Anthony's Film Review - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

An imaginative and exciting thrill-ride thanks to eye-popping special effects...

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids involves one of my favorite science-fiction concepts. Besides space travel, utopian societies, robots, and aliens, I remember pondering the idea of changing the size of anything. What if we had the power to shrink something to a tiny size? Better yet, what if it were to happen by accident? This movie in 1989 provides a fantastic adventure that stems from this hypothetical situation. It is also a fond childhood memory in my history of watching movies.

The story begins with Rick Moranis as Wayne Szalinski, an inventor, who lives with his wife Diane and his two kids, Amy and Nick. There are also some neighbors with their own kids. One day, a baseball accidentally flies through a window of the Szalinski house. It ends up in Wayne's lab where a shrinking machine he was working on is activated. The kids go in to retrieve the ball, only to be miniaturized by a blast from the contraption. And as tiny humans smaller than the average ant, they are unable to scream for help when Wayne comes in. To make matters worse, he sweeps the room and sends the kids to the garbage can along with the rest of the trash.

Once they tear through the plastic garbage bag that is now in the backyard, they see ahead of them a vast forest of grass blades. It's nothing but the grass in the backyard, but from their perspective, it's as dangerous and scary as an alien planet. There is darkness and lots of giant objects. The special effects create amazing realism and add a whole lot of excitement in some scenes. They include a giant ant, a giant bee, and giant water drops falling from above. It's a very intense adventure for these unfortunate kids.

The other scenes involve the perspective of the normal-sized characters. When Wayne and Diane figure out where the kids are, they take on the painstaking task of searching through the backyard lawn for the shrunken kids while suspended from harnesses. It's funny because the neighbors see this and have no idea what their purpose is. Plus, the Szalinskis are urging anyone not to step one foot on the lawn. How the kids are discovered will involve a near-death experience for one of them.

I like this movie because it tells an interesting sci-fi adventure story. It's especially creative in that the sci-fi world is not a distant uncharted place, but one that is in one's own backyard, literally. The special effects are amazing for its time, and I still think they look great even with the films we have today. Again, I saw it as a child and loved it the first time. Anyone looking for a fun-filled adventure will most likely enjoy this one.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, visit the Internet Movie Database.

In addition, check out my reviews of Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.