Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (franchise)

Last updated

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (logo).png
Franchise logo
Created by
Original work Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
Owner The Walt Disney Company
Films and television
Film(s)
Television series Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show (1997–2000)
Direct-to-video Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997)
Miscellaneous
Theme park attraction(s)

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is an American media franchise consisting of a series of family-science fiction-comedy films and a television adaptation, among other works, based on a concept created by Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna, and an original story co-written by Gordon, Yuzna, and Ed Naha. Following the release of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), and its subsequent financial and critical success, two sequels and a television series followed; titled Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992), Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997), and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show , respectively. Another sequel titled Shrunk entered development in 2019.

Contents

The film series expanded into a franchise with the addition of a TV show. This continued in 1999 when the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids films, along with a number of other Disney film series, were combined into a franchise as a part of Disney Parks' attractions where elements from each movie were included.

Film

TitleU.S. release dateDirectorScreenwritersStory byProducer(s)Status
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids June 23, 1989 Joe Johnston Ed Naha
and Tom Schulman
Stuart Gordon, Brian Yuzna & Ed NahaPenney Finkelman CoxReleased
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid July 17, 1992 Randal Kleiser Thom Eberhardt, Peter Elbling and Garry GoodrowGarry Goodrow Dawn Steel and Edward S. Feldman
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves March 18, 1997 Dean Cundey Karey Kirkpatrick, Nell Scovell and Joel Hodgson Barry Bernardi

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

Rick Moranis stars as Wayne Szalinski, an eccentric inventor who accidentally shrinks his kids, Amy (Amy O'Neill) and Nick (Robert Oliveri) as well as the next-door neighbor's sons, Russ Jr. (Thomas Wilson Brown) and Ron Thompson (Jared Rushton). Marcia Strassman portrays his wife, Diane, to whom he delivers the titular line. Matt Frewer and Kristine Sutherland also star as Russ and Mae Thompson, Russ Jr. and Ron's parents.

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992)

Three years after the events of the first film, the Szalinskis have moved to a new neighborhood and given birth to their third child, Adam (Joshua and Daniel Shalikar). Nick is now a teenager and Amy is heading off to college. Wayne has given up his shrink ray days and invented an alternative which makes objects grow in size. One day when Adam is exposed to its effects, he mistakes Nick and his crush, Mandy Park (Keri Russell), as toys and wanders into Las Vegas. While Wayne and Diane race to reverse his effects, Wayne's insolent coworker, Dr. Charles Hendrickson (John Shea), has overpowered Sterling Labs, rounded up the military, and ordered Adam to be stopped at all costs.

Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997)

Wayne is now banned from using his shrink ray by the committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Diane (Eve Gordon). Nick is now away at college and Adam (Bug Hall) is ten years old. Diane is planning a vacation with her sister-in-law, Patti (Robin Bartlett), while Wayne and his brother, Gordon (Stuart Pankin), watch Adam and his cousins, Jenny and Mitch (Allison Mack and Jake Richardson). While tampering with the shrink ray, Wayne accidentally shrinks himself, Diane, Gordon, and Patti. The kids have a party in the house after thinking they have it to themselves. The adults struggle to get their attention before disaster strikes among them.

Future

In February 2018, a reboot film was in development, with the project being courted for a Disney+ exclusive. [1] By March 2019, this changed when the project was announced to be a legacy sequel to the original trilogy. With The Walt Disney Studios developing the film for theatrical release, Josh Gad was announced to star as Nick Szalinski. The plot will reportedly center around Nick following in Wayne's footsteps and becoming a scientist and inventor. In the film, he accidentally shrinks his son and two daughters to five inches tall, leaving them to cope with their new sizes. [2] By December, Joe Johnston had entered early negotiations to return to the franchise as director. [3]

In January 2020, Rick Moranis entered early negotiations to come out of his acting retirement, and reprise his role as Wayne Szalinski. Johnston was confirmed to direct, with Todd Rosenberg set to write the script, from an original story by Gad, Ryan Dixon, Ian Helfer, and Jay Reiss. By February, Moranis had officially signed onto the project to reprise his role. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will serve as producers. The film will be a joint-venture production between Walt Disney Pictures and Mandeville Films, with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures as the distributing company. [4] Principal photography was scheduled to begin in early 2020, with filming taking place in Toronto, as well as Atlanta, Georgia. [5] [ better source needed ] In March of the same year, filming on all Disney projects were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and industry restrictions worldwide. [6] In November, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that filming on all movies that had been postponed by the coronavirus had resumed. [7] In June 2021, Gad stated that filming had not yet started and that he was hoping the shoot would begin in early 2022. [8] In January 2022, Gad stated that he and Moranis had once again started collaborating in preparation for the sequel. [9] In June 2023, Gad revealed on Twitter that the project has been put on hold indefinitely, although he expressed hope that production would resume in the future. [10]

Television series

The television series, exclusive to Disney Channel, expanded upon the original film's concept where a shrinking experiment had gone wrong, to include a variety of experiments malfunctioning and causing unfortunate circumstances for the Szalinskis. It debuted on September 1, 1997, and ran for three consecutive seasons. It concluded after the 66th episode aired on May 20, 2000. It was a joint-production between Plymouth Productions, St. Clare Entertainment, and Walt Disney Television; while Buena Vista Television distributed the show through Disney Channel.

Theme park attractions

TitleU.S.
release date
DirectorScreenwritersStory byProducer(s)
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! November 21, 1994Randal Kleiser Bill Prady and Steve SpiegelDaniel RestuccioThomas G. Smith

Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!

A 4-D movie-ride attraction titled Honey, I Shrunk the Audience debuted at Epcot in 1994 and featured at the Disney theme parks until 2010. Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, Robert Oliveri, and Daniel and Joshua Shalikar reprise their roles from the feature-length films. While being given an award by Dr. Nigel Channing (Eric Idle) about his shrink ray, Wayne accidentally shrinks the audience and sends them on an adventure with rats, snakes, and babies.

Journey into Imagination with Figment

In 1999, the theme of Journey into Imagination was changed and retitled to include Figment. It features Dr. Nigel Channing, from Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!, who "hosts" an area known as the Imagination Institute. The story states that his grandfather established the institute, while the area features references to Wayne Szalinski, as well as Dr. Philip Brainard from Flubber and Dean Higgins (Joe Flynn's role in the Dexter Riley films). Walt Disney and Thomas Edison also make an appearance.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: Movie Set Adventure

The attraction was a playground area at Disney's Hollywood Studios, designed to look like the outdoor backyard of the first film. It closed in 2016.

Main cast and characters

CharacterFilmsAttractionTelevision series
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Honey, I Blew Up the Kid Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! Honey, I Shrunk the Kids:
The TV Show
Season 1Season 2Season 3
Wayne Szalinski Rick Moranis Peter Scolari
Diane Szalinski Marcia Strassman Eve Gordon Marcia Strassman Barbara Alyn Woods
Amy Szalinski Amy O'Neill Hillary Tuck
Nick Szalinski Robert Oliveri Robert Oliveri Thomas Dekker
QuarkSammyUncreditedMatese
Adam SzalinskiDaniel Shalikar
& Joshua Shalikar
Bug Hall Daniel Shalikar
& Joshua Shalikar
Russell Thompson Jr. Thomas Wilson Brown
Ronald "Ron" Thompson Jared Rushton
Russell Thompson Sr. Matt Frewer
Mae Thompson Kristine Sutherland
Clifford Sterling Lloyd Bridges
Mandy Park Keri Russell
Dr. Charles Hendrickson John Shea
U.S. Marshal Preston Brooks Ron Canada
Gordon Szalinski Stuart Pankin
Patti Szalinski Robin Bartlett
Jenny Szalinski Allison Mack
Mitch Szalinski Jake Richardson
Ricky KingJojo Adams
TreyTheodore Borders
VinceBryson Aust
Dr. Nigel Channing Eric Idle
Chief Jake McKenna George Buza

Additional crew and production details

FilmComposerCinematographerEditorProduction
companies
Distributing
companies
Running time
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids James Horner Hiro Narita Michael A. StevensonDoric Productions
Walt Disney Pictures
Silver Screen Partners III
Buena Vista Pictures 93 minutes
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid Bruce Broughton John Hora Michael A. Stevenson
Harry Hitner
Walt Disney Pictures
Touchwood Pacific Partners 1
89 minutes
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! C.W. FallinPatrick Paul Mullane Theme Park Productions
Eastman Kodak Company
Walt Disney Attractions 23 minutes
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves Michael Tavera Ray StellaCharles BornstienWalt Disney Pictures Buena Vista Home Video
Walt Disney Home Video
75 minutes

Reception

Box office performance

FilmBox office grossBox office rankingBudgetRef.
North AmericaOther territoriesWorldwideAll-time
North America
All-time
worldwide
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids $130,724,172$92,000,000$222,724,172#470#688$18,000,000[ citation needed ] [11] [12]
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid $58,662,452$37,167,000$95,829,452#1,427$40,000,000[ citation needed ] [13] [14]
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves $7,000,000 [15] [15]
Shrunk

Critical and public response

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore [16]
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids 78% (32 reviews) [17] 63 (11 reviews) [18] A
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid 40% (20 reviews) [19] 50 (14 reviews) [20] B+
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves 25% (8 reviews) [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Moranis</span> Canadian actor, comedian and musician (born 1953)

Frederick Allan Moranis is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, producer, songwriter and writer.

<i>Honey, I Blew Up the Kid</i> 1992 film by Randal Kleiser

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid is a 1992 American science fiction comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and the second installment of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series. Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, Amy O'Neill, and Robert Oliveri return as the Szalinski family, while Keri Russell makes her film debut as Mandy Park. In the film, the family's two-year-old son Adam is accidentally exposed to Wayne's new industrial-sized growth machine, which causes him to gradually grow to enormous size. Wayne's coworker, Dr. Charles Hendrickson, wants the giant Adam stopped at all costs, and wishes to take control of Wayne's invention. The franchise continued with a direct-to-home video sequel, a television series, and theme-park attractions.

<i>Honey, I Shrunk the Kids</i> 1989 film by Joe Johnston

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, and Kristine Sutherland. In the film, a struggling inventor accidentally shrinks his kids, along with the neighbors' kids, down to the size of a quarter-inch. After being accidentally thrown out with the trash, they must work together and venture their way back through a backyard wilderness filled with dangerous insects and man-made hazards.

<i>Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show</i> American syndicated comic science fiction sitcom

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show is an American syndicated comic science fiction series based on the 1989 film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. It expands upon the original film's concept of a shrinking experiment gone wrong to include a myriad of experiments gone awry. It debuted in syndication on September 27, 1997, and ran for three consecutive seasons, concluding with the 66th episode on May 20, 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imagination! (Epcot)</span> Pavilion at Epcot

Imagination! is a pavilion located in the World Celebration section of Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The pavilion opened with the park in 1982, and is themed to human imagination, creativity, and the arts. Kodak was the former title sponsor of the pavilion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Yuzna</span> American film director

Brian Yuzna is an American film producer, director, and writer. He is best known for his work in the science fiction and horror film genres. Yuzna began his career as a producer for several films by director Stuart Gordon, such as Re-Animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986), before making his directorial debut with the satirical body horror film Society (1989).

<i>Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!</i> 4D Disney film spin-off of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

Honey, I Shrunk the Audience was a 4D film spin-off of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series that was shown at several Disney theme parks. The audience wore 3D glasses, and the gimbal-mounted theater would shake and rock, creating the illusion of moving along with the characters in the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Johnston</span> American film director and effects artist (born 1950)

Joseph Eggleston Johnston II is an American film director, producer, writer, and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing effects-driven films, including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), The Rocketeer (1991), Jumanji (1995), Jurassic Park III (2001), The Wolfman (2010), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

<i>Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves</i> 1997 film by Dean Cundey

Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves is a 1997 American science fiction comedy film, and the third installment in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series. The film marks the directorial debut of cinematographer Dean Cundey, who previously served as director of photography for a 4D ride known as Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! which debuted in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy O'Neill</span> American actress

Amy O'Neill is an American actress. She started as a child actress in 1984, appearing in several sitcoms before a 30-episode run as pregnant teen Molly Stark on The Young and the Restless in 1986. She may be best known for her role as high-schooler Amy Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award. She retired from acting in the 1990s, joined a circus-style entertainment troupe, appeared in documentaries about her childhood roles, and returned to acting with two short films and a television episode in the late 2010s.

Eve Gordon is an American actress. Her television roles include playing Marilyn Monroe in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries A Woman Named Jackie, Congressional aide Jordan Miller in the short-lived sitcom The Powers That Be, the mother of the title character in the drama series Felicity, and Monica Klain, the wife of Ron Klain in the 2008 Emmy Award-winning HBO film Recount. She also starred in the 1997 film Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, starring opposite Rick Moranis.

Robert Dane Oliveri is an American former child actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Nick Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award and a Saturn Award. He reprised the role in the 1992 sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3D short film, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! He is also known for playing Kevin, Kim's younger brother, in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands.

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Off His Rockers is an animated short film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released in 1992. It was released theatrically accompanying the film Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. It was the first Disney animated short film to use digital ink and paint via CAPS process. The short was included on the laserdisc release of Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. It has not received any other home video release, but it can be shown on YouTube.

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References

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  3. Peter Sciretta (5 December 2019). "'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' Director in Talks to Return for Reboot Starring Josh Gad (EXCLUSIVE)". Slashfilm .
  4. "Rick Moranis Closes Deal to Return to 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' Franchise with 'Shrunk' at Disney". 12 February 2020.
  5. "Exclusive: Disney May Bring Rick Moranis Out of Retirement for 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' Reboot 'Shrunk'". 3 February 2020.
  6. D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-03-13). "Disney Pausing Production On Features 'Little Mermaid', 'Home Alone', 'Nightmare Alley' & More Until Coronavirus Calms Down". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  7. Jones, Mike (November 13, 2020). "Disney Confirms ALL Movies Shut Down For COVID Have Restarted Or Completed Filming". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  8. "Josh Gad on 'Central Park' Season 2, the 'Beauty and the Beast' Prequel Series, and the Status of 'Shrunk'". Collider. 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  9. Dado, Natasha (January 24, 2022). "Josh Gad Teases Production on Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Sequel with Photo of Rick Moranis". People Magazine. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  10. Travis, Emlyn (June 27, 2023). "Josh Gad has some bad news about the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids reboot". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved February 18, 2024.
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  14. Klady, Leonard (January 3, 1994). "Int'l top 100 earn $8 bil". Variety . p. 1.
  15. 1 2 "Direct-to-Video Family Films Are Hitting Home". Los Angeles Times . 16 April 1997. At an estimated cost of $7 million
  16. "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
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  21. "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves! (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes.