When Disney owns everything, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a movie that doesn’t have Josh Gad in it or voicing a character. His latest film for the Mouse House, according to Slashfilm, will be a reboot, or “legacyequel” (ugh) of 1989 classic Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
Titled Shrunk, the film will have Gad playing Nick Szalinski, the grown-up son of Rick Moranis’ character, scientist and inventor Wayne Szalinkski. The story takes place 30 years later, and finds Nick accidentally shrinking his own kids, just as his father did to him. In the original movie, Nick and his sister Amy, along with some friends, are accidentally shrunk down to a quarter of an inch by one of their dad’s inventions and must survive giant insects and other backyard obstacles. The new film is being positioned as a reboot that continues the storyline, similar to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was a huge hit at the time, earning a massive $222M on an $18M budget. A sequel was released three years later, Honey I Blew Up the Kid, which didn’t perform as well, and the direct-to-DVD Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves in 1997. Moranis basically quit the movie business after that one.
Disney is reportedly looking for a director who has nostalgia for the original movie, which was the directorial debut Joe Johnston. Johnston could probably do it himself but he announced his retirement after completion of The Silver Chair.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was listed as one of the movies planned for Disney+, but this is looking to be a theatrical effort. Makes sense considering the success Gad and Disney have had together. He has starred in Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, and will have a role in next year’s Artemis Fowl. He also has a new Muppets series in development for Disney+.
