Buy it... if you are absolutely prepared for a wacky tone of exuberant children's music clearly inspired by Raymond Scott, Carl Stalling, Danny Elfman, and James Horner's own familiar styles.

Avoid it... if you have little patience for scores that fail to combine their many disparate parts into a cohesive listening experience on album.

Horner

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: (James Horner) One of the rare family films to woo its target audience with outstanding special effects but only a marginally effective human plotline, 1989's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was a spectacle that tried hard to convey a sincere message about families and friendship but ultimately became overwhelmed by its impressive visuals. It represented the directorial debut of Joe Johnson, special effects wizard responsible for contributing to some of the more noteworthy fantasy films of the 1980's. Physical character actor Rick Moranis led an otherwise unfamiliar cast in portraying an amateur scientist who never invents machines of any worth until a breakthrough with a shrinking device. But when both his and his neighbor's kids accidentally shrink themselves with it, the two sets of parents go looking for them in an effort to mount a rescue before the inventive children are killed by any combination of mundane household and yard elements or, more fantastically, by the small creatures of the yard that are now monsters by comparison. The film was Walt Disney's way of pulling inspiration from a number of tried and tested formulas from eras past and creating a family reconciliation tale out of them, but a lack of genuine heart in the dramatic aspects of the plot didn't help its cause. Despite relatively poor reviews from critics, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids became a pop culture icon after its box office success, spawning a sequel and a television spin-off. One fellow crew member from many of Johnson's previous productions was James Horner, with whom he would start a formal collaboration with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. The composer also wrote the music for the Tummy Trouble animated short shown before this film and featuring Roger Rabbit. Horner had already reached the mainstream by 1989, nominated for multiple Academy Awards and writing top notch action and drama music for a wide range of genres. Despite getting his feet wet in the family-oriented genre with live action projects like The Journey of Natty Gann and animated counterparts like The Land Before Time, he was yet to fully flourish in children's films. Still, the music in many such ventures sounded as mature as in many of their adult-aimed counterparts, and for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Horner would once again contract the services of the London Symphony Orchestra. But more so than many of his subsequent scores in the genre, this entry is distinctly rooted in the silliness of an unpredictable, overblown, cartoonish atmosphere. In fact, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is precisely the kind of exuberant children's score that could drive a grown person insane after prolonged exposure.

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There are three basic parts to the score for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Horner rotates between them equally. First comes the wild title theme of vintage swing, emulating Raymond Scott's 1930's work that itself inspired much of Carl Stalling's later Warner Brothers cartoon material. This frantic title theme represents Moranis' character and his inventions, serving a healthy dose of wacky, uncontrolled personality to the film. Aided by saxophone, harmonica, and electric organ, this idea was often brushed aside as a fanciful imitation of Nino Rota's music (even famed critic Roger Ebert made this comparison, dismissing Horner's work as being "no help," "familiar," and a "retread"). Some of the underlying piano rhythms in this theme's more snazzy performances are highly suggestive of Danny Elfman's early music, especially Pee Wee and Beetlejuice, and these similarities may prove very distracting for a learned collector. The second part of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids would tend to promise more to a collector of Horner's music, for it is a lightly dramatic theme for the bonding of the children and their families. Heard as a bridge in the title theme, this idea is romantically conveyed in "Night Time" and "Thanksgiving Dinner," both cues using a lovely accompaniment by Horner's usual exotic woodwind textures. Unfortunately, this theme is completely generic in the composer's career and offers little in terms of extended arrangements to which to become attached. The final part of the score is Horner's action material, which ranges from ominous passages of the pounding of a rather anonymous theme on brass and pipe organ to the spirited imitation of Aaron Copeland's "Rodeo" that was heard in several scores from this period in Horner's career. Both of these action ideas are conveniently summarized in "Ant Rodeo," one of the score's more vibrant attractions. The difficulty with the entirety of the score for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is that, like some of Horner's later children's adventures, these parts never completely merge into a convincing or memorable whole. The wacky title theme is so dominant in the score's personality, overwhelming action cues in its regular use, that the other elements, all of which at least sufficient if not recommended for repeat enjoyment, are brushed aside. The score serves its purpose in context, though with a plot as zany as this one, that doesn't guarantee a completely tolerable album experience. It is indeed a score that requires a certain mood and, at times, a bit of patience. The score was circulated in the form of a rather common bootleg since 1999 before Intrada Records cleaned it up, added fifteen or so minutes, and pressed 3,000 copies of the work in 2009. Unfortunately, the Intrada album does not include the relevant Tummy Trouble animated short music also by Horner. On any album, approach cautiously and with a mood for the zany.   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Music as Written for the Film: ***
Music as Heard on All Albums: **
Overall: **

Bias Check:

For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.13 (in 98 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.25 (in 184,725 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.