Home Alone: 10 Things We Didn’t Know About The Holiday Film

In November of 1990, Home Alone released in theaters and quickly became one of the world’s top holiday movies. It went on to make $476.7 million in theaters and was the highest-grossing holiday film for 30 years. It launched Macaulay Culkin into stardom and spiraled into more sequels.

The film revolved around the McCallister family and their upcoming winter trip to spend Christmas in Paris. Traveling as an extended family, there was a lot of chaos and hustle and bustle, making the entire group late for their flight and consequently leaving a member of the family behind: their 8-year-old son.

Throughout the film, we see Kevin learn to find for himself in his family home when two burglars decide to intrude while the family is away. Below, we’re taking a look at 10 things fans didn’t know about the iconic holiday movie.

10 BUZZ, YOUR GIRLFRIEND… WOOF

“Buzz, your girlfriend…woof!” is one of those movie lines that people tend to quote because it’s just that good. Early on in the film, it’s obvious that Kevin and his older brother Buzz have a strained relationship. They bullied each other (and Kevin gets in trouble for it) throughout the entire kitchen scene.

With the family in Paris, Kevin decides to snoop through his brother’s bedroom where he finds a picture of Buzz’s girlfriend. The picture was of a young girl with an unfortunate expression on her face. In reality, though, that wasn’t a little girl. It was actually the son of the art director’s dressed in drag! The crew thought poking fun at a young girl would be in poor taste (rightfully so).

9 YOU CAN’T WATCH THE SAME MOVIE KEVIN DOES

The fictional movie Angels With Filthy Souls plays a large part in Home Alone. It’s that film alone that practically saves Kevin at one point.

The scene that we see Kevin rewatch time and time again is a mobster threatening his lady-friend. He ends up shooting her when she betrays him, which seems to scar Kevin. In real life, the fake film is a nod to Angels with Dirty Faces and was actually one of the first scenes they filmed when their budget was low.

8 KEVIN, DON’T FORGET TO LOCK THE DOOR!

When Kevin realizes there are two men trying to break into his home, he’s frantic. He immediately does what all of us kids are told to do: put on all the lights and pretend that people are home. The lights and noise worked for a little but Marv and Harry weren’t fooled.

However, when Kevin left home and saw Old Man Marley at their local church (and spoke to him without fear for the first time), he never locked the door behind him. And when we see him running back inside his house after visiting the church, it’s obvious the door is still unlocked. If a young boy knew that two grown men were trying to break into his house, wouldn’t he be cognizant of locking every door!?

7 WHAT HAPPENED TO KEVIN’S MACARONI?

After Kevin goes to the grocery store and gets some essentials, he sits down for a quiet meal for one. He has a full plate of delicious macaroni and cheese and a tall glass of milk. Everyone who has seen this movie remembers this scene because his macaroni looked so good. What viewers may not have noticed, however, is that once Marv and Harry show up, Kevin’s plate is shown briefly on the dining room table with different food on the plate! There is no way Kevin had greens hidden underneath that mound of macaroni and cheese.

6 AND WHERE IS HIS DETERGENT?

Speaking of the grocery store, when Kevin is filling his cart we see him grab more laundry detergent. This means he’ll have to confront his dreaded fear of the furnace once more.

However, when Kevin is walking home from the store (carrying one too many bags), his bags rip open and all of his contents spill along the sidewalk. The poor guy just can’t catch a break! And although the scene was quick, we no longer see his laundry detergent. After buying it in the grocery store, it mysteriously disappears when his bags rip.

5 CAESAR VS. NERO

We’ve all heard of the pizza chain Little Caesar’s Pizza, haven’t we? Similar to Pizza Hut and Dominos, it’s just another classic pizza franchise. At the beginning of Home Alone, we see that someone in the McCallister family ordered pizza for dinner (since they had an early wakeup call the following morning). The pizza guy that shows up is from Little Nero’s Pizza. Many fans ignored the name but it’s, in fact, a play on the Romans. Julius Caesar’s (aka the inspiration for Little Caesars) real name was Nero Julius Caesar. Naming their pizza company Little Nero’s is a silly play on the famous pizza chain.

4 IT’S A FAMILY MATTER

Famed Hollywood director Chris Columbus directed both Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. To make this holiday film a family affair to remember, Columbus had his real-life family members cast as extras in different scenes. According to the film’s IMDb site, Columbus had his daughter and mother-in-law as passengers on the plane, his wife was a cast as the stewardess, and his father-in-law was one of the police officers!

3 KEVIN’S FEAR OF THE BASEMENT FURNACE

So many of us are afraid of the dark. We’ve seen enough scary movies and TV shows of spooky things living in the depths of our basements. Director Chris Columbus played on this fear in Home Alone when we see Kevin afraid to go in his basement. It’s the furnace and the noises it makes that particularly scares him.

Before filming, Columbus wanted to have a scene where the dreaded furnace actually comes alive in Kevin’s imagination and chases him up the stairs. However, that great idea was laid to rest after they found out it would cost production a cool million dollars to create. As we know, they settled for the furnace making scary sounds and chanting his name instead.

2 OLD MAN MARLEY’S INSPIRATION

Old Man Marley is incredibly misunderstood. He’s the stereotypical “creepy” guy on the block who lives a mysterious life, causing kids to spread rumors about him throughout the neighborhood. In reality, Old Man Marley was incredibly sweet and lonely. He was going through family issues that may not have been resolved had it not been for Kevin. Nevertheless, Marley’s character was actually spun from A Christmas Carol’s Jacob Marley.

1 ONE VERY SPECIAL HOUSE

Mr. McCallister’s ability to pay for his entire family to spend Christmas in Paris has spiraled into hilarious memes. What exactly did Mr. McCallister do for work that made him so loaded? His home was equally impressive, standing in a gorgeous Chicago suburb. In real life, John Hughes (a location scout) approached the owners of this house and asked if they could use the exterior of the home for the film. The very same family also had another house, which was also a contender for the home in Uncle Buck and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It appears this family has good taste in curb appeal!

About The Author

Lynn Gibbs
(1650 Articles Published)

Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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