Wayne Szalinski also known as Professor Wayne Szalinski is a major character from the comedy film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). He is portrayed by Rick Moranis.
History[]
Background[]
Origins[]
Wayne Szalinski was a struggling inventor during the 1980s who had a wife named Diane and two children, the older being his daughter Amy while the younger was his son, Nick.
Shrinking Gun[]
Szalinski struggled to create a shrinking-gun in his house, only for the neighbours' kid's baseball to crash through the window and accidentally provide the missing component needed. The result shrunk Wayne's children and the children next-door until Wayne found them and returned them to normal size.
Imagination Institute[]
In 1990, Wayne was awarded with the Inventor of the Year Award by the Imagination Institute and its chairman Dr. Nigel Channing for his success with the Shrinking Gun. Wayne prepared many of his inventions for the ceremony to show off, though all went disastrous. The Shrinking Gun also got out of control and shrunk the audience before Wayne and his kids were able to restore them to natural size. After this incident, Wayne got an office in the Imagination Institute's EPCOT base, the Imagination! Pavilion.
Jungle Cruise[]
At some point, Wayne created a time-machine, "Gizmo" which he used to conduct white-water rafting tours of prehistoric waters. Departing from docks seemingly used by the Jungle Navigation Company of the 1930s, he brought guests to the past only to lose his gizmo on one of the tours causing him and the guests to scramble to get it back before the meteor which killed the dinosaurs hit Earth. Ultimately they were successful.
Appearances[]
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience[]
Wayne was a major character in this attraction.
Journey Into Imagination with Figment[]
Szalinski's, "Inventor of the Year" photo is hung up in the queue, commemorating his creation of the Shrinking Gun. His office is also passed by in the queue, with glowing lights and lab-equipment and Shrinking Gun visible inside. The secretary will sometimes make calls for Szalinski.
Virtual Jungle Cruise[]
A CGI Wayne served as skipper of this DisneyQuest attraction.
Trivia[]
- Wayne's role in the Virtual Jungle Cruise is similar to that of Dr. Grant Seeker in DINOSAUR.
- In Virtual Jungle Cruise, Wayne was operating out of docks which also contained various steamboats of the Jungle Navigation Company.
- Wayne and MET from Body Wars are both EPCOT characters with shrinking technology.
Gallery[]
