Is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids scaled correctly?

Is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids scaled correctly? - Person Holding White Happy Birthday Greeting Card

In the movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids(1989) the children are shrunk down to a tiny size. However, is everything scaled correctly (i.e, consistently)? For instance, when they ride the ant, are the ant and the children scaled correctly to the grass? Or the cigarette?



Best Answer

However, is everything scaled correctly (i.e, consistently)?

I don't think they scaled everything correctly.

From science of scale :

There is a logical contradiction between two claims made by the film:

  1. Nick, the apparent scientist-in-training of the film, calculates that they have been shrunk to just 3/4 of an inch high (around 19 mm).
  2. As the movie progresses and the children go forth on their tiny-sized adventures, one of the items they happen across is a toy block, which Nick identifies as a “Lego.” However the scale of this lego does not match the scale declared in the first statement.

enter image description here

The Lego in question appears to be a standard 2×3 brick (Lego element ID 300223), which the protagonists use as a safe-haven before being attacked by a giant scorpion.

If we assume that the block in the film is in fact a genuine Lego, and not some generic copy, the brick should be 23 mm tall when standing upright. Assuming Nick is in fact 19 mm tall as he claims, the brick he discovers in the film appears to be closer to 60 mm tall. This is about the size of a 2×8 brick, clearly not the one used in the film.

enter image description here

The next discrepancy we looked at was the relative size of “Aunty,” the ant they tame and then subsequently use as a mount. While ant sizes vary, the one in the film appears to be a little over five times as long as Nick is tall. This would place the ant at a little over 100 mm long. Considering the largest ant currently known (the fossilized Titanomyrma giganteum) was only 60 mm long, the ant in the film is unbelievably large.

Just a note from quora.

The machine is described as removing much of the “empty space” between atoms. This means that you would become smaller and denser but not lighter! This creates lots of issues.

  1. You will suffocate
  2. You would be nailed in place (you may become small but still you weight the same)
  3. You would be blind or deaf
  4. The process might make you explode exactly like the apples in the movie!



Pictures about "Is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids scaled correctly?"

Is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids scaled correctly? - From above crop anonymous barefoot child in jeans standing on weigh scales on tiled floor of bathroom
Is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids scaled correctly? - Man and Woman with a Girl Wearing White Costumes While Beekeeping
Is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids scaled correctly? - Person Drawing on White Paper



Is there anything inappropriate in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids has some insults and name-calling, including 'dumb', 'worm', 'nerd face', 'space boy', 'wimp' and 'Shut up! '

What happens at the end of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?

Honey, they un-shrunk the kids. After Big Russ nobly volunteers to be the test subject for the newly-repaired shrink ray, Wayne reactivates his invention and brings the kids back to their original size. Cue warm family reunions and copious hugs.



10 Things You Didn't Know About Honey I Shrunk the Kids




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Images: Pavel Danilyuk, Ketut Subiyanto, Mark Stebnicki, Ketut Subiyanto