39-505: Home Alone is a series of American Christmas family comedy films originally created by John Hughes . Chris Columbus directed Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Raja Gosnell directed Home Alone 3 (1997), Rod Daniel directed Home Alone 4 (2002), Peter Hewitt directed Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012) and Dan Mazer directed Home Sweet Home Alone (2021). The films revolve around
78-551: A divorce. There, chaos follows when a newly unveiled attraction breaks free and wreaks havoc on the island. After being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery. After a malevolent enemy known as the Mandarin reduces his personal world to rubble, Tony Stark must rely solely on instinct and ingenuity to avenge his losses and protect
117-553: A limousine. When Kevin discovers that the Wet Bandits (now the Sticky Bandits) Harry and Marv are on the loose again, he stops them from robbing charity money from Duncan's Toy Chest on Christmas Eve by setting up booby traps in his uncle's partially renovated house. Home Alone 3 does not center on Kevin or any of the original cast and characters, but is instead focused on Alex Pruitt (played by Alex D. Linz ),
156-582: A version of the commercial made for Super Bowl LIII involving his character hosting a fictionalized watch party for the Super Bowl with the commercial coming on. In the 2019 film Detective Pikachu , the lead character Tim Goodman (played by Justice Smith ) enters his father's apartment and discovers the TV on with the movie Angels with Filthy Souls playing on it. Regarding its inclusion, director Rob Letterman stated, "Truth be told, we were just looking for
195-496: A visiting prince at her mansion. Kevin has to deal with his old nemesis as Marv tries to kidnap the prince with the help of Vera, Marv's new wife and sidekick (played by Missi Pyle ), and a seeming unlikely servant as their inside person. It was released to Region 1 DVD on October 20, 2003. Filming began on July 29 in Cape Town, South Africa . Home Alone 4 is the first film in the series that had no involvement from John Hughes and
234-466: A young boy who is left home alone with chickenpox . At the same time, four international criminals are hired to steal a top-secret microchip that can act as a cloaking device for a missile. They succeed in stealing it and hide it in a remote controlled car, but due to a luggage mix-up at an airport with the Pruitts' neighbor Mrs. Hess, the car ends up in the hands of Alex who is given the car for shoveling
273-481: Is fighting to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy, a neglected and precocious 12 year old, hires a hit man to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking. A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town on Christmas Eve. Two kids are sent to Jurassic World theme park situated on Isla Nublar for Christmas vacation, while their parents are getting
312-437: Is haunted. When his parents become stranded across town, Finn sets traps to catch his new home's ghosts, but instead proves troublesome for a group of three thieves (McDowell, Mazar, and Steeples) who plot to steal a valuable painting in the basement of the house. In August 2019, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney , Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that a new film in the franchise, Home Sweet Home Alone ,
351-455: Is punishing him for what he feels are unjustified reasons. She warns him to be careful what he wishes for and he ignores it. He wakes up the next day to discover that he is the only one left in the house. He thinks his wish came true and that he is finally alone without his obnoxious family. In reality, he was left home by mistake. His family is in route to France for a holiday trip. While his parents realize their mistake and scramble to get back to
390-462: Is to escape the Wet Bandits while bringing all the McCallister's fortunes from the house down to the safe room in the basement. Once all items have been sent down the chute to the basement Kevin must make it past rats, bats, and ghosts he encounters in the basement, then fight the spider king so he can make it to the safe room to lock away all his families riches. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
429-498: The Bruce Willis -starring action film as a genuine "Christmas movie" intertwined with its action genre setting, or as a film that is simply set around that time of year. Christmas-themed films that received a theatrical release . 3-D/CGI animated film. John McClane returns this time to battle terrorists who have seized control of Dulles airport on Christmas Eve a year after the first film. A rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus
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#1732772029535468-592: The COVID-19 pandemic and industry restrictions worldwide. In July 2020, Ally Maki , Kenan Thompson , Chris Parnell , Aisling Bea , Pete Holmes , Timothy Simons , and Mikey Day had joined the cast. By November 2020, filming on all the movies that had been postponed by the coronavirus had resumed filming, and in some cases completed principal photography. The film stars Ellie Kemper, Rob Delaney, Archie Yates, Aisling Bea, Kenan Thompson, Tim Simons, Pete Holmes, Ally Maki, and Chris Parnell. In July 2018, Ryan Reynolds
507-656: The Google Assistant published on December 19, 2018, Macaulay Culkin reprised his Home Alone role as Kevin McCallister. The ad recreates scenes from the original 1990 film, where Kevin shaves his face, jumps on his parents bed, and decorates a Christmas tree all while asking the Google Assistant to set reminders for him. The advertisement quickly went viral . Ralph Foody , Joe Pesci , and Daniel Stern also appear in their Home Alone roles via archival footage. In addition, Joe Pesci appears present-day in
546-467: The PlayStation 2 on December 1, 2006. The game features 10 levels, each taking place inside a house. The player chooses from one of four playable characters: Carl, Carly, Kelly or Kevin. The player's goal is to use objects to defeat burglars attempting to break into the house. The game includes a two-player option. In an advertisement short film titled Home Alone Again with the Google Assistant for
585-481: The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney , Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that a new PG-rated family-friendly Home Alone film (later titled Home Sweet Home Alone ) was in development for Disney+ , with Stoned Alone entering development hell . This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the franchise. Angels film series characters For the first, second and third films, they received mixed and positive reviews by critics, while
624-565: The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney , a sixth film in the franchise was produced by the newly renamed 20th Century Studios for the Disney-owned streaming service Disney+ . Home Alone is primarily a coming-of-age story about an eight-year-old boy named Kevin McCallister ( Macaulay Culkin ). He is the youngest of five children who is frequently bullied by his older brothers and sisters. After events transpire between him and his family, he wishes that he had no family when his mother
663-468: The 1997 Christmas film Home Alone 3 , but the film got a lukewarm reception due to lacking a reprising cast that represented the McCallister family. In 2001, Linz played the title character in the Disney film Max Keeble's Big Move which received mixed reviews and was a box-office failure. In 2008, Linz attended University of California, Berkeley . During his time at Berkeley, he became involved in
702-527: The Super NES traditionally realistic sounding instrument synth, suffered due to slightly post-8-bit graphics and sound effects, as well as a disjointed feel of incontinuity between stages. The game got negative reception from Electronic Gaming Monthly . Home Alone is an action game based on the first film and released in Europe only. The game was published by Blast! Entertainment Limited and released for
741-577: The United States, Harry and Marv, a pair of thieves known as the "Wet Bandits", attempt to burglarize the house. Kevin makes it seem like the house is not empty and fills the house with a collection of homemade booby traps. Kevin manages to trap the bandits and they get arrested, just as his family return home. The film became the highest-grossing film of 1990 , grossing $ 476,684,675 worldwide. The film initially received mixed reviews from critics upon release, although reception became more favorable over
780-424: The adventures of surrounding children who find themselves alone during the holiday season and faced with the challenge of defending their family's house or themselves from invading burglars and criminals. The first three films were released theatrically by 20th Century Fox , while the following two made-for- television films were produced by Fox Television Studios and aired on the Disney -owned ABC . Following
819-555: The award to Speed 2: Cruise Control . The fourth installment was directed by Rod Daniel and premiered as a television film on ABC on November 3, 2002. This film returns to the original's main character, Kevin (played by Mike Weinberg ), and one of the Wet/Sticky Bandits, Marv (played by French Stewart ). Kevin's parents have separated, and he lives with his mother. He decides to spend Christmas with his father and his father's rich girlfriend, Natalie, while they host
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#1732772029535858-537: The events of the first film, Kevin McCallister loses track of his family at the airport to which he accidentally gets on a plane headed for New York City while the rest of the McCallisters fly to Florida . Now alone in one of the largest cities in the world, Kevin cons his way into a room at the Plaza Hotel and begins his usual antics, such as purchasing exorbitant amounts of sweets and junk food, or renting
897-450: The film. On October 6, 2015, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the movie, an illustrated book ( ISBN 1-594-74858-6 ) by Kim Smith and Quirk Books was released. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was novelized by Todd Strasser and published by Scholastic in 1992 to coincide with the film. The "point" version, which has the same storyline, was also novelized by A.L. Singer ( ISBN 0-590-45717-9 ). An audiobook version
936-437: The fourth, fifth and sixth film received negative reviews by critics. May 27, 2015 (CD) Twentieth Century Fox's licensing division predicted that $ 500 million worth of Home Alone II items would be sold but sales were half that amount according to industry publication The Licensing Letter . Home Alone ( ISBN 0-590-55066-7 ) was novelized by Todd Strasser and published by Scholastic in 1990 to coincide with
975-430: The holiday shopping season. Many networks, studios, and production companies, such as Hallmark and Lifetime , produce and release new Christmas-themed films every year during or around December, all with different variations of similar plots and themes. One film that has become the flashpoint for "Is this a Christmas movie or not?" debates is the original Die Hard (1988), alongside argument lines that either view
1014-671: The people he loves. These are films that were made for television (including streaming services), or for the direct-to-video or direct-to-DVD market. The Great Ak calls a council of the Immortals to ask that Santa Claus be given immortality. And to justify it, he tells the history of Santa Claus. Alex D. Linz Alexander David Linz (born January 3, 1989) is an American former child actor who starred in several late 1990s and early 2000s films and television series. His film roles include Home Alone 3 (1997) and Max Keeble's Big Move (2001). He retired from acting in 2007. Linz
1053-407: The perfect placeholder ... Mark Sanger, our editor, dropped it in, and it just fit perfectly." [REDACTED] Category List of Christmas films Many Christmas stories have been adapted to feature films and TV specials , and have been broadcast and repeated many times on television. Since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, these films are sold and re-sold every year during
1092-439: The proposed project was stated as "reminiscent of the hallowed comedy classic". The plot centers on a weed-growing "loser" who misses his plane for a holiday skiing trip. He decides to get high, and as the paranoia side-effects set in, he believes he hears a break-in. As he discovers thieves have broken into his home, fully stoned and fueled by the weed, he tries to "defend his castle". The next month on August 8, Frizzell said that
1131-452: The script for Stoned Alone was being tweaked in order to enhance the emotional Christmas side of the story, with the goal being to have the film feel as much like the original Home Alone films as possible; noting that as a fan of the films as well as of Chris Columbus , it was important to get the story right. She also stated that production will not begin, until everyone involved feels like they've reached that point. On August 27, following
1170-471: The snow in her driveway. After realizing their mistake, the thieves begin systematically searching every house on his street. Once they realize that Alex has the chip, they invade his house. He devises elaborate traps and bamboozles the four crooks with the help of his pets and some intricate tripwires, all the while monitoring them with a video camera on the toy car. The film was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Remake or Sequel, eventually losing
1209-601: The years. It was widely popular with audiences. It was also nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Score for John Williams and Best Original Song for "Somewhere in My Memory", but lost to Dances with Wolves and Dick Tracy respectively. Macaulay Culkin 's performance garnered him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy , but lost to Gérard Depardieu for his performance in Green Card . Set one year after
Home Alone (franchise) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1248-525: Was also released, read by Tim Curry (who played the concierge in the film). A novelization based on the screenplay Home Alone 3 was written by Todd Strasser and published by Scholastic in 1997 to coincide with the film ( ISBN 0-590-95712-0 ). Home Alone was released in 1991 on the Nintendo Entertainment System , Super NES , Master System , Genesis , Game Gear , Amiga , MS-DOS , and Game Boy . The objective
1287-468: Was attached to produce Stoned Alone , an R-rated Home Alone sequel film. Augustine Frizzell was hired to serve as director, with a script written by Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider based on the story concept by Fox executive Matt Reilly. The project was to be a joint-venture production under Reynolds' Fox-based Maximum Effort Productions, with George Dewey serving as an executive producer. The premise of
1326-619: Was born in Santa Barbara, California , the son of Deborah (née Baltaxe), an attorney, and Dr. Daniel Linz, a professor of communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara . His parents are divorced, and he lived with his mother. He has two younger sisters, Lily Alice and Livia. Linz is of Jewish faith, and had a bar mitzvah ceremony. He attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles during which time he
1365-424: Was in development, and would premiere on the company's streaming service, Disney+ . By October of the same year, Dan Mazer had entered negotiations to direct the film, with a script co-written by Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell . Hutch Parker and Dan Wilson will serve as producers. The plot centered around a boy named Max, who faces off against a married couple after he allegedly steals something of theirs. Filming
1404-595: Was not theatrically released. On March 15, 2012, ABC Family announced the development of the fifth installment in the Home Alone series. It premiered exclusively on ABC Family's Countdown to the 25 Days of Christmas on November 25, 2012. The film stars Christian Martyn , Jodelle Ferland , Malcolm McDowell , Debi Mazar , and Eddie Steeples . The story centers on the Baxter family's relocation from California to Maine, where Finn becomes convinced that his new house
1443-571: Was released on the Super NES , NES , and Game Boy in 1992, and the MS-DOS , Sega Genesis , and NES in 1993. Though it is based on the film in terms of plot and additional dialogue, the game was different from the film. The NES port uses sound effects from the early 1990s Simpsons games; Bart vs. the Space Mutants for example. The Super NES version, while boasting a soundtrack with
1482-552: Was reported to begin in the first quarter of 2020, with casting underway. In November, it was confirmed that the film would be shot in Montreal, Quebec, Canada , taking place from February to April. In December 2019, Archie Yates was cast as the lead, with Rob Delaney and Ellie Kemper set to play antagonists. In March 2020, filming on all Disney projects, including Home Alone which had begun filming in Canada, were halted due to
1521-517: Was the lead singer of a local garage band named "The Fez Armada". Linz made his acting debut in 1995 on an episode of the television series Cybill . He subsequently appeared in several television productions, played Phillip Chancellor IV on the soap opera The Young and the Restless in 1995 for a short period of time, and was cast as the son of Michelle Pfeiffer 's character in the 1996 film One Fine Day . His first big breakthrough came in
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