was the television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show is an American syndicated science fiction sitcom based on the 1989 film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. It expands upon the original film's concept of a shrinking experiment gone wrong to include a myriad of experiments gone awry...

. Peter Scolari
Peter Scolari
Peter Scolari is an American television, film and stage actor best known for his roles in the television shows Newhart, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, and Bosom Buddies.-Career:...

 took over as Wayne Szalinski, and Nick and Amy both returned as characters, roughly the same age as in the original film, but were also played by new actors. The show's plots involved other wacky Szalinski inventions (rarely the shrink ray) that don't work quite as expected and land the family in some type of humorous mixed-up adventure.

Other uses

The title of the film formed the basis for a famous quote by Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is in the gift of the Leader of the Opposition but is informal. The Shadow Chancellor has no constitutional...

 John Smith, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Britain's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 at the Sheffield Rally
Sheffield Rally
The Sheffield Rally was a political meeting held by the Labour Party on Wednesday 1 April 1992, a week ahead of the 1992 UK general election.The event was held at the Sheffield Arena, an indoor sports venue in Sheffield, England. It was attended by 10,000 Labour Party members, including the entire...

 on 1 April 1992, eight days before the 1992 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...

. With Britain's economy in recession with almost unbroken detraction for almost two years, he criticised the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 government's management of the state of the nation's economy by quoting: "Starring John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...

, directed by John Major, the Conservatives very own box office disaster - Honey, I Shrunk the Economy".

External links

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