List of films featuring miniature people

There is a body of films that feature miniature people. The concept of a human shrinking in size has existed since the beginning of cinema, with early films using camera techniques to change perceptions of human sizes. The earliest film to have a shrunken person was a 1901 short The Dwarf and the Giant by Georges Méliès in which a character was split into two, with one growing in size and the other shrinking. Before digital effects became commonplace, composite screens were used to create the illusion of miniature people. The element appeared in numerous B movies.[1] James Luxford, writing for the British Film Institute, said, "Each era has used the scenario for very different purposes, in ways that often reflect the anxieties of the time." He added, "The reason shrinking characters have been so popular in films is that they enable the viewer to see the world in a different way."[2]

Don Kaye, writing for Den of Geek!, said, "The 'shrinking person' genre got its start in the early ‘30s, with nearly each decade since then offering up its own variation on the theme. Some have been frightening, some humorous, and others just plain ludicrous -- but all tap into that deep-seated fear of being diminished in a world that looms too large around us."[3] In the 1960s, Fantastic Voyage featured miniature people, but no major film revisited the concept until the 1980s. Grantland's Claire L. Evans said during this decade, "The conceit, being inherently silly, was reframed as a vehicle for broad physical comedies and family movies." She said, "These kinds of films reframe domestic life—a bowl of cereal, the family cat—as a cinematic landscape of awe and terror as exotic as anything on an alien world."[4]

List of films
Film Year(s) Description
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver1960The US fantasy film is an adaptation of the 18th-century novel Gulliver's Travels, and features a voyage during which Dr. Gulliver is perceived as a giant by the small Lilliputian people, and is later perceived as small by the giant Brobdingnagian people. The special effects for the different sizes were created by Ray Harryhausen.[1][5]
Island of Rusty General1988The Soviet children's science fiction film directed by Valentin Khovenko, based on the Island of the Rusted Lieutenant from the short story collection Adventures of Alisa by Kir Bulychov. In one episode, the robots are reduced (using technology discovered by a female scientist) to the size of toy soldiers in order to carry out an invasion.[6][7]
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad1957The US fantasy film features the hero Sinbad the Sailor and his ship's crew. In the film, a magician shrinks a princess and provokes her father into declaring war.[8][5]
Alice in Wonderland1903The British silent film, the first film adaptation of the 19th-century novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, features Alice drinking a liquid to shrink and fit through a door. The shrinking effect is thought to have been accomplished through manipulating lenses.[2]
Alice in Wonderland2010The US fantasy film, based on the 19th-century novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, features Alice shrinking and also growing larger in the course of the story.[3][9][8][1]
Amour de poche (English: Girl in his Pocket)1957The French comedy fantasy film features a scientist who shrinks his assistant to 3.0 inches (7.6 cm) tall.[5]
The Ant Bully2006The animated family film features a boy who is shrunken down by ants to their size after he keeps attacking their colony.[5]
Ant-Man2015The US superhero film features Ant-Man, who has the ability to shrink down (and grow) from his normal human form.[10][11][4][3][9][12][2][1][5]
Ant-Man and the Wasp2018The US superhero film features Ant-Man and the Wasp, who have the ability to shrink down (and grow) from their normal human forms.[13]
Army of Darkness1992The US horror comedy film features a protagonist whose reflection in a mirror is shattered, resulting in multiple tiny figures coming out of each shard.[5]
Attack of the Puppet People1958The US science-fiction horror film features a character who runs a doll factory and is revealed to have been shrinking down humans to the size of dolls.[14][11][3][1][5]
Barbie in the Nutcracker2001The computer-animated film features the toy-based character Barbie, who tells the story of "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" to her younger sister, in which the Mouse King shrinks down a girl who tries to help the Nutcracker fight against the mouse army.[5]
The Big Lebowski1998In the English-language comedy film, a dream sequence features the protagonist in a shrunken size and running away from a bowling ball.[8]
The Borrowers1973The US fantasy film, based on a British children's novel of the same name, features a family of tiny people called Borrowers living in a house who are then discovered by a young boy.[5]
The Borrowers1997The US fantasy film, based on a British children's novel of the same name, features a family of tiny people called Borrowers living in a house who are then discovered by a young boy.[8]
The Borrowers2011The British fantasy film, based on a children's novel of the same name, features a family of tiny people called Borrowers living in a house, who are then discovered by a young boy.[8]
Bride of Frankenstein1935In the US science-fiction horror film, Doctor Septimus Pretorius reveals to Baron Henry Frankenstein his collection of homunculi contained in bell jars.[10]
Captain America: Civil War2016The superhero film features a variety of superheroes, including the shrinking superhero Ant-Man aiding Captain America and his team.[15]
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory2005In the English-language fantasy film based on the 1964 British novel of the same name, one of the children who won a ticket to tour a chocolate factory accidentally shrinks himself when using a teleporter on himself.[8]
Darby O'Gill and the Little People1959The US fantasy film features leprechauns who are smaller than the humans. Forced perspective was used to depict the difference in size; lights were used abundantly on sets to put everything in focus.[10][12]
The Devil-Doll1936In the US horror film, an escaped convict creates two tiny assassins to kill business associates who had betrayed him.[16][3][12][2][1][5]
Dollman1991The US science-fiction film features a space cop who is teleported to Earth and shrunken down to 13 inches (33 cm) tall.[11][5]
Dollman vs. Demonic Toys1993The US horror film, a continuation of Dollman (1991), features a miniature-sized space cop who fights against toys possessed with evil.[5]
Downsizing2017In the US satire film set in the future, humans are able to be "downsized" (shrunken) to 5 inches (13 cm) tall as a way to solve overpopulation and environmental dangers and to live a more opulent lifestyle.[10][9][12][2]
Dr. Cyclops1940The US science-fiction horror film features a biologist who shrinks down visitors who had come to his laboratory in the Amazon jungle, and they escape from him into the jungle.[10][16][3][2][1][5]
The Dwarf and the Giant1901The silent film is the earliest known to depict a person being shrunken down. Special effects were used to split an actor into two figures, one that shrunk down and one that grew larger.[12][1]
Epic2013In the computer-animated fantasy adventure film, one of the main protagonists is shrunken down to help a group of little people, known as the Leafmen, prevent their forest home from being destroyed.[17]
Fantastic Voyage1966The US science-fiction film features a submarine crew that is shrunken down to microscopic size and placed inside a comatose scientist's body to destroy a blood clot and revive him.[14][11][4][16][3][9][12][2][8][1][5]
FernGully: The Last Rainforest1992FernGully is set in an Australian rainforest inhabited by fairies, including Crysta, who accidentally shrinks a young logger named Zak to the size of a fairy. Together, they rally the fairies and the animals of the rainforest to protect their home from the loggers and Hexxus, a malevolent pollution entity.[18]
Großer Mann ganz klein!2013This German romantic comedy features the egoistic boss of a toy company who gets shrunk to action figure size by a cursed fish, and has to be taken care of by his shy secretary (and eventually falls in love with her).[19]
Gulliver's Travels2010The US fantasy film is an adaptation of the 18th-century novel Gulliver's Travels and features a voyage during which Gulliver is perceived as a giant by the small Lilliputian people and is later perceived as small by the giant Brobdingnagian people.[8]
Help!1965In the British musical film featuring the Beatles, Paul McCartney shrinks to a nearly invisible size after accidentally being injected with a shrinking serum. He later returns to his normal size when the serum wears off.[20]
Help, I Shrunk My Teacher2015In this German children's fantasy film, 11-year-old Felix accidentally shrinks his school's hated headmistress to 6 inches tall.[21]
Help, I Shrunk My Parents2018In the sequel, Felix accidentally shrinks his parents.[22]
Help, I Shrunk My Friends2021In the third part, Felix accidentally shrinks his classmates.[23]
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids1989The US comedy film, set in suburbia, features kids who accidentally shrink themselves with an inventor's experimental shrink ray to be a quarter-inch tall and must survive the indoors and the outdoors on a different scale.[14][11][4][16][3][9][12][2][8][1][5]
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves1997A sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), the US comedy film features the inventor accidentally shrinking himself and three others. They have to get the attention of the kids who think they are home alone.[3][8][5]
Hook1991In the US fantasy film, one of the side characters is the palm-sized fairy Tinker Bell played by Julia Roberts. Composites and blue-screen technology were used to depict the fairy as smaller than the others.[10][8]
The Incredible Shrinking Man1957The US science-fiction horror film features a man who is exposed to a radioactive cloud while on a boating trip. Over time, he begins shrinking and tries to find a cure, but at the same time, he becomes a phenomenon throughout the country.[10][14][11][4][16][3][9][12][2][8][1][5]
The Incredible Shrinking Woman1981The US science-fiction comedy film features a housewife who accidentally ingests experimental household-product chemicals and begins shrinking. She becomes a media sensation and also the target of a company that wants to use her shrinking nature for evil.[11][4][3][8][1][5]
The Indian in the Cupboard1995The US family film, based on the 1980 children's novel of the same name, features a magical cupboard that brings to life toy figures that the new boy owner puts into it.[10][8]
Innerspace1987The US science-fiction comedy film features a naval aviator who volunteers to be shrunken by miniaturization technology and inserted into the body of a rabbit test subject. Instead, after shrinking, he is accidentally injected into a hypochondriac's body. He is pursued by those who also want the technology.[14][11][4][16][3][9][12][8][1][5]
Leapin' Leprechauns!1995In this US family fantasy film, the protagonist and his family try to prevent the building of a theme park on top of a land that is home to the Leprechauns.[24]
The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns1999In this Hallmark Entertainment original movie, an American businessman travels to Ireland where he encounters a family of Leprechauns and takes part in a war between the Leprechauns and the (equally tiny) Fairies.[25]
Mars Attacks!1996In the science-fiction comedy film, a human general confronting a Martian invader is shrunken down and subsequently stepped on and crushed by the invader's foot.[8]
Mothra1961In this fantastic Japanese tokusatsu film, twin women a foot tall, dubbed the Shobijin, are kidnapped from their island and their goddess, Mothra, goes to rescue them. Subsequent films with the character Mothra typically feature the Shobijin, or a variation of them.[26]
Mulholland Drive2001In the US neo-noir mystery film, one of the main characters meets an elderly couple on a plane who later reappear in her nightmare as tiny figures.[8]
My Favorite Martian1999In the feature film adaptation of the 1960s sitcom of the same name, Uncle Martin is capable to shrink his spaceship and other vehicles (as well as the people inside) to a miniature size.[27]
Night at the Museum film trilogy2006–2014The US fantasy-comedy films feature elements of the American Museum of Natural History that come to life, including small figurines that become human.[16]
The Phantom Planet1961The US science-fiction film features astronauts who are forced to land on an asteroid and discover a humanoid species only six inches (15 cm) tall. The surviving astronaut is subsequently shrunk down to their size and is forced to deal with them.[14][5]
Spellbreaker: Secret of the Leprechauns1996In the sequel to Leapin' Leprechauns!, the young boy, Mickey travels to Ireland and has further adventures with the Leprechauns.[28]
Sweet Taste of Souls 2020 A traveling band is trapped in picture frames of a mad cafe owner.[29]
Tom Thumb1958The US musical fantasy film is an adaptation of the fairy tale "Thumbling" and features a tiny boy who is created as a result of a wood-dwelling couple's wishes. The boy eventually gets caught up with human-sized thieves who want to use his size to their advantage.[8][5]
Tooth Fairy2010The English-language comedy film features a hockey player who is forced to work as a tooth fairy. One of the tools available to the fairy is shrinking paste, which is used in the film.[8]
Wild, Wild Planet1966The Italian science-fiction horror film features a mad scientist who sends bald mutants to kidnap humans and shrink them down to be carried back in suitcases.[3]
Willow1988The US fantasy film features Brownies, which stand only inches tall.[30]
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory1971A character, Mike Teevee, observes Willy Wonka's 'Wonkavision' shrinking down a chocolate bar and transferring the bar into a television set. After observing this mike Teevee runs to the 'Wonkavision' and demands to be shrunk down to fulfil his desire to be on TV. From this he ends up being shrunk down to a 12th of his size.[31]
The World's Greatest Athlete1973In this slapstick comedy, an aside has the witch doctor Gazenga temporarily shrinking assistant coach Milo Jackson (Tim Conway) to a few inches tall, in a cocktail lounge. Milo dodges being sat upon by a woman, escapes from her handbag, and struggles with a gigantic telephone to call for help.[32]

See also
  • The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003), which used similar techniques to portray some actors as Hobbits at a height of two to four feet (0.6 to 1.2 m) tall[10][12]

TV series featuring miniature people:

References
  1. Zarracina, Javier (July 20, 2015). "From the Devil-Doll to Ant-Man". Vox. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  2. Luxford, James (January 24, 2018). "Honey, we shrunk the history of movies about shrinking people". bfi.org.uk. British Film Institute. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  3. Kaye, Don (July 22, 2015). "The Incredible Shrinking Movies". Den of Geek!. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  4. Evans, Claire L. (July 16, 2015). "Honey, I Shrunk the Hero: 'Ant-Man' and a Brief History of Tiny Action at the Movies". Grantland. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  5. "Theme – Shrunken People". Allmovie. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  6. "Энциклопедия кино — ОСТРОВ РЖАВОГО ГЕНЕРАЛА (Из цикла "Миллион приключений")". dic.academic.ru.
  7. "Миллион приключений. Остров ржавого генерала". Russia-K.
  8. Swinney, Jacob T. (July 16, 2015). "A Tiny History of Shrinking Humans in Movies". Slate. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  9. Dixon, Hannah (December 13, 2017). "Downsizing: 6 shrinking movies that hit new heights of awesome". cineworld.co.uk. Cineworld. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  10. Watercutter, Angela (January 5, 2018). "A Brief History of Putting Small Things on the Big Screen". Wired. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  11. Sullivan, Kevin (July 19, 2015). "These Films About Shrinking Are 'Ant-Man' Forerunners". Uproxx. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  12. Ulaby, Neda (December 22, 2017). "In 'Downsizing,' A New Addition To The Large History Of Tiny People In Film". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  13. Hogg, Trevor (July 11, 2018). "Working for Scale: 'Ant-Man and The Wasp' Ups the VFX Ante". Animation Magazine. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  14. Schuster, Mike (April 17, 2015). "Shrunk History: The 5 Greatest Shrinking Movies of All Time". ifc.com. IFC Films. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  15. Williams, Trey (July 6, 2018). "Ant-Man Almost Fought for the Other Side in 'Captain America: Civil War,' Says Peyton Reed". TheWrap. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  16. Edwards, Graham (July 22, 2015). "Ant-Man and the History of Miniaturization in Movies". Tested.com. Whiskey Media. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  17. O'Sullivan, Michael (May 23, 2013). "'Epic' movie review". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  18. Hinson, Hal (April 10, 1992). "FernGully: The Last Rainforest Movie Review". Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  19. "Großer Mann ganz klein!".
  20. Goldsmith, Melissa (2016). The Encyclopedia of Musicians and Bands on Film. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-4422-6986-6.
  21. "Help, I Shrunk My Teacher (Hilfe, ich hab meine Lehrerin geschrumpft)".
  22. "Minifilm | Help, I shrunk my parents".
  23. "Minifilm | Help, I shrunk my friends".
  24. "Leapin' Leprechauns! (1995) – Cinema Crazed".
  25. "The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns".
  26. Kalat, David (2017). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (2nd ed.). McFarland. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-4766-3265-0.
  27. "BFI | Sight & Sound | My Favorite Martian (1999)". Archived from the original on August 3, 2012.
  28. "Spellbreaker: Secret of the Leprechauns (1996)". 17 March 2014.
  29. Morazzini, Jim (2020-10-22). "Review: Sweet Taste of Souls (2020) - Voices From The Balcony". Voices From The Balcony. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  30. Failes, Ian (April 3, 2018). "Over 30 years, Willow has morphed into an effects classic". VFX Voice. Visual Effects Society. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  31. [imdb.com/title/tt0067992/plotsummary "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) - Plot"]. 30 September 2022. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  32. Staff. "The World's Greatest Athlete". afi.org. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.