Nick Szalinski
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Nick Szalinski is one of the protagonists from Disney's 1989 film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, its sequel, and its 1996-2000 television series. He was portrayed by Robert Oliveri in the first two films and later by Thomas Dekker in the television series.
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Background
Nick is the second child and oldest son of Wayne and Diane Szalinski. As a child, he was much like his inventor father in personality, being interested in science and inventing. He is shown to be very intelligent for his age. As a teenager, he begins to be interested in guitars and develops a crush on Mandy Park, whom he has seen at his job.
Film Appearances
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Nick is introduced early in the film, having built a small model of Wayne's shrink ray. When Wayne heads to work, the neighbor's son, Ron Thompson hits a baseball into the attic window. Unknown to anyone at the time, the ball activates the shrink ray. Ron is forced by his brother, Russ, to confess, and Nick is instructed to take Ron upstairs to retrieve the ball. Upon entering the room, Nick and Ron are immediately shrunk by the shrink ray, followed soon by Russ and Nick's sister Amy.
Wayne comes home from a failed presentation, and damages the shrink machine in a fit of rage. The kids, now 1/4 of an inch tall, try to stop him but are too little to be seen or heard. When Wayne sweeps up the mess, Nick and the others end up in a trash bag in far end of the backyard.
Nick, Russ, and Ron climb a flower in order to see how far away the house is, knowing that at their size, it would take some time to reach the house. Nick and Russ are separated from Ron and Amy when a bee lands of the flower, taking the two boys for a wild ride around the backyard. They later reunite while dodging giant water drops from the sprinkler, though Nick is terrified when Amy nearly drowns in a muddy puddle, before being saved by Russ via CPR.
Later on, the group finds a creamy cookie that Nick had left in the yard earlier, and quickly begin eating. They are able to use the cookie to befriend and Ant, dubbed "Antie". That night, the group sleeps in one of Nick's Legos, with Ron and Nick specifically sharing an area to tease Amy and Russ. During the night, they are attacked by a scorpion but are saved when Antie takes on the creature, though he dies of the poison.
The next morning, Nick and the others are forced to hide when Nick's friend Tommy comes to mow the lawn (having made a deal with Nick near the beginning of the film). Though the hide in an earthworm tunnel, Tommy stops the lawnmower right over the hole when Wayne and Diane get his attention. Though the kids end up being sucked into the lawnmower, they emerged unharmed. However, they barely miss being noticed by Wayne and Diane, who have realized that the kids were shrunk, as they are too small to be heard. Luckily, Quark, the Szalinski's dog, hears them, thanks to his more acute hearing. The kids are able to ride on Quark and direct the dog to find Wayne. Quark does so, but Nick falls in the bowl of Cheerios Wayne is eating. Nick is barely able to avoid being eaten before Quark nips Wayne, causing him to notice Nick in his cereal spoon.
Wayne and Diane alert Russ and Ron's parents, but are unable to recreate the conditions that caused the shrink ray to work. Nick, by this time, has worked out that Ron's baseball activated the machine and got in the path of the laser beam, reducing its power enough to avoid blowing up the targets. He attempts to communicate this to Diane, but is only able to when the kids recreate a baseball game to alert the parents. With this information, Wayne is able to successfully unshrink the kids.
The film skips to Thanksgiving, where it is shown that Nick and Ron have become friends. As the film blacks out, Nick suddenly gets a joke that Russ had told earlier, and begins laughing hysterically.
Honey, I Blew up the Kid
Three years after the events of the first film, Nick now holds a job and has an interest in guitars. While he has a crush on a girl named Mandy Park, who he often sees at his job, she has no interest in him. When Diane is helping Amy get settled at college, Nick and his two-year-old brother Adam are watched by Wayne. One day, Wayne takes Nick and Adam to the laboratory where he works; Wayne hopes to get in a secret test run of his new growth ray, with Nick serving as an assistant. When both are distracted by a power surge, young Adam gets in the ray's path, and is hit. The machine then breaks.
Nick returns home with Wayne, who hires Mandy to babysit Adam later, as Wayne wants to spend time with Nick. Later on, Nick and Wayne discover that Adam has grown to 7 feet tall, with his growth fueled by the electric waves of the microwave Wayne was using to prepare lunch. The two try to take Adam to the lab to reverse the effect, but are stopped by Wayne's coworker Dr. Henderson and forced to return home. By this point, Diane has returned and discovers Adam's growth. Nick is left in charge of Adam, while Wayne and Diane attempt to retrieve Wayne's shrink ray to cure Adam.
Mandy comes by to to babysit as scheduled and faints upon seeing Adam. Nick binds and gags her, and promises to remove the gag if she can stay calm. However, Mandy does not calm down until Nick explains the situation properly. However, Adama grows again, doubling in size to 14 feet tall, and escapes the house. Nick unties Mandy and offers her overtime pay if she will help him find Adam, to which she agrees.
Nick and Mandy are later taken into custody when Dr. Henderson finds out about Adam's growth and reports it to his boss, Clinton Sterling. However, Adam escapes after another growth spurt and mistakes Nick and Mandy as toys. The two teens are placed in Adam's pocket as he travels to Las Vegas. There he roams the street, thinking the area is a playground. Nick and Mandy are able to escape into a convertible, but are quickly placed back in the pocket when Adam sees what he thinks is a toy car.
After a successful plan by Wayne, Diane, and Mr. Sterling (who by this time has fired Dr. Henderson and is helping Wayne), Adam is shrunk to normal. However, the adults forgot about Nick and Mandy, who's car slipped out of a hole in Adam's pocket. Shrunk to a small size, the adults find them, but decide to give the two a few minutes alone. Mandy then admits she has developed feelings for Nick and kisses him.
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves
Nick does not appear in the film, and is stated to be in college. However, his scientific interest is presented as a contrast to Adam, who much prefers baseball. It is mentioned that Nick once enjoyed going to Camp Isosceles, a science camp, while Adam is trying to convince Wayne to let him attend baseball camp.
Television appearances
Added by Windyshadow32Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: the TV shows
Nick is one of the main characters of the TV show, which takes place in between the first and second films. Nick's interest in inventing, similarly to his father, is reinforced. However, Nick is additionally shown to have an interest in the supernatural, showing extensive interest.
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