Chérie, j'ai réduit les enfants

Whilst watching Honey I Shrunk The Kids on DVD, it occurred to me how much things have changed in the last twenty years: records and typewriters, which feature in the film's opening animated credits, no longer exist ('what are they?', asked my bemused 7-year-old daughter); spectacles have got a lot smaller (the one's sported by the youngest kid in this film are enormous!); computers are now everyday household appliances—not just the play-things of crazy inventors; telephones are a lot easier to use now they don't have cords; Rick Moranis is no longer a box-office draw; and special effects look a whole lot different now we have CGI (not necessarily better, just different).

One thing that hasn't changed, though, is this film's ability to entertain: Joe Johnston's directorial debut is just as enjoyable today as it was when I first saw it two decades ago.

Rick Moranis stars as crazy inventor Wayne Szalinski, whose latest creation, a miniaturisation ray, has one major teething problem: it tends to make things explode. After the machine is whacked by a stray baseball, it finally begins to function correctly, but accidentally shrinks Wayne's children, pretty blonde teen Amy (Amy O'Neill) and chip-off-the-old-block younger son Nick (Robert Oliveri), plus Russ and Ron, the neighbours' sons, to microscopic size. Oblivious to the fact that his machine is now working, and that it has miniaturised his kids, Wayne destroys his machine, sweeps up the pieces (scooping up the four tiny children in the process) and takes the trash to the bottom of the yard.

Now, if they are to have any chance of being returned to normal size, Amy, Nick, Russ and Ron must make a dangerous trek through their yard, facing a variety of dangers on the way.

Utilising detailed oversize props and sets, plus an impressive (for the time) combination of blue screen technology, matte paintings, and stop-motion animation effects, director Johnston creates a string of spectacular set-pieces that sees the children being bombarded by giant water droplets from the garden sprinkler, taking a flight on the back of a bee, being attacked by a scorpion, and befriending a baby ant. Johnston's younger cast members all give credible performances, whilst Moranis does what he does best: acts nerdy and looks worried a lot.

Of course, this being a Disney movie, there is the obligatory happy ending, which sees Wayne finally perfecting his invention and returning the kids to full size. And this being a Disney film, everyone involved learns a valuable lesson in how to get along with others, despite their differences. Which is nice.

Basically this one great and fun adventure movie, for kids especially. It's a Disney movie, so it's most definitely kid orientated, which means that it doesn't have the most complicated script, drawn out characters, or other mind boggling elements but it more than serves its purpose.

What is the most appealing aspect of "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" are its adventures elements. It was a great move to let the movie for most part be set in the backyard of an ordinary house, of a not so ordinary family. The shrunken kids have to overcome all sorts of dangers in the backyard, such as 'giant' insects, water drops, muddy rivers, lawnmowers and of course avoid being squashed by humans. A new adventure and obstacle awaits at every corner, which makes sure that there is always something happening in the movie and makes things flow well.

The movie is perhaps more adventurous and fun than really funny. The most comical aspects of the movie mostly come from the adult cast, from actors such as Rick Moranis and Marcia Strassman as the parents and Matt Frewer and Kristine Sutherland as the neighbors. They mostly make sure that the movie is a perfectly enough watchable and entertaining one for adults. Rick Moranis of course suits the role very well as a nutty scientist. He is perhaps also known best for his roles in the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"-movies than any other one.

The movie is well made and Joe Johnston shows himself again a capable director. I have always liked him as a director. He never made any really great movies but his movies are always entertaining, which always make a Joe Johnston movie a pleasant one to watch. This movie was his directorial debut and he could had done a lot worse.

The movie has some good effects, also especially considering the time it got made. The movie uses all kinds of effects. Mostly of course consisting out of over-sized sets and objects but also stop-motion effects, mechanical effects and some early special effects. Especially the over-sized objects aren't really convincing looking and are obviously made out of light and non-nature materials but I don't know, this seemed sort of right and a suiting style for a kids movie such as this one. The musical score by James Horner is also a perfectly fine one.

About as good and entertaining as a kid's movie can get, though there is also plenty left to enjoy for adults.

7/10

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My Take: A fine family entertainment with some neat special effects.

I grew up watching and enjoying this funny, fast-paced fantasy adventure. But when I watched it back then, I always seemed to start it on the part with the scorpion and the ant, so I only watch a few parts. But I finally found it on DVD and watched it from the beginning. And I really enjoyed it. It's really a fantastic fantasy, with elaborate special-effects and lavish "enlarged" sets.

The film is quite like the fantasy films filmmaker Steven Spielberg produced, like "Back to the Future" and "Innerspace" for instance. It depicts the adventures of average people, thrust into an adventure of a lifetime, and then must find away to get back safely. That's kinda like the premise of "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids", a group of neighborhood kids get shrunk to size by a weird machine crazy inventor Rick Moranis invented. Disney triumphs in creating an enjoyable fantasy that's sure to be a charm. The stop-motion effects are still impressive, even if special effects in the 80's have certainly moved on. It's one of the best live-action Disney efforts and a fine fun for the entire family.

This film is followed by a sequel "Honey, I Blew up the Kid", which is not quite as zany and imaginative as its predecessor.

Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.

Or as my mom would say "cute". This is by far one of the finest family films I have ever seen. I consider "Toy Story" and "Babe: Pig In The City" as its only rivals for my favorite family film. Anyway, it's by far a very enjoyable movie, with nice special effects (the giant insects) and a real play-fun spirit like the part where they eat a giant oreo cookie or slept in the lego block. The kids are indeed very likeable, and the movie even has a sense of adventure. I'll never forget the giant (well, giant to them anyway) water drops that were terrorizing them and Amy slowly falling into a pool of mud and grime(and the grimy pool with the dead ant floating in it they found earlier). I'll always remember the funny way the dad said "Russel!" and the overviewed music they had at the beginning where they first saw the large outside or Wayne's shouting of "Get off the grass!!". I really can think of very few things I didn't like about this film. I now wonder exactly how many times they had a shrinking story (from an episode of a show or a video game etc.) that had the words "Honey, I Shrunk The .....". I recommend it to your kids. They won't be disappointed. A 10/10. Nice sequel too.

Could it possibly be that in the movie "Dinosaur" when he was dodging the fireballs that was a reference to this movie with how they were dodging the water drops?

Being a somewhat big fan of Rick Moranis, I had high expectations when I first saw this movie. I must say, I was not disappointed. The acting was terrific.

***Spoilers*** Wayne Szalinski (Moranis) is a nutty scientist who invents strange things. One invention, a shrinking machine, just makes things blow up. At first. Then, a next door neighbor, Ron Thomson, (Jared Rushton) hits a baseball in Wayne Szalinski's lab- in the attic.

Soon, four kids are the size of a grain of sand. Only a quarter inch tall, they make their way home. They have many adventures in the backyard, which is a jungle to them. The adventures include encounters with swarming bees, an ant, a lawn mower, and much more.

After a near misadventure with a bowl of cereal, the kids are found. Wayne fixes his machine, and the kids are enlarged back to normal size.

Later, both the Thomson's and Szalinski's are in the kitchen. On the table is a turkey the size of a piano.

This is a well-made movie. It may be a little scary for some younger kids, but it is well worth watching more than once.

My Score: 8/10