Director: Joe Johnston
Starring: Rick Moranis, Amy O’Neill, Robert Oliveri
Year: 1989
A little piece of golden nostalgia in miniature form, each moment of Honey I Shrunk the Kids is a reminder of how fun the late 80s could be, and how much we can still enjoy looking back, either sharing those moments with our families or simply revisiting a time when we were younger and full of cinematic whimsy. This film is a walk down memory lane for sure, from each trial the kids endure on their journey through the lawn to each note of theme music building each new phase of suspense. Honey I Shrunk the Kids is the epitome of a classic good time, a portal back to when we were kids that allows us to forget what it’s like to be adults for a while, which is something we need right now perhaps more than ever before.
The Szalinski family is weird, and their neighbors know it better than anyone else. Wayne, the dad, is an inventor, but his machines never work, including his newest obsession, a shrink ray that just blows things us. With their parents fighting over money and cleaning and jobs and everything else, Amy & Nick are just trying to get by, but they find themselves in a strange situation when the neighbor boys, Russ & Ron Thompson come over to report that a baseball has been hit through the Szalinski attic window. Somehow, this results in the shrink machine working, and all four kids accidentally get shot down to a minuscule size, and then swept out with the trash. Now they’ll have to find their way back to the house, encountering many dangers along the way, from lawn mowers to now-giant bees, if they ever want to get big again.
What an awesome time, and I remember so badly wanting to be small like this so I could see the world the way these kids got too; Legos to sleep in, Oatmeal Pies to dive into, cereal to ride. It seemed so fun, even if it was dangerous, and it definitely was fun to revisit this film and to feel all those memories come whooshing back with every note of every tune and each shout of, “Nicky, watch out!”. It’s a little silly of course, and none of these people, like none of them, ever went on to be a famous actor, but that hardly matters. At least Honey I Shrunk the Kids exists in its own, ridiculously fun bubble, and it did spawn a few more features, though they aren’t nearly as good. Watch with your kids who are now old enough to enjoy it themselves, watch with your spouse who experienced the same movie in a different town, just have a fun look back, because there is a lot to laugh at and to be entertained by here.
My rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆