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‘Ant-Man’: Marvel Hero Movie Meets ‘Honey I Shrunk The Kids’ Remake?

By Jonathan Franks
Published on: 19:29 PST, Jul 25, 2015

Ant-Man might not be as big of a box-office hit as other Marvel hero movies, such as Iron Man or Captain America. However, the microscopic superhero has apparently caught the attention of fans of a completely different film – Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

Quite a few people shared their thoughts about how the two movies seem to be related on Twitter.

There were even some people that claimed on Twitter that Ant-Man was essentially a sequel of sorts to the 1989 Joe Johnston-directed family film.

Although the two films were released nearly 26 years apart from each other, there are quite a few similarities that are hard for the average movie fan to ignore or overlook.

[Warning: Spoilers Ahead]

Experiments on Shrinking Technology: Both films focused on science experiments that were conducted on shrinking technology in general. Honey I Shrunk the Kids focused on a shrinking machine that essentially zapped its subjects.

The same concept was explored in Ant-Man but was shifted slightly to focus on high-tech suits that caused the person wearing it to shrink.

Struggle to Survive in the Real World: In both films, there was at least one scene where the main character(s) had to survive in the real world in their newly shrunken bodies. In Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, the Szalinski and Thompson kids were swept up and dumped into a garbage bag.

Once they were taken outside, they spent the majority of the film surviving the real world in the backyard – fighting against inclement weather, insects, and a remote control lawn mower to stay alive.

After an impressive montage of training scenes, Scott Lang learned how to successfully control and manipulate his shrinking ability. However, his first unexpected surprise adventure forced him to survive the inside of a bathtub, a crowded street, and many other real-world obstacles that most people don’t even think twice about in real-life.

The Helping Power of Ants: Perhaps the biggest similarity between Ant-Man and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids deals directly with the most heroic characters of both films — the ants.

In Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, a special ant (Andy) played a key role in the kids’ life. He was the first form of efficient transportation used by the kids in their effort to get home. He even sacrificed his own life during a life-threatening battle in which he was overwhelmed and overpowered to save the lives of his new friends.

Therefore, the mere idea that Scott Lang had to be assisted by an army of ants in Ant-Man may have automatically triggered comparisons between the two films long before Ant-Man was even released in theaters. The icing on the cake, though, is the relationship that Scott forms with his favorite ant Antony — a bond that is nearly a perfect reflection of young Ron Thompson’s relationship with Andy.

Whether you love or hate Ant-Man, it is very hard to not see how similar the Peyton Reed-directed film starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas is to the 1989 Disney film.

At the very least, Ant-Man makes it clear that CGI technology and visual effects have come a long way in 26 years when it comes to shrinking people on the big-screen. Perhaps the same technology will be used to reboot the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise after all.

[Image Credit: George de Sota & Jason Merritt/Getty Images]

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