The two leading critters of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids go through some surprisingly emotional story arcs, the likes of which we haven't encountered since seeing (and weeping profusely during) Homeward Bound.

Puppy Power

The first involves Quark, the Szalinski family dog. The kids realize immediately that Quark's exceptional sense of hearing will allow them to communicate with him despite their tiny-sized voices.

The only problem? Quark is terrified of the Thompson family's cat, and this fear prevents him from rescuing the kids during their moment of need.

Luckily, he overcomes this at the end of the movie by helping the kids complete the final leg of their journey through the front door of the house, despite the presence of that terrifying feline. He goes further than that by keeping Wayne from pulling a Chronos and eating his son Nick as he's suspended in a bowl of cereal.

Good for you, pup.

Ant Attack

The other non-human star of the film is Antie. The kids initially fight with Antie over a delicious-looking dessert cake before getting the idea to use it like a carrot on a stick to bribe it into becoming their steed. It's pretty clever.

Still, the most surprising thing about this exchange is that it's Ron—the brattiest member of the group—who becomes the most sympathetic to Antie. Just look at this empathy after a day of riding their insect buddy:

RON: Why don't we let him go? He's worn out and his family might be worried about him.

Antie returns this empathy in kind by selflessly sacrificing its life in battle with a scorpion to protect the group. Not only is this an incredible lesson to Ron as an individual, showing him how powerful love and respect can be, but it also serves as another reminder to the kids that there's a lot more going on in the world than it seems from their usual human-sized perspective.

So just think about that the next time you smoosh an ant as punishment for crawling into your kitchen.