Movie Reviews

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids

Movie 40: Honey, I Shrunk The Kids

Cast:

Wayne Szalinski – Rick Moranis

Nick Szalinski – Robert Oliveri

Russ – Matt Frewer

Diane Szalinski – Marcia Strassman

Mae – Kristine Sutherland

Russ (jr) – Thomas Wilson Brown

Ron – Jared Rushton

Amy Szalinski – Amy O’Neil

Movie Information:

Rating – G suitable for all

My Rating: 5 Stars

Movie Summary:

          Wayne Szalinski a wacky inventor’s house is filled with his sort of practical inventions, including a wacky mailbox, lifts and pulleys in the kitchen and a calling system in the home. His inventions though aren’t always a success and he is currently working on a shrinking machine.

          Yet his kids know he most likely won't be successful at his new machine, especially his wife, Diane who has gone to stay at her mothers house. Meanwhile Wayne tries to get his shrinking machine to work but it fails and he realizes he's late for his presentation. Running out of the house he tells his kids, Nick and Amy to tidy up for him, for when their mother gets back.

           Amy starts tidying up inside and Nick gets a kid to mow the lawn with a remote controlled mower.

          Next door to the Szalinski's house are husband and wife Russ Sr, and Mae, and their kids Russ Jr and Ron. Russ is just an average teenager, but his father wants him to become the athletic type, but Russ does not want that. He tricks his dad into believing he will try out for the football team and work out. His father and mother get back to packing for their weekend fishing trip, Russ does not want to go. His younger brother Ron is out playing with a baseball and he hits the ball accidentally into Wayne's attic where he has his 'shrinking' machine. Russ see's what happens and takes Ron to the Szalinski house to apologize, (I think Russ just wanted an excuse to talk to Amy whom he was spying on earlier while she danced and cleaned.

          In the attic though the ball had hit some buttons and caused the machine to work, shrinking Wayne's beat up sofa. Ron and Nick go up to get the ball but they are shrunk to a size smaller then an ant. Later Russ and Amy go up looking for them and they too are shrunk. But after they are all shrunk the machine moves causing the baseball to fall to the floor. The four of them are quite shocked, and find the old sofa their size. They are not sure what to do and Ron is just mad at Amy and Nick.

           Later on Wayne comes home after a bad presentation, and still Diane isn't home yet. Wayne goes up to the attic, but the kids are too small to see. Wayne only notices his missing sofa. Not thinking much about it he gets to tidying up while the kids are screaming to get his attention. Wayne then starts to sweep and he sweeps up all the kids, tosses them in the trash, closes the bag and puts it on the curb. Wayne looks around for the kids and asks the neighbour Russ Sr. He too just says he doesn't know where his kids are and is upset, for they are going to be late for their fishing trip. Wayne thinks they went to the mall and tells Diane this on the phone.

           Meanwhile the kids escape the bag but now have to cross the long backyard. to get to the house. The kid never cut the grass and now the backyard is a long jungle for the kids. They start on their journey through the grassy jungle and encounter bugs, twice their size, giant pastries and mud slides where Russ saves Amy and the two kind of fall for each other. I think she even kisses him. On their journey they come to like each other and get along after awhile. They even train an ant so they can ride it.

          Back in Wayne's house, he is getting worried and then finds the shrunked sofa. He knows the kids are tiny and remembers he sweeped up. Running to the back curb he finds the little hole in the bag and then freaks out thinking he might have stepped on them when on the grass. He then climbs the clothes line and fence to avoid stepping on the kids. Mae and Russ Sr see this and think he is crazy. Night comes around and Diane and Mae have called the cops reporting their children missing. When a cop shows up to Wayne's house Wayne shoos them away and tells Diane he knows where the kids are. The cops then find it odd that the next house is right next door to the them that have two missing children.

          Wayne tells Diane that his machine worked but he doesn't know how to get it to work again. Diane and Wayne then strap themselves to this weird device Wayne made earlier so that they can hover over the grass by their weight made from the clothes line. The two are searching and calling out the kids names over the grass and Mae and Russ Sr thinks it's really odd. Almost giving up Diane tells Russ Sr and Mae what has happened to their children. They say they'll give it to tomorrow to find them.

          The next morning while Wayne is eating his cereal the kids get into the house and one of them falls into Wayne's bowl. Wayne is about to eat the kids when he looks down at his bowl and sees the kid! He find the others on the table and call Russ Sr and Mae to the attic. Everyone is in the attic but still Wayne doesn't know how to work the machine. And looking at the kids through the magnify glass, he cant hear them. But after noticing the broken window and finding the baseball he puts two and two together and puts the baseball in its previous spot and to test it out he shrinks Russ Sr. Russ Sr gathers the kids and then Wayne reverses the affect and brings them all back to normal size, including his sofa. THE END!!

Movie Review:

          This was a very cute movie, I missed some parts while they were shrunked, the kids. Because I was getting ready to go to the mall with some friends. But I don't think I missed anything important. So this movie is an older movie, and the affects are cheesy but I just like it though. For the time period it was filmed, it's good. It was very detailed, like when they were on the hardwood floor of the attic, you saw all the little lines, the nails, dead bugs. The movie was layed out very nicely.

         So this movie isn't for everyone, I guess. I enjoyed it allot but it's a bit old and like I said the affects aren't that great. I loved Rick Morranis. He is hilarious in this movie, he's great and he's so cute, you gotta love him in this movie.

         So, I would recommend this adorable little family comedy. Great movie, I enjoyed it very much. <3