Chris Columbus has shed light on why Home Alone ‘should be left alone’ and not rebooted.
The iconic Christmas film was released in 1990 and catapulted Macaulay Culkin to superstardom as youngster Kevin McCallister, who is left to fend for himself when his family accidentally go on holiday without him.
His quick-thinking saves the day when he’s forced to go up against bumbling burglars Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), who learn the hard way not to mess with kids during the holidays.
The movie was a huge success and went on to spawn an equally epic sequel the following year – with Disney dropping a fresh take on the classic in 2021.
However, when questioned on whether he would want to see any further remakes, director Chris insisted that it would be a ‘mistake’ to go back.
Appearing at the premiere for his new Netflix movie, The Thursday Murder Club, he told Entertainment Tonight: ‘I think Home Alone really exists not as this timepiece, but it was very special moment. You can’t really recapture that.
‘I think it’s a mistake to try to go back and recapture something we did 35 years ago. I think it should be left alone.’
Sharing his surprise that the movie is so beloved more than three decades on, he added: ‘When we were making Home Alone, we wanted people to still enjoy the movie 20 years down the road, but we had no concept that it would still be this locomotive that keeps keeps going after all these years.
‘It’s a very nostalgic experience for a lot of people, it’s great.’
The franchise was remade in 2021 with Archie Yates playing youngster Max, who – like Kevin – was accidentally left behind when his family swanned off to Japan.
He was having the time of his life with his new-found freedom until a couple set their sights on his home, hoping to retrieve a priceless heirloom.
Home Sweet Home Alone didn’t quite capture the magic of the original film, and was brutally panned by both fans and professionals.
It currently commands a 13% Rotten Tomatoes score from the audience, compared to a slightly higher critics mark of 15%.
‘A disgrace to Home Alone,’ viewer BlueTop B fumed, as Amilia P agreed: ‘One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.’
‘It really is very remarkably bad,’ Tim L complained.
As Logan D added: ‘If I could give it zero stars I would, just watch the original.’
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