Resizing is a common plot element in fiction. Works where it plays a prominent role are listed below. For stories about resizing in antiquity, see Size change in fiction § Mythological precursors.

Literature and comics

This list describes novels and short stories in which resizing is central to the plot or the premise of the work.

Year Title Author(s) Description 1865 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll At some points throughout the story, Alice grows or shrinks as she eats foodstuffs or drinks potions. 1904 The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth H. G. Wells A chemist experiments with a substance that causes animals and people that ingest it to grow into giants. 1906 The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Selma Lagerlöf While his family is at church, Nils Holgersson captures a tomte, who offers Nils a gold coin if he releases him. Nils declines and the tomte shrinks him down to the size of a tomte. 1928 Out of the Sub-Universe Roman Frederick Starzl After discovering a method of resizing inanimate objects and living things, Professor Halley attempts to send two human volunteers to an atomic world by shrinking them. 1936 He Who Shrank Henry Hasse A man continuously shrinks through endless levels of worlds nested within worlds. 1937 The Extraordinary Adventures of Karik and Valya Janis Larri Two children drink a miniaturizing elixir by mistake, shrink about two hundred times, and go on adventures in the grass "jungles". 1940 Jimmy's Pocket Grandpa 1942 Twig Elizabeth Orton Jones A girl named Twig asks an elf who visits her to make her the size of a fairy. 1953 Atta Francis Rufus Bellamy After being hit by lightning, a man wakes up half an inch tall, meets an ant named Atta, and returns to normal size after Atta dies. 1956 The Shrinking Man Richard Matheson A man accidentally ingests insecticide and is exposed to a cloud of radioactive spray, causing him to start shrinking, which he gradually does throughout the story. 1956 Mrs. Pepperpot Alf Prøysen The eponymous protagonist Mrs. Pepperpot occasionally shrinks down to the size of a pepperpot. 1971 The Shrinking of Treehorn Florence Parry Heide A young boy begins to notice that he is shrinking. 1973 A Wind in the Door Madeleine L'Engle A "singular cherubim" called Proginoskes takes Meg Murry inside of one of Charles Wallace's mitochondria in order to battle echthroi that have been making Charles Wallace ill by persuading his farandolae (fictional creatures residing within mitochondria) to not settle down and mature like they are supposed to. 1975 Peter's Pocket Grandpa 1981 George's Marvellous Medicine Roald Dahl Eight-year-old George Kranky attempts to make a substitute for his grandmother's medicine by concocting a new, magical medicine, which he feeds to her as well as a chicken, causing both of them to grow. 1986 The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks Joanna Cole On a field trip, Ms. Frizzle's class shrinks down to the size of raindrops, falls into a water purification system, and returns to normal size after going through a faucet. 1987 Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain Isaac Asimov A group of scientists is miniaturized to go into the dying brain of Soviet scientist Pyotor Shapirov. 1989 The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body Joanna Cole 1999 The Ant Bully John Nickle 2000 Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants Dav Pilkey A scientist named Professor Poopypants uses a shrink ray to shrink Jerome Horwitz Elementary School and give its students and faculty silly names in order to get revenge for being laughed at because of his own name. 2011 Micro Michael Crichton, Richard Preston

Film

Resizing is a common theme and plot device in films. The list below covers films for which resizing is central to the plot or premise of the work.

Year Title Director(s) Description 1901 The Dwarf and the Giant Georges Méliès A man portrayed by Méliès is split into two figures, one of which shrinks to a smaller size. 1936 The Devil-Doll Tod Browning Concerned about the effects of overpopulation on the Earth's resources, a French scientist creates a formula to shrink humans down to one sixth of their original size, but he dies shortly after a prison escape, and his former cellmate decides to use the formula in a revenge scheme in which he targets the people who had originally framed him for bank robbery and murder. 1936 Thru the Mirror Walt Disney Mickey's stomach rapidly spins uncontrollably, then expands. His feet grow first, then his whole entire body becomes ginormous. He ends up being the same size as a house and later shrinks to the size of a walnut. 1940 Dr. Cyclops Ernest B. Schoedsack A biologist shrinks down visitors who come to his laboratory in the jungles of the Amazon rainforest. 1955 Tarantula Jack Arnold A scientist tests a miracle nutrient on a tarantula, which escapes and grows larger and larger. 1957 Beginning of the End Bert I. Gordon After a scientist successfully grows vegetables by using radiation, the vegetables are eaten by locusts, which consequentially grow to gigantic size and attack Chicago. 1957 The Amazing Colossal Man Bert I. Gordon A U.S. Army lieutenant colonel grows to a height of 60 feet after being exposed to plutonium, losing his mind in the process. 1957 The Incredible Shrinking Man Jack Arnold A man begins to shrink after being exposed to a radioactive cloud while on a boating trip. 1958 Attack of the 50 Foot Woman Nathan H. Juran A wealthy heiress named Nancy Archer grows to gigantic size following an alien encounter. 1958 Attack of the Puppet People Bert I. Gordon The operator of a doll factory is revealed to have been shrinking humans down to the size of dolls. 1958 The 7th Voyage of Sinbad Nathan H. Juran A princess named Parisa is shrunk by a magician. 1959 The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock Sidney Miller An inventor's fiancée grows after being exposed to radiation in a cave. 1961 The Phantom Planet William Marshall Astronauts are forced to land on an asteroid and discover a humanoid species only six inches (15 cm) tall. The surviving astronaut is subsequently shrunk down to their size and is forced to deal with them. 1965 Village of the Giants Bert I. Gordon A group of teenagers gain access to a substance that causes living things to grow to gigantic proportions. 1966 Fantastic Voyage Richard Fleischer A submarine crew is shrunken down and placed inside a scientist's body. 1973 Joe the Little Boom Boom Jean Image When a group of boys encounter a spooky castle, they encounter a large man who traps them in a shrinking machine and shrinks them to the size of flies. Joe escapes and organizes bees and other woodland animals to rescue his friends. 1976 The Food of the Gods Bert I. Gordon 1981 The Incredible Shrinking Woman Joel Schumacher A woman begins to shrink after being exposed to experimental perfume and other chemicals. Later, when she is microscopic, she falls into a puddle of spilled household chemicals, causing her to return to normal size. 1986 Dot and Keeto Yoram Gross After she accidentally eats a magic root, Dot shrinks to the size of an insect and finds herself in a world of giant creatures. 1987 Innerspace Joe Dante A naval aviator volunteers to be shrunken and inserted into the body of a rabbit, but is accidentally injected into the body of a hypochondriac and is pursued by those who want the technology that was used to shrink him. 1989 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Joe Johnston Four children are accidentally shrunk to a quarter of an inch tall. 1992 FernGully: The Last Rainforest Bill Kroyer In a rainforest inhabited by fairies, a young logger named Zak is accidentally shrunk by a fairy named Crysta. 1992 Honey, I Blew Up the Kid Randal Kleiser A two-year-old boy gradually grows to enormous size after being accidentally exposed to a growth machine. 1993 Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman Christopher Guest Nancy Archer grows into a giant after having encountered a UFO earlier in the film. 1995 Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold Fred Olen Ray 1996 Body Troopers Vibeke Idsøe Eight-year-old Simon shrinks himself to microscopic size in order to travel through his ailing grandfather's body in search of a kidney stone. 1997 Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves Dean Cundey Wayne accidentally shrinks himself, his wife, his brother and his sister-in-law with his shrink ray. 2006 The Ant Bully John A. Davis A boy is shrunk down to the size of an ant after attacking an ant colony. 2009 Monsters vs. Aliens Conrad Vernon, Rob Letterman After nearly being struck by a 'quantonium' meteor on her wedding day, Susan Murphy grows to a height of 49 feet 11 inches and is given the name Ginormica. 2010 Tooth Fairy Michael Lembeck A hockey player is forced to work as a tooth fairy. 2010 Despicable Me Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin In an effort to become one of the greatest villains of all time, Gru uses a shrink ray to steal the Moon. 2012 Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader Kevin O'Neill 2013 Epic Chris Wedge One of the main protagonists is shrunken down to help a group of people called the Leafmen prevent their forest home from being destroyed. 2015 Ant-Man Peyton Reed After stealing and trying on what he mistakenly believed to be a motorcycle suit, Scott Lang realizes that it is a shrinking suit and is recruited by Hank Pym to infiltrate the Avengers. 2017 Downsizing Alexander Payne To solve overpopulation and environmental dangers, humans are shrunken to a height of 5 inches (13 cm). 2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp Peyton Reed Lang helps Pym retrieve his wife from the Quantum Realm. 2018 Captain Morten and the Spider Queen Kaspar Jancis 2022 Turning Red Domee Shi 13-year old Meilin Lee discovers that she can transform into a giant anthropomorphic red panda when she expresses intense emotions. 2023 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Peyton Reed 2023 Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Kirk DeMicco, Faryn Pearl The protagonist Ruby Gillman learns that she can transform into a giant kraken when exposed to water.

Television

Resizing is a recurrent theme in television programs. The list below covers television series for which resizing is central to the premise and direction of the plot and setting.