Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 American comic science fiction film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, and Kristine Sutherland. In the film, a struggling inventor accidentally shrinks his kids, along with the neighbors' kids, down to the size of a quarter-inch. After being accidentally thrown out with the trash, they must work together and venture their way back through a backyard wilderness filled with dangerous insects and man-made hazards.
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.
The kids feast on one of Nick's discarded Oatmeal Creme Pie cookies, and use a crumb to capture a friendly forager ant, naming it "Antie" and riding it toward the house. As night falls, the group takes shelter in a Lego piece. Amy and Little Russ begin to express feelings for one another, and share a kiss. The kids are later attacked by a scorpion, but Antie, at the cost of its own life, helps them to drive the scorpion away.
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 Wayne's bowl of Cheerios and is nearly eaten. 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 use charades 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; the test is successful, and he and the kids are later restored to their original sizes.
Amy O'Neill and Robert 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 in Tim Burton's Edward 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]
The film begins as a mock award show by "The Imagination Institute" that is intended to honor Wayne as "Inventor of the Year." Instead, the audience is "shrunk" and threatened by Quark, Gigabyte (Nick's pet python), Diane, and even Adam, among other thrills. It reprises most of the original cast and adds Eric Idle as the host of the award show.
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.
On February 21, 2018, it was announced that live-action remakes of several films are in development as exclusive content for Disney+, with one of those named in the announcement as being Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.[19] It was later confirmed that a "legacy-sequel" film titled Shrunk 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.[20] On December 5, 2019, it was reported that Joe Johnston is in talks to return as director.[21] On February 12, 2020, it was reported that Rick Moranis will come out of his long semi-retirement to reprise his role as Wayne Szalinski and that Johnston is now confirmed to direct.[22][23] 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.
Rick Moranis stars as Wayne Szalinski, an eccentric inventor who accidentally shrinks his kids, Amy (Amy O'Neill) and Nick (Robert Oliveri) as well as the next-door neighbor's sons, Russ Jr. (Thomas Wilson Brown) and Ron Thompson (Jared Rushton). Marcia Strassman portrays his wife, Diane, to whom he delivers the titular line. Matt Frewer and Kristine Sutherland also star as Russ and Mae Thompson, Russ Jr. and Ron's parents.
Wayne is now banned from using his shrink ray by the committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Diane (Eve Gordon). Nick is now away at college and Adam (Bug Hall) is ten years old. Diane is planning a vacation with her sister-in-law, Patti (Robin Bartlett), while Wayne and his brother, Gordon (Stuart Pankin), watch Adam and his cousins, Jenny and Mitch (Allison Mack and Jake Richardson). While tampering with the shrink ray, Wayne accidentally shrinks himself, Diane, Gordon, and Patti. The kids have a party in the house after thinking they have it to themselves. The adults struggle to get their attention before disaster strikes among them.
Rated PG, this film is about a struggling inventor who accidentally shrinks his kids, along with the neighbors' kids, down to the size of a quarter-inch. After being accidentally thrown out with the trash, they must work together and venture their way back through a backyard wilderness filled with dangerous insects and man-made hazards.
Some action-style peril as shrunken children trapped in a backyard run from a vicious-looking scorpion, ride a loud-buzzing honey bee, nearly drown in a mud puddle, and are nearly killed by a lawnmower's blades. A teen boy is shown with his mouth bloodied after riding on a honey bee.
Parents need to know that Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 Disney comedy in which four kids are shrunk to the size of ants by one of their scientist father's inventions and must figure out a way to get to their parents so they can be brought back to normal size. This film discusses marital woes and depicts a neighbor belittling his son because he didn't make the football team. It also shows children fighting for survival in an immense, threatening yard: They run from a vicious-looking scorpion, ride a loud-buzzing honey bee, nearly drown in a mud puddle, and are nearly killed by a lawnmower's blades. A teen boy is shown with his mouth bloodied after riding on a honey bee. Teens kiss. The father smokes cigarettes. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS gets rolling when nerdy inventor Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis) accidentally shrinks his kids Amy and Nick as well as neighbor kid Ron. Faced with giant insects and other perils such as lawn mowers and sprinklers, the trio must rely on their stamina and ingenuity to survive a day and night in an over-large world. They also make many attempts to alert the adults to their whereabouts.
Two-dimensional characters play second fiddle to the visual effects of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. The gizmos are fun and plentiful, and Rick Moranis does what he can with the all-too-familiar role of the nerdy, misunderstood inventor. Moranis is actually more endearing and low-key here than we're used to seeing him, in part because he isn't given all that much to do and because he's the most sympathetic and appealing character the film has to offer. Even with imperiled kids riding bees or dodging giant water drops, it's hard to muster up enough enthusiasm to root for the would-be heroes.
All of the performances in the movie seem a little unfocused, as if the actors got exhausted waiting for the special effects and forgot their original inspiration. There should be chemistry among the four kids, but instead there are simply routine line readings. Moranis and his wife (Marcia Strassman) and the neighbors (Matt Frewer and Kristine Sutherland) are given so few recognizable emotions that they seem less involved in the story than the audience. And the pacing is slow. A whiz-bang, gee-whiz approach to the material might have helped.
Developer Obsidian Entertainment, best known for RPGs like The Outer Worlds, is set to branch out - or rather - shrink into, the survival adventure genre with their upcoming title Grounded. In the game, players are shrunk down to about one centimeter tall and must traverse their way through a backyard filled with hungry insects as they try to figure out what made them so small. Grounded first debuted at X019 and was recently highlighted during Xbox' Games Presentation.
After taking one look at the game, it's clear Obsidian took some creative inspiration from the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. The film tells the story of a group of kids who sneak into their father's lab to retrieve a lost baseball and accidentally shrink themselves with one of his inventions. They're then thrown in the trash by mistake and must make their way through their now jungle-like backyard and get back to their house.
Although the aesthetics and environment are similar between the game and film, players shouldn't be expecting any Rick Moranis cameos anytime soon as Grounded follows its own original story. Players will have the choice between four playable characters, Max, Willow, Pete, and Hoops; similar to the four children who get shrunk down in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. They will then be able to team up with friends to scavenge the area looking for materials, build a home base and craft weapons, and defend their stronghold against the world of insects ready to destroy your base. Grounded borrows the core concepts and feel of the original Honey, I Shrunk the Kids but expands on the world to create more exciting survival action with unique biospheres.
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