Common Sense Note
Parents should know this film discusses marital woes and depicts a neighbor belittling his son (pun intended). It also shows children fighting for survival in an immense, threatening yard.
Families who watch this movie may want to discuss the nerdy inventor character. Does this character seem familiar? What other movies can you think of that have a character like this? Why do we see so many stereotypes in movies? Does this bother you?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Scott G. Mignola
A nerdy inventor's machine goes haywire and shrinks some kids, who test their stamina and ingenuity surviving a day and night in an overlarge world. Two-dimensional characters play second fiddle to the visual effects.
Although it doesn't live up to frantic pace of the Roger Rabbit short that precedes it, or even the cleverness of its own animated opening credits sequence, there's enough fun in the premise of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids to have spawned a couple of sequels (Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the direct-to-video Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves) and a Disney TV series. The gizmos are fun and plentiful, and Rick Moranis does what he can -- God bless him -- with the all-too-familiar role of the nerdy, misunderstood inventor. Moranis is actually more endearing and low-key here than we're used to seeing him, in part because he isn't given all that much to do, and also because he's the most sympathetic and appealing character the film has to offer.
As is often the case with special effects films, showy visuals take precedence over character development so that, even with imperiled kids riding bees or dodging giant water drops, it's hard to muster up enough enthusiasm to root for the would-be heroes. Apparently in an effort to give the flat script some zip, director Joe Johnston (Jumanji, The Rocketeer) tries to reel in the laughs with sproingy sound effects and vapid eye-rolling. Matt Frewer -- yes, Max Headroom -- is particularly irritating in this regard, with a case of facial overacting that could be misdiagnosed as a chronic nervous condition.
This could all be forgiven, of course, if the effects were a little better, but anyone who's ever spent time with a magnifying glass will find fault with the rubbery grass and other synthetic backdrops meant to appear as the natural world from a quarter-inch viewpoint. Why do some things move too quickly, you might ask yourself, and others too slowly? Why are the bugs so stiff and jerky, and why aren't there more of them? Lots more?
The film's real disappointment isn't its short-of-cash special effects -- they're fun in their cheesy way -- but its ham-handedness in dealing with the emotional aspects of the story. There's no life to the budding romance between two teens from opposite sides of the fence (Thomas Wilson Brown and Amy O'Neill), and the idea of an ant befriending four tiny humans provides a few needed chuckles where none are intended. Suffice to say that if a shrinking machine could not only shrink stuff but repair shaky marriages and reconcile family strife with the flip of a switch, somebody would have invented one by now.
Rate It!
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ViolenceBetween insects only (an ant and a scorpion). |
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CommercialismThis is part of the Honey... series, which includes movies, a TV series and a Disney ride. |
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