Film

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid

A goofy science-fiction sequel where Rick Moranis's hapless inventor accidentally enlarges his toddler son to fifty feet tall in Las Vegas. It's pure 90s family-film chaos: miniature sets, giant-baby destruction, slapstick in a casino. Perfect for kids who love spectacle over logic, and parents willing to turn their brains off for ninety minutes.

TMDb rating2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy slapstick family comedy built on a clever gadget gone wrong, where the fun is watching ordinary suburban chaos escalate one oversized object at a time, much like the first Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

Skip it if you want sharp, grown-up wit or a story that moves briskly; much of the film is a single enlarged-backyard gag stretched out, and the jokes lean broad and sometimes repeat.

What it asks of you: Little more than an easy hour and a half of goofy escalation, with no real weight to carry; you simply sit back while the scale of the mess keeps growing.

If you liked this

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids1989

The original and superior film that established Wayne Szalinski's bumbling charm. Tighter plotting, more inventive shrinking-induced comedy, and genuine wonder at the miniaturized backyard world.

But The practical effects look dated now, and the pacing drags in the middle. Some jokes land softly even by 1989 standards.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids poster

Innerspace1987

Joe Dante's wild miniaturization comedy with Dennis Quaid piloting a tiny submarine inside Martin Short's body. Endlessly creative, genuinely funny, and packed with visual gags that actually surprise you.

But The plot feels scattered and the special effects, while ingenious, can be hard to parse. It's busier than it is coherent.

Innerspace poster

Matilda1996

Danny DeVito directs and stars in this witty adaptation about a brilliant girl with telekinetic powers. Smarter than typical family fare, genuinely moving, and consistently amusing without talking down to kids.

But DeVito's troll-like aesthetic isn't for everyone. The child-abuse subplot (though handled tactfully) gives it an edge that might surprise viewers seeking pure entertainment.

Matilda poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Honey, I Blew Up the Kid

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Little Monsters1989

Both toy with the idea of a kid-scale protagonist in an adult world seeing chaos unfold. One's accidental, one's adventure, but both are about a child as witness to scale-breaking strangeness.

A boy discovers a portal to a monster world under his bed and befriends a creature who causes endearing havoc. Wholesome but weird, imaginative, and genuinely strange in ways modern kids' films rarely attempt.

But The pacing is sluggish and the tone veers unpredictably between saccharine and unsettling. Fred Savage can't quite carry it on his own.

Little Monsters poster
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Gremlins1984

Joe Dante's creature-comedy classic that somehow balances chaos, genuine scares, and real laughs. A small-town Christmas invaded by cute monsters that become utterly destructive. Endlessly rewatchable.

But The violence is surprisingly mean-spirited for a film marketed to families. The tonal whiplash from comedy to genuine horror bothers some viewers.

Gremlins poster

Big Trouble in Little China1986

John Carpenter's wildly entertaining blend of action, comedy, and monster-movie spectacle. Kurt Russell as a bemused truck driver stumbling through a magical underworld. Pure joy and never takes itself seriously.

But The plot is deliberately nonsensical and some character stereotypes haven't aged well. If you need a coherent story, this will frustrate you.

Big Trouble in Little China poster

Short Circuit1986

A robot gains sentience and goes on the run with a plucky ally. Charming, earnest, and surprisingly inventive with its action sequences. Steve Guttenberg's wholesome goofiness somehow works here.

But The comedic beats are broad and the romance subplot feels forced. The militaristic framing of the first half drags.

Short Circuit poster

Ghostbusters II1989

The Ghostbusters return to New York to fight a river of slime and a possessed statue. Not as fresh as the original, but still funny, well-paced, and loaded with charm and practical effects spectacle.

But It treads closely to the first film without matching its originality. The plot is thinner and some recycled jokes fall flat on the second go-around.

Ghostbusters II poster

The Wizard1989

Kids road-trip across America to a video game tournament while a villain pursues them. Peak late-80s nostalgia, genuinely good-natured, and shamelessly fun. A perfect time capsule of Nintendo marketing disguised as a movie.

But It's essentially a 90-minute commercial for games you can no longer play. The story is thin and the acting is enthusiastically amateurish.

The Wizard poster

Tremors1990

Monster-movie mayhem in the Nevada desert with a perfect ensemble cast and smart, punchy screenplay. It's B-movie fun elevated by genuine wit and characters you actually like.

But The creature effects look rubbery now and the humor sometimes softens the tension. It's not quite horror enough for horror fans or action enough for action seekers.

Tremors poster

Crimes and Misdemeanors1989

Both released in 1989 and both feature fathers whose inventions and ambitions create unforeseen chaos—one played for laughs, one for dread. The inverse reveal of the same structural idea: what happens when your plans escape your control.

Woody Allen's sophisticated drama about morality, guilt, and unfunny lives intersecting with more consequence-free ones. Darkly funny, philosophically substantive, and genuinely haunting—a masterpiece of tone.

But It's earnestly intellectual, occasionally pretentious, and offers no easy answers or comfort. Tone shift midway is jarring. It's the opposite of escapism.

Crimes and Misdemeanors poster

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