Rick Moranis back to 'Honey I Shrunk the Kids' franchise after tragic event made him take 22-year hiatus
For a long time, Hollywood actor Rick Moranis had become something of a myth. It has been around 20 years since we first saw the actor on the big screen.
Moranis, who became famous for the 'Honey I Shrunk The Kids' franchise, 'Ghostbusters' and 'Spaceballs', took a lengthy hiatus from the world of showbiz to focus on his young children after his wife Ann Belsky died of breast cancer in 1991.
The couple had two children together, Rachel and Mitchell. It is heartwarming and admirable to note that at a time when he was at his peak of fame, he made his family top priority.
As it is the era of comebacks, reboots and sequels, it has just been announced that Moranis would appear in the film 'Shrunk', a sequel to the famous franchise 'Honey I Shrunk The Kids', which he had fronted from 1989 to 1997.
Kids of the 80s would remember Moranis best for his films, and his eventual disengagement from the world of showbiz. He consolidated his career with 'Strange Brew' in 1983, followed by 'Ghostbusters' in 1984.
While he appeared in cult classic films like 'Little Shop Of Horrors' and 'Spaceballs', it was his role as wacky scientist Wayne Szalinski in the 'Honey' franchise, which made him a household name.
In the first film, he accidentally shrinks his kids, in the second one, they become enormous in size, and in the third, he accidentally shrinks.
While it is often said that Moranis "walked away from Hollywood to raise his kids", he prefers to rephrase the statement. He did not "retire", he just became quite selective about his scripts, and did not take on projects that took him away from his kids for extended periods of time.
In 2015, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said, "I took a break, which turned into a longer break. But I’m interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role and as soon as one comes along that piques my interest."
He was offered a role in the 2016 reboot of 'Ghostbusters' but turned it down. "I wish them well," he had said. "I hope it's terrific. But it just makes no sense to me. Why would I do just one day of shooting on something I did 30 years ago?"
Yet, though Moranis did not appear on the big screen, he did some credible voice work in a few animated projects including 2003 film 'Brother Bear' and TV series 'The Animated Adventures Of Bob & Doug McKenzie'.
In 2006, Moranis told USA Today that he found it "too difficult" to raise his kids along with making films. "I'm a single parent, and I just found that it was too difficult to manage raising my kids and doing the traveling involved in making movies."
"I found that I really didn't miss it. In the last few years, I've been offered a number of parts in movies, and I've just turned them down. I don't know whether I'll go back to it or not. I've been doing a lot of writing and a lot of parenting, and now I'm doing this," he had said.
The 'Honey' franchise was iconic, heartwarming and made for the perfect family film. Needless to say, Moranis was one of the reasons behind its endearing quality. For a kid who grew up watching these films, there's no one else who would be better fitting for the role of Szalinski.
Moranis won hearts as the crazy scientist, and it would be a shame if some other actor were to take it on in reboots, which has been the case so often.
He adds a certain whimsical charm to the franchise, and this is probably why it was a success in the first place. And no doubt, 'Shrunk' could be expected to be just as fun and weird as the previous films.
Fans are more than excited to see him on the big screen and took to social media and extended a warm welcome. "#RickMoranis is back and all is well with the world. ALL. IS. WELL. AGAIN," tweeted a fan.
Another wrote, "Absolutely, unabashedly, stupidly excited to see Rick Moranis make his screen return. I'm whatever about reboots in general but it doesn't matter because *climbs on rooftop* *clears throat* RICK MORANIS IS COMING BACK."
A happy fan tweeted, "#RickMoranis is the man. He retired from acting to raise his kids. Now he's like "Fuck it. Let's shrink some fuckin' kids again!"