The beloved holiday classic features Kevin McCallister (played by Macaulay Culkin), who is unintentionally left at home while his parents and siblings jet off to Paris for the holiday season.
Released in 1990, the film follows Kevin as he navigates life on his own, simultaneously defending his home from two burglars known as the Wet Bandits—Harry Lime and Marv Murchins—who target the McCallister residence in their affluent neighborhood.
They strike after learning that the entire McCallister family is heading to Paris for the holidays, unaware that 8-year-old Kevin was accidentally left home alone—and he has a few clever tricks to keep them at bay. As Kevin defends his family's home, chaos unfolds with his siblings scrambling to return and reunite with their youngest child. He ingeniously sets up a series of booby traps to protect himself and the house from the intruders.
Despite the film's immense popularity and near-flawless execution, no movie is entirely free of mistakes. Since its release, fans of this cult classic have noticed various errors in certain scenes.
Like many films, Home Alone suffers from continuity issues, implausible scenarios, and plot holes, along with lesser-known moments that might have gone unnoticed by viewers.
Macaulay's stunt double was actually an adult.
During the first film and its sequels, Macaulay's character takes on some incredibly daring stunts as he attempts to evade capture by the Wet Bandits. These risky stunts include sledding down the stairs in the McCallister house into a pile of snow, zip-lining from his treehouse, and scaling the exterior of a house.
Given the inherent dangers of these scenes, it was considered unsafe for a child to perform them, so Macaulay was replaced by a seasoned stuntman named Larry Nicholas.
At the time, Larry was 30 years old and of a similar height to Macaulay. He later went on to appear in films such as Jurassic Park, The Truman Show, and The Matrix Reloaded.
Catherine O'Hara performed alongside a tennis ball.
Due to child labor laws, she occasionally had to act her scenes with a tennis ball that represented Macaulay. These laws restrict young actors from filming past 10 PM, so during those times, the crew would substitute Macaulay with the ball.
At times, the film's director, Chris Columbus, would read Kevin's lines off-screen, but for close-ups, a tennis ball was held at Macaulay's eye level. This technique ensured that the eyelines matched up for editing later on.
Potato flakes were used in place of snow.
Initially, the weather didn’t cooperate for the Christmas film, prompting the crew to find an alternative to create a snow-covered scene. In one memorable moment, Catherine, who portrays Macaulay's mother Kate, arrives home while snowflakes gently fall to the ground.
In a documentary about the film, neighbors Herb and Joanie White, who live across the street from the actual Home Alone house, recounted witnessing this scene being filmed. Herb remarked, "Those are potato flakes. Just out of sight, there were two big fans and two hefty guys shaking bags of potato flakes into the fan."
He admitted that while the flakes "looked fine for the movie," they "started to get pretty odorous after a while." Fortunately, the crew didn’t rely on potato flakes for the entire shoot, as a blizzard hit the set and kept the street looking snowy and perfect throughout filming.
Angels with Filthy Souls is not a real movie.
In Home Alone, a black-and-white film features one of the most memorable lines: "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal." Fans were surprised to discover that Angels with Filthy Souls was created specifically for Home Alone and did not exist prior to the film's release. Kevin uses this fictional movie to intimidate Marv, causing him to hide behind the bins during one of their attempted break-ins.
The character of Johnny, the gangster wielding a Tommy gun, was played by Chicago actor Ralph Foody, who also appeared in Curly Sue and The Blues Brothers. The film clip was specially produced for Home Alone.
Buzz's girlfriend is not actually a girl.
In one scene, Kevin picks up a framed photo of his older brother's girlfriend and sarcastically remarks, "Buzz, your girlfriend: woof!" However, it has since come to light that the picture used in this scene does not depict a young girl. Director Chris Columbus believed it would be too harsh to make fun of a young girl's appearance, so he came up with a different idea.
The surprised-looking figure in the photo is actually the son of the film's art director.
The iconic moment of Kevin holding his hands to his face was a happy accident.
While this scene has become synonymous with the Home Alone brand, it was actually improvised. Originally, Macaulay Culkin was instructed to pull his hands away from his cheeks before screaming. However, as he applied aftershave to his face, he unexpectedly let out a shriek, sending the crew into fits of laughter. This delightful blunder ultimately made it into the final cut of the film.
In fact, this moment has since become the defining image of Home Alone.
Continuity error:
Before one of Harry and Marv's break-ins, Kevin is seen sitting down to enjoy his macaroni and cheese dinner just before 9 PM. This moment highlights the plate of food he is eating. However, as the chaos ensues and just before Harry gets covered in a pile of feathers, the camera pans back to the plate of food. This time, it is clearly a different plate, as it features three distinct sections of food instead of the mac and cheese.
How is that possible?
Another inconsistency regarding food in the film arises when Kevin manages to order a pizza to the house. Earlier in the movie, it is established that the phones are down, preventing him from making any calls. However, at one point, he successfully receives a pizza without any explanation of how or when the phone service was restored.
Lightspeed flight:
When the McCallisters depart from Chicago, it is clearly morning. The flight to Paris takes between seven and eight hours, and with the additional seven-hour time difference, the family should arrive in the French capital around one or two in the morning. However, upon their arrival in Paris, it is already broad daylight, which is entirely inconsistent with the expected time of day.
Predicting the future:
One of the plot holes in the film is that Kevin sets up a series of Christmas ornaments as a trap for the Wet Bandits. These ornaments play a crucial role in Kevin's strategy, as Marv steps on them barefoot and yelps in pain. However, there was no way for Kevin to anticipate that Marv would remove his shoes upon entering the house. Nevertheless, everything falls into place when Marv goes into the basement first, leaves his shoes on the stairs, and then climbs through the window.
