Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
A suburban inventor’s shrinking experiment turns his children’s backyard into a perilous miniature wilderness adventure.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- warm
- high spirited
- family movie night
- nostalgic rewatch
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film charming and high-spirited, with family-friendly adventure and effective spectacle despite some reservations about its effects and energy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The backyard, grass, insects, and household objects become the central environments and hazards after the children are reduced to quarter-inch size.
Wayne Szalinski’s shrinking machine causes the crisis, and his role as a father motivates the effort to find and protect the missing children.
The film’s miniature humans, giant insects, and transformed suburban backyard rely on award-recognized special visual effects and practical production craft.
The children must cross dense grass and confront ants, beetles, and other hazards in the supposedly safe domestic yard.
Films like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and why
The Borrowers
shared family-friendly science fiction comedy, inventive technology, and ordinary domestic spaces transformed into spectacular hazards
The Indian in the Cupboard
shared child-centered adventure, practical-effects spectacle, and playful encounters with oversized environments and creatures
Flubber
shared suburban family comedy, eccentric invention, and high-concept visual adventure aimed at mixed-age audiences
Innerspace
shared miniature-scale peril, imaginative practical effects, and buoyant child-friendly adventure
Movie Details
- Director
- Joe Johnston
- Release Date
- 1989-06-23
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (3443)
Cast
- Rick Moranis
- Matt Frewer
- Marcia Strassman
- Kristine Sutherland
- Thomas Wilson Brown
- Jared Rushton
- Amy O'Neill
- Robert Oliveri
- Carl Steven
- Mark L. Taylor
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Disney Plus
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids about?
- A suburban inventor’s shrinking experiment turns his children’s backyard into a perilous miniature wilderness adventure.
- What is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids as mild.
- What did critics think of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?
- Critics broadly found the film charming and high-spirited, with family-friendly adventure and effective spectacle despite some reservations about its effects and energy.
- Which films are like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?
- Films with a similar feel include The Borrowers, The Indian in the Cupboard, Flubber, and Innerspace.
- How long is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?
- Honey, I Shrunk the Kids runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?
- In United States, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids streams on Disney Plus.
