How the movie "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" was filmed (16 photos)

Footage from the filming and interesting facts about the film “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” which was loved by many viewers.





1. Before making the family film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, writer/director Stuart Gordon worked on such acclaimed horror films as Re-Animator and The Dolls.

But when Stewart had a child, he decided that he simply had to make a light film for the whole family. Having recruited the screenwriter of the same film "Dolls", together they began to work on a script about an unlucky inventor, whose invention accidentally made his children smaller, at the same time taking his neighbors' children as well.



The bosses of the Disney company liked this idea and they gave the go-ahead for filming, providing their studio in Mexico for this purpose.

True, despite the fact that the bosses from Disney approved the idea of ​​the project, they were a little afraid that the master of horror films would end up “killing” one of the children in the film. But Stuart Gordon assured them that not a single person would die in the film, and that he wasn't going to apply his horror skills to this family film.



2. The role of Wayne Szalinski was originally offered to Chevy Chase and John Candy, but both of them turned down the role. Nevertheless, it was John Candy who suggested taking Rick Moranis for this role, who eventually played the head of the seven Shalinski.

3. Initially, the film's creator Stuart Gordon wanted to call the film "Teenie Weenies", but the bosses of the Disney studio flatly refused to allow such a title, as they were afraid that a film with such a name would hint that it was a movie. for children, which means it will discourage adults from watching it.



4. Despite the fact that Stuart Gordon was originally supposed to direct the film, production designer and special effects designer Joe Johnston sat in the director's chair. Such an unplanned replacement happened due to the fact that Stuart Gordon himself was seriously ill, and the project had already been launched.



This was Joe Johnston's directorial debut, but he would later become famous as the director of such famous films as Jumanji and Jurassic Park 3.

5. The opening animated credits for the film were quite unusual for that time, as they combined animation with the use of 3D effects.



6. The heirs of jazz musician Raymond Scott sued Disney because the music in the film's opening credits was very similar to Scott's 1937 composition "Powerhouse" 1937. The studio decided that it was not worth taking the matter to court, so the issue was resolved amicably. The heirs received monetary compensation from Disney.

7. The film “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” received a “Dumb” anti-award from the Society for the Preservation of the English Language for an error in the title. The fact is that in the original the film is called "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids", the word "Shrunk" is an adjective and is translated as "Reduced" or "Abridged".



8. One of the characters beloved by the audience was not one of the children, but the ant Anthy, whom the main characters used as a means of transportation, and who tragically died in a battle with a scorpion, protecting the children, which caused a lot of tears among young viewers.



In total, two ants were made for filming. For scenes where the ant is alone in the frame and during the fight with the scorpion, a miniature doll was used, which was set in motion as a result of stop-motion photography.



But for scenes of interaction with children, a large robotic doll was built, which was moved remotely by several members of the film crew.

9. To show the bumblebee flying, a giant insect model was also built, which the actors had to climb on. But for the flight scene itself, a miniature model of a bumblebee was built in the long shot with small models of the actors on it. The filming itself took place on a green background.(chromakey).



10. None of the child actors really made a career as an actor. Except that Jared Rushton, who played Ron, later starred in such famous projects as “Big”, “Overboard” and “Pet Sematary 2”. But in the early 90s he decided to end his acting career.



Jared Rushton in the films Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big, Pet Sematary 2.

11. It took 60,000 liters of water to create the scene with Nick swimming in a bowl of milk. Well, to make the liquid look like milk, white dye and a food thickener were added to it.



But to create giant corn rings, parts from a tractor covered with special foam were required.

12. With a budget of $18 million, the film grossed $222.7 million, making it a commercial success. But this is also the merit of the film "Batman" by Tim Burton.



The thing is that both of these films came out at the same time. Spectators lined up in huge lines at the cinema to watch the film "Batman". But many of those who didn't have enough tickets ended up going to see the movie "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."

13. The cream of that same giant cookie was made from foam. But the surface of this fake cream filling was covered with a generous layer of real whipped cream so that children could eat it on camera.





14. The huge bristles of the broom that swept the children into the dustpan were made of polyurethane foam and latex.