How Elizabeth Banks’ New Sci-Fi Comedy Is More Than A Twist Of Disney’s $227M Classic Explained By Miniature Wife Cast & Creators

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Elizabeth Banks has revived a lesser-known science fiction story with her film, The Miniature Wife, and it offers much more than just a playful take on a familiar Disney story.

I recently checked out this new series, and it’s really stuck with me. It’s based on a short story, and follows Lindy and Les Littlejohn, a married couple who are drifting apart. Lindy’s a professor and a celebrated writer – she’s even won a Pulitzer! – and Les is a scientist working on some wild tech that can shrink things. But the show really digs into how their relationship starts to fall apart because, despite both being successful, they don’t actually support each other’s ambitions. It’s a fascinating look at a power imbalance in a marriage.

My life turned upside down when Les’s shrinking machine malfunctioned and accidentally made Lindy tiny – just six inches tall! Watching her try to cope with being so small was tough, and Les was desperately trying to perfect a serum to restore her. But amidst all the chaos, it felt like this crazy situation was also giving them a chance to work on their relationship – in a really unexpected way.

I’m so excited about The Miniature Wife! Not only does it star Naomi Banks and Tom Macfadyen, but the supporting cast is incredible – O-T Fagbenle from The Handmaid’s Tale, Zoe Lister-Jones who was in Beau is Afraid, Sofia Rosinsky from Death and Other Details, Sian Clifford of Fleabag, and even Aasif Mandvi and Ronny Chieng from The Daily Show! Plus, it’s being made by people who worked on Goliath, which is a great sign. Critics seem to be enjoying it too – it currently has a ‘Certified Fresh’ rating of 74% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is awesome!

I was really excited to read ScreenRant’s interview with the cast and creators of The Miniature Wife – Elizabeth Banks, Matthew Macfadyen, O-T Fagbenle, Zoe Lister-Jones, Sofia Rosinsky, Jennifer Ames, Steve Turner, and Michael Ellenberg. The interview got into how they developed the show, and Ames and Turner admitted they knew people would naturally compare it to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, given the similar premise of shrinking people. It’s understandable – that’s a classic!

As Ames described, adapting Gonzales’ short story – which is told entirely from the husband’s point of view – gave the creators plenty of freedom to develop their own ideas. They also wanted to shift away from the story’s intense darkness, which stemmed from its limited perspective. This led them to draw inspiration from the Danny DeVito film War of the Roses, a dark comedy that the creator particularly loves.

That sparked the idea that the show could be inspired by classic comedies from the 80s and 90s, like the movie Big. If you accept the premise of Big – that Tom Hanks is a kid trapped in an adult’s body – you’re willing to go along for the ride. Similarly, with Groundhog Day, if you accept the repeating day concept, it works. We needed the audience to accept that Les has the ability to shrink people, and that was the key to making this work tonally.

Ames also mentioned several films as key inspirations for the show, including Money Pit with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, Romancing the Stone starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Steve Martin and Michael Caine. Regarding the influence of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, she explained that they aimed for a more mature take, focusing the series on “this remarriage story” instead of just the outlandish sci-fi premise.

The creators really enjoyed designing the sets for The Miniature Wife, especially those used when characters were shrunk down. Turner highlighted two props he particularly liked. First, the enormous 30-foot-tall plunger, which he called a fantastic prop and fondly remembered everyone posing with on set. The second was a six-foot-long pair of tweezers. Turner explained it took two prop assistants to operate – to close them and pour wine – and he found it hilarious to watch.

I was really struck by the scene with Richard in what she called a “giant bird cage” – especially the detail about, well, the bird droppings at the bottom! She thought it was a fantastic set, truly a work of art. She also mentioned a funny moment involving Lindy’s toiletries that really caught Banks off guard.

Steve Turner recalled a funny moment on set when Les gave Elizabeth both lipstick and a small toothpaste. Elizabeth was particularly excited about the Chanel lipstick, and actually used it later in another scene – it really did contain lipstick!

Macfadyen & Banks Felt That The Miniature Wife Team “Got Better” At Capturing The Shrunken Set Pieces As Production Went On

I was really looking forward to this show, especially because I loved Honey, I Shrunk the Kids as a kid. We’ve seen a lot of stories about people being shrunk down, but I was pleasantly surprised by the tone and story of this series. What inspired you when creating the show, and what elements did you specifically try to avoid?

I was immediately drawn to how original the show felt, especially its tone. It avoids the typical flashbacks used to reveal a couple’s history, instead focusing intensely on the present crisis – her being shrunk and needing to return to normal size. But it also skillfully weaves in all the background and experiences that led them to this point, creating a really rich and layered story. There’s both the immediate pressure of the situation and a deep emotional connection that drives everything. I hadn’t encountered anything quite like it before. Plus, it’s a very physical comedy, and I genuinely found it hilarious and authentic.

Matthew Macfadyen explained that there’s something instantly appealing and confident about the idea of shrinking a person. He finds the concept very exciting and inherently delightful.

Elizabeth Banks: And the audience is gonna love it.

Matthew Macfadyen explains that someone is about to be dramatically reduced in size – down to the size of a dollar bill – and warns them to prepare for a wild ride.

ScreenRant asked if the actors, who sometimes worked independently, ever saw each other’s performances and had that change how they interpreted a scene. Specifically, they mentioned Matthew working with a doll and wondered if seeing the other actor’s work influenced his understanding.

Absolutely. Depending on which actor filmed their part first, we could usually watch their footage in our own studios. Then we would…

Elizabeth Banks: We could always reference what we do. Whoever shot first, we got the reference.

Matthew Macfadyen felt the team, including the visual effects and camera departments, really improved their skills throughout the project. It was technically tricky figuring out the right angles and perspectives, but they became very efficient at it, essentially turning it into a technical challenge they mastered.

There was a surprising amount of complexity in the scene, but watching Matthew perform really shifted my understanding of it. We’d discussed the scene beforehand, but seeing his interpretation was much more intense than I’d anticipated. I realized it wasn’t going to be lighthearted at all, and I needed to adjust my performance to match that seriousness. It was a really exciting discovery process.

Ellenberg, Turner & Ames Have Plenty Of Ideas For The Show’s Future

I really loved the initial idea for the show. The original story is told through Les’s eyes, so as you started developing it further, what questions did you discuss about expanding on that?

The initial story was charming and funny, but we saw a chance to use it to explore modern marriage and relationships. We wanted to examine the narratives we create about our partners and ourselves – what’s real and what isn’t. It also gave us a jumping-off point to revisit classic comedies like ‘The Incredible Shrinking Woman,’ ‘Big,’ ‘War of the Roses,’ and even ‘Home Alone,’ and the work of directors like Spike Jones – films with outlandish ideas that let us laugh at life’s difficulties and decide what truly matters. The premise of a wife who’s physically small allowed us to explore how much she and her husband, Les, had both contributed to feeling that way. It’s a shared responsibility, really. We believed this extreme situation was a fun and engaging way to tackle very relatable issues.

ScreenRant asked about the unusual experience of working with an actor performing opposite a doll. They wondered if the actors often filmed their parts separately, then reviewed each other’s performances to get a better understanding of the scene. They also asked about the biggest difficulties the actors faced during filming.

From the beginning, this project presented some unique hurdles. We knew working with a six-inch-tall doll meant using green screen technology and having the actor interact with something so small. Thankfully, the connection between the actors was instant and perfect. They worked incredibly well together, which was a huge help when filming their scenes separately. They always rehearsed together, so they understood the context, but Elizabeth would often watch Matthew’s performance and say, ‘Now I get how to approach this scene.’ It was a fun, but complex challenge, and I think they both really enjoyed it.

It was tough because the actors weren’t filming together, which meant there wasn’t much opportunity to be spontaneous or try different things. We really just had to trust that each scene would work out.

Steve Turner: It’s a high-wire act.

As a fan, I think what makes that duo so special is their amazing chemistry and how well they bounce off each other – it’s pure improv magic! When they’re working separately, something feels missing, and it really highlights how important the writing is because it’s not getting that extra spark from their natural back-and-forth.

Honestly, when we first saw the edited footage, it was unbelievable. It felt like the actors were actually in the same space – it was that convincing. That’s when we realized just how talented they were.

ScreenRant asked if the creators had a general plan for the show’s direction, and if they’d considered future seasons beyond the current one, without revealing any plot details.

As a film and TV lover, what really grabbed me about this show is the incredible emotional journey it takes you on. You’re not just seeing a couple deal with a crisis now, but you’re also slowly uncovering how they ended up in that situation. It’s fascinating because there’s this obvious dynamic – she’s smaller, he’s larger – and they say they want an equal partnership, but the show really makes you question if that’s true. Does true equality actually lead to happiness, or is there a need for someone to be dominant? It even asks if someone needs to be submissive for the relationship to work. There’s this beautiful, subtle tension building as she starts writing a book, and he seems to be encouraging it. But what happens if she finds success? Will that shift the balance of power? The creators have so many exciting ideas for where this couple could go, and I’m thrilled to hear we haven’t seen the last of them. Ultimately, the show isn’t about finding a perfect ‘happily ever after,’ it’s about questioning that very idea. It’s a powerful message about living in the present, something both of these characters struggle with. Now that they’ve seemingly found some peace, the show explores what life actually looks like afterwards.

Fagbenle, Lister-Jones & Rosinsky Have A Wishlist For The Miniature Wife Season 2

ScreenRant asked about the inspirations behind the show, noting that the writers mentioned several influences. They wanted to know what films or stories the actor enjoyed revisiting while preparing for the role, specifically mentioning War of the Roses, Big, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. They were curious if any other sources proved particularly helpful during the preparation process.

I actually revisited Shakespeare while preparing for the role. It wasn’t about the historical setting of the show, but about capturing the character’s grand way of thinking – his intense feelings about love and life, where everything felt like a matter of life and death. I tried to approach the character with the same expansive mindset as Shakespeare’s characters. It’s true!

I recently watched The Incredible Shrinking Woman for the first time, and Lily Tomlin is amazing in it. The movie has a similar quirky and offbeat feel to my own work, but she also brings a real sense of emotional depth and vulnerability to the role, even while being hilarious. It was a really enjoyable film.

Sofia Rosinsky described returning to watch classic screwball comedies with her grandfather, like ‘Bringing Up Baby,’ ‘Arsenic and Old Lace,’ and ‘The Philadelphia Story.’ She noticed a common thread of heightened reality and tension throughout these films, as well as in French farces.

O-T Fagbenle: You won’t believe what else I was watching! I was trying to remember who played the father in The Addams Family – what was his name?

Sofia Rosinsky: Raúl Juliá?

I noticed O-T Fagbenle was really focused on his wife, so I watched some footage of them. He had a habit of smelling her, and I wanted to incorporate that into my performance, so I looked for chances to smell Lindy whenever I could during filming.

ScreenRant asked the show’s creators about their future plans, and they mentioned wanting to continue the series for many seasons. The interviewer then asked what they hadn’t been able to include this season but hoped to explore in the future.

Zoe Lister-Jones: A musical number.

O-T Fagbenle: Yes. Say it.

Zoe Lister-Jones: Say it. Sing it. Dance it.

Absolutely! I’d love to work with Ronnie Chieng again – I really enjoyed it when we did. Honestly, whenever people ask me about the show, I always end up talking about how great it was working with him. What about you?

Sofia Rosinsky: Love to work with Zoe.

Zoe Lister-Jones: Oh, same.

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2026-04-20 23:44