Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves
Encyclopedia
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
. The directorial debut of Dean Cundey
and released through Walt Disney Home Video, it tells the story of the "nutty" inventor Wayne Szalinski as he accidentally shrinks his wife, brother, sister-in-law, and himself with his electromagnetic shrink ray.
Rick Moranis
returns to portray Wayne Szalinski. He is the only returning cast member from the previous films. His wife, Diane, is portrayed by Eve Gordon, and their youngest son Adam, now a preteen, is played by Bug Hall
. Nick and Amy have gone off to college (as discussed between Diane and Adam in the film). This film includes Wayne's extended family, including his brother Gordon and his wife, Patti. Unlike the first film, where the kids had to get their parents' attention, the parents have to get their kids' attention.
Only a few months after this film was released, The Disney Channel picked up a show based on the Szalinskis' troubles: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show
. It starred Peter Scolari
in the role of Wayne. This was the last incarnation of the franchise
, this is also Disney's first Live-Acton movie to get a Direct-to-Video
Release.
This was Rick Moranis
' final live-action role before his subsequent retirement from acting.
) blew up his son, Adam, to a gigantic size. Nick Szalinski, just like his sister Amy, is now living away from home and Wayne is the president of Szalinski Labs, with his brother Gordon Szalinski (Stuart Pankin
) as head of research and development. Adam (Bug Hall
), now ten years old, is having trouble making his father understand that he wants to go to baseball camp, instead of science camp, like he wants him to. Diane Szalinski (Eve Gordon) is having a hard time adjusting to Wayne's attempts to create new machines and raising her son. She and her sister-in-law, Patti (Robin Bartlett
), are heading out of town for the weekend while Wayne and Gordon watch their kids.
While she is out of town, Diane demands that Wayne get rid of the seven-foot-tall Tiki Man sculpture that is in their hallway. He agrees, but has a better plan in mind. He decides to secretly shrink it to carry with him always instead of throwing it away, even though he was banned from ever using the machine again. While the kids are away buying groceries, he and Gordon bring it up to the attic where his famed shrink machine resides. The shrink machine has been upgraded and streamlined over the years (as its headed for a place in the Smithsonian), and now sports a large red button to fire it. While searching for the now-shrunken Tiki Man, Wayne and Gordon are accidentally shrunk to 3/4 of an inch tall when a croquet
ball accidentally rolls from a shelf and lands on the button. After forgetting to give Gordon and Patti's son, Mitch (Jake Richardson
), who has a potassium deficiency
, his medicine, the women decide to drive back. When they return, they hear a sound in the attic, and go up to investigate. After going in, however, the same result that befell Wayne and Gorden happens as the shrink ray starts up again and another croquet ball activates it, shrinking Diane and Patti.
Adam and his cousins, Mitch and Jenny (Allison Mack
), come home to find that their parents are not there. After hearing an old message on the answering machine, they believe that their fathers are at the space shuttle launch. Diane is infuriated with Wayne's antics and they decide that they need to get their children's attention. After climbing a wicker chair, they decide to ride a fishing pole thread down from the attic window and into Adam's room. Jenny decides to throw a party with her friends in the living room, which infuriates the adults.
The shrunken adults reach Adam's room, ride on his Sharkruiser car on a toy race track, and accidentally fall into the laundry chute, landing in a basket of laundry. The group then stumbles upon a cockroach, from which Wayne saves Diane. Jenny's friends begin to arrive, including Jill (Mila Kunis
), whose heart Adam is interested in winning. While walking around, Wayne and his family watch as Mitch begins to stumble without his medicine. The group plans to split up with Wayne and Gordon planning on rewiring the speakers to make their voice loud, while Diane and Patti look in the kitchen for Mitch's medicine. The group uses Jenny's friend's bubble machine to float down to the first floor.
While the women land safely, Wayne and Gordon's bubble flys out of control, causing it to pop on the chandelier and they land a bowl of onion dip. They then proceed to nearly get eaten by the party girls, but, thanks to sloppy eater Jill, they fall out of the bowl and are safe. Diane and Patti stumble upon a daddy long-legs
caught in a spider's web. As Patti clears the web with a nail file, Diane talks to the daddy long-legs, and realizes that being his size is bad enough without her trying to kill him when she is normal size. Ricky King, Jenny's crush, comes over to the house with his friends and begin to liven things up at the party, as Wayne and Gordon try to hot-wire the speakers. Ricky steals an unwanted kiss from Jenny in the kitchen, which Diane and Patti witness. Jenny, angry at Ricky, discourages him, which gives Patti a new judgment on her. Ricky and his friends then begin to cause havoc at the party, bullying Adam and Mitch around.
Adam and an ill Mitch go into the kitchen to look for his pills, which Diane and Patti could not push into view. Mitch sees the mothers and passes out (either from surprise, lack of potassium
, or both) and needs potassium in his system to stay awake. Adam, after remembering that he found out bananas have potassium from his dad, saves Mitch by getting Jenny to feed him some. Wayne finally succeeds in hot-wiring the speakers, and Gordon pretends to be God
, scaring the guests away. They reveal that they have been shrunk and that Diane and Patti are in the kitchen, which worries Jenny. The kids find all of their parents and place them in front of the shrink ray, having set it via Wayne's instructions to change them back to normal size. After contemplating what life would be like if they leave their parents shrunk, they give in and hit the button.
After reuniting, Wayne announces he understands Adam's interest in baseball over science, and Diane tells Wayne that she is not going to sweat the small stuff anymore and that he can do whatever he likes with the Tiki Man. Patti begins to trust Jenny, and finally, Wayne decides to step down from the position of President of Szalinski Labs and get back to his true passion as a hands-on inventor, giving Gordon, who likes organizing things and is good with people, the job of President. The film's last shot reveals that Wayne has blown up the Tiki Man to tremendous size to loom over the house from the backyard.
was called in to write the script, while working on James and the Giant Peach
. The finished script was sent in to Jeffrey Katzenberg
, who decided that the studio did not want to continue with the film. It was shelved for a few months while Kirkpatrick resumed work on James and the Giant Peach. While working on the film, Kirkpatrick learned that it was going to be picked up again.
The Walt Disney Company
at the time was having success with releasing direct-to-video sequels, such as The Return of Jafar
and Aladdin and the King of Thieves
. They wanted to test how live-action sequels would do, so they picked Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves to be their first.
Nell Scovell
and Joel Hodgson
were recruited to try to reduce Kirkpatrick's script due to the budget restraint. In Kirkpatrick's script, the group of shrunken parents were originally going to fall into a fish aquarium. The scene was cut from the script, and then revised to the bubble machine scene. One scene shows one of Wayne's inventions, a machine that translates dog barks to human speech. It is similar to the devices in the "invention exchange" Hodgson did when with Mystery Science Theatre 3000.
is the only returning cast member from the original films. He returns to portray “nutty” inventor Wayne Szalinski, now the head of Szalinski Labs. Marcia Strassman
, who portrayed his wife Diane in the first two films and in the 3D film had decided not to reprise her role. Eve Gordon, who was best known as Marilyn Monroe in A Woman Named Jackie
, was cast as Diane, instead.
Their onscreen kids, Amy O'Neill
and Robert Oliveri
, had quit acting by the time the film was released and their characters were only mentioned in a conversation between Diane and Adam. Daniel and Joshua Shalikar, who portrayed Adam in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
, had signed on for two additional sequels in 1992. They had reprised their role in Honey, I Shrunk the Audience
, but were recast by Bug Hall
, known as Alfalfa in The Little Rascals.
Stuart Pankin
and Robin Bartlett
were cast as Gordon and Patti Szalinski, Wayne’s brother and sister-in-law. Allison Mack
and Jake Richardson
were cast as their children, Jenny and Mitch Szalinski. Mack would later become famous as Chloe Sullivan
on Smallville
. Two of Jenny’s friends in the film are portrayed by Mila Kunis
and Lisa Wilhoit
. Kunis would later portray Jackie Burkhart on That 70's Show, while she and Wilhoit would later portray Meg Griffin and Connie DiMico on Fox
's Family Guy
.
’s directorial debut, replacing Randal Kleiser
. Cundey is most-known for his cinematography on films such as Jurassic Park
, Hook
, and Halloween
. Originally when the film was going to be released to theaters, the production budget was $40 million. When it was issued that the film would be released to home video, the budget was cut down to $7 million.
Due to the production cut, the studio had decided to use television resolution to save money on the effects by not having to get the film on projectable format. Also, the original script included that the party had gotten out of control with around 150 kids, akin to Sixteen Candles
or Say Anything
. This was considered too costly and it was cut down.
Despite the smaller budget, the availability of more advanced SFX technology created a more elaborate effect for the shrinking and enlarging sequences.
The film was digitally composited on three Apple Mac computers, using After Image and Ultimate
software, at Cundey's home before it was sent to the Dream Quest effects company for finessing.
cereal box is turned directly towards the camera. Products logos are also shown, Lays, Coke
, Diet Coke
, Tostitos
, Skippy Peanut Butter, Hot Wheels
, Sports Illustrated for Kids
, San Francisco 49ers
logo, Sony
, Osco Drug
, Minute Maid
, Honey Nut Cheerios
. All of these products are featured throughout the movie, making it one of Disney's few films that feature Real world products and companies.
and The First Wives Club
.
, the film scores a "rotten" rating of 25%.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 comedy film. The directorial debut of Joe Johnston and released through Walt Disney Pictures 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...
and 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...
. It is the last film in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (franchise)
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is an American Disney comedy franchise that consists of two theatrical films, one direct-to-video film, a TV series, a 3D theme park attraction, and a playground...
. The directorial debut of Dean Cundey
Dean Cundey
-Life and career:Cundey was born in Alhambra, California, United States. As a child, he used to build model sets, suggesting an interest in films from an early age...
and released through Walt Disney Home Video, it tells the story of the "nutty" inventor Wayne Szalinski as he accidentally shrinks his wife, brother, sister-in-law, and himself with his electromagnetic shrink ray.
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...
returns to portray Wayne Szalinski. He is the only returning cast member from the previous films. His wife, Diane, is portrayed by Eve Gordon, and their youngest son Adam, now a preteen, is played by Bug Hall
Bug Hall
Brandon "Bug" Hall is an American actor, acting teacher and musician.-Biography:Brandon Hall, nicknamed "Bug" by his family, was born in Fort Worth, Texas on February 4, 1985. He is the second oldest in his family...
. Nick and Amy have gone off to college (as discussed between Diane and Adam in the film). This film includes Wayne's extended family, including his brother Gordon and his wife, Patti. Unlike the first film, where the kids had to get their parents' attention, the parents have to get their kids' attention.
Only a few months after this film was released, The Disney Channel picked up a show based on the Szalinskis' troubles: 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...
. It starred 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:...
in the role of Wayne. This was the last incarnation of the franchise
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (franchise)
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is an American Disney comedy franchise that consists of two theatrical films, one direct-to-video film, a TV series, a 3D theme park attraction, and a playground...
, this is also Disney's first Live-Acton movie to get a Direct-to-Video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
Release.
This was 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...
' final live-action role before his subsequent retirement from acting.
Plot
It has been 8 years since Wayne Szalinski (Rick MoranisRick 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...
) blew up his son, Adam, to a gigantic size. Nick Szalinski, just like his sister Amy, is now living away from home and Wayne is the president of Szalinski Labs, with his brother Gordon Szalinski (Stuart Pankin
Stuart Pankin
Stuart Pankin is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Pankin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Dickinson College, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Columbia University.-Career:...
) as head of research and development. Adam (Bug Hall
Bug Hall
Brandon "Bug" Hall is an American actor, acting teacher and musician.-Biography:Brandon Hall, nicknamed "Bug" by his family, was born in Fort Worth, Texas on February 4, 1985. He is the second oldest in his family...
), now ten years old, is having trouble making his father understand that he wants to go to baseball camp, instead of science camp, like he wants him to. Diane Szalinski (Eve Gordon) is having a hard time adjusting to Wayne's attempts to create new machines and raising her son. She and her sister-in-law, Patti (Robin Bartlett
Robin Bartlett
Robin Bartlett is an American actress who grew up in Switzerland.She was formerly married to the actor Alan Rosenberg....
), are heading out of town for the weekend while Wayne and Gordon watch their kids.
While she is out of town, Diane demands that Wayne get rid of the seven-foot-tall Tiki Man sculpture that is in their hallway. He agrees, but has a better plan in mind. He decides to secretly shrink it to carry with him always instead of throwing it away, even though he was banned from ever using the machine again. While the kids are away buying groceries, he and Gordon bring it up to the attic where his famed shrink machine resides. The shrink machine has been upgraded and streamlined over the years (as its headed for a place in the Smithsonian), and now sports a large red button to fire it. While searching for the now-shrunken Tiki Man, Wayne and Gordon are accidentally shrunk to 3/4 of an inch tall when a croquet
Croquet
Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...
ball accidentally rolls from a shelf and lands on the button. After forgetting to give Gordon and Patti's son, Mitch (Jake Richardson
Jake Richardson
Jacob Matthew Richardson is an American actor, currently acting mostly in TV series. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the film Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves and the TV series Fudge.-Career:...
), who has a potassium deficiency
Hypokalemia
Hypokalemia or hypokalaemia , also hypopotassemia or hypopotassaemia , refers to the condition in which the concentration of potassium in the blood is low...
, his medicine, the women decide to drive back. When they return, they hear a sound in the attic, and go up to investigate. After going in, however, the same result that befell Wayne and Gorden happens as the shrink ray starts up again and another croquet ball activates it, shrinking Diane and Patti.
Adam and his cousins, Mitch and Jenny (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:...
), come home to find that their parents are not there. After hearing an old message on the answering machine, they believe that their fathers are at the space shuttle launch. Diane is infuriated with Wayne's antics and they decide that they need to get their children's attention. After climbing a wicker chair, they decide to ride a fishing pole thread down from the attic window and into Adam's room. Jenny decides to throw a party with her friends in the living room, which infuriates the adults.
The shrunken adults reach Adam's room, ride on his Sharkruiser car on a toy race track, and accidentally fall into the laundry chute, landing in a basket of laundry. The group then stumbles upon a cockroach, from which Wayne saves Diane. Jenny's friends begin to arrive, including Jill (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...
), whose heart Adam is interested in winning. While walking around, Wayne and his family watch as Mitch begins to stumble without his medicine. The group plans to split up with Wayne and Gordon planning on rewiring the speakers to make their voice loud, while Diane and Patti look in the kitchen for Mitch's medicine. The group uses Jenny's friend's bubble machine to float down to the first floor.
While the women land safely, Wayne and Gordon's bubble flys out of control, causing it to pop on the chandelier and they land a bowl of onion dip. They then proceed to nearly get eaten by the party girls, but, thanks to sloppy eater Jill, they fall out of the bowl and are safe. Diane and Patti stumble upon a daddy long-legs
Opiliones
Opiliones are an order of arachnids commonly known as harvestmen. , over 6,400 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the real number of extant species may exceed 10,000. The order Opiliones can be divided into four suborders: Cyphophthalmi, Eupnoi, Dyspnoi and Laniatores...
caught in a spider's web. As Patti clears the web with a nail file, Diane talks to the daddy long-legs, and realizes that being his size is bad enough without her trying to kill him when she is normal size. Ricky King, Jenny's crush, comes over to the house with his friends and begin to liven things up at the party, as Wayne and Gordon try to hot-wire the speakers. Ricky steals an unwanted kiss from Jenny in the kitchen, which Diane and Patti witness. Jenny, angry at Ricky, discourages him, which gives Patti a new judgment on her. Ricky and his friends then begin to cause havoc at the party, bullying Adam and Mitch around.
Adam and an ill Mitch go into the kitchen to look for his pills, which Diane and Patti could not push into view. Mitch sees the mothers and passes out (either from surprise, lack of potassium
Potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
, or both) and needs potassium in his system to stay awake. Adam, after remembering that he found out bananas have potassium from his dad, saves Mitch by getting Jenny to feed him some. Wayne finally succeeds in hot-wiring the speakers, and Gordon pretends to be God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, scaring the guests away. They reveal that they have been shrunk and that Diane and Patti are in the kitchen, which worries Jenny. The kids find all of their parents and place them in front of the shrink ray, having set it via Wayne's instructions to change them back to normal size. After contemplating what life would be like if they leave their parents shrunk, they give in and hit the button.
After reuniting, Wayne announces he understands Adam's interest in baseball over science, and Diane tells Wayne that she is not going to sweat the small stuff anymore and that he can do whatever he likes with the Tiki Man. Patti begins to trust Jenny, and finally, Wayne decides to step down from the position of President of Szalinski Labs and get back to his true passion as a hands-on inventor, giving Gordon, who likes organizing things and is good with people, the job of President. The film's last shot reveals that Wayne has blown up the Tiki Man to tremendous size to loom over the house from the backyard.
Cast
- Rick MoranisRick MoranisFrederick 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 - Stuart PankinStuart PankinStuart Pankin is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Pankin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Dickinson College, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Columbia University.-Career:...
as Gordon Szalinski - Eve Gordon as Diane Szalinski
- Robin BartlettRobin BartlettRobin Bartlett is an American actress who grew up in Switzerland.She was formerly married to the actor Alan Rosenberg....
as Patti Szalinski - Bug HallBug HallBrandon "Bug" Hall is an American actor, acting teacher and musician.-Biography:Brandon Hall, nicknamed "Bug" by his family, was born in Fort Worth, Texas on February 4, 1985. He is the second oldest in his family...
as Adam Szalinski - Allison MackAllison MackNot 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:...
as Jenny Szalinski - Jake RichardsonJake RichardsonJacob Matthew Richardson is an American actor, currently acting mostly in TV series. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the film Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves and the TV series Fudge.-Career:...
as Mitch Szalinski - Jojo Adams as Ricky King
- Mila KunisMila KunisMilena "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...
as Jill, Jenny's friend - Erica LuttrellErica LuttrellErica Shukrani Luttrell is a Canadian-born actress of American and Tanzanian parentage.-Biography:Born in Toronto, Canada to a Tanzanian mother and an American father, Luttrell is the youngest of four girls. She can speak some French and Swahili. She began her acting career at age two in several...
as Jody, Jenny's friend - Lisa WilhoitLisa WilhoitLisa Marie Wilhoit is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Danielle Chase on the television show My So-Called Life and for being the voice of Connie D'Amico on the television series Family Guy.-Biography:...
as Holly, Jenny's friend - Hannah WatermanHannah WatermanHannah Waterman-Groves is an English actress, daughter of Minder star Dennis Waterman and his second wife, actress Patricia Maynard.-Career:...
as Trina, Wayne's Secretary
Production
Originally, the film was going to be released in 1996 to theaters. Karey KirkpatrickKarey Kirkpatrick
Karey Kirkpatrick is an American screenwriter and director. His films include James and the Giant Peach, Space Jam, The Iron Giant, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Charlotte's Web and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy adaptation. He has also directed the films, Imagine That starring Eddie Murphy as...
was called in to write the script, while working on James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach (film)
James and the Giant Peach is a 1996 musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was produced by Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi. The film is a combination of live action and stop-motion animation....
. The finished script was sent in to Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as chairman of The Walt Disney Company's film division, and for producing DreamWorks animated films such as Shrek, Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken...
, who decided that the studio did not want to continue with the film. It was shelved for a few months while Kirkpatrick resumed work on James and the Giant Peach. While working on the film, Kirkpatrick learned that it was going to be picked up again.
The Walt Disney Company
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...
at the time was having success with releasing direct-to-video sequels, such as The Return of Jafar
The Return of Jafar
The Return of Jafar is a 1994 American animated film that is a direct-to-video sequel to the 1992 animated film Aladdin, both produced by The Walt Disney Company. The film was released on May 20, 1994 and serves as the origin of the Aladdin animated series...
and Aladdin and the King of Thieves
Aladdin and the King of Thieves
Aladdin and the King of Thieves is a 1996 animated film that is the second direct-to-video sequel to the Disney animated feature Aladdin...
. They wanted to test how live-action sequels would do, so they picked Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves to be their first.
Nell Scovell
Nell Scovell
Nell Scovell is a television and magazine writer, producer and director. She is the creator of the television series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which aired on ABC and The WB from 1996 until 2003....
and Joel Hodgson
Joel Hodgson
Joel Gordon Hodgson is an American writer, comedian and television actor. He is best known for creating Mystery Science Theater 3000 and starring in it as the character Joel Robinson. In 2007 MST3K was listed as "one of the top 100 television shows of all time" by Time.com...
were recruited to try to reduce Kirkpatrick's script due to the budget restraint. In Kirkpatrick's script, the group of shrunken parents were originally going to fall into a fish aquarium. The scene was cut from the script, and then revised to the bubble machine scene. One scene shows one of Wayne's inventions, a machine that translates dog barks to human speech. It is similar to the devices in the "invention exchange" Hodgson did when with Mystery Science Theatre 3000.
Casting
Rick MoranisRick 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...
is the only returning cast member from the original films. He returns to portray “nutty” inventor Wayne Szalinski, now the head of Szalinski Labs. 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...
, who portrayed his wife Diane in the first two films and in the 3D film had decided not to reprise her role. Eve Gordon, who was best known as Marilyn Monroe in A Woman Named Jackie
A Woman Named Jackie
A Woman Named Jackie is a 1991 American made for television miniseries chronicling the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It was based on C...
, was cast as Diane, instead.
Their onscreen kids, 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...
, had quit acting by the time the film was released and their characters were only mentioned in a conversation between Diane and Adam. Daniel and Joshua Shalikar, who portrayed Adam in 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...
, had signed on for two additional sequels in 1992. They had reprised their role in 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:...
, but were recast by Bug Hall
Bug Hall
Brandon "Bug" Hall is an American actor, acting teacher and musician.-Biography:Brandon Hall, nicknamed "Bug" by his family, was born in Fort Worth, Texas on February 4, 1985. He is the second oldest in his family...
, known as Alfalfa in The Little Rascals.
Stuart Pankin
Stuart Pankin
Stuart Pankin is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Pankin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Dickinson College, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Columbia University.-Career:...
and Robin Bartlett
Robin Bartlett
Robin Bartlett is an American actress who grew up in Switzerland.She was formerly married to the actor Alan Rosenberg....
were cast as Gordon and Patti Szalinski, Wayne’s brother and sister-in-law. 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 Jake Richardson
Jake Richardson
Jacob Matthew Richardson is an American actor, currently acting mostly in TV series. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the film Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves and the TV series Fudge.-Career:...
were cast as their children, Jenny and Mitch Szalinski. Mack would later become famous as Chloe Sullivan
Chloe Sullivan
Chloe Sullivan is a fictional character from the television series Smallville. Series regular Allison Mack has portrayed the character since the pilot episode; two other actresses performed the role of Chloe Sullivan as a child. The character was created exclusively for Smallville, by series...
on Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
. Two of Jenny’s friends in the film are portrayed 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...
and Lisa Wilhoit
Lisa Wilhoit
Lisa Marie Wilhoit is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Danielle Chase on the television show My So-Called Life and for being the voice of Connie D'Amico on the television series Family Guy.-Biography:...
. Kunis would later portray Jackie Burkhart on That 70's Show, while she and Wilhoit would later portray Meg Griffin and Connie DiMico on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
.
Direction
The film marked Dean CundeyDean Cundey
-Life and career:Cundey was born in Alhambra, California, United States. As a child, he used to build model sets, suggesting an interest in films from an early age...
’s directorial debut, replacing Randal Kleiser
Randal Kleiser
John Randal Kleiser is an American film director and producer, perhaps best known for directing the 1978 musical film Grease.-Life and career:...
. Cundey is most-known for his cinematography on films such as Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
, Hook
Hook (film)
Hook is a 1991 American fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, and features Maggie Smith, Caroline Goodall, Charlie Korsmo, Amber Scott, and Dante Basco. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing...
, and Halloween
Halloween (1978 film)
Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror film directed, produced, and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut and the first installment in the Halloween franchise. The film is set in the fictional midwestern...
. Originally when the film was going to be released to theaters, the production budget was $40 million. When it was issued that the film would be released to home video, the budget was cut down to $7 million.
Due to the production cut, the studio had decided to use television resolution to save money on the effects by not having to get the film on projectable format. Also, the original script included that the party had gotten out of control with around 150 kids, akin to Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles is a 1984 American film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling and Anthony Michael Hall. It was written and directed by John Hughes.- Plot :...
or Say Anything
Say Anything
Say Anything... is a 1989 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe. It was Crowe's directorial debut. In 2002, Entertainment Weekly ranked Say Anything... as the greatest modern movie romance, and it was ranked number 11 on Entertainment Weeklys list of the 50 best...
. This was considered too costly and it was cut down.
Despite the smaller budget, the availability of more advanced SFX technology created a more elaborate effect for the shrinking and enlarging sequences.
The film was digitally composited on three Apple Mac computers, using After Image and Ultimate
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
software, at Cundey's home before it was sent to the Dream Quest effects company for finessing.
Product placement
In just about every scene in the kitchen, the TrixTrix
Trix may refer to:* Trix , a breakfast cereal* Trix , the German company that produced Trix construction and model train sets* Trix , originally produced in Germany and later in the UK...
cereal box is turned directly towards the camera. Products logos are also shown, Lays, Coke
Coke
Coke may refer to:* Coca-Cola, a soft drink originally based on coca leaf extract** The Coca-Cola Company, makers of this drink** Cola, any soft drink similar to Coca-Cola** Soft drink, any non-alcoholic carbonated beverage* Coca, a plant...
, Diet Coke
Diet Coke
Diet Coke is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982, as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark...
, Tostitos
Tostitos
Tostitos is a brand of tortilla chips and dips produced by Frito-Lay and introduced in 1979, with national distribution in the United States reached in 1981. They are made from all-white corn. Traditionally, Tostitos chips contain no extra flavoring or preservatives, and thus are advertised to be...
, Skippy Peanut Butter, Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels is a brand of die cast toy car, introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1996, when Mattel acquired rights to the Matchbox brand from Tyco.-Models:...
, Sports Illustrated for Kids
Sports Illustrated for Kids
Sports Illustrated Kids is a monthly spin-off of the weekly U.S. sports magazine Sports Illustrated. SI Kids was launched in January 1989 and includes sports coverage with less vocabulary and emphasis on humor...
, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
logo, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Osco Drug
Osco Drug
Osco Drug is a chain of pharmacy stores which today operate as in-store pharmacies under SuperValu Pharmacies. Osco Pharmacy is found in Jewel-Osco, Albertsons, Shaw's and Star Market, while Sav-on Pharmacy is found in Acme and Albertsons. Since 2006, Osco is a wholly owned subsidiary of...
, Minute Maid
Minute Maid
Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but now extends to soft drinks of many kinds, including Hi-C...
, Honey Nut Cheerios
Honey Nut Cheerios
Honey Nut Cheerios is a variation of Cheerios breakfast cereal, introduced in 1979 by the General Mills cereal company. This is the second variation from Original Cheerios, it is sweeter than the original, with a honey and almond flavor...
. All of these products are featured throughout the movie, making it one of Disney's few films that feature Real world products and companies.
Sales
The film was released direct-to-video on March 18, 1997 for $22.99. It tied neck-to-neck with the video releases of The Long Kiss GoodnightThe Long Kiss Goodnight
The Long Kiss Goodnight is a 1996 action thriller film starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, written by Shane Black and directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...
and The First Wives Club
The First Wives Club
The First Wives Club is a 1996 comedy film, based on the best-selling 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. Narrated by Diane Keaton, it stars Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler as three divorced women who seek revenge on their husbands who left them for younger women...
.
Critical response
Unlike the previous films, it received mostly negative reviews from critics. On the film rated website Rotten TomatoesRotten 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...
, the film scores a "rotten" rating of 25%.