Anthony's Film Review - Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (Video-Only Release, 1997)

The idea for this movie is not executed well enough to make it sufficiently entertaining...

For this movie, I'm going to first talk about two kinds of movie sequels: unnecessary sequels and straight-to-video sequels. Unnecessary sequels are the kind where you feel the previous film has wrapped up the story well and that you're satisfied with stopping there. Straight-to-video sequels, the kind of thing that the Walt Disney Company has been doing since the mid-1990s for easy money, have lower standards than theatrical release films and are, unfortunately, a medium for unnecessary sequels. One such example: the movie Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.

The problem I have is not the idea of this movie. It's a decent one. The two predecessors of this movie shrank kids to tiny things and enlarged a baby into a giant. Obviously, there's one age group who hasn't been subject to the machine from both movies, and that is the adults. I'm not against making a sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids that shrinks the grownups this time. In fact, I was pleased to hear that Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves was made.

But I would only love it if there was enough stuff for me to enjoy. Unfortunately, I felt like the movie didn't have enough. To help me explain, let me tell you why I liked the first two movies. They both had danger involved. There's excitement and suspense when tiny kids are lost in a backyard lawn that's literally a jungle to them, or when a baby of increasing size might inadvertently do damage. That's what I was looking for in Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves: danger.

There may be some of it, but not enough. Yes, the four shrunken adults, including Rick Moranis as Wayne Szalinski, the inventor of the shrinking machine, find themselves in situations that involve giant toys and the like. But I wanted more. I felt the movie spent too much time with something that would probably be more appropriate for a different kind of story. Basically, the adults are in a position to observe their kids and see what they're really up to. That's what the movie felt like a lot of the time.

That alone is why my overall rating quickly drops. It's like the filmmakers thought they had a great idea but realized they had so little once they launched into the project. The only way to get through was to provide filler material, which is probably what most of the movie was. If you want an exciting adventure, check out 1989's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and 1992's Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. You can disregard this direct-to-video movie and not miss a thing, because all you need are the first two movies.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, visit the Internet Movie Database.

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