Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

Directed by: Joe Johnston | 93 minutes | adventure, comedy | Actors: Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, Kristine Sutherland, Thomas Wilson Brown, Jared Rushton, Amy O’Neill, Robert Oliveri, Carl Steven, Mark L. Taylor, Kimmy Robertson, Lou Cutell, Laura Waterbury, Trevor Galtress, Martin Aylett, Janet Sunderland

If you are looking for new worlds, you don’t have to look far. Beneath our feet lies a microcosm that can be as beautiful, diverse and dangerous as the deepest rainforests. Its inhabitants are bizarre and exotic, almost alien. That fascination is what makes films like ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ so infectious – what would it be like for a human being to enter the jungle of the ‘micro-world’? Blades of grass as high as trees, butterflies as big as airplanes and ants as big as lions…

‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ is one of the older proofs that Disney can’t just make entertaining family movies in animation form – there’s plenty to enjoy ‘with real people’ too. The story is wisely kept simple: inventor Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis) has created a machine that shrinks people and objects. When his children are reduced to the size of insects along with those of the neighbors, they must make the perilous journey together through their front yard to get back home.

‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ is a true family movie – we know it’s going to be all right and the characters also learn some life lessons as they make their way through the huge front yard. While the concept could just as easily have produced horrific horror, debut director Joe Johnston (later known for ‘Jurassic Park III’, ‘Hidalgo’ and ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’) keeps it light and adventurous. When the children come across an ant, it turns out to be easy to tame, and later he even protects them from a scorpion. But terrifying isn’t the point of the film either – the micro-world is beautiful, exciting and mysterious, culminating in a maddening journey on the back of a flying bee and escaping a lawnmower. When the movie is over it actually feels too fast – aren’t there many more interesting ideas to work out? Suppose the children encounter a lizard, or a bird!

Nevertheless, ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ is an entertaining film that makes the most of the special effects available in 1989. Nearly thirty years later, the micro-world still looks impressive. A charming cast, led by 80s icon Moranis, brings in the necessary human element and makes the epic trek through the Szalinskis’ front yard believable. The only bad thing is that the multiple sequels don’t manage to keep any of the magic of the original.