The Stars of ‘Home Sweet Home Alone’ on How They Took Inspiration from the Original ‘Home Alone’

Disney+ Day is coming up soon, on November 12th, 2021.

This is the two-year anniversary of Disney’s streaming service, and they’re celebrating the occasion with a whole lot of new content. If you’re a Disney+ subscriber, you can check out new shorts, series, and movies, along with the release of some recent movies that were previously only available with Disney+ Premier. One of the most anticipated new films is Home Sweet Home Alone — Disney’s remake of the classic holiday movie. 

Disney began production on the reboot of the popular Home Alone movie in early 2020. The idea of re-making a family-favorite holiday movie wasn’t met with a completely positive reaction from audiences. In fact, as of writing the movie’s trailer on YouTube still has far more “Dislikes” (89,000) than “Likes” (23,000).

Producers of the new movie determined not to simply re-do the same plot — instead, they wanted to focus on the robbers and their story. Actors known for their work in comedy were cast as the leads in order to bring back the humor that audiences know and love from the original films. Some of those actors include Ellie Kemper (Pam), Rob Delaney (Jeff), Archie Yates (Max), Ally Maki (Mei), and Aisling Bea (Carol). In a recent press conference, these actors shared their thoughts on the making of Home Sweet Home Alone.

Archie Yates (who plays Max in the movie) was asked how he channeled his inner Kevin McCallister for Home Sweet Home Alone. Yates responded that he took a lot of inspiration from the original films (which he watches religiously every holiday season), and it was easy for him to relate to Kevin. But he also clarified that “Max is supposed to be a completely different character from Kevin.” Yates and the directors wanted this new story to be original and different, albeit in the same “universe” as the previous Home Alone movies.

Other actors echoed this sentiment. Aisling Bea (who plays Max’s mom) said she wanted to incorporate the same emotional moment of a mother reuniting with her son at the end of the story that she saw in the first Home Alone. Bea also added that she insisted on wearing a brown coat for that ending scene as a nod to Catherine O’Hara’s (Kate McCallister) outfit in the original films.

More inspiration from the original Home Alone that the actors tried to pull into this re-make include the fun gadgets, stunts, and seemingly genuine peril that the robbers experience when breaking into Max’s home. Remember how in Home Alone, one robber burns his hand on the heated knob of the McCallister’s front door and then frantically cools it in the snow? Look for a parallel scene in the new Home Sweet Home Alone that nods to that original stunt.

The actors in this movie were required to learn and perform their own stunts. Although professional stunt actors sometimes completed them as well, Rob Delaney (Jeff) shared that he was surprised by the amount of stunt work required. Training for these stunts began long before any actual scene shooting.

Another booby trap that Max invents involves smacking the robbers in the face with flour (which coordinates with other stunts involving butter and sugar). Actors Ellie Kemper (Pam) and Rob Delaney (Jeff) revealed that the “flour” used in this scene is actually baby powder. Kemper and Delaney said that there was one crew member who was responsible for dusting them in baby powder in between scenes since some would come off as they moved. Both actors shared that they considered that crew member their enemy, since their arrival meant a fresh coat of powder to the face.

Speaking of enemies, another way the new Home Sweet Home Alone story is unique is that there are no clear villains. Whereas the first film sets the robbers as clear villains, the re-make gives a lot more insight to the robbers’ situation and motives. In Home Sweet Home Alone, Pam and Jeff (the robbers) are trying to recover their own family heirloom, which they believe Max has stolen. Max is trying to defend himself and his home. So who really is the victim here?

Rob Delaney (Jeff) said that during filming, he obviously saw Max as the enemy. (It’d be hard not to, considering some of the “torture” Max puts Pam and Jeff through.) But once Delaney went back and watched the whole movie, he was surprised by how much sympathy he felt toward Max’s character. The ambiguity and balance between different perspectives is one way the new re-boot is different from the original.

The only returning actor from Home Alone is Devin Ratray, who plays Buzz McCallister in both films. In the new movie, Buzz comes back as a police officer. Yates (Max) shared that Ratray was “so fun to work with,” although Yates admitted he was nervous to meet Ratray at first because he idolized him for his role in the original movie. The actors shared that including Buzz’s character in the movie brought the connection between the films full-circle.

You can watch Home Sweet Home Alone on Disney+ starting November 12th! And make sure to keep following AllEars for more updates on Disney’s latest entertainment.

Click Here to See the Trailer for Home Sweet Home Alone

Are you planning to see Home Sweet Home Alone when it comes out? Let us know in the comments.

Disclosure: We were invited by Disney to attend a virtual press conference for Home Sweet Home Alone. This did not affect our reporting of the film — our opinions are our own

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