Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (Bootleg)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

One of James Horner's earlier small highlights of his career was for the motion picture Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, a terrific family adventure which took 4 kids to the brink of smallness with an invention that had the ability to shrink anything. Therefore the kids went on a real adventure battling scorpions, bees and ants twice their size and seeing cookies, toy dinosaurs, grass and water drops as a large object coming their way. The way the movie deals around these small things being big and therefore dangerous is pure adventurous fun and also a pure sign of fun for the composer who was going to compose it, being James Horner. Horner had the ability to compose anything and so he basically did, from pure fun jazz to energized action tracks to threatening organ, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids delivers all kinds of twists and surprises coming your way. It complements the movie with an unseen load of fun and so it ultimately disappeared from shelves, since Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is in fact solely existing as a bootleg score which is sad. However for 60 minutes (there is also one of 30 minutes and missing many highlights tracks like 12, 13, 19 and 20) you get Horner in a nutshell which in those days is pure recommended fun. Basically in a nutshell also means how this score is influential, not for other scores but from other scores. We know Horner likes using different ideas but Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is one where too much reappears from others, even from non Horner works which is a surprise. Nonetheless, the score remains fun and for an hour it keeps you enthralled from start to finish.

The score basically starts with one of the most obvious borrowings. For years I thought the pure fun jazz and energized rhythm in 'Main Title' was the first time it was used, but then I heard Project X and then it became clear it wasn't. Still, this tracks brims with energy and underscores the animated (and cool) begin sequence well. Basically this idea repeats itself in the following two tracks before some short tracks (15 seconds) take over. 'Shrunk / Destroying the Machine' has in the begin some Cocoon mystery before the jazz returns, finishing it off with pure brilliant Willow action signs, the pace and adventurous spirit is top notch and too bad it lasted for about 30 to 40 seconds. Also here you spot the organ theme which is used as a threatening sign, later appearing much more. 'Stuck in the Garden' does more, with a soft Aliens like string opening before the famous four note villain motif appears twice on shakuhachi, no Horner score could be without it. 'Quark to the Rescue' has more of that, stating in the begin the mysterious use of strings for the undergoing sun sequence in Star Trek 3 before again Aliens mystery returns and an alternation of The Goonies' fun theme appears, here one of the few times Horner had to compete probably with temp track, while still being fun. Pure dissonance in 'Bees!' sets the tone further, while 'The Taming of the Ant' is fun with its Goonies alternation and American Tail like cowboy music for the capture of the ant. A fun track overall. And a couple of the more quieter heartfelt themes for flute are heard in 15, 16 and 17, stating the Ant theme among others.

'Scorpion Attack / Anty Dies' unleashes further the action pace with some licks of The Rocketeer for good pleasure until the inevitable slow morning music underscores the heartfelt scene of Anty dying in the movie, even for some now looking cheaper but still great special effects, the emotion is not to be overlooked. And then further fury (especially organ with a couple of signs of the jazz music) in 'The Lawn Mower' is all you need to let the blood pumping, especially the organ is almost growling to the death, further expanded with Rocketeer like rhythm in 'Cornflakes Dip', one of the all time fun tracks of Horner's composition for this score and probably career. 'Finale / End Title' restates the obvious with the jazz theme, Goonies like theme and the emotional Ant theme, all together forming as it supposed to do, a wonderful suite. Basically with all the faults of originality, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is still pure fun. The liftings from other scores are still used to the best possible effect and the other effects like the organ in 19 and 20 are some of the most effective use of organ in any film. A Horner hater will swallow all these borrowings and spit them to Horner's face if he could but when a score is that adventurous, ballsy, fun, wicked, threatening and jumping from one style to another, it is pure to say that Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a success on its own. The people that see it lying somewhere should be aware not to take the 30 minute bootleg format since it forgets to represent some of the best tracks on the album. The sound is especially good so you can enjoy your copy with all the makings of a Horner score delivering it fast, furious and with all the trademarks a Horner piece should have, make of that what you will.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title (1.55) Excellent Track

2. Breakfast (1.46)

3. Apple Experiment (2.05)

4. The Baseball (0.33)

5. The Shrinking Starts (0.17)

6. Ron And Nick (0.15)

7. Shrunk / Destroying The Machine (5.35)

8. Stuck In The Garden (4.04)

9. Quark To The Rescue (3.33)

10. Bees! (2.09)

11. Wayne's Discovery (2.05)

12. The Sprinkler (4.12)

13. The Taming Of The Ant (3.46) Excellent Track

14. Getting Into A Spin (1.08)

15. Ant Safari (0.46)

16. A New Pet (1.54)

17. A Place To Sleep (5.10)

18. Scorpion Attack / Anty Dies (3.30) Excellent Track

19. The Lawn Mower (5.48) Excellent Track

20. Cornflakes Dip (2.45) Excellent Track

21. Russell Sr. Is Shrunk (1.23)

22. Finale / End Title (5.31) Excellent Track

Total Length: 61.07

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: James Horner ===