Honey, I Shrunk the Kids director Joe Johnston is returning to helm Disney’s sequel-reboot, Shrunk, with Josh Gad starring. The original Honey, I Shrunk the Kids starred Rick Moranis as Wayne Szalinski, a quirky inventor who accidentally shrinks his son and daughter (along with the two boys who live next door) to a quarter of an inch in size. It was a big commercial success that grossed well over ten times its $18 million budget at the box office and garnered positive reviews for its cutting-edge effects, as well as its fun and heartfelt story.
Released by Disney, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids went on to spawn a theatrical sequel (Honey, I Blew Up the Kid) and a direct to video followup (Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves) in the ’90s, though neither of them was directed by Johnston. The filmmaker has nevertheless continued to work with the Mouse House since then, calling the shots on The Rocketeer and Marvel Studios’ Captain America: The First Avenger, in addition to overseeing the reshoots on last year’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (which netted him a co-directing credit). Now, three decades later, it appears Johnston and Disney are reuniting for another shrinking adventure.
According to Variety, Johnston is wrapping up talks to direct the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids sequel-reboot (or requel, if you prefer) Shrunk, with Gad playing Szalinski’s now grown-up son Nick. /Film broke the news about Gad starring in Shrunk earlier this year, though this is the first confirmation of Johnston’s return behind the camera.
Written by Todd Rosenberg (a relative unknown), Shrunk sees Nick follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a scientist who (what else?) inadvertently shrinks his own children. It sounds like the film will function as a fresh start for the franchise that avoids removing the original Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movie from its continuity, similar to how 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle gave a few shout-outs to the 1995 Jumanji (which, by coincidence, Johnston also directed), but otherwise ignored it. Variety further reports Disney had been planning to send Shrunk straight to its recently-launched Disney+ service, rather than releasing it in theaters first. However, after reading Rosenberg’s most recent script draft, the studio’s executives have apparently changed their minds and think it’s strong enough to justify a run on the big screen.
Assuming its screenplay is, in fact, up to snuff, it makes sense to give Shrunk a theatrical release. The original Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was full of then ground-breaking sequences where Szalinski’s kids and their neighbors are accidentally thrown out with the trash and must make their way back home by braving a backyard full of - for them, giant - bees, friendly ants, dangerous sprinklers, and worst of all… a lawnmower. One imagines that, with a proper-sized budget, Johnston should be able to one-up his 1989 movie in terms of spectacle, thanks to the advances in digital effects and filmmaking technology over the last thirty years. Combine that with the IP’s nostalgic appeal for moviegoers of a certain age, and Shrunk ought to have enough going for it to ensure a decent turnout in theaters… whether it’s actually good or not, that is.
Shrunk doesn’t have a release date yet and is still waiting on an official green-light for the time being. We will let you know when that changes.
Source: Variety, /Film
