Home Alone (franchise) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Home Alone
Official franchise logo
Creator	John Hughes
Original work	Home Alone (1990)
Owner	20th Century Studios (The Walt Disney Company)
Films and television
Films	Home Alone (1990) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) Home Alone 3 (1997)
Television films	Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002) Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012) Home Sweet Home Alone (2021)

The Home Alone series is a collection of American Christmas family comedy films. They were first created by John Hughes. Different directors have worked on the films over the years.

These movies are all about kids who find themselves alone during the holiday season. They often have to protect their family's house from burglars or other bad guys. It's a mix of funny situations and clever traps!

The first three movies were shown in movie theaters by 20th Century Fox. Later, two TV movies were made by Fox Television Studios and aired on the ABC channel. After Disney bought 21st Century Fox, a sixth movie was made for the Disney+ streaming service.

The Home Alone Movies

The Home Alone series has several fun films. Here's a quick look at each one:

Home Alone (1990)

The first Home Alone movie is about an 8-year-old boy named Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin). He is the youngest of five kids and often feels picked on by his older siblings. One day, after a fight, he wishes his family would disappear.

The next morning, Kevin wakes up to find his wish seems to have come true. His family has accidentally left for their Christmas trip to France without him! While his parents try to get back home, two silly thieves, Harry and Marv (known as the "Wet Bandits"), try to rob the house. Kevin sets up lots of homemade traps to stop them. He manages to catch the burglars just as his family returns.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

This movie takes place one year after the first one. Kevin McCallister gets separated from his family again at the airport. He accidentally gets on a plane to New York City, while his family flies to Florida.

Alone in the big city, Kevin finds a way to stay at the Plaza Hotel. But then he discovers that the "Wet Bandits," Harry and Marv, have escaped from prison! They are planning to rob a toy store that gives money to a children's hospital. Kevin decides to stop them by setting up more traps in his uncle's empty house.

Home Alone 3 (1997)

Home Alone 3 features a new main character, Alex Pruitt, instead of Kevin. Alex is a young boy who is home alone with chickenpox.

At the same time, four international criminals are trying to steal a secret microchip. This chip can make missiles invisible. They hide the chip in a remote-controlled car. But the car gets mixed up with Alex's neighbor's luggage at the airport. Alex ends up with the car after helping his neighbor shovel snow.

The thieves search every house on the street to find the chip. When they realize Alex has it, they try to break into his house. Alex uses clever traps and his pets to trick the crooks and stop them.

Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002)

This fourth movie was made for TV and first aired on ABC. It brings back Kevin (played by Mike Weinberg) and Marv (played by French Stewart).

In this story, Kevin's parents have separated. He goes to spend Christmas with his dad and his dad's rich girlfriend, Natalie. But Kevin soon finds himself dealing with Marv again. Marv now has a new partner, Vera (played by Missi Pyle). Kevin also discovers that one of Natalie's servants is secretly helping the burglars.

Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012)

This fifth movie in the series premiered on ABC Family. It stars Christian Martyn as Finn and Jodelle Ferland as Alexis Baxter.

The story is about the Baxter family moving from California to Maine. Finn starts to believe their new house is haunted. When his parents get stuck across town, Finn sets traps. He hopes to catch the "ghosts" in his house. Instead, his traps cause trouble for three thieves (Malcolm McDowell, Debi Mazar, and Eddie Steeples) who try to break in.

Home Sweet Home Alone (2021)

This movie was made for the Disney+ streaming service. It's about a boy named Max Mercer (Archie Yates).

Max finds himself home alone and has to deal with a married couple, Jeff and Pam McKenzie (Rob Delaney and Ellie Kemper). They believe Max has stolen something important from them. The film shows Max setting up traps to protect his home from the couple. Filming for this movie happened in Montreal, Canada.

Cast and Crew

Main Cast Members

Here's a list of the main characters and the actors who played them in the Home Alone movies.

Key:

• A dark gray cell means the character was not in that film.
• A means the actor or actress only appeared in old footage.
• A means the actor or actress only used their voice for the character.
• A means an actor or actress played a younger version of their character.

Behind the Scenes: Crew and Production

Here are some of the people who worked behind the scenes to make the Home Alone films.

Music from the Movies

Soundtrack Albums

The Home Alone movies feature memorable music. Here are the soundtrack albums released for some of the films.

Other Home Alone Fun

Books Based on the Movies

• The first Home Alone movie was turned into a book by Todd Strasser in 1990. In 2015, a special illustrated book by Kim Smith was released for the movie's 25th anniversary.
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York also became a book by Todd Strasser in 1992. An audiobook version was even read by Tim Curry, who played the hotel concierge in the movie!
• A book based on the Home Alone 3 movie was written by Todd Strasser in 1997.

Video Games

The Home Alone movies have also inspired several video games:

• The first Home Alone video game came out in 1991 for many game systems like the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. In the game, you play as Kevin. Your goal is to keep the Wet Bandits away while moving all the family's valuables to a safe room in the basement. You also have to get past rats, bats, and a "spider king" in the basement!
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was released in 1992 and 1993 for systems like the Super NES and Sega Genesis. The game follows the movie's story, but the gameplay is different.
• Another Home Alone action game was released in Europe in 2006 for the PlayStation 2. In this game, you choose from different characters and use objects to stop burglars from breaking into a house. It even has a two-player option!

More Fun Media

• In 2018, Macaulay Culkin (the original Kevin) played Kevin McCallister again in a short ad for the Google Assistant. The ad recreated famous scenes from the first movie, like Kevin shaving and jumping on the bed. It became very popular online!
• In the 2019 movie Detective Pikachu, the character Tim Goodman watches the fake movie Angels with Filthy Souls from Home Alone on TV. The director thought it fit perfectly in the scene.

See also

Related Films

• Bushwhacked is a 1995 film starring Daniel Stern. It was first planned to be a spin-off from the Home Alone series.
• Bone Alone is a 2013 film with a very similar story to Home Alone, but it stars a dog instead of a human!