131 Fun Facts About Home Alone

Why does the McCallister family oversleep on the morning of the flight in Home Alone?

A power cut: high winds knock out the electricity overnight and reset the alarm clocks, leaving the family 45 minutes to reach the plane and no time to notice who is missing.

What did Joe Pesci do in a Home Alone rehearsal that left Macaulay Culkin with a lasting scar?

Bit his finger: rehearsing the scene in which Harry threatens to bite off Kevin's fingers one at a time, Pesci bit down for real and broke the skin.

What disguise does Harry wear to case the McCallister house at the start of Home Alone?

A police officer: in uniform, Harry stands in the hall asking about holiday security, and Kevin's father obligingly describes the family's light timers and door locks.

By what nickname are the two burglars known in the first Home Alone?

The Wet Bandits earned the name from Marv's habit of stopping up the kitchen sink to flood each house, which lets police identify every home they hit.

In Home Alone, Linnie tells Kevin he is what the French call what?

Les incompétents: Linnie's put-down comes as she tells Kevin not to worry about packing, because their mother will do it for him anyway.

Who directed the original Home Alone?

Chris Columbus had just quit National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation because he could not work with Chevy Chase; two weeks later John Hughes sent him two scripts, and he picked Home Alone.

From which fictional gangster movie does Kevin play a clip to scare the burglars?

Angels with Filthy Souls was made specially for Home Alone in the style of an old James Cagney gangster picture, and shot in a single day, the last test day before the main shoot began.

About how many consecutive weeks was Home Alone number one at the US box office?

12 weeks: Home Alone opened in mid-November 1990 and held the top spot until February 1991, when Sleeping with the Enemy finally knocked it off.

In Home Alone, what does Kevin ride down the staircase while revelling in his new freedom?

A sled: Kevin rides it down the staircase and straight out of the front door, part of a spree that also takes in a giant ice-cream sundae and his father's aftershave.

Which actor plays the elderly neighbour Kevin is afraid of?

Roberts Blossom played Old Man Marley, the neighbour Buzz terrifies Kevin with stories about; Kevin later befriends him in church on Christmas Eve.

What was the name of the polka band leader who helps Kate McCallister get back to Chicago?

Gus Polinski, self-styled 'Polka King of the Midwest', tries to comfort Kate by admitting he once left one of his own children at a funeral parlour all day.

Roughly how much did the first Home Alone gross worldwide?

$477 million: Home Alone cost about $18 million to make, and its takings lifted its young star's fee to a reported $4.5 million for the sequel.

Who is counted by mistake in Kevin's place during the family headcount in Home Alone?

A neighbour's boy: Mitch Murphy from across the street is nosing around the airport vans when cousin Heather counts him in.

Which actor plays Kevin's older brother Buzz?

Devin Ratray came back as Buzz in Home Alone 2 and, three decades later, in Home Sweet Home Alone, where the old bully now wears a badge.

What kind of pet does Buzz own that Kevin finds in his room?

Buzz keeps a pet tarantula, which Kevin lets loose while rummaging through his brother's room and later turns on the burglars.

Which actress plays Kevin's mother, Kate, in Home Alone?

Catherine O'Hara won the part of Kate from a shortlist that included Susan Sarandon and Kirstie Alley, then spends the film bartering her way home through three airports.

Which real airline flies the McCallisters to Paris in Home Alone?

American Airlines: the family flies out on one of its jets, and Kate's scramble home starts at the Paris terminal, where the only seat she can get is on its flight to Dallas.

Which comedian turned down the role of the shorter burglar before Joe Pesci was cast?

Jon Lovitz turned the part down and Robert De Niro was discussed too, so the director says he was 'stunned' when Joe Pesci agreed to play Harry.

What does Kevin ask the local Santa Claus impersonator to bring him for Christmas?

His family back: having wished them all away, Kevin tells the Santa he wants no toys this year, only his parents, brothers, sisters and cousins.

Which Chicago airport doubled as the family's Paris arrival airport in Home Alone?

O'Hare International played both itself and Orly: over several days there, the crew filmed the family's sprint to the gate and their arrival in France.

Which actor plays Marv, the taller of the two burglars, in Home Alone?

Daniel Stern nearly lost the part in a dispute over pay for a longer shoot, but his stand-in had no chemistry with Joe Pesci, so the director begged the studio to bring him back.

What did John Candy do with nearly all of his dialogue in his one-day Home Alone cameo?

Improvised it: the director says none of Candy's material was in the script, and the funeral-parlour story was made up on set at 4:30 in the morning.

What does Kevin's father find in the house at the end of Home Alone, a trace of the break-in?

A gold tooth: it was knocked out of Harry's mouth during the siege, and because Kevin never mentions the burglars, his father is left puzzling over it.

In Home Alone, what does Buzz claim Old Man Marley's salt does to bodies?

Mummifies them: Buzz claims the old man hides his victims in a garbage can of salt, when all anyone sees him do with it is salt the pavements at night.

What of Kevin's does his father accidentally throw away while clearing up after the dinner fight?

His plane ticket is swept into the bin with the napkins used to mop up the milk that splashes over the tickets and passports during the pizza fight.

In Home Alone's gangster clip, what does Johnny tell Snakes to do after gunning him down?

Keep the change: Kevin replays Johnny's sign-off to scare the pizza boy off the doorstep, and the sequel's fake film swaps it for a Christmas greeting.

Which sitcom actor was approached to play Kevin's grumpy uncle, a part that went to Gerry Bamman?

Kelsey Grammer was approached for the tight-fisted uncle, but the part went to Gerry Bamman, whose character leaves his brother to pay for the whole family's pizza.

Why did Joe Pesci keep his distance from Macaulay Culkin on the Home Alone set?

So the boy would fear him: Pesci says he limited their contact on purpose, so that nothing friendly between them would soften the burglar's menace on screen.

Where is Home Alone, 'Kevin sam w domu', a Christmas ritual?

Poland: the film is a fixture of Polish Christmas television, and when the channel Polsat left it off its 2010 schedule, an outcry from viewers made it put the film back.

After Harry walks into glue-smeared cling film in Home Alone, what does a fan blow all over him?

Feathers: a tripwire starts the fan that blasts them at his sticky face, leaving the burglar looking like a giant chicken for the rest of the night.

Who composed the score for Home Alone?

John Williams was approached almost as a joke after the first composer dropped out; he said yes, and his music earned two Oscar nominations.

What business name is painted on the burglars' van?

Oh-Kay Plumbing & Heating is the cover as they watch timers switch on the lights of empty houses.

Which uncle refuses to let Kevin watch a movie with the older kids?

Frank: Kevin complains that his uncle won't let him watch a film that is 'not even rated R', and after the pizza fight Frank snaps, 'Look what you did, you little jerk!'

Whose cardboard cutout rides a toy train past the window in Kevin's fake party in Home Alone?

Michael Jordan: Kevin takes the Bulls star's cutout from his brother's room and sends it circling on a model train while mannequins seem to dance behind the curtains.

Which company originally intended to finance and distribute 'Home Alone' before dropping out?

Warner Bros. shut the film down rather than add to its budget, and 20th Century Fox stepped in to make what became the biggest hit of its year in North America.

Which cousin does Kevin refuse to share a bed with because he wets the bed?

Fuller: Kevin fears 'he'll pee all over me', which is why the adults tell Fuller to go easy on the Pepsi; the star's real younger brother, Kieran Culkin, played him.

As a favour, John Candy took how much for his Home Alone cameo?

$414 was all John Candy took: the favour was to John Hughes, who had directed him in Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Which carol is the church choir singing when Old Man Marley sits down beside Kevin?

O Holy Night fills the church as Marley explains he has come to hear his granddaughter sing now because he cannot be there tonight, and Kevin learns the rumours about him are false.

Why can't the McCallisters fly straight home from Paris once they realise Kevin was left behind?

Every flight is booked for two days, so Kate offers a couple cash, jewellery and first-class seats for one of their tickets, and even then only gets as far as Dallas.

What does Old Man Marley use to knock out the two burglars at the end of Home Alone?

A snow shovel: the tool Buzz's tall tale cast as a murder weapon becomes Kevin's rescue when Old Man Marley fells both burglars with it.

Where is Kevin sent to sleep as punishment on the night before the trip?

Kate sends Kevin up to sleep in the attic after the pizza fight; her parting line is the dare 'Then say it again, maybe it'll happen.'

What does Kevin accidentally shoplift in Home Alone when Old Man Marley startles him in the drugstore?

A toothbrush: Kevin is asking whether it is approved by the American Dental Association when his neighbour walks in, and he bolts with it still in his hand.

The composer first hired for Home Alone dropped out to finish which Disney animated film?

The Rescuers Down Under kept Bruce Broughton too busy for Home Alone; the two films then opened on the same day, and the comedy he gave up left the cartoon far behind.

Which pizzeria delivers to Kevin's house?

Little Nero's Pizza delivers; Kevin plays Johnny's lines from the gangster film through the door at the delivery boy, then savours 'a lovely cheese pizza, just for me'.

After the tarred cellar steps strip off his shoes and socks, what does Marv step on?

A nail: Marv treads barefoot on the upturned one Kevin has left on a step, though the bare feet on screen were rubber ones worn by the actor.

How does Kevin cross from the house to his tree house with the burglars close behind in Home Alone?

On a zip line: Kevin slides across on bicycle handlebars, and when the burglars follow hand over hand he cuts the rope with hedge clippers.

Which comedian auditioned to play the Santa Claus impersonator but failed to impress the director?

Chris Farley came in early one morning, by the director's account without having slept, and the audition went badly; the part went to Ken Hudson Campbell.

In which city is Kate stranded on Christmas Eve when a polka band offers her a ride home?

Scranton, Pennsylvania: after hops through Paris and Dallas and almost 60 hours awake, Kate is stuck there until the band offers to drive her the rest of the way.

In Home Alone 2, where were the McCallisters headed when Kevin ended up in New York?

Miami, Florida: Kevin sulks that a tropical Christmas is no Christmas at all, and the wrong plane hands him the snowy one he wanted.

Which famous Manhattan hotel does Kevin check into in Home Alone 2?

The Plaza: Kevin hears its reservations number in a game-show plug on television, then books by phone with a slowed-down recording of his own voice.

Kevin talks his way into a hotel suite in Home Alone 2 using which item of his father's?

His credit card came along by accident in his father's bag; once it is reported stolen, the hotel staff turn on Kevin and he has to run.

Which actor plays Mr. Hector, the suspicious hotel concierge in Home Alone 2?

Tim Curry played Mr. Hector, the suspicious concierge whom Kevin sends diving for cover with a gangster-movie tape before fleeing the hotel.

Rob Schneider appears in Home Alone 2 as Cedric, who holds what job at the hotel?

Cedric is the bellhop who carries Kevin's bag up to the suite; Kevin tips him with a stick of gum instead of cash, one of the film's running jokes.

In Home Alone 2, whom does Kevin follow onto the wrong plane at the airport?

A man dressed like his dad: Kevin stops to change the batteries in his recorder, looks up, and chases the wrong overcoat all the way onto a flight to New York.

What gift does Mr. Duncan give Kevin at the toy store?

Mr. Duncan gives Kevin a pair of ceramic turtledoves, telling him to keep one and give the other to someone special; Kevin gives the second to the pigeon lady on Christmas Day.

Mr. Duncan tells Kevin the store's Christmas takings are being donated to what?

Mr. Duncan says the Christmas Eve takings go to the children's hospital; that is the cash Harry and Marv plan to steal, turning Kevin's revenge into a rescue mission.

Brenda Fricker, the pigeon lady of Home Alone 2, had already won an Oscar for which film?

My Left Foot won Brenda Fricker the supporting-actress Oscar as Christy Brown's mother, and the win brought the Hollywood offers that led her to Central Park's pigeons.

Which real-life figure appears as himself in Home Alone 2, telling Kevin the way to the hotel lobby?

Donald Trump owned the hotel at the time; the director says a cameo was his condition for filming there, while Trump says the film-makers begged him to appear.

Where does Kate finally find Kevin at the end of Home Alone 2?

Beneath the Rockefeller Center tree: Kate reasons that a boy who cannot imagine Christmas without a tree will head for the biggest one in New York.

What makes Kevin's father bellow his name as Home Alone 2 ends?

A room-service bill of $967: hotel staff hand it over on Christmas morning, Buzz reads it with a 'Merry Christmas indeed', and the film ends on his father's shout.

Which company built Kevin's Talkboy recorder as a film prop and then sold it as a toy?

Tiger Electronics built the Talkboy prop to the film-makers' brief and then put it in toy shops; once the film reached home video in 1993, demand ran far ahead of supply that Christmas.

What does Kevin hurl at Marv from the roof in Home Alone 2?

Bricks: Kevin drops them one after another onto Marv's head from the roof, while Harry keeps daring the boy to go ahead and throw another.

Which Chicago-raised comedian was scouted to audition for Kevin in Home Alone, only for his parents to say no?

John Mulaney was spotted performing in a children's sketch-comedy group and invited to read for Kevin, but his parents would not let him go.

Home Alone 2 was 1992's third-biggest film worldwide, behind which two movies?

The Bodyguard and Aladdin: in North America Home Alone 2 out-grossed The Bodyguard by about $50 million, but that film made 70 percent of its money abroad.

In Home Alone 2, Kevin rigs his booby traps inside which building?

His uncle's vacant townhouse: the owners are away in Paris while the place is being renovated, so Kevin finds it empty and full of builders' tools and materials.

What injury did Joe Pesci say he suffered while filming Home Alone 2's booby traps?

Burns to his head: Pesci said in 2022 that the gag in which Harry's hat is set alight left him with serious burns to the top of his scalp.

What does Kevin set off in Home Alone to make the gangster film's gunfire sound real?

Firecrackers: Kevin finds them early on, saves them 'for later', and lets them off as the tape plays, so Marv thinks someone has been shot.

In which village north of Chicago is the real McCallister house located?

Winnetka: the Georgian house at 671 Lincoln Avenue became a tourist stop, though most of the rooms seen on screen were sets built to match it.

Where is Kate when it finally dawns on her that Kevin has been left behind in Home Alone?

On the plane, mid-flight: Kate frets that she left the coffee on or the house unlocked, runs through her checklist with her husband, then screams 'Kevin!'

What is the name of the polka band led by John Candy's character?

John Candy's polka bandleader fronts the Kenosha Kickers, who are stranded at the same airport as Kate and give her a lift home to Chicago in their rented van.

Which Willy Wonka songwriter wrote the lyrics to Home Alone's 'Somewhere in My Memory'?

Leslie Bricusse wrote the lyrics, and the film's composer teamed up with him again two years later for the sequel's new songs, 'Christmas Star' and 'Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas'.

Home Alone was the second-highest-grossing film of its year worldwide, behind which movie?

Ghost led the worldwide chart with about $505 million, but in US and Canadian cinemas the order flipped: Home Alone out-earned it by nearly $70 million.

In December 2021, which company listed the real Home Alone house for a one-night stay?

Airbnb offered the single night as a publicity stunt; three decades after the film, fans were still turning up outside the house every day.

Which US film preservation list added Home Alone in 2023?

National Film Registry: Home Alone was among its 25 picks for 2023, and the Library of Congress said the film had drawn strong support in the public's nominations.

In a running gag across the first two Home Alone films, what do vehicles knock over outside the McCallister house?

A lawn statue beside the driveway is flattened by the pizza delivery car and then by an airport van; the sequel repeats the joke as soon as the vans pull up.

Which Home Alone character's storyline was the director's biggest addition in his uncredited script rewrite?

The scary neighbour, Old Man Marley: the director says he added the old man's moment of regret in church and the reunion Kevin watches at the end, to give the comedy a more serious layer.

Home Alone's writer suggested its child star after directing him in which 1989 comedy?

Uncle Buck starred John Candy as the babysitting uncle; its writer-director remembered the boy who played nephew Miles and put him forward for Kevin.

Where was Home Alone's flooded basement scene actually shot?

In an empty high-school swimming pool on the closed campus where the sets stood; the plane's first-class cabin was built on the same school's basketball courts.

What happened to Kevin's backyard tree house once Home Alone had finished filming?

It was dismantled as soon as shooting wrapped: the tree house was built just for the film and had never been part of the real property.

When Kevin drops Buzz's pet onto Marv's face in Home Alone, what kind of creature did the film-makers use?

A live one: the actor playing Marv agreed to let the real animal walk across his face, but for one take only.

What bad habit did the two actors playing the burglars struggle to curb around Home Alone's young star?

Cursing: one of them slipped so often that the director suggested he say 'fridge' in its place, and his burglar's angry gibberish on screen is the family-friendly result.

What does Kevin microwave for his candlelit Christmas Eve dinner in Home Alone?

Macaroni and cheese: Kevin says grace over the microwaved dinner, but the clock strikes nine before he can take a bite, and he leaves it on the table to man his traps.

What tagline ran on the original Home Alone poster?

A family comedy without the family ran with the hands-on-cheeks scream, a pose that began as a mistake: the young star was meant to pull his hands away before he screamed.

Which classic film does the family watch dubbed into French while stuck abroad in Home Alone?

It's a Wonderful Life plays in French on the relatives' television; the sequel repeats the gag with the same film dubbed into Spanish.

For which 1990 gangster film did Home Alone's Joe Pesci win an Oscar?

Goodfellas: Pesci's volatile mobster Tommy DeVito reached US cinemas two months before his bumbling Home Alone burglar, giving audiences both extremes of him in a single autumn.

In Home Alone, what comes down the laundry chute and hits Marv in the face?

Marv yanks the cord dangling in the basement and a steam iron drops down the laundry chute onto his face, leaving an iron-shaped imprint.

Kevin's elderly neighbour Marley is estranged from which family member?

His son, which is why he cannot spend Christmas with the granddaughter he points out in the choir; Kevin suggests he make the call.

The polka band is on its way to which city when it gives Kate a lift?

Milwaukee-bound, the band rents a van when its flight is cancelled and drops Kate off in Chicago on the way, on Christmas morning.

Where does the rest of the family wait abroad in Home Alone while Kate tries to get home?

Peter's brother's apartment: he had been transferred to Paris and was paying for the whole family to visit, so the others wait there while Kate hunts for a seat home.

How do Harry and Marv reach New York in Home Alone 2?

In a fish truck: on arrival Harry declares that he can smell freedom, and Marv insists it is fish.

What new name do Harry and Marv go by in Home Alone 2?

Marv rebrands the pair the Sticky Bandits, after the strip of tape he wraps round his glove to lift coins and cash from a charity bucket.

Where does Buzz humiliate Kevin early in Home Alone 2?

At the school Christmas pageant Buzz clowns behind Kevin's head with electric candles during his solo; Kevin shoves him and topples the whole choir.

What does the pigeon lady throw over the burglars to save Kevin in Home Alone 2?

Birdseed: her flock swarms the pair until they are arrested, repaying Kevin, who had told her she could trust him and promised not to forget her.

How does Mr. Duncan thank Kevin's family on Christmas morning in Home Alone 2?

With a truckload of presents, sent to the family's hotel suite after Mr. Duncan reads the note Kevin left to explain why he had smashed the toy shop window.

Besides a $4.5m fee, what extra did Macaulay Culkin reportedly receive for Home Alone 2?

5 percent of the gross was the reported sweetener; his father and manager also refused to sign unless the studio cast the boy in a dark thriller it was preparing.

Which greeting do Harry and Marv trade alongside 'Merry Christmas' as they raid the toy shop in Home Alone 2?

Happy Hanukkah: the two burglars swap the greetings with crowbars raised, moments before they start emptying the toy shop's tills.

Which 1960s dance hit is Kevin's uncle belting out in the shower when Kevin tapes him in Home Alone 2?

Cool Jerk: the uncle catches Kevin recording and threatens to slap him silly, and the tape later helps Kevin scare a snooping hotel employee out of his suite.

Home Alone 2 filmed at which New York landmark that no longer exists?

Kevin visits the observation deck of the original World Trade Center and gazes over Manhattan; the twin towers were destroyed on September 11, 2001.

Which Breakfast Club star has a cameo as an airline worker who greets Kevin in Home Alone 2?

Ally Sheedy plays the airline agent who tells a baffled Kevin which city he has just landed in; the sequel's writer had made The Breakfast Club with her.

Which future star played the older sister Molly in Home Alone 3?

Scarlett Johansson played Molly, the hero's older sister; the recast third film had one famous defender in critic Roger Ebert, who called it better than the first two.

In Home Alone 2, what does Mr. Duncan say his Christmas gift to Kevin symbolizes?

Eternal friendship: he tells Kevin to share the gift with someone special, and on Christmas Day Kevin does, with the pigeon lady.

The actress who played Kevin's sister Megan later fought at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics in which martial art?

Judo: Hillary Wolf left acting after the second film, won a junior world title in 1994 and went on to represent the United States at two Olympic Games.

Which new boy hero takes over from Kevin in Home Alone 3?

Alex Pruitt, played by Alex D. Linz, takes on four international criminals who are hunting a stolen microchip through his suburban Chicago street.

In Home Alone 3, which family pet lights the fireworks that give away the last crook's hiding place?

The parrot: finding the crook in a snow fort, the bird is offered a cracker for its silence, demands two, and lights the fuse when he has only one.

In Home Alone 3, the criminals hide a stolen microchip inside what?

A radio-controlled toy car carries the chip past airport security, but a bag mix-up sends it home with an elderly neighbour, who hands it to the boy for clearing her drive.

Why is the young hero of Home Alone 3 at home on a school day?

He has chicken pox, which leaves him watching the street, where he spots the crooks at work; by the end all four of them have caught it too, spots showing in their mugshots.

Which 3rd Rock from the Sun star took over as Marv in Home Alone 4?

French Stewart took over Marv opposite a recast Kevin; the film is set in Chicago but was actually shot in Cape Town, South Africa.

Home Alone's original Kevin returned as a grown-up in a 2018 advert for which tech company?

Google: in 'Home Alone Again' the adult Kevin re-stages his old routines shot for shot, this time telling a voice assistant to make the empty house look busy.

A long-running fan theory claims which supposedly dead star is an extra in Home Alone's airport scenes?

Elvis Presley, say believers, is the man standing in line behind Kate as she argues with an airline agent, thirteen years after his death was announced.

Grilled by a supermarket cashier in Home Alone, what does Kevin claim about his brothers and sisters?

He is an only child, Kevin insists; he also puts his mother in the car and his father at work, then refuses to give his address because the cashier is a stranger.

Which young Jojo Rabbit actor plays Max Mercer, the boy left behind in Home Sweet Home Alone?

Archie Yates, the breakout Yorki of Jojo Rabbit, plays Max Mercer, who is left behind when his family flies to Tokyo for Christmas.

In Home Sweet Home Alone, the couple break in to recover which heirloom, prized for its upside-down face?

A valuable doll: selling the misshapen heirloom would save the couple's house, but Max never took it, because their own young nephew had it all along.

Home Sweet Home Alone, from Fox's renamed studio, was made for which streaming service?

Disney+ got the reboot because Disney had bought the Fox studio, and the Home Alone rights with it; chief executive Bob Iger announced the remake in August 2019.

Which two writers from Saturday Night Live wrote Home Sweet Home Alone?

Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell wrote the reboot for director Dan Mazer, and Day gave himself a small part on screen as a priest.

Which song does Kevin lip-sync into the bathroom mirror with a comb?

Kevin mimes The Drifters' doo-wop 'White Christmas' into the mirror, comb in hand, before slapping on aftershave and screaming.

Which song blares from the house during Kevin's staged party?

Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' blasts from the house as Kevin's staged party whirls past the windows, convincing Harry and Marv the McCallisters are home.

What does Kevin use to heat the front doorknob red-hot?

Kevin clamps an electric charcoal starter to the inside of the front doorknob; Harry grabs it and is left with an 'M' branded into his palm.

What in the basement terrifies Kevin until he finally yells 'Shut up!' at it?

The furnace seems to growl 'Hello, Kevin!' while he is doing the laundry; once he snaps 'Shut up!' at it, it falls silent and never troubles him again.

For which award was the film's young star nominated for Home Alone?

A Golden Globe nomination for best comedy actor put the ten-year-old up against Johnny Depp, Richard Gere and Patrick Swayze; Gérard Depardieu won for Green Card.

What rating did the MPAA give Home Alone?

PG: the slapstick passed with only a parental-guidance label, though a doctor who later assessed the burglars' injuries judged that in real life the pair might not have survived the night.

Which song is heard as Kevin leaves the church and hurries home to defend the house in Home Alone?

Carol of the Bells rings out as the church bell tolls and Kevin runs home; the trap-setting that follows has its own music, a new piece the composer called 'Setting the Trap'.

What kind of animal is Doris, the pet in Home Alone 3?

A rat: Doris is the young hero's pet, and she helps him rig and spring the booby traps that see off the four crooks.

The Home Alone 3 crooks work for a terrorist group linked to which country?

North Korea: the four criminals take their orders from a boss based in Hong Kong, and a quiet Chicago suburb becomes their hunting ground when the stolen chip goes astray.

What does Kevin scatter at the foot of the stairs to send the burglars sprawling?

Toy cars, a carpet of Micro Machines, send the burglars flying; stuntmen took the falls for real, and the director says he watched each one praying they would get up.

What does Kevin use to fake someone showering in his hotel suite in Home Alone 2?

An inflatable clown sways behind the shower curtain while Kevin plays a tape of his uncle singing and shouting in the shower, which sends the snooping concierge running.

What does Kevin swing from the upstairs landing into the burglars' faces?

Paint cans on ropes swing down the staircase and flatten both burglars, buying Kevin time to dial 911 and report a break-in at the flooded house across the street.

What discovery prompts the final shout of 'Kevin!' that ends the original Home Alone?

His brother's wrecked bedroom: Kevin kept quiet about the burglars, but not even he could hide the shelves he pulled down while raiding Buzz's things.

Why did Home Alone's cinematographer shoot so much of the film from low, wide angles?

To show a child's view: Julio Macat spent much of the shoot on his knees, so that the house and its grown-ups would loom as large as they do to Kevin.

Which 2011 film did Guinness World Records name the highest-grossing live-action comedy, a title Home Alone once held?

The Hangover Part II took the Guinness title with about $587 million worldwide; box-office charts are less tidy, showing Bruce Almighty edging past Home Alone's total back in 2003.

What does Kevin fire at Harry through the pet door?

Buzz's BB gun: Kevin shoots Harry below the belt through the pet door, and when Marv pokes his head in to see what happened, he takes a pellet in the forehead.

Above which New York venue does the pigeon lady take Kevin to listen to a Christmas concert?

Carnegie Hall: from a loft above the stage she has listened to the world's great performers, and there she tells Kevin how a broken heart made her withdraw from people.