Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (franchise)

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a Disney comedy franchise that consisted of two theatrical films, one direct-to-video film, a television series, a 3D theme park attraction, and a playground. It focuses on Wayne Szalinski, an eccentric inventor who develops electronic machines that cause havoc.

The original film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, was released in 1989 by Walt Disney Pictures. Written by Stuart Gordon, Ed Naha, Brian Yuzna, and Tom Schulman, it has been one of Disney's most successful franchises.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
Main article: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis) is an eccentric professor who makes a living by inventing machines in his attic while not at work. He lives at home with his wife, Diane (Marcia Strassman), a real-estate agent, and his two kids, Amy and Nick. He and Diane had an argument a previous night. While she is selling a house, he accidentally shrinks his and the neighbors' (Matt Frewer and Kristine Sutherland) kids and sends them to his overgrowing backyard with the trash. They try to make their way across what seems like miles of grass, ants, bees, scorpions, and a lawn mower. They find their way back to the house and end up going back to normal size.

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992)
Main article: Honey, I Blew Up the Kid

Wayne has moved the Family to Nevada and still invents things. The Szalinski's have a new baby boy, Adam, who is now two years old. Amy is leaving for college and Diane helps her get settled into her dorm, and Nick (Robert Oliveri) is going crazy over a girl at school named Mandy (Keri Russell) despite her not noticing. While Wayne is at work, Adam is accidentally zapped by a machine in his lab. Everywhere there is an Electro-Magnetic Flux, he soon grows bigger and bigger and soon heads to the neon lights of Las Vegas. Mandy the babysitter gets mixed up in the crisis and along with Nick gets placed into Adam's Pocket. Wayne and Diane retrieve the shrinking Machine from the first film, and soon the police, the Federal Marshals, Sterling Labs and other officials take notice and try to help. He is soon back to his normal size again.

Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves! (1997)
Main article: Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves

Wayne is now banned from using his shrink ray by 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 Patti (Robin Bartlett), her sister-in-law, while Wayne and his brother, Gordon (Stuart Pankin), watch Adam and his cousins (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 try their hardest to get the kids' attention and finally do near the end of the movie.

Remake
In February of 2018, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that remakes of several films are in development as exclusive content for Walt Disney Studios' upcoming streaming service; with one of those named in the announcement being Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.[1]

Box office
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids opened on June 23, 1989 to 1,498 theatres. It grossed $130,742,172 domestic and $92,000,000 overseas totaling to $222,724,172, one of the highest grossing Disneyfilms, making it very successful. Reviews were generally positive and Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a "fresh" 72% rating. Honey, I Blew Up the Kid opened on July 17, 1992 to 2,429 theatres, almost double the original film. It grossed $58,662,452 domestic. It received mixed reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and received 40% "rotten". The next film in franchise was released direct-to-video.

Television series
Main article: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show

A syndicated series was produced in 1997, featuring Peter Scolari taking on the role of Wayne. The Szalinski family has moved from Nevada to Matheson, Colorado. The Disney Channel picked up the series and produced it until it was cancelled in 2000, due to Disney's unwritten policy of not producing shows after 65 episodes. It was last seen on the air during early mornings in 2004. Barbara Alyn Woods, Hillary Tuck, and Thomas Dekker also star as Diane, Amy, and Nick Szalinski.

Theme park attractions
A 3D attraction called Honey, I Shrunk the Audience debuted at Epcot in 1994 and ran at Disney theme parks until 2010. Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, Robert Oliveri, and the Shalikar twins reprise their roles from the 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.

In 1999, Journey into Imagination was rethemed and featured Dr. Nigel Channing, from Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!, with the purple dragon Figment in a show retitled as Journey into Imagination with Figment. Dr. Channing also hosts an area known as the Imagination Institute. His grandfather created the institute and features Wayne Szalinski and Dr. Philip Brainard (from Flubber) as the recipients of the Inventor of the Year award. Walt Disney and Thomas Edison also make an appearance.

Another attraction, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: Movie Set Adventure, was a playground at Disney's Hollywood Studios designed to look like the outdoor backyard of the first film. It closed in 2016.