| Honey, I Shrunk the Kids | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Joe Johnston |
| Screenplay by | Ed Naha Tom Schulman |
| Story by | Stuart Gordon Brian Yuzna Ed Naha |
| Produced by | Penney Finkelman Cox |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Hiro Narita |
| Edited by | Michael A. Stevenson |
| Music by | James Horner |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million[citation needed] |
| Box office | $222.7 million[1] |
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 Americanscience fiction comedy film. It is the first installment of afilm franchise and served as thedirectorial debut ofJoe Johnston. The film starsRick Moranis,Matt Frewer,Marcia Strassman, andKristine Sutherland. In the film, a struggling inventor accidentally shrinks his and his neighbors' children to a height of a quarter of an inch. After being accidentally thrown out with the trash, the children must work together and venture their way back through a backyard wilderness filled with dangerous insects and man-made hazards.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was released theatrically in the United States on June 23, 1989, and distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution. It was an unexpected box office success, grossing $222 million worldwide (equivalent to $563.14 million in 2024) becoming thehighest-grossing live-action Disney film of all time, a record it held for five years, and the seventh-highest grossing film of 1989 worldwide.[2] Its success led to two sequels, beginning withHoney, I Blew Up the Kid in 1992, as well as atelevision series and severaltheme-park attractions. An animated short film,Tummy Trouble starringRoger Rabbit, was shown in theatres with the film during its box office run.
Scientist and inventor Wayne Szalinski has been designing an energy-projecting machine capable of shrinking and growing objects, but cannot get it to work properly. His obsession with the machine worries his hardworking wife Diane, teenage daughter Amy, and aspiring inventor son Nick. Next door, Big Russ Thompson, his wife Mae, and their younger son Ron are preparing for a fishing trip. Their elder son, Little Russ, is less than enthusiastic, as his interests often clash with his father's.
Shortly after Wayne leaves for a conference, Ron accidentally hits a baseball through the Szalinskis' attic window and into the machine, turning it on and blocking its targeting laser. Caught by his brother, Ron is forced to confess to Amy and Nick. Ron and Nick enter the attic to retrieve the ball, and the activated machine shrinks them. Amy and Little Russ later suffer the same fate when they go searching for their siblings.
At his conference, Wayne is laughed off the stage for failing to provide proof that his machine works. He enters the attic upon returning home; the shrunken children try to get his attention, but their voices are only loud enough to be heard by the family dog, Quark. Already frustrated, Wayne discovers the broken window and snaps, repeatedly striking the machine. He sweeps the debris, along with the kids, into a dust pan and trash bag. The four manage to escape, only to discover that the trash bag is now at the curb; they make their way back home through the Szalinskis' overgrown yard. While trying to get back they have a harrowing encounter with abee, which separates them.
Meanwhile, the Thompson and Szalinski parents become uneasy at their children's absence. Mae and Big Russ cancel their fishing trip and file a missing persons report with the police. Wayne eventually pieces together what happened, but accidentally activates some sprinklers while investigating the yard. As a result, Amy nearly drowns in amud puddle, but Little Russ dives in to pull her out and revive her withrescue breaths. Wayne eventually reveals the truth to Diane, and she joins in the search. Later, she convinces Wayne to share the information with the Thompsons, but they remain skeptical.
The kids feast on one of Nick's discardedOatmeal Creme Pie cookies, and use a crumb to capture a friendlyforager ant, naming it "Antie" and riding it toward the house. As night falls, the group takes shelter in aLego piece. Amy and Little Russ begin to express feelings for one another, and share a kiss. The kids are suddenly attacked by ascorpion, but Antie dies while rescuing them from it.
The next morning, Nick's friend Tommy arrives to mow the lawn. The kids are forced to seek shelter in an earthworm tunnel, barely escaping the vortex caused by the mower, which Wayne and Diane shut off just in time. The kids hitch a ride on Quark, and enter the house, but Nick falls into a bowl ofCheerios and is nearly eaten by his own father. Quark bites Wayne's ankle to get his attention; Wayne discovers the kids' presence, and works to repair the machine.
Both families meet in the attic, and the kids usecharades to inform Wayne that the baseball blocked the laser, which previously overheated targets and caused them to explode. Wayne corrects the problem, and Big Russ volunteers as a test subject; after the test succeeds, he and the kids are restored to their original sizes.
Months later atThanksgiving, the Szalinskis and Thompsons have become good friends and are toasting over an enlarged turkey, while Quark feasts on a giantdog biscuit.
The project was originally brought toDisney Studios byStuart Gordon andBrian Yuzna. Gordon was hired to direct the film and Yuzna to produce. The film was written asTeeny Weenies by Gordon,Ed Naha, and Yuzna.Tom Schulman was later added as a screenwriter. Gordon originally prepped the film but had to drop out as director shortly before filming began due to illness.Joe Johnston was brought in to replace him while Penny Finkleman Cox replaced Yuzna as producer.
As the titleTeeny Weenies seemed to appeal more to a child demographic, the name was changed toGrounded to appeal to a more mature audience. That name was later rejected in favor ofThe Big Backyard.Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, based on a line of dialogue from the film, ultimately became its title. (The title was later criticized for its grammar, as the past tense of "shrink" is normally "shrank".)[3][4]
The film was heavily influenced by 1950s fare, such asThe Incredible Shrinking Man.[5]
Judy Taylor, Mike Fenton, and Lynda Gordon were the casting directors. BeforeRick Moranis was cast as Wayne Szalinski, the script was written withChevy Chase in mind because of his popularity inNational Lampoon's Vacation. He was filming the second sequel,National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and was too busy to portray Wayne.
John Candy was also considered for the role of Wayne. He declined, but suggested to Johnston that his friend (and costar ofSCTV,Little Shop of Horrors andSpaceballs),Rick Moranis, would be a good choice.Marcia Strassman (at the time best known as Julie Kotter from the sitcomWelcome Back, Kotter) portrays Wayne's wife, Diane, who is having marital troubles with him.
The film needed four teenagers to play the leads. Russ Jr., portrayed byThomas Wilson Brown, seems to be interested in Amy, and less in football, while Ron,Jared Rushton, appears to be more straightforward and abully toward Nick, although he warms towards him. Rushton has quoted that he took the role after thinking that the script was "appealing" and he thought his character had progressed throughout the film with his personality.
Amy O'Neill andRobert Oliveri were cast as Amy and Nick Szalinski, Wayne and Diane's kids. Oliveri commented that he was in awe about watching his stunt double do his stunts. He later starred as Kevin Boggs inTim Burton'sEdward Scissorhands. O'Neill thought the film was a fun experience and that doing off-set activities, such as swimming or playing cards, was fun to do with the other younger cast members. She accepted the role because it was a "Disney movie".[6]
Johnston was selected to direct the film for his directorial debut, having been mostly working on films as an effects illustrator and art director. It was filmed at the backlot ofChurubusco Studios inMexico City. Gregg Fonseca[7] was the production designer and was in charge of managing several different sets for the scenes in it.
Some filming took place in the streets ofMexico City. In the scene where Diane walks out of the mall to the pay phone, a sign says "Beverly Hills Mall", but is in fact Plaza Inn, a mall in Mexico City.
Special effects were heavily used for the film, such as the electronically controlled ants and bees. For the most part, the production team tried to use practical effects that would work in camera. For the scene where Wayne lands in the Thompsons' pool, Moranis jumped off a flying board in the form of ateeter-totter on a swing set. A stuntman pushed the board, sending him flying through the air and landing on a mat.[8] Other visual effects utilized onstop-motion animation,puppetry, trick camera shots and different lenses.[9] Numerous storyboards were used for the film, particularly in the sprinkler and bee scenes.[5] Scale models were also used for the bee scene, with miniature Russ Jr. and Nick plastic figures attached.Forced perspective was used in the giant cookie scene, to make it seem bigger.[5] 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.
The film opened on June 23, 1989, in 1,371 theatres.[1] It opened at number 2 in the United States behindBatman, with a weekend gross of $14,262,961,Buena Vista's biggest 3-day weekend of all time.[10][11] It earned $130,724,172 domestic and $92,000,000 in other territories, earning a grand total of $222,724,172.[1] Attached to it was Disney andAmblin Entertainment's firstRoger Rabbit short,Tummy Trouble, executively produced bySteven Spielberg, produced byDon Hahn, directed byRob Minkoff, and also composed byJames Horner.
OnRotten TomatoesHoney, I Shrunk the Kids has an approval rating of 76% based on reviews from 37 critics, with an average rating of 6.30/10. The consensus reads, "Even as its special effects take center stage,Honey, I Shrunk the Kids still offers a charming, high-spirited sense of adventure for the whole family."[12]Metacritic gave the film a score of 63 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[13] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[14]
Caryn James, ofThe New York Times, gave a positive review, saying: "As sweet, funny, and straightforward as its title."[15]Variety gave another positive review stating, "[It's] in the best tradition of Disney – and even better than that, because it is not so juvenile that adults won't be thoroughly entertained."[16] A rare negative review came fromRoger Ebert, of theChicago Sun-Times, who stated: "The special effects are all there, nicely in place, and the production values are sound, but the movie is dead in the water."[17]
The film was also mentioned in the British sitcomOnly Fools and Horses in the episode titled "Rodney Come Home".
James Horner won anASCAP Award for Top Box Office Films and was also nominated for aSaturn Award. The film was also nominated for aSaturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.Thomas Wilson Brown,Jared Rushton,Robert Oliveri and the Special Effects Crew were also nominated for a Saturn Award. The Special Effects Crew won aBAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects.Amy O'Neill and Jared Rushton were each nominated for aYoung Artist Award and directorJoe Johnston was nominated for aFantasporto Award.
The film was presented in the100 Greatest Family Films, in which Amy O'Neill and Thomas Wilson Brown talked about it forMTV.
| Honey, I Shrunk the Kids | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | March 6, 2009 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 51:10 |
| Label | Intrada Records |
| Producer | James Horner Simon Rhodes |
After going years unreleased,James Horner's soundtrack to the film was made available byIntrada Records on March 6, 2009. The song that Amy dances to in the kitchen is "Turn It Up" byNick Kamen, written by Jeffrey Pescetto and Patrick DeRemer.
The soundtrack was limited to a 3,000-copy release. Horner's main title music incorporates cues from the score byNino Rota fromFederico Fellini's filmAmarcord (1973) andRaymond Scott's piece "Powerhouse B" (1937),[18] the latter often referenced inCarl Stalling'sWarner Bros. cartoon scores. Scott's piece was used without payment or credit, leading his estate to threaten legal action against Disney. Disney paid an undisclosed sum in an out-of-court settlement and changed the film's cue sheets to credit Scott.[19] Horner's main title music underscores all the major moments involving Szalinski's technology.
With 15 tracks, Horner produced the record with longtime engineer Simon Rhodes while it was originally performed by theLondon Symphony Orchestra.
Following the film's success, one of its special effects was recreated by park guests on the Walking Tour portion of theStudio Backlot Tour atDisney's Hollywood Studios (then-known as Disney-MGM Studios) throughout the 1990s.
Two children from the tour would volunteer to be strapped to the side of a giant prop bee in front of agreen screen and be videotaped acting distressed by the simulated flight of the bee. Using a robotic camera andchroma key technology, footage fromHoney, I Shrunk the Kids would be incorporated into the finished video and displayed immediately afterward on television screens mounted throughout the room. The video then transitioned into a scripted segment recorded by film criticsGene Siskel andRoger Ebert (on the set of their syndicated television seriesSiskel & Ebert) critiquing the special effects but giving "Two thumbs up for the kids!"
From 1990 until 2016, a playground at Disney's Hollywood Studios recreated the overgrown backyard set of the film for park guests to explore.
Athree-dimensional film calledHoney, I Shrunk the Audience! complete with physical effects such as wind and water was created as an attraction atWalt Disney World'sEpcot in 1994, and later made its way toDisneyland,Tokyo Disneyland, andDisneyland Paris with all four parks featuring the attraction by 1999. The film was a replacement for theMichael Jackson filmCaptain EO, a musical film launched in 1986. The film was phased out of the Disney Parks in 2010.
In 1992, Disney released the first sequel,Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, with Moranis, Strassman, O'Neill, and Oliveri reprising their roles as Wayne, Diane, Amy and Nick Szalinski. As the title suggests, Wayne succeeds inenlarging his two-year-old son, Adam, to gigantic proportions as one of his size-changing experiments goes awry.
In 1997, Disney produced the second sequel,Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, as a direct to video release.Rick Moranis was the only actor to reprise his role. The characters of Diane and Adam were recast, with Amy and Nick only being briefly mentioned in passing. Many new characters were added, including Wayne's brother Gordon and his family. This time, the parents are shrunk and need to be rescued by their kids.
The last incarnation of the franchise was the television programHoney, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show.Peter Scolari took over as Wayne and Nick and Amy both returned as characters, roughly the same age as in the original film, and played by new actors. Its plots involved other wacky Szalinski inventions (rarely the shrinking machine) that do not work quite as expected and land the family in some type of humorous mixed-up adventure.
On February 21, 2018, it was announced that live-action remakes of several films are in development as exclusive content forDisney+, with one of those named in the announcement as beingHoney, I Shrunk the Kids.[20] It was later confirmed that a "legacy-sequel" film titledShrunk is in development to be released theatrically, with a plot that centers around Nick Szalinski as an adult scientist.Josh Gad will star as Nick in the film.[21] On December 5, 2019, it was reported thatJoe Johnston is in talks to return as director.[22] On February 12, 2020, it was reported thatRick Moranis will come out of his long semi-retirement to reprise his role as Wayne Szalinski and that Johnston is now confirmed to direct.[23][24] The plot will center around an adult Nick accidentally shrinking his two daughters and son to five inches tall and them coping with their new sizes while he gets his estranged father Wayne to help him fix his machine.Julia Butters has been rumored to play Nick's daughter Sara.Robyn Adele Anderson has been reportedly cast as a babysitter named Teresa who also ends up getting shrunk.
In January 2020, Rick Moranis entered early negotiations to come out of his acting retirement, and reprise his role as Wayne Szalinski. Johnston was confirmed to direct, with Todd Rosenberg set to write the script, from an original story by Gad, Ryan Dixon, Ian Helfer, and Jay Reiss. By February, Moranis had officially signed onto the project to reprise his role.David Hoberman andTodd Lieberman will serve as producers. The film will be a joint-venture production between Walt Disney Pictures andMandeville Films, withWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures as the distributing company.[25] Principal photography was scheduled to begin in early 2020, with filming taking place inToronto, as well asAtlanta, Georgia.[26][better source needed] In March of the same year, filming on all Disney projects were halted due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and industry restrictions worldwide.[27] In November, Disney CEOBob Chapek announced that filming on all movies that had been postponed by the coronavirus had resumed.[28] In June 2021, Gad stated that filming had not yet started and that he was hoping the shoot would begin in early 2022.[29] In January 2022, Gad stated that he and Moranis had once again started collaborating in preparation for the sequel.[30] In June 2023, Gad revealed onTwitter that the project has been put on hold indefinitely, although he expressed hope that production would resume in the near future.[31]
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