Resizing (fiction)
Encyclopedia
Resizing is a theme in fiction, in particular in fairy tale
s, fantasy
, and science fiction
.
has repeated resizing themes, where Alice grows or shrinks as she eats foodstuffs or drinks potions.
Franchise videogame series Mario
, Super Mario 3D and Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros. Melee
and Super Smash Bros. Brawl
, the power-up
resizing transformation items, Super Mushroom, Poison Mushroom, Mega Mushroom, Mini Mushroom and Lightning Bolt, can make characters grow and shrink for three times. In Luigi's Mansion
the power-up
resizing transformation items, Poison Mushroom can make Luigi shrink to a smaller size for three times.
The magical girls uses magical transformation resizing powers, Hime-chan's Ribbon
is Japanese Asian cartoon show Anime
/Manga
.
The imaginary surreal characters are resizing in magical fiction such as Adventure Time
is Animated cartoon
show.
There is also the magical resizing when Grand Duke grows into giant size, he transforms himself into a resizing tornado
, and he shrinks into a miniature version of himself in the animated musical film Rock-a-Doodle
.
There are many examples of resizing in Chinese fiction such as Journey to the West
.
s of various kinds and radioactive contamination
. Other causes are the drinking of chemicals, being shot by a growth ray, or by will.
The novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth
by H. G. Wells
describes a kind of food that can accelerate and extend the growth process, which when introduced to the world causes great upheavals. In Wells' novel, giants have great powers, and they seek to continue growing and improving; only the small people with their small minds stand in their way. This is a symbol of social groups with great potential suppressed by mainstream society, and an expectation for them to eventually change the world (through a radical way). Though one of Wells' lesser-known works, many of the features of the novel have been incorporated into other works.
Excessive growth is often described as result of advance in biology
(in Wells' novel, for example, the food was developed by two biologists). In reality, excessive growth is usually related to some illness; victims of fictional excessive growth, however, are generally more than healthy, and have powers proportionate to their size (in the same way that the physical limitations related to size in reality are ignored).
In science fiction/horror B-movie
s, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, enlargement of people or creatures to monstrous size (often accomplished via radiation
) was a common theme. Films featuring enlargement include Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
, The Amazing Colossal Man
, Village of the Giants
, The Food of the Gods
, 1954's Them!, and Tarantula
. Bert I. Gordon
is the filmmaker most closely associated with this genre. More recently, Disney released Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
, which involves a toddler who grows tall when exposed to electricity, and causes panic in Las Vegas.
In the recent Japanese production "Dai-Nippon-Jin" ("Big Man Japan") the protagonist is the latest in a dynasty of heroes who can grow to enormous size to fight equally huge monsters.
In the music video of Relient K's "(Marilyn Manson ate) My girlfriend", a gigantic Marylin Manson eats the band's girlfriend and the band has to go into Marilyn Manson to save her.
Probably the best-known example of resizing in comic strips is a series of Calvin and Hobbes
strips where Calvin grows bigger than a galaxy.
In the science fiction
film Monsters vs. Aliens
, Susan Murphy grows to giantess size when exposed to quantonium.
In the children's book, Clifford the Big Red Dog
, Clifford starts out as a small puppy who grows up to become a giant dog.
and Innerspace
, in which the miniaturized protagonists travel through the human body, the machine looks something like a Star Trek
transporter
, and is large enough to accommodate the target. On the other hand, in the film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
, the machine looks like a laser
device which operates near the target. In some works, a shrinking machine can enlarge as well, and vice versa. For example, in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
, a shrinking machine makes a toddler 100 feet tall. Both types of machine normally have the ability to reverse the shrinking process (though sometimes, as in Fantastic Voyage, the reversal happens automatically after a certain period).
In 1940's Dr. Cyclops
, the protagonists are reduced to less than a foot in size by the titular mad scientist
, and are subjugated to his whims. 1957's The Incredible Shrinking Man
inspired a boom in science fiction films that made use of size-alteration in the late 1950s and the 1960s, and also inspired a comic remake in 1981's The Incredible Shrinking Woman
.
In the Star Trek: The Animated Series
episode "The Terratin Incident
", a ray of unknown origin strikes the Enterprise
and causes everyone aboard to begin gradually shrinking. Spock
explains this as the gaps between molecules reducing, though only in organic material such as flesh and the crews' algae-based xenylon uniforms. When Captain Kirk
beams down to the planet from which the ray emanated, the effect of the transporter
restores him to normal size.
In The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
anime
series, miniaturizing cloning technology known as micloning (maikuro-n ka in Japanese) plays a significant role in the coexistence of a giant alien race called Zentradi
and humanity.
In Marvel Comics
, "Pym particles" (named for their inventor, Henry Pym
, variously known by the superhero
identities Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath and Yellowjacket) cause physical matter to shrink or enlarge by shunting mass into, or drawing mass from, another dimension. In addition to Pym, a number of other superheroes have used Pym particles to change their size, including the Wasp
(Pym's ex-wife), the second Goliath
, Black Goliath
, the second Ant-Man, and the second Yellowjacket
. Pym also designed a prison for supervillain
s that was dubbed "the Big House", in which superhuman criminals who could not be normally incarcerated were shrunken down to six inches in height.
In DC Comics
, the equivalent characters are the various individuals who go by the superhero name, The Atom
. In particular of these people, Professor Ray Palmer
is the foremost authority in size and molecular density changing technology.
In the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
, in The Television Room when Mike Teevee uses to shrink into the tiny chocolate bar size after the Taffy Puller.
In the videogame Harley's Humongous Adventure
, the title character is miniaturized justifying fighting against giant rats and other such odds and relying on thumtacks as weaponry.
In the Science Fiction
My Favorite Martian
, when Tim shrink into tiny size takes the to the spaceship home with him the martian following.
In the 2008 comedy film
Meet Dave
, the humanoid
aliens controlling "Dave" are one inch tall.
In the 2010 film Tooth Fairy
, the main character is given a shrinking paste which he uses to shrink to a tiny fairy size.
In the 2001 Animated film
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
, the shrinking remote control when the teacher and Jimmy Neutron shrink into ant size.
In the 2010 Animated film
Despicable Me
, when Gru steal the shrink ray.
In the Cartoon show Micro Ventures
, when they use shrinking machine to shrink themselves and their dune buggy to miniature size.
In the Fantasy
Musical film
Babes in Toyland
, they using shrink gun when they shrink into tiny toy size.
, and to some extent vorarephilia
are rooted in size-changing fiction.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
.
Early instances in fiction
Alice's Adventures in WonderlandAlice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
has repeated resizing themes, where Alice grows or shrinks as she eats foodstuffs or drinks potions.
In videogaming
In the NintendoNintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
Franchise videogame series Mario
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
, Super Mario 3D and Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
and Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
, the power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
resizing transformation items, Super Mushroom, Poison Mushroom, Mega Mushroom, Mini Mushroom and Lightning Bolt, can make characters grow and shrink for three times. In Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion, known as in Japan, is an action-adventure game published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in Europe on May 3, 2002. The game was a launch title for the GameCube...
the power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
resizing transformation items, Poison Mushroom can make Luigi shrink to a smaller size for three times.
The magical girls uses magical transformation resizing powers, Hime-chan's Ribbon
Hime-chan's Ribbon
is a magical girl manga series created by Megumi Mizusawa that was serialized in Ribon Magazine from August 1990 to January 1994. It was later developed into a 61 episode anime series, produced by Studio Gallop, that aired from October 2, 1992 to December 3, 1993. Hajime Watanabe's first project as...
is Japanese Asian cartoon show Anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
/Manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
.
The imaginary surreal characters are resizing in magical fiction such as Adventure Time
Adventure Time
Adventure Time was a local children's television show on WTAE-TV 4 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1959 to 1975. It was hosted by the late Paul Shannon, with guitarist Joe Negri and puppeteer Jim Martin...
is Animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
show.
There is also the magical resizing when Grand Duke grows into giant size, he transforms himself into a resizing tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
, and he shrinks into a miniature version of himself in the animated musical film Rock-a-Doodle
Rock-A-Doodle
Rock-a-Doodle is a 1992 American animated re-telling of Edmond Rostand's comedy, Chantecler. This film was directed by Don Bluth, produced by Goldcrest Films for The Samuel Goldwyn Company, and originally released in the United States on April 3, 1992.-Plot:Chanticleer is a proud rooster whose...
.
There are many examples of resizing in Chinese fiction such as Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
.
Excessive growth
Common causes of excessive growth in fiction include poisonPoison
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....
s of various kinds and radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological contamination, is radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids, liquids or gases , where their presence is unintended or undesirable, or the process giving rise to their presence in such places...
. Other causes are the drinking of chemicals, being shot by a growth ray, or by will.
The novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth
The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth
The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth is a novel written by H. G. Wells. Published in 1904, it is one of his lesser known scientific romances, aside from the various B-movie adaptations .-Plot summary:...
by H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
describes a kind of food that can accelerate and extend the growth process, which when introduced to the world causes great upheavals. In Wells' novel, giants have great powers, and they seek to continue growing and improving; only the small people with their small minds stand in their way. This is a symbol of social groups with great potential suppressed by mainstream society, and an expectation for them to eventually change the world (through a radical way). Though one of Wells' lesser-known works, many of the features of the novel have been incorporated into other works.
Excessive growth is often described as result of advance in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
(in Wells' novel, for example, the food was developed by two biologists). In reality, excessive growth is usually related to some illness; victims of fictional excessive growth, however, are generally more than healthy, and have powers proportionate to their size (in the same way that the physical limitations related to size in reality are ignored).
In science fiction/horror B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, enlargement of people or creatures to monstrous size (often accomplished via radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
) was a common theme. Films featuring enlargement include 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....
, Village of the Giants
Village of the Giants
Village of the Giants is a 1965 science-fiction/comedy movie with many elements of the beach party film genre. It was produced, directed and written by Bert I. Gordon, and based loosely on H.G. Wells's book The Food of the Gods...
, The Food of the Gods
The Food of the Gods (film)
The Food of the Gods is a 1976 film released by American International Pictures and was written, produced, and directed by Bert I. Gordon....
, 1954's Them!, and Tarantula
Tarantula (film)
Tarantula is a 1955 science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Leo G. Carroll, John Agar, and Mara Corday. Among other things, the film is notable for the appearance of a 25-year-old Clint Eastwood in an uncredited role as a jet pilot at the end of the film.-Plot summary:The plot...
. Bert I. Gordon
Bert I. Gordon
Bert I. Gordon is an American film director most famous for such science fiction and horror B-movies as The Amazing Colossal Man and Village of the Giants....
is the filmmaker most closely associated with this genre. More recently, Disney released 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...
, which involves a toddler who grows tall when exposed to electricity, and causes panic in Las Vegas.
In the recent Japanese production "Dai-Nippon-Jin" ("Big Man Japan") the protagonist is the latest in a dynasty of heroes who can grow to enormous size to fight equally huge monsters.
In the music video of Relient K's "(Marilyn Manson ate) My girlfriend", a gigantic Marylin Manson eats the band's girlfriend and the band has to go into Marilyn Manson to save her.
Probably the best-known example of resizing in comic strips is a series of Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes is a syndicated daily comic strip that was written and illustrated by American cartoonist Bill Watterson, and syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. It follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious and adventurous six-year-old boy, and Hobbes, his...
strips where Calvin grows bigger than a galaxy.
In the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film Monsters vs. Aliens
Monsters vs. Aliens
Monsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 American computer-animated 3-D science fiction film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
, Susan Murphy grows to giantess size when exposed to quantonium.
In the children's book, Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clifford the Big Red Dog is an American children's book series first published in 1963. Written by Norman Bridwell, the series helped establish Scholastic Books as a premier publishing company....
, Clifford starts out as a small puppy who grows up to become a giant dog.
Shrinking machines
The shrinking is usually accomplished using a machine of some kind. For example, in the films Fantastic VoyageFantastic Voyage
Fantastic Voyage is a 1966 science fiction film written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby.Bantam Books obtained the rights for a paperback novelization based on the screenplay and approached Isaac Asimov to write it....
and Innerspace
Innerspace
Innerspace is a 1987 science fiction comedy film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Michael Finnell. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. The film was inspired by the classic 1966 science fiction film Fantastic Voyage. It stars Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Robert Picardo and...
, in which the miniaturized protagonists travel through the human body, the machine looks something like a Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
transporter
Transporter (Star Trek)
A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
, and is large enough to accommodate the target. On the other hand, in the film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
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...
, the machine looks like a laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
device which operates near the target. In some works, a shrinking machine can enlarge as well, and vice versa. For example, 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...
, a shrinking machine makes a toddler 100 feet tall. Both types of machine normally have the ability to reverse the shrinking process (though sometimes, as in Fantastic Voyage, the reversal happens automatically after a certain period).
In 1940's Dr. Cyclops
Dr. Cyclops
Dr. Cyclops is a science fiction horror film directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Thomas Coley, Victor Kilian, Janice Logan, Charles Halton, Frank Yaconelli, and Albert Dekker, and released by Paramount Pictures.- Plot summary :...
, the protagonists are reduced to less than a foot in size by the titular mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
, and are subjugated to his whims. 1957's 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 ....
inspired a boom in science fiction films that made use of size-alteration in the late 1950s and the 1960s, and also inspired a comic remake in 1981's The Incredible Shrinking Woman
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
The Incredible Shrinking Woman is a 1981 science fiction/comedy film, starring Lily Tomlin, Charles Grodin, Ned Beatty, John Glover and Elizabeth Wilson, and directed by Joel Schumacher. The film was written by Tomlin's longtime life partner and frequent collaborator, Jane Wagner. The original...
.
In the Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
episode "The Terratin Incident
The Terratin Incident (TAS episode)
-Plot outline:While observing a burnt-out supernova, the U.S.S. Enterprise picks up a strange message transmitted in a two hundred year old code.The signal is traced to a nearby planet. When the ship enters orbit, it is hit by an energy beam that damages its dilithium crystals and makes the crew...
", a ray of unknown origin strikes the Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...
and causes everyone aboard to begin gradually shrinking. Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
explains this as the gaps between molecules reducing, though only in organic material such as flesh and the crews' algae-based xenylon uniforms. When Captain Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
beams down to the planet from which the ray emanated, the effect of the transporter
Transporter (Star Trek)
A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
restores him to normal size.
In The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
is an anime television series. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war....
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series, miniaturizing cloning technology known as micloning (maikuro-n ka in Japanese) plays a significant role in the coexistence of a giant alien race called Zentradi
Zentradi
The are a fictional, militastic race of alien, humanoid giants and often the main antagonist in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross anime series and its Robotech adaptation....
and humanity.
In Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, "Pym particles" (named for their inventor, Henry Pym
Henry Pym
Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym is a fictional character that appears in publications by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber and penciler Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #27...
, variously known by the superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
identities Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath and Yellowjacket) cause physical matter to shrink or enlarge by shunting mass into, or drawing mass from, another dimension. In addition to Pym, a number of other superheroes have used Pym particles to change their size, including the Wasp
Wasp (comics)
The Wasp is a fictional character, a superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe and founding member of The Avengers. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #44 ....
(Pym's ex-wife), the second Goliath
Hawkeye (comics)
Hawkeye , also known as Goliath and Ronin, is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #57 and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck. Hawkeye joined the Avengers in Avengers Vol. 1 #16 Hawkeye...
, Black Goliath
Bill Foster (comics)
Dr. Bill Foster, also known as Black Goliath, the second Giant-Man, and the fourth Goliath, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:...
, the second Ant-Man, and the second Yellowjacket
Yellowjacket (Rita DeMara)
Yellowjacket is a fictional character, as initial reluctant supervillainess and later superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe...
. Pym also designed a prison for supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
s that was dubbed "the Big House", in which superhuman criminals who could not be normally incarcerated were shrunken down to six inches in height.
In DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, the equivalent characters are the various individuals who go by the superhero name, The Atom
Atom (comics)
The Atom is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe.There have been five characters who have shared the Atom codename. The original Golden Age Atom, Al Pratt, was created by Ben Flinton and Bill O'Connor and first appeared in All-American Publications'...
. In particular of these people, Professor Ray Palmer
Ray Palmer (comics)
The Atom is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero introduced during the Silver Age of comic books in Showcase # 34 . He was named after Raymond A...
is the foremost authority in size and molecular density changing technology.
In the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....
, in The Television Room when Mike Teevee uses to shrink into the tiny chocolate bar size after the Taffy Puller.
In the videogame Harley's Humongous Adventure
Harley's Humongous Adventure
Harley's Humongous Adventure is a 1992 Super NES platform video game.-Summary:...
, the title character is miniaturized justifying fighting against giant rats and other such odds and relying on thumtacks as weaponry.
In the Science Fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian (film)
My Favorite Martian is a 1999 science fiction comedy film starring Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Daniels, Daryl Hannah, Elizabeth Hurley, Wallace Shawn and Ray Walston, based on the 1960s television series of the same name. It was directed by Donald Petrie and written by original-series creator John L....
, when Tim shrink into tiny size takes the to the spaceship home with him the martian following.
In the 2008 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...
Meet Dave
Meet Dave
Meet Dave is a 2008 American family comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and starring Eddie Murphy. The film was co-written by Bill Corbett and Rob Greenberg...
, the humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
aliens controlling "Dave" are one inch tall.
In the 2010 film Tooth Fairy
Tooth Fairy (film)
For other uses, see Tooth Fairy .Tooth Fairy is a 2004 short film about a father who forgets to leave money for his daughter from the "tooth fairy"...
, the main character is given a shrinking paste which he uses to shrink to a tiny fairy size.
In the 2001 Animated film
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (film)
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius is a 2001 computer-animated film based on a few three-minute animated shorts shown on Nickelodeon between the years 1999-2002, and a pilot in 1998. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies with O Entertainment and DNA Productions...
, the shrinking remote control when the teacher and Jimmy Neutron shrink into ant size.
In the 2010 Animated film
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
Despicable Me
Despicable Me
Despicable Me is a 2010 American computer-animated 3D comedy film from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment that was released on July 9, 2010 in the United States. The film features the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, and...
, when Gru steal the shrink ray.
In the Cartoon show Micro Ventures
Micro Ventures
Micro Ventures is an educational animated series created by Hanna-Barbera Productions which originally aired as a 4-minute segment on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour...
, when they use shrinking machine to shrink themselves and their dune buggy to miniature size.
In the Fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
Musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (1961 film)
Babes in Toyland is a 1961 Christmas musical film in Technicolor, directed by Jack Donohue, produced by Walt Disney, and distributed to theatres by Buena Vista Distribution. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker.The...
, they using shrink gun when they shrink into tiny toy size.
As a sexual fetish
Size-changing has recently been seen as a sexual fetish with the advent of the internet. Macrophilia/MicrophiliaMacrophilia
Macrophilia refers to a fascination with or a sexual fantasy involving giants. The fantasy is typically based around one or more giantesses or giant's domination of a smaller human...
, and to some extent vorarephilia
Vorarephilia
Vorarephilia is a sexual fetish and paraphilia where arousal occurs from the idea of being eaten, eating another, observing this process, or by the general process of eating. The fantasy most frequently involves the victim being swallowed alive, and may or may not include digestion...
are rooted in size-changing fiction.
See also
- MiniaturizationMiniaturizationMiniaturization is the creation of ever-smaller scales for mechanical, optical, and electronic products and devices...
— besides referring to shrinking things and people, miniaturization in science fiction (and real technology) also refers to redesigning products to make smaller ones. A real-world example is the miniaturisation of electronics made possible by advances in semiconductor and manufacturing technology.
Further reading
- Glassy, Mark C. The Biology of Science Fiction Cinema. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. 2001.
External links
- The Biology of B-Movie Monsters by Michael C. LaBarbera.