X
- 1989
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
- 1989
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
Summary The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.
Directed By: Joe Johnston
Written By: Stuart Gordon, Brian Yuzna, Ed Naha, Tom Schulman
- 1989
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
- 1989
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
63
8.0
Where to Watch
Summary The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.
Directed By: Joe Johnston
Written By: Stuart Gordon, Brian Yuzna, Ed Naha, Tom Schulman
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
63
64% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
36% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
63
64% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
36% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Director Joe Johnston, a veteran of Industrial Light and Magic, brings a wry Rube Goldberg approach to his first-ever feature. The sets are definitely plastic, but that slightly homemade look is refreshing in the hardware movie decade.
The special effects are pretty special for the most part, and the movie seems only about 10 minutes too long. [23 June 1989, p.1D]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 84 User Ratings
8.0
79% Positive
66 Ratings
66 Ratings
15% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
6% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 84 User Ratings
8.0
79% Positive
66 Ratings
66 Ratings
15% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
6% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
The movie is pure childhood nostalgia for me. It is really funny, has great ideas and the characters aka actors deliver a great performance. It is a good Disney movie I would describe as fantasy comedy (or maybe science fiction is more fitting). I hesitate to call it a great “family movie” as the phrase is tainted for others. Firstly I must admit the title is already a mayor spoiler. It is a story around the Szalinski family. Wayne Szalinski is maybe an arc type for the nice but quirky and brilliant scientist. He has developed at his family home a machine that can shrink objects but does need some improvements to work properly. Things escalate when his children activate the machine by accident while he and his wife are away. This is the start of a “little” adventure (Sorry could not resist to make this lame joke). Like I said this is a unique adventure and gives a different perspective. Think about what you can do if you are the size of an ant and nobody knows what happened to you. They use this idea for a clever, unique and enjoyable movie. It is no surprise that this became one of the most successful (live action) Disney movies of its time. Also the humour is spot on and I don't remember many misses. The actors improve this. Rick Moranis is a great actor and fully delivers a great performance. I think he is underappreciated in generell outside my generation. As sidenote: When his wife died he quit his successful movie career to care for his children. My full respect for this. Back to the actors. All family members also deliver a truly good performance. I want to praise Marcia Strassman, Amy O’Neil and Robert Oliveri. Their neighbours the Thompsons were entertaining too and with Kristine Sutherland, Matt Frewer, Thomas Wilson Brown and Jared Rushton they again chose fitting actors. A really good overall cast. The special effects were amazing back then. Everything was so believable that I never question anything. I think the combination **** story, actors, humour and effects make this so compelling. Overall I truly liked this movie and give a 10/10. Be warned like I said I am influenced by childhood nostalgia but I also don't know many people who do not like this movie.
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disney best picture yet.......................................................................................................................................................
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The cheery result is enough to renew one's faith in Uncle Walt and the boys - a family picture that transcends the cliche, a light-bright romp where the sentiment isn't cheap and where the action isn't childish. Now there's a novelty item for you. [27 June 1989]
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids pulls some familiar plot - and emotional strings. It's a tad too predictable. But it's resourceful and well-crafted. It's the type of movie that works on one level for parents and another for kids. Both will be pleased. [23 June 1989, p.12]
Shrunk is a sometimes funny, occasionally clever comedy adventure. But the fun stuff consumes only about one-fourth of the film, nowhere near enough for a feature-length movie. [24 June 1989, p.C06]
The movie is sweet and reflects Disney's usual care, but there's nothing in it to match that title. [23 June 1989, p.H11]
The special effects are all there, nicely in place, and the production values are sound, but the movie is dead in the water. It tells an amazing and preposterous story, and it seems bored by it.
A rather impressive film, taking itself seriously and trying to convey a very surreal and accurate side of miniature life.
Filled with real emotions of happiness and sadness, the honesty and genius behind the screenplay and direction is evident, and by avoiding making the comedy cartoony, it avoided being cheesy.
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Joe Johnston’s first film Honey I Shrunk the Kids shows his quality in visuals as well as his lacking in characters and story. The film presents uninteresting characters with cheesy dialogue that feels especially cheesy and dated 26 years later and isn’t helped given that its delivered by some poor child actors. These flaws reveal the film as more of an effects/visual spectacle than a film, which makes sense given how that was what Johnston did a lot of before the film. Thankfully, the visuals are mostly strange and creative from the inventions to the design of the backyard although it never reaches the imagination promised in the intro. The film isn’t terrible but nothing worth recommending. Its true place is on TV to watch when there is nothing on or on a plane ride. Thankfully, this wouldn’t be the norm with Johnston eventually going on to make good movies.
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There are some films that leave few memory in the cinematographic history but that make our personal memory go back in time. This is one of them. It is a rather entertaining family comedy where a very distracted scientist creates a machine that, inadvertently, shrinks his children until they are smaller than ants. Of course Disney is behind this idea. The lead role is the scientist, Wayne Szalinski. Played by Rick Moranis (who played an unforgettable role in "Ghostbusters"), he's basically a super-stereotypical goofy nerd. In fact, the whole movie is loaded with preconceived ideas, but this is not bad since this is a comedy and the idea is to laugh. And the film succeeds in that very easily, without recourse to easy jokes. It's not a brilliant movie, it's far from a good movie, but entertain, it's great to watch with the whole family on a weekend or holiday. And that's what matters here.
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One of Disney's more well-known live action attempts. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is definitely interesting. But, gosh, I find myself bored almost every time.
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Production Company
Walt Disney Pictures,
Silver Screen Partners III,
Doric Productions,
Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.
Release Date Jun 23, 1989
Duration 1 h 33 m
Rating PG
Tagline The most astonishing, innovative, backyard adventure of all time!
Awards
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 6 Nominations
Young Artist Awards
• 3 Nominations
BAFTA Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
