If you were a kid growing up in the late 80s, early 90s, there's a good chance one of your favorite actors was Rick Moranis.
Appearing in family favorites like Ghostbusters, Spaceballs, and The Simpsons, Moranis was somewhat the uncrowned king of family movies. But perhaps his most beloved on-screen achievement came in Disney's 1989 classic Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (as well as their 1992 and 1997 sequels).
Moranis played the lovable inventor and father Wayne Szalinski, who accidentally shrinks his children to just 6mm tall.
Check out the original trailer to Honey, I Shrunk The Kids below:But despite a string of cinematic hits and an adoring fanbase, Moranis is seldom seen on our screens anymore.
However, after making a rare appearance on the Disney+ series Prop Culture, fans took to social media to express their delight at once again seeing Moranis - many of whom couldn't believe just how good the actor looked.
But for those who are unaware, Moranis has previously spoken out about why he walked away from Hollywood.
Back in 1991, Rick's wife of five years - costume designer Ann Belsky - sadly passed away from breast cancer at the age of 34.
Speaking to USA Today back in 2005, Moranis spoke openly about the pressures of being a single parent:
"I pulled out of making movies in about ’96 or ’97. 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.
"So I took a little bit of a break. And the little bit of a break turned into a longer break, and then I found that I really didn’t miss it."
Moranis has never remarried.
The Honey, I Shrunk The Kids star later reflected on his decision to focus on his family during a 2013 appearance on a podcast called Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. Moranis said:
"The decision in my case to become a stay-at-home-dad, which people do all the time, I guess wouldn’t have meant as much to people if I had had a very simple kind of make-a-living existence and decided I needed to spend more time at home.
"Nobody would pay attention to it, but because I came from celebrity and fame and what was the peak of a career, that was intriguing to people. To me, it wasn’t that. I didn’t have anything to do with that. It was work, and it was just time to make an adjustment."
During the podcast, Moranis did open up about the parts of acting that he did miss, revealing: "I missed the people and I missed the very refreshing nature of doing something radically different every day.
"Raising kids and being a stay-at-home parent, especially a single parent … there’s a lot of sameness. It’s a very different kind of life than being on the set with [Dan] Aykroyd and [Bill] Murray and Steve Martin. So I missed that kind of thing, but I found lots of joy and lots of rewards in other places. It was just all part of an adjustment."
But will we ever see Moranis make a return to the big screen? Well, in a 2015 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Moranis stressed to his fans that he has never fully retired from acting, and would consider the right role. He said:
"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, I’ll probably do it.
"But I'm happy with the things I said yes to, and I'm very happy with the many things I've said no to. Yes, I am picky, and I'll continue to be picky. Picky has worked for me."
However, it seems that Disney finally found that role, as back in February, it was announced that Moranis would be returning for a Honey, I Shrunk The Kids reboot.
Per Deadline, the movie is intended for theatrical release and is currently working under the title Shrunk. Moranis is believed to be reprising his role as Wayne Szalinski.
