There are actors who define a time period in the eyes of audiences, who star in groundbreaking, hugely influential projects that are loved years after their release, and whose presence on screen makes them unforgettable.
One of those actors is Rick Moranis. For many ’80s and ’90s kids, Moranis was a familiar face to them, a source of comfort in family-friendly movies like “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” or their guide to the world of more risqué movies with adult themes and humor like “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Spaceballs”. No matter the tone or genre, Moranis was consistently funny, delightful and charming – whether he was an innocent flower shop worker who discovers a talking, singing carnivorous plant or a Darth Vader parody with plans for world domination (and a penchant for silly ties) .
Despite working in so many big hits and franchise starters, Moranis almost disappeared from Hollywood. For many fans, this came as a shock, especially since Moranis was in his prime and still appearing in popular and popular films, with no signs of stopping.
So why did Rick Moranis disappear from Hollywood, and what has he been up to? Let’s look back at his career and where it led.
Rick Moranis got his start in sketch comedy with Second City Television
Born in Toronto in 1953, Rick Moranis began his career as a comedian in the mid-’70s, performing on stage and television, moving up to doing live performances on comedy shows like “90 Minutes Live” with comedy partner Ken Finkleman. Moranis got his big break when he joined the third season of popular “Second City Television” (or “SCTV”), a comedy series similar to “Saturday Night Live”. Hiring Moranis was surprising because he was never part of the Second City stage crew, and he followed in the footsteps of Eugene Levy, John Candy, Harold Ramis and Catherine O’Hara (the last three resigned just as Moranis joined the cast ).
During his tenure, Moranis became known for his impressions of celebrities such as Merv Griffin and Woody Allen (see above), and his recurring segment called “The Great White North” featuring the characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, played by Moranis and Dave Thomas.
After three years, Moranis made his feature film debut by both starring in and directing “Strange Brew” with Dave Thomas, bringing their “SCTV” characters to the big screen, and he followed that up with an appearance in “Streets of Fire.” – one of the most underrated films of the 80s.
The 80s made Rick Moranis a big star
It was in the mid-80s that Moranis became a household name, with some pretty busy years between 1984 and 1989 appearing in some of the biggest classics of the decade. It began, of course, with “Ghostbusters,” a film that defied the rules of genre cinema and became a global phenomenon. Even today, it’s shocking how well that film works and how it balances genres and tones without falling apart.
A multi-talented actor who had shown his range on ‘Second City Television’, Moranis proved adept at seamlessly blending in whatever the tone of the project he was on. He showed off his vocal chops (in slow motion, no less) in “Little Shop of Horrors,” while delivering the best “Star Wars” character in his role as Dark Helmet in “Spaceballs,” a character that works whether you’re familiar with “Star Wars” or not.
And then, if you were a kid back then and didn’t really get to see “Ghostbusters” or “Little Shop of Horrors,” Moranis was introduced to younger audiences in “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” This movie also kickstarted a franchise and has possibly the easiest movie premise to explain – this is good.
Why Rick Moranis disappeared from Hollywood in the late 90s
The 1990s brought some major slumps for Moranis. He played Barney Rubble in “The Flintstones”, a big budget film with spectacular production design, but also a film that failed to make an impact and faded from public consciousness. He also made not one but two sequels to “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”, to declining levels of quality. Between projects, Moranis went on to star in “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” as Jim Carrey gives him a career in film — though at least it saved Moranis from being associated with that film’s dizzying transphobic twist.
In 1997, Moranis had what would be his last live-action film role, in “Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.”
Sadly, Morani’s wife, costume designer Ann Belsky, passed away in 1991 from breast cancer. After her passing, Moranis decided to step away from acting to raise their two children. “I took a break, which turned into a longer break,” he shared The Hollywood Reporter 2015. “Things happen to people all the time, and people make adjustments, change careers, move to another city. Really, that’s all I did.”
“I worked with really interesting people, wonderful people,” Moranis said of his Hollywood heyday. “I went from that to being at home with a couple of young kids, which is a very different lifestyle. But it was important to me. I have absolutely no regrets. My life is wonderful.”
What has Rick Moranis been up to since leaving Hollywood?
To be fair to Moranis, he didn’t exactly disappear without a trace, nor did he abandon Hollywood entirely. Rather, he moved mostly to voice over acting, appearing in “Brother Bear” and its sequels, as a moose named Rutt. Moranis too reprized his role as Dark Helmet in an episode of “The Goldbergs” (voice only), and he returned as Bob McKenzie in the 2007 TV special “Bob & Doug McKenzie’s Two-Four Anniversary”. Then there was the “Bob & Doug” TV series, which Moranis executive produced but did not star in (he was replaced by Dave Coulier instead).
Unfortunately for “Second City Television” and Rick Morani’s finishers, there is another project that may never see the light of day. Back in 2018, it was announced that Martin Scorsese himself would direct an “SCTV” reunion for Netflixbringing back Moranis, as well as Dave Thomas, Martin Short, Eugene Levi, Catherine O’Hara and others. Unfortunately, the reunion has since been shelved by the streamer.
More recently, Ryan Reynolds managed to convince Rick Moranis to appear in an ad for Mint Mobile with him, which you can see above.
Why wasn’t Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters: Afterlife?
The “Ghostbusters” franchise rebooted in 2016, and then again in 2021 with “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” but Moranis didn’t appear in any of them despite some of his co-stars having roles in those movies — despite initial reports to the contrary.
As he told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m happy with the things I said yes to, and I’m very happy with the many things I’ve said no to,” Moranis said. “Yes, I am picky, and I will continue to be picky. Picky has worked for me.”
Still, there’s one franchise Moranis isn’t ruling out. “I’m surprised Disney hasn’t done ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Grandkids,'” he said in the same interview. In fact, back in 2020, it was reported that Moranis would actually return to the big screen with a reboot of “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” reportedly titled “Shrunk,” would also include Josh Gad as Morani’s character’s now-adult son, with director Joe Johnston unfortunately returning in 2023. Gad took to Twitter to say that covid-related scheduling and budget issues had nearly derailed the project.
Given he is now working on a reboot of “Spaceballs”, it seems that “Shrunk” may not happen, but maybe there is another chance for Moranis to return and play one of his previous roles again. May Schwartz be with him.
