Film
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
- Director
- Joe Johnston
- Certificate
- PG
- Running Time
- 86 mins
Skilfully recapturing the high-concept, wholesome fun of the studio’s early live-action hits The Absent-Minded Professor and (the original) Flubber, this bright and breezy 1989 special effects comedy from Disney successfully appealed to adults and children alike thanks to its witty and mildly inspirational script.
Rick Moranis takes yet another of his nerdy boffin roles as Wayne Szalinski, whose latest invention, an amazing shrinking machine, is prematurely fired up after being hit by a baseball in his back yard. His kids and those of his neighbour (Matt Frewer) are promptly shrunk to a quarter of an inch high and accidentally dumped in the trash. To get home, they must embark on an odyssey across the jungle-esque lawn, battling fearsome creepy-crawlies and other dangers to the diminutive along the way. Whereas previous shrinking flicks played up the dangers of being very little indeed, this makes it seem like a great deal of fun. The special effects are terrific and there’s a even a lightly worn message about resourcefulness and families pulling together in times of crisis. Curiously, the credits reveal that the script was co-written by Brian Yuzna and Stuart Gordon, creators of such decidedly non-PG gorefests as Reanimator.
https://youtu.be/AMGZwxc9VqI
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