Love Peacock’s The Miniature Wife? 5 Shrink-Down Movies You Need to Watch Next

Shrinking people has been a movie obsession forever. Sometimes it powers the whole story, sometimes it pops up like a fever dream. We’ve had it in horror with 'Attack of the Puppet People', in action with 'Dollman' (Tim Thomerson, salute), and as one-off gags in 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory', 'Mars Attacks!', and, of course, 'Fantastic Voyage '. Now Peacock ’s 'The Miniature Wife' steps in with Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen — basically one six-hour movie with a breezy vibe, a handful of likable, well-sketched characters, and yet another banks-steals-the-show performance from, well, Banks. It’s an easy binge. And once you chew through it, here are some lighter, small-scale follow-ups that make a perfect chaser.

Quick pit stop: why this list

'The Miniature Wife' leans playful more than ponderous, so I focused on titles that share that spirit — funny, inventive, and not allergic to heart — while still scratching the tiny-people itch.

5 lighthearted shrinking adventures to queue up next

1. Innerspace — Joe Dante takes a comedic run at the 'Fantastic Voyage' setup and lands a very '80s crowd-pleaser. It’s not top-tier Dante like 'The Howling' or 'Gremlins', but it’s a notch above 'Small Soldiers' and gives Martin Short one of the best roles of his career. There’s a little spy- movie seasoning, a lot of goofball charm, and a surprising bit of smarts. Also: Dennis Quaid met Meg Ryan on this shoot, which, yes, eventually means 'Innerspace' helped give us Jack Quaid. Circle of life.

2. Downsizing — Alexander Payne’s big-idea satire faceplanted in theaters despite Matt Damon on the poster, then quietly found an audience on streaming. It absolutely bites off more than it can chew and some of the emotional swings don’t fully land, but the premise is genuinely original and Hong Chau is phenomenal. Where to watch: Paramount+.

3. Ant-Man — The production famously changed hands midstream, and you can feel a more studio-shaped finish here than in the sprightlier first sequel. ( And no, 'Quantumania' stumbling wasn’t all on Peyton Reed.) But this is still a very good time: Paul Rudd is pitch-perfect casting, the kind that makes you excited about the hero because of the actor — a feeling the MCU hadn’t really sparked since Robert Downey Jr. debuted as Iron Man. The heist stuff is solid, the villain is the usual evil-mirror type, and the whole thing is one of the MCU’s easiest Saturday-afternoon rewatches. Where to watch: Disney+.

4. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids — Required viewing for actual kids and anyone who remembers being one. It nails that backyard-epic sense of wonder. Fun pedigree, too: the story traces back in part to Brian Yuzna and Stuart Gordon (yes, of 'From Beyond' and 'Re-Animator' fame ), and it marked the feature directing debut of Steven Spielberg protege Joe Johnston, who went on to make 'The Rocketeer', 'Jumanji ', 'October Sky', and 'Captain America: The First Avenger'. Where to watch: Disney+.

5. The Incredible Shrinking Woman — An early Joel Schumacher film that lives and dies (thrives, actually) on Lily Tomlin and Charles Grodin being exactly as good as you want them to be. The oversized sets and 'tiny' furniture gags are a practical-effects delight. It’s also the closest match to 'The Miniature Wife': here, Tomlin’s suburban hero gets miniaturized by an experimental perfume from her ad-exec husband’s company; in Peacock’s series, Banks’s character gets zapped by her scientist husband’s gadget — mounted on a Tonka truck, because of course it is. Both projects lean quirky, and both work because the lead casting is dead-on.

One last note on 'The Miniature Wife'

It really does play like a single six-hour film — light on its feet, easy to inhale in one or two sittings, and anchored by Elizabeth Banks doing exactly what you hope she’ll do in a part like this. If you’re in the mood to stay small after the credits, the five picks above will keep that energy going without getting grim about it.