Among the dozens of classic Disney films, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids is, without a doubt, one of the best — if not the best live-action one.
Even after all these years and even though the technology used in live-action Disney flicks has become so much more advanced, this one is still so timeless.
Here are a few BTS secrets about the movie that fans didn’t know!
1. In an early version of the screenplay, there was originally five kids instead of four.
One of them was going to be killed during the sprinkler scene .
But of course, this would have been a tad too dark for a children’s movie.
2. The creators of the film had only had experience making horror movies up until they made *Honey, I Shrunk The Kids*.
The creators of the film, Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna, had only worked on horror flicks throughout the ’80s, before landing on the concept for Honey, I Shrunk The Kids .
Instead of making it a scary movie, they opted for a family-friendly angle instead.
3. They thought of the basis for the movie when thinking about their imagination as children.
“I looked around and said, ‘Well, when I was a kid, I used to play, get right down on the grass level and imagine being real small and riding on a beetle or an ant or a bee,'” Brian said to SyfyWire .
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“He jumped right on that, and we immediately started inventing a story about some kids that get shrunk by their dad, who’s an inventor.”
“The whole story was about getting home,” he recalled, noting that that is the concept of many movies.
4. The entire film was shot in Mexico.
One of the creators, Brian Yuzna. told SyfyWire that the movie “wasn’t meant to be an expensive movie, it was meant to be a cheap, a very low budget movie. For that reason, [the] offices weren’t even on the lot, and the movie was actually shot in Mexico.”
5. The title was originally going to be *Teenie Weenies*.
“‘But we got to change the title. [Teeny Weenies] sounds like a low budget porn movie,'” Brian explained . “I don’t know who came up with the title Honey, I Shrunk the Kids , but it certainly turned out to be a good one.”
6. Two other titles that were in the running were “Grounded” and “The Big Backyard”.
Both were dropped not long after production commenced and thankfully so.
I can’t imagine the movie being called anything other than Honey, I Shrunk The Kids .
7. They ran into some budget issues along the way.
“We did try a scene where they’re on the dog, and the dog gets grabbed by the dog catcher. The dog gets thrown into the truck of the dog catcher that has a lock on it. I think the little kids have to get inside the lock to get free. There were also big issues about the budget, major ones,” Brian told SyfyWire .
8. They built all the sets themselves.
“We built the sets. I moved to Mexico, and we built the sets,” Brian said to SyfyWire .
“They were cute. It was really fun to watch the set workers. They had to build every blade of grass, and it would take more than one person to carry it.”
“It was kind of funny to watch. It was just a few weeks before shooting, Stuart got ill and had to quit the project.”
“At that point, everything was stopped while an insurance claim was put in. Then, Joe Johnston was brought in. Of course, he had his own producer, so Stuart and I took a step back and Joe Johnston shot the movie,” he added.
9. The original release date for the film was December 1988. But it was postponed until June 1989.
Because it was a low-budget film and most of the set and props were built by the crew by hand, getting the film finished was a slow-going process.
They initially underestimated how long it would take.
10. Several instrumental tracks on the film’s soundtrack are the same ones used in other famous ’80s movies, such as *The Goonies*.
While most of us were probably far too distracted to pay attention to the theatrical music playing in the background of the movie, they were able to sneakily recycle songs from other movies without us noticing .
Until now, that is.
11. There is a TV series in the works based off of the movie.
When asked what he thought of it, Brian said to SyfyWire :
“I read that. I hope they use the original characters, because then I’ll get paid .”
12. The creators were really happy with how the film ultimately turned out.
“I think the movie turned out great. Of course, I’m prejudiced,” Brian told SyfyWire .
“There are a few things that changed. One I’m not real big on and the other I think was just great.”
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go re-watch this absolute classic! It’s been way too long.
Let us know what your favorite Honey, I Shrunk The Kids fun fact was in the comments below!
