Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 American comic science fiction film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, and Kristine Sutherland. In the film, a struggling inventor accidentally shrinks his kids, along with the neighbors' kids, down to the size of a quarter-inch. After being accidentally thrown out with the trash, they must work together and venture their way back through a backyard wilderness filled with dangerous insects and man-made hazards. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was theatrically released in the United States on June 23, 1989, and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. It was an unexpected box office success, grossing $222 million worldwide (equivalent to $ million in ) and becoming the highest-grossing live-action Disney film of all time, a record it held for five years. Its success led to two sequels, beginning with Honey, I Blew Up the Kid in 1992, as well as a television series and several theme-park attractions. An animated short film, Tummy Trouble starring Roger Rabbit, was shown in theatres with the film during its box office run. Plot Quirky scientist and inventor Wayne Szalinski has been designing a ray gun machine capable of shrinking and growing objects, but cannot get it to work properly. His obsession with the machine worries his hardworking wife Diane, teenage daughter Amy, and aspiring-inventor son Nick. Next door, Big Russ Thompson, his wife Mae, and their younger son Ron are preparing for a fishing trip. Their elder son, Little Russ, is less than enthusiastic, as his interests often clash with his father's. Shortly after Wayne leaves for a conference, Ron accidentally hits a baseball through the Szalinski's attic window and into the machine, turning it on and blocking its targeting laser. Caught by his brother, Ron is forced to confess to the Szalinski kids. Ron and Nick enter the attic to retrieve the ball and clean up the mess, and the activated machine shrinks them. Amy and Little Russ suffer the same fate when they go searching for their siblings. At his conference, Wayne is laughed off the stage for failing to provide proof that his machine works. He enters the attic upon returning home; the shrunken children try to get his attention, but their voices are only loud enough to be heard by the