We remember the trajectory of the star of “Honey, I Shrunk the Children” and the reasons for his disappearance at the height of his career

The name Rick Moranis may sound vaguely familiar to some, totally unfamiliar to others, or spark nostalgia in many. No wonder, as the actor, famous for his comedies mainly in the 80s, has been away from the big screen for over 20 years.

If you don’t remember who Rick is, you might recognize one of his works. Especially because they were films that were a tremendous success and are rerun to this day. It can be a great opportunity to remember the actor’s successful trajectory, going through his departure and his brief return.

We, from awesome.clubwe recall here Rick Moranis’ greatest hits and tell the facts of his personal life that led him to step away from his career and give us a great life lesson.

Frederick Allan Moranis, his real name, was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1953. In the 70’s he started a career as a radio announcer, and became very popular. He was so successful that he soon landed a role in a TV series in his country called Second City. He was the only one of the main cast who was not part of the eponymous theater group that spawned the series.

The series was also successful and the actors got, one by one, roles in US productions. Rick’s turn came with a participation in the traditional comedy show Saturday Night Live, where he caught the attention of many people. Soon, he landed his first roles in Hollywood: a comedy called The Adventures of Bob and Doug McKenzie, which he directed himself, and an action called Streets of Fire. That’s it, the short guy with the nerd face had conquered the Americans.

Proof of Rick’s talent came next, when he was cast in 1984’s Ghostbusters, a huge hit of the decade and still present in pop culture today — right, Stranger Things kids? He acted alongside big names of the time, such as Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Alien star Sigourney Weaver. Rick plays Louis Tully, an accountant who serves as host to Vinz Clortho, one of the guardians of the Sumerian god Gozer.

In addition to winning over audiences, the film won over critics as well. Ghostbusters was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and won the Saturn and BAFTA Awards. Recognition inevitably opened more doors for Rick Moranis, who starred in other feature films that marked the 80s and 90s.

Here begins the list of memorable Rick Moranis performances. It is very difficult that someone has not seen at least one of these films, even those born after the 90s. Rick was in Crazy Life in 1984, Rain of Millions in 1985, Executives in Troubles in 1985 and Club Paradise in 1986. record a participation as the school janitor in Clube dos Cinco, but the director replaced him because he thought he was too famous for the film and could overshadow the rest of the cast.

In 1986, he also participated in the remake of Little Shop of Horrors and, the following year, he won another iconic role. Rick starred in a parody of the Star Wars movies which, in Brazil, was called SOS: Tem Um Louco No Espaço. In this feature, he lived a hilarious version of Darth Vader, the Dark Helmet. The actor wore a gigantic helmet that made it difficult for him to breathe. So, unlike the Star Wars villain, he had no problem taking it out every now and then.

Rick Moranis was really having a lot of success with comedy, and in 1989 he was asked to reprise his role as Louis Tully in Ghostbusters 2, another box office success. In the same year, one of his most iconic characters in cinema, the dad and scientist Wayne Szalinski in Darling, I Shrunk the Kids. In this movie… Well, in this movie he accidentally shrinks his kids.

Darling, I Shrunk the Children is a classic from the 90s, repeated to exhaustion on Brazilian open TV. It marked the lives of many Brazilian families and, of course, that of Rick Moranis as well. At the time, it was the highest-grossing Disney film of all time, a record it held for five years. It was so successful that it spawned two sequels: Darling, I Stretched the Baby in 1992 and Darling, I Shrunk the People in 1997.

But the year of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids wasn’t all about good news. During the shooting of the film, he learned that Ann Belksy, with whom he had been married since 1986 and had two young children, had breast cancer. Immediately after its release, even though he was at the height of his fame, Rick scaled back to take better care of his wife, making far fewer films. Ann passed away in 1991, aged just 34.

After 1991, Rick still acted in some films, with emphasis on the live-action version of Flintstones, in which Barney lived. But, being the sole father of two children, he found it difficult to combine raising children with traveling to record and promote his feature films. So, around 1996, Rick made a drastic decision: take a year or two off work to devote more time to fatherhood.

In a 2006 interview, Rick explained that, in the first few years after his wife’s death, he still tried to keep working. “I was doing a lot of movies with kids, nice kids, but they weren’t mine,” he related. “So I thought, ‘You know what? I’m tired of taking my kids to hotel rooms. I’m going home'”.

Since then, Rick Moranis has turned down job offers. In the interview, he justified his career break by finding it difficult to travel to make films and take care of his children. “The short break turned into a long break, so I found that it really wasn’t needed,” he explained.

Without participating in any film since 1997, the public was surprised by the “disappearance” of Rick. However, he even did some work as a voice actor, most famously as the moose Rutt in the Disney animations Brother Bear in 2003 and 2006. In 2016, he was invited to participate in a new production of the Ghostbusters franchise, but refused.

But for Rick Moranis, his own decision is no big deal, as he himself said in a radio interview. For the actor, if he were an ordinary person, no one would care about him leaving work to dedicate himself to fatherhood. But being a celebrity at the height of her career, it was an intriguing decision for the public.

In his words: “My decision was intriguing to people, but not to me. It had nothing to do with it. It was just my job and it was time for me to make an adjustment. I didn’t throw away my creativity. I applied it in my home, my children and my family. I’m the same person. I did not change. I just changed my focus.”

For the most nostalgic, good news has arrived in 2020. A new production of the franchise Darling, I Shrunk the Kids will be produced for Disney+ and will bring Rick Moranis back to the role of scientist and father Wayne Szalinski. The name of the film will be Shrunk, which means “shrunken” and will take place 30 years after the last production. We can miss this little guy!

It may have been a very natural decision for Rick Moranis, but for us, it’s an inspiring move to say the least. Do you know someone who also gave up their career to dedicate themselves to their family?