Characters / Home Alone

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Characters specific to Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Kevin

Kevin

Kevin McCallister

"Hello!"

Played By: Macaulay Culkin, Mike Weinberg (Home Alone 4)

"This is my house! I have to defend it!"

The 9-10 year old protagonist of the first two films. After getting into a fight with his older brother Buzz because he purposely ate Kevin's cheese pizza, Kevin is sent to the third floor of the house by his mother Kate. Before he goes, he angrily tells his mother that he never wants to see her or anyone else in the family again. The next morning as the family prepares to leave, Kevin is still sleeping. The family, in a rush, hurries off to the airport and doesn't realize that Kevin isn't with them. Later, Kevin wakes up to find his whole family gone and is in thrill, believing his wish came true. But when Harry and Marv, two bandits, start robbing houses in his neighborhood and plan to rob Kevin's house, too, it's up to him to scare them off. Kevin is rather smart for a kid his age, but his inherent trust issues with adults end up making life a lot harder for him.

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• Adapted Out: His Talkboy was cut from the Classic Pop version due to both licensing issues and to trim down the story. As such, the story changes from him stopping to get batteries to simply getting some tissue.
• Adorably Precocious Child: In both movies, Kevin is shown to be very smart for his age and capable of great maturity and insights, but he still has a childish (and occasionally bratty) streak; he's just a kid and often acts like one.
• Age-Appropriate Angst: Has his moments in the first movie. He can't watch a movie with the older kids, he doesn't know how to pack a suitcase or tie his shoes, and he also has to get over his fear of the basement.
• Aesop Amnesia: Double Subverted. Kevin says he wants to be on his own again, but later attempts to find his family when he gets separated at the airport, and even acknowledges that the whole ordeal from the first film nearly wrecked his Christmas. However, he later enjoys how he is far away from his family, and eventually has to learn all over again that being on his own, with his family nowhere to be found, isn't all fun and games like it seems to be at first. At the end, he is, just like in the first film, desperately wishing for a chance to be with his family again.
  • He gets another (but much less significant) one in the hotel when he watches Angels with Even Filthier Souls, which, just like the first, has a violent murder scene. Kevin is once again terrified.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: This is how his older siblings see him. To be fair, as annoying as Kevin can be, they are all jerks to him.
• Attention Whore: Kevin seems to be a bit of one at the beginning, but especially on the first night when he bugs Kate and Peter in his first scene and throws a fit a few scenes later about how being around so many other people makes him sick.
• Badass Adorable: You bet your sweet ass he's this trope. This kid goes through (and helps instigate!) more chaos in two movies than some people see in a lifetime, and he's just so damn cute.
• Berserk Button: The thing which sets him off in Home Alone 2 is learning that the money Harry and Marv are planning to steal from Duncan's Toy Chest is intended for a children's hospital.
  Kevin: You can mess with a lot of things, but you can't mess with kids at Christmas!
• Big Eater: He eats an obscene amount of food in both movies. In the first movie, despite that the house was stocked with food Kevin still had to go grocery shopping. At one point we see him helping himself to a huge ice cream sundae along with a bag of chips and a Pepsi. At the end of the second movie, it turns out that his room-service bill is $967 despite not even staying there for more than two days.
  Waiter: Two scoops, sir ?
  Kevin: Two? Make it three. I'm not driving.
• Blue Is Heroic: He wears a blue shirt when he's not wearing a red one.
• Boisterous Weakling: Starts off like this in the first installment when he shouts "I'm not afraid anymore." This gets cut short after seeing Old Man Marley.
• Butt-Monkey: To his family. Both movies show him being picked on and insulted by his jerkass siblings (not to mention his uncle) and treated like The Scapegoat and The Unfavorite by his neglectful parents.
• Crying Wolf: In Home Sweet Home Alone, Kevin prank calls Buzz every year by calling in the 289 to mess with him while pretending he was a child left home alone.
• Deadpan Snarker: Often. When he's not snarking at his family, Kevin is telling the Wet Bandits "Hey guys, I'm up here, and I'm really scared! Come and get me!" He gets especially snarky in the second movie.
  Frank: You better not wreck my trip, you little sour puss, your dad's paying good money for it.
  Kevin: Oh, wouldn't want to spoil your fun, Mr. Cheapskate!
• Earn Your Happy Ending: He escapes torture and/or murder at Harry and Marv's hands twice, earns his family's respect (somewhat) and grows up to follow his passion and become a home security guru.
• Face Your Fears: He has to face his fear of his basement furnace. He eventually does when doing some laundry, telling it to "shut up".
• Fatal Flaw: Mistrust. The first movie shows that while Kevin has the Freudian Excuse of not trusting adults because his family are jerks, a lot of his troubles could have been avoided if he trusted adults more. Besides getting left home alone in the first place, he neither answers the door when a police officer shows up nor calls the cops when he hears that his house is going to be robbed by the Wet Bandits. Also, adults make things hard for Kevin not because Adults Are Useless, but because Kevin inherently thinks they're out to get him. Kevin making friends with Old Man Marley and the Pigeon Lady in the first two films is meant to show that Kevin has undergone Character Development by letting an adult get close to him.
• Fragile Speedster: Relative to the Wet Bandits, at least. All it takes to incapacitate Kevin in the second film is slipping on a patch of ice, when Marv and Harry have suffered far worse than that. In addition, Kevin doesn't even try to physically fight against either of them, since they can overpower him easily. In the climax of the first movie, Harry effortlessly picks Kevin up and pins him to a wall. Kevin would have been dead if not for the intervention of Old Man Marley.
• Freudian Excuse: The way his family treats him makes Kevin inherently distrust all adults. This causes Kevin to try and solve all of his problems by himself instead of calling the police.
• Genre Savvy: In the second movie when booby-trapping his relatives' house, he anticipates that Harry and Marv will remember what he put them through last year and that they'll be wary of him. He actively enrages Harry to try and run the gauntlet despite Harry trying to avoid conflict by promising to leave quietly if Kevin will toss down the evidence of their recent caper, since Kevin actually wants to get these two arrested to prevent them from stealing money meant to be donated to a children's hospital. He also deploys brand new traps and modifies old ones to circumvent the duo being more wary around the house.
• Good Is Not Soft: He has a good heart deep down and still loves his family, despite their constant abuse of him, and can be very compassionate and helpful. When it comes to his enemies, however, he's downright ruthless. He's left traps that included flamethrowers, blunt objects, electric shocks, and even a nail through the foot.
• Greater-Scope Paragon: He doesn't make an appearance in Home Sweet Home Alone, but it's revealed by Buzz that he's grown up to have his own home security company and the Mercer home uses one of his systems.
• Guile Hero: His shtick when around the bumbling duo of the Wet Bandits. He manipulates them into stepping on his traps, annoys them, and generally uses his wits to overcome the fact that his opponents are in greater numbers, older, bigger, and stronger than he is.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: This is what gets him instead of Buzz in trouble at the start the first two movies. In the first, Kevin tackles Buzz when he scarfs down the cheese pizza Kevin was supposed to eat. In the second, he hits Buzz during the Christmas pageant which causes Disaster Dominoes on stage. When asked to apologize to the family, Kevin refuses after Buzz calls him a trout-sniffer.
• The Hero: He is the main protagonist of Home Alone 1, 2, and 4 as he tries to stop Harry and Marv from their misdeeds in the first two films and tries to stop Marv and his wife Vera in the fourth.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Kevin has shades of this, as pointed out in the Honest Trailers reel (manipulation, talking to himself, trapping a pair of non-violent criminals in a sadistic world of torture, from which there is no escape...)
• Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Downplayed. Kevin's home life isn't awful, but he does get the lion's share of discipline from his mom and dad. While Kevin really isn't helping things by acting the maggot, the fact that his family members (especially Buzz) seem to go out of their way to antagonize him paints Kevin in a sympathetic light.
• Hotel Hellion: Kevin uses his father's credit card to check into the Plaza Hotel in the second movie. While there, he terrorizes the staff and racks up a huge room service bill.
• Hypocrite: At the beginning of the second movie, he gets angry with Buzz for giving him a fake apology despite the fact that in the first movie, he attempted to get out of trouble by giving Kate a fake apology himself.
• I Want My Mommy!: He shouts his Mom's name after watching Angels With Filthy Souls and being horrified by what he saw.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Kevin can be bratty at times, but he's absolutely right that everyone else is none-the-wiser, and that him being the only one blamed for everything is unfair.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kevin is the first to admit he's not always the best kid and can be a pain sometimes, but he does overall have a good heart. Especially seen in his interactions with Old Man Marley and the Pigeon Lady.
• Karma Houdini: He steals a toothbrush by accident (due to Old Man Marley showing up in the store before Kevin can pay for it) and despite being chased by a police officer, he gets away scot-free after losing the officer and nothing else ever comes of it.
• Kid Hero: An eight-year-old boy who becomes a Guile Hero in an effort to prevent two robbers from getting away with their crimes.
• Leitmotif: He's usually accompanied by an instrumental version of "Somewhere in My Memory".
• Manipulative Bastard: And a pretty good one at that.
  • Kevin manages to talk his way out of a cashier's questions in the first film by coming up with believable excuses, such as that his mom's in the car and that his dad is at work.
  • In the second movie, Kevin uses his dad's credit card to check into the Plaza Hotel despite his dad not being there. The hotel staff manage to buy his story for at least a little while, until the hotel concierge checks the card to find that it's been stolen.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: Played with. Kevin has two brothers and two sisters, but he has lots of cousins, as shown by establishing shots in the first movie of the McAllister household with the whole extended family moving through the place.
• Momma's Boy: In spite of how they bicker at times, the one person that Kevin seems to be the closest to within his entire family is his mother.
• Mouthy Kid: He's not afraid to speak his mind. It's a way of acting up in order to get attention from his parents after he starts feeling ignored.
• My God, What Have I Done?: He has one after accidentally stealing a toothbrush, after he gets away from the officer chasing him. He has another in the second film after illegally using his dad's credit card.
• Never My Fault: Much through all the finger pointing and casual blame taking, Kevin is occasionally bossy and frequently starts arguments among his family. He also tends to get upset, angry and jealous quickly, and then regrets it later. Sometimes, Kevin lies and has a slightly disapproving character.
• Not Helping Your Case: While it was harsh of Kate to call him "the only one in the house who has to make trouble", Kevin didn't really help things by giving her a fake apology (complete with Puppy-Dog Eyes). When said apology was rejected and called out as fake, Kevin restarted his temper tantrum, proving it was all a lie.
• Only Sane Man: Kevin's family think of him as the opposite of this trope, but he's actually more mature, responsible, and intelligent than the rest of them. He manages to live on his own for a few days in the first movie, and manages to talk his way into a hotel room and a limo ride in the second film.
• Parental Neglect: Kevin's parents don't seem to be particularly mean, but they often ignore him and don't care about his feelings. Plus, what kind of parents would forget about their eight-year-old kid and leave him home alone on Christmas? Although, in all fairness, the home was in chaos with the extended family there. We have no reason to believe his parents are like this all year round.
• Parting-Words Regret: He eventually grows to regret telling Kate that he hopes that he'll never see his family ever again.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: All the sadistic things he does to Harry and Marv, from nearly setting them on fire to smashing them in the face with paint cans and straightening irons. They're the bad guys though, and the pain they go through tends to be Played for Laughs by making them out to be Amusing Injuries.
• Precision F-Strike: One time each in the first two movies, Kevin calls out "I'm down here, you big horse's ass!" to the Wet Bandits.
• Red Is Heroic: He wears a red shirt in some scenes. He also has a red scarf.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He delivers one to his whole family in the second movie after Buzz teased him during his Christmas pageant:
  Kevin: I'm not sorry! I did what I did because Buzz humiliated me. And since he gets away with everything, I let him have it. And since you're all so stupid to believe his lies, I don't care if your idiotic Florida trip gets wrenched or not! Who wants to spend Christmas in a tropical climate anyway? (He begins to walk out of the room.)
  Kate: Kevin!
  Peter: Kevin, you walk out of here, you sleep on the third floor.
  Fuller: Yeah, with me.
  Kevin: So what else is new?
  Uncle Frank: You better not wreck my trip, you little sourpuss. Your dad's paying good money for it.
  Kevin: Oh, I wouldn't wanna ruin your fun, Mr. Cheapskate. (Kevin walks out.)
• The Runt at the End: The entire reason the Home Alone movies exist is because the main character is this, to the point that he is accidentally left behind on family trips. While Kevin doesn't help matters by acting out, he's the smallest and apparently youngest member of his extended family.
• Sadist: Is especially this in the climax of both films. Not that Marv and Harry didn't have it coming, but Kevin really seems to enjoy watching them suffer through his traps, often sticking around to watch what happens to them when he could be running away.
• The Scapegoat: So far, Kevin is the most notable family scapegoat in all of movie history, who frequently gets picked on and made fun of, often than not.
• Slasher Smile: Just before he cuts the rope from the treehouse on which Harry and Marv are dangling.
• Something We Forgot: Is accidentally left behind by his family in both movies.
• The Scream: Kevin is right up there with Tom Cat as the king of screaming.
• This Means War!: His response to learning that Harry and Marv are planning to steal from children on Christmas. What follows is an especially brutal set of traps for the duo.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Plain cheese pizza. He gets mad at Buzz for eating one in the first movie, and makes sure to get another one in the second movie.
• Trap Master: Since Kevin cannot overpower two grown men on his own, this is the way he protects his family home from the burglars, setting up Booby Traps to cause them Amusing Injuries. In the sequel, many of the traps he sets up would outright kill them many times over in real life, including a flaming rope and a huge metal bar to the face.
• Troll: In the first film, Kevin uses the Angels with Filthy Souls tape to respond to the Little Nero's Pizza delivery guy. He then takes it a step further by tricking him into thinking he's being shot at, causing him to run away. That said, Kevin is lucky that the delivery guy never called the cops on him.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Downplayed as he used it for self-defense purposes, but Kevin is only a preadolescent and is capable of using a gun.
• The Un-Favourite: What Kevin seems to be to his family. For all of Kevin's acting out and bad behavior, he's often singled out as "the only one who has to make trouble" by everyone.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Big time. He's an 8-year-old boy who's perfectly able to take care of himself and outsmart adults, including professional burglars. Both movies also involve him giving sage, worldly advice to much older characters and helping them turn their lives around.
• Would Rather Suffer: In the second movie, when Kate gives him an ultimatum to either apologize to Buzz or he stays grounded for the rest of the night, he responds with this:
  Kevin: I'm not apologizing to Buzz! I'd rather kiss a toilet seat!

The Wet Bandits

General

Marv (left) and Harry (right).

Marv: We're the Wet Bandits, the W-E-T—

Harry: Shut up, Marv!

A pair of burglars who have been breaking into other vacant houses in the McCallisters' neighborhood and have targeted the McCallisters' own house. Kevin initially manages to keep them away by making the house look as if the family is home, but they eventually realize the deception.

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• Adaptational Early Appearance: In "Lost in New York", Harry and Marv don't encounter Kevin until the halfway point. But in the Sega game, the encounter happen much earlier as the Bandits try to snatch Kevin at LaGuardia Airport.
• Adaptational Late Appearance: The Bandits appear early in the first two movies (Harry pretending to be a cop in the first and the duo show up at New York early in the second), but the Classic Pop books has them appear at the halfway mark of the stories.
• Adults Are Useless: Averted. They do manage to catch Kevin in both movies, and it's implied that the two of them were pretty successful robbers before trying to burglarize Kevin's house.
• Affably Evil: Especially Marv. When they nearly hit Kevin with their van, they both take time to admonish him to be more careful when crossing the street. It was only Kevin reacting at Harry's gold tooth (which he remembered from when Harry came to his house posing as a cop) that caused the duo to become suspicious and start following him.
• All There in the Manual: Their last names are only given in the credits.
• Amusing Injuries: The injuries they sustain from Kevin's traps in the third act of each movie make up most of the movie's physical comedy, despite the fact that several of them are pretty extreme and should have killed Harry and Marv several times over if used even semi-realistically.
  • In the first movie, Marv gets an iron to the face. Despite an impression of said iron on his face, he's okay. In the same film, both Harry and Marv are hit in the face with paint cans and knocked down some stairs, and the worst thing that happens is Harry's gold tooth gets knocked loose.
  • In the second movie, Harry's head gets set on fire, and Marv takes multiple shots with bricks to the face. Later on, they both survive a multiple-story fall down a burning rope and get a massive iron bar slamming into their heads, yet get back up not long after.
• Arch-Enemy: After all the pains and injures they suffered thanks to Kevin, it becomes personal in the second film.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Just because they're prone to slapstick and falling over themselves doesn't mean they're harmless. At the end of the day, they're still both hardened criminals whose favorite pastime is burglary (and property damage in Marv's case with the constant flooding), and whenever they do manage to actually get their hands on Kevin, he's completely helpless to fight back.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Collectively known as the Wet Bandits and later the Sticky Bandits, both coined by Marv.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: Marv, at 6'4", stands one foot taller than Harry.
• Blinded by Rage: One of the reasons that they keep charging forward into Kevin's traps is that they're just too stubborn to quit. But what really doesn't help is that their personal vendetta against Kevin makes them sloppy, knowing that pressing forward without checking is a bad idea, yet doing it anyway because their tempers get the better of them.
• Bully and Wimp Pairing: Harry is short but brave, while Marv is tall but cowardly.
• Bumbling Henchmen Duo: Harry, the brains, and Marv, who's Too Dumb to Live and just goes along with Harry's plans, whether they're fallible or not.
• Butt-Monkey: If you are a bad guy, you are definitely going to be on the receiving end of a horribly painful Humiliation Conga before the end of the film.
• Detrimental Determination: To the point that it could be considered their Fatal Flaw. Though they can be reasonably clever, Kevin's mind games against them, and even most of the individual traps themselves, run on the fact that they always bullheadedly press forward without regard even when they know it's a bad idea — especially once enraged. But like Wile E. Coyote, they could quit at any time.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: The Bandits never die at all, but their comeuppances on the various game ports of the first two movies change. The Sega port of "Lost in New York" simply has the pigeons attacking Harry and Marv and carrying them off into the sky, unlike in the movie where they were attacked by the pigeons until the police arrive.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: They do seem to care about one another.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • They both lecture Kevin about road safety when they almost run him over by accident.
  • Harry is unwilling to follow Kevin into a church, even though he was hiding in the Nativity Scene. So is Marv. Seems more like they were afraid of it, though.
  • Also, when they plan a robbery, they seem to prefer to do it in the most non-violent way possible. At least at first.
• Fatal Flaw: Stubbornness. The two of them just don't know when to admit they're beaten, cut their losses, and call it a day. The two of them were going through a successful string of robberies around Kevin's neighborhood in Chicago, but insisted on hitting the McAllister house at all costs. After they figure out that the place is booby-trapped, even though they know pressing forward is a bad idea, both Harry and Marv end up Blinded by Rage after walking into Kevin's traps and get determined to get some payback. They decide that It's Personal with Kevin, never back down in spite of all their pain, and want Kevin's head at all costs. In both films that they appear in, this ultimately gets them found out and arrested.
• Fat and Skinny: Harry's fat and Marv's skinny, respectively; while Joe Pesci really isn't that fat, Daniel Stern is a beanpole, and the difference in their heights (Pesci is a full foot shorter) accentuates the difference in their builds.
• Final Boss: Of the second movie once Kevin deals with the hotel staff.
• Flanderization: In the second movie, Harry is noticeably grouchier, while Marv is noticeably dumber. Both can be justified by going to prison and all those head injuries in the first movie, respectively.
• Genre Blind: In the first movie, under the assumption that This Is Reality, they assume that "Kids are stupid." They try to correct themselves at a few points in the sequel, but are still one step behind Kevin (ex: Harry predicting a repeat of the paint can/staircase trap but being blindsided by a PVC pipe that followed).
• Greed: Obviously, but it is a plot point in the first film, where they had already gotten away with the plunder of a whole street full of houses and could have quit at any time at no risk whatsoever, but Harry is dead set on going after the McCallister house even after Kevin starts making trouble, because it's worth even more money than the rest.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: In the second film, Harry mentions that they share a photo album.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: When they are finally caught at the end, the cops are able to identify which houses they robbed since Marv would leave the houses' sinks running as a calling card. Marv is proud of this, while Harry shakes his head. This is also how the Bandits plan to punish Kevin before Old Man Marley intervenes — by putting him through his own traps.
• Impersonating an Officer: Harry dresses himself as a policeman to know when the residents of the neighborhood are going to leave for the holiday. In the novelisation, Marv does as well.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: They used to be just nonviolent thieves who simply prefer stealing and do not hurt anybody. Since Kevin could have just called the police and had them arrested, his violent treatment of them could be considered a Disproportionate Retribution.
• Iron Butt Monkey: Both, but especially Marv. The second movie features even deadlier traps, including several bricks to the face thrown from the roof of a building and an explosion that destroys an entire floor of the house yet somehow leaves Harry and Marv largely unscathed.
• Irony: The Wet Bandits drive around in a plumbing van they probably stole, despite the fact that Marv enjoys backing up the sinks in people's houses to flood them as a Calling Card.
• Karmic Butt-Monkey: They are criminals who have robbed many houses, and when they try to rob Kevin's house, they suffer a lot of painful misfortunes which are funny to the viewers. In the second film, they are even more amoral villains (willing to kill Kevin and steal charity money from children), and fittingly, they suffer even more painful misfortunes than the first movie.
• Kick the Dog: In the second film, Marv is seen nicking change from a salvation army Santa, and later, both he and Harry knowingly try to steal money from a children's charity.
• Laughably Evil: They are so bumbling and ineffectual that they totally steal the show with their antics (and all the Amusing Injuries they suffer).
• Leitmotif: A sneaky motif. The fans simply call it "Harry and Marv Theme".
• Made of Iron: For all of their faults, one has to give them credit for one thing — the Wet Bandits take an absurd amount of punishment and refuse to quit. Among the injuries they suffer: hit with paint cans, smashed in the face with an iron, almost set on fire, actually set on fire, electrocuted, stepping on nails, shot with staple guns, hit in the head with bricks, and slammed into walls and floors any number of times. This video concludes that in the two films combined, Harry should have died eight times, and Marv thirteen. Of course, any situation where they're not outright killed are situations where they'd probably be maimed at worse or intensive care at best (for comparison, John McClane would only have died three times in his first two movies, and those are all in the first one since he was judged to just barely survive the second with no deaths).
• Moral Myopia:
  • At the climax of the first film, the Wet Bandits muse that they're going to repay Kevin for the hell he's put them through by inflicting the same injuries on him along with some extra fingore. Whilst it is implied that they wouldn't have made things nearly as bad for Kevin before they went through his traps as Kevin ultimately did for them, and to their credit, Kevin didn't really give them fair warning in advance; Marv and Harry nevertheless completely ignore that Kevin only put them through his traps because they were trying to pillage his family's house with him in it first.
  • In the second film, the two decide to get revenge on Kevin… for thwarting their attempts at robbing his house in the first film.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: For all their incompetence, they do manage to pursue Kevin and have him at their mercy near the end of both films, leaving Kevin to rely on a third-party to save his life. In the second film in particular, they come very close to outright shooting Kevin. The only reason they didn't was because the gun jammed as a result of all the abuse.
• No One Should Survive That!: Despite the seemingly lethal nature of the traps, Harry and Marv can not die.
• Punch-Clock Villain: They used to be this, before meeting Kevin. The only reason they were robbing Kevin's house in the first place was because they thought it was the biggest score in the neighborhood. When they bump into Kevin again in New York City, they make it a point to go after him for the sake of revenge, but even then, it's only because sheer happenstance led them to him, and after losing sight of him, they have the sense to break off the chase to concentrate on their main goal of robbing the toy store, only going after Kevin again later as he's directly interfering with their plans and has evidence of their crime.
• Put on a Prison Bus: The Wet Bandits are arrested by the police after their defeat at the end of the movie. There was originally going to be a scene showing them in jail, but it was cut. They do come back for the sequel, but get arrested a second time.
• Shorter Means Smarter: Downplayed. Harry (the short one) isn't that smart or that practical at all, but he's more conscious than Marv (the tall one), who is notably sillier and more idiotic.
• Slasher Smile:
  • When Kevin discovers them after sneaking in the neighbor's house from the basement.
  • When they find Kevin outside Duncan's Toy Chest.
  • After Kevin slips on the ice at the entrance to Central Park.
• Stupid Crooks: Both of them. While Marv is generally the dumber and slower-witted of the two, Harry isn't much smarter and his temper tends to cloud his judgment. Matter of fact, Harry forced Marv to take on several poor decisions, such as trying to pursue Kevin to his treehouse by rope, and in the second movie, following an unsuccessful pursuit of Kevin, it's Marv who points out that Kevin's alone in unfamiliar, potentially dangerous territory and successfully convinces Harry to focus on their original goals.
• Taught by Experience: When they return in the second movie they show that they do remember the events of last year (albeit moreso Harry than Marv), and they did learn from what Kevin put them through last year. Harry is reluctant to go into the brownstone, rightfully wary of a repeat, and attempts to just avoid the situation by offering to leave Kevin be if he just gives up the evidence he has of their actions, until his temper gets set off by Kevin attacking them from above with thrown bricks. Once they're actually inside the two make a point of checking for traps and minding their surroundings. It doesn't do them much good because they get Outgambitted by Kevin who works them doing said checking into the traps, and they also don't anticipate that Kevin modified how several of his traps worked, but points for effort.
• Too Dumb to Live: Both the Bandits have their stupid moments, but especially Marv. For example, in the sequel, when they just happen to run into the kid who put them through hell and landed them in prison, do they try to avoid him? No, they instead try to kidnap and kill him while (well, Marv does this part) gloating in detail about their plan to rob a toy store, knowing fully well how Kevin outsmarted them the previous year and continuing to underestimate what he is capable of. Had they just left Kevin alone, they could have spared themselves a revisit to a world of hurt followed by a return to prison.
• Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: They are far less sympathetic and more threatening in the second film, in which they plan to steal charity money from sick children and fully intend to kill Kevin.
• Villain Has a Point: For all the robberies they do, this deleted scene in the first movie shows they despise the commercialism surrounding Christmas, with people taking vacations over staying home and spending time with family.
  Harry: Remember the good old days when people used to stay home for Christmas?
  Marv: And now it's off to Hawaii or Aspen or... Paris.
  Harry: Whatever happened to sitting around the fireplace with your family?
  Marv: Yeah. Roasting chestnuts. Singing Christmas carols.
  Harry: That's why I hate Christmas, Marv. I hate it. People have become too cynical, too jaded. It's just another sign of the ongoing moral decay of contemporary society. That's all it is. That's all it is.
• Villainous Friendship: A type 1. Although Harry often gets annoyed with Marv for his stupidity, he does seem to consider him a friend.
• Villain Song: In a deleted scene, they sing a warped version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" while driving through the neighborhood.
  Both: You better watch out, you better not hide. If your doors are open, we're coming inside.
  Harry: Harry...
  Marv: And Marv...
  Both: Are coming to town!
• Villains Out Shopping:
  • When Kevin plays Angels with Filthy Souls to scare off Marv, he says the voices sounded familiar, suggesting that he's watched that movie too - albeit that black-and-white movie must be many decades old, and Marv must have watched it just a little too long ago to be able to instantly remember all of it.
  • Since they are not going to return to the McCallister house until 9 pm, Harry suggests they grab dinner first.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With each other. Marv gets annoyed by Harry's anger issues, while Harry thinks Marv is an overly dramatic moron. Yet, they keep robbing houses together.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: As per a deleted scene, it is possible that the reason they became criminals is because of their disillusionment of society becoming more commercialized, and became burglars as a result.
• Would Hit a Girl: Both of them were willing to shoot the Pigeon Lady in the second film, although it could've been because she creeped them out as much as she did Kevin at first, and they considered it self-defense. Thankfully she incapacitates them with her birdseed before they can do anything (it helps that their gun was jammed with tar at the time).
• Would Hurt a Child: Harry and Marv aren't this way at first, but after the hell Kevin puts them through, they understandably want his head on a platter. Especially when Harry flat out states that he has no problem "knocking off a youngster". Eventually, the crooks get the drop on Kevin, and Harry puts a jammed gun at Kevin's head, actually coming within a hairsbreadth of pulling the trigger and doing him in once and for all (right before the pigeon lady distracts the crooks by dousing them with birdseed and letting the pigeons do the rest).
  Harry: I never made it to the sixth grade, kid. And it doesn't look like you're gonna, either.

Harry

Harry Lime

Played By: Joe Pesci

The shorter of the Wet Bandits and the one who comes up with their house-robbing plans.

---

• Adaptational Dumbass: Granted in the movies, Harry wasn't a smart person, but he still had brains compare to Marv. But in the Classic Pop version of "Lost in New York", Harry was the one that spilled the beans on Kevin that they're gonna rob Duncan's Toy Chest instead of Marv.
• Angrish: Whenever he gets injured or just generally frustrated, he spouts a string of nonsensical gibberish. That's what happens when you put the notoriously sailor mouthed Joe Pesci in a PG movie.
• Badass Longcoat: His typical getup, along with the Wool Beanie, and the Hobo Gloves he and Marv wear.
• Bald of Evil: He might have had hair once, but two incidents with a blowtorch scorch off any hair he might have had left.
• Berserk Button: He's obsessed enough with trying to do in Kevin, but it gets even worse in the first film after Kevin launches a paint can at his face, knocking out Harry's gold tooth.
• Big Bad: While they are a duo, Harry fits this role since he is the smarter of the pair and Marv tends to listen to his orders.
• Boisterous Weakling: Clearly thinks of himself as a tough guy and often picks on Marv, but Kevin's traps reveal Harry to be every bit as big a wimp and as much of a Butt-Monkey as his co-burglar.
• Character Catchphrase: SHUT IT MARV!
• Deadpan Snarker: Harry's a pretty crotchety guy, and employs hefty amounts of this trope toward Marv's idiocy.
• Dead Serious: He merely threatens to kill Kevin in the first film, but is fully prepared to do so in the second.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Harry draws the line at flooding people's houses and chasing a kid into a church. Although the latter may have been out of superstition and/or simple Pragmatic Villainy to avoid getting caught. Early on, when he almost runs over Kevin, he warns him to be more careful when he crosses the road.
  • While in New York, Marv aggressively hits on a woman by speaking French. She responds by slapping him, and a disgusted Harry tells Marv that he deserved that.
• Fingore: The retribution Harry intended on Kevin for defending his own house!
• Freudian Threat: After the paint can trap in the first movie, he threatens to snap off Kevin's cajones and boil them in motor oil.
• Groin Attack: In the first movie he gets shot by Kevin with a BB gun in his private area.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: After all, he is played by Joe Pesci. Pesci is famous for portraying characters with terrifying Hair Trigger Tempers.
• Hidden Depths: There was a deleted scene for the first movie, in which he mentions to Marv that he hates the modern commercialization of Christmas and wishes that people still stayed home to spend time with their families instead of going on extravagant trips.
• It's Personal: After each trap, his malice for Kevin increases, but it reaches its climax when his gold tooth is knocked out.
• Jerkass: He's mean, cranky, and short-tempered, especially towards Marv.
• Jerkass Has a Point: After he and Marv got arrested near the end of the second movie, he understandably gets angry with Marv for running his mouth at the police, knowing they have the right to remain silent. This likely wouldn't have done them much good though since the police got the pictures Kevin took as well as the "Bad guys say they'll kill me" tape as evidence.
• Knight of Cerebus: In the second movie he has a gun and fully intends to use it on Kevin.
• The Napoleon: His temperament is just as short as he is.
• Not So Above It All: He plays with a toy car while robbing the Murphy house.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain:
  • Harry actually manages to get information from the neighbors by disguising himself as a policeman.
  • Harry also is smart enough to know when the outside lights of each house turn on, and displays this to Marv in the first scene depicting them together. He is also smart enough to identity these houses as ones that have a family who is on vacation, which makes them easy prey to rob.
  • At the end of the first film, he outsmarted Kevin and caught him. He would have bitten Kevin's fingers off if Marley hadn't shown up. At the end of the second film, he pulls a gun on Kevin and is about to shoot him in the face when the pigeon lady appears — thankfully, the gun is jammed.
• Perpetual Frowner: Whenever something actually makes him smile, it doesn't last before he's back to frowning, whether it's because of Marv, or anything unfortunate... but most of the time, it's usually Marv.
• Pragmatic Villainy:
  • He doesn't approve of Marv flooding homes after they've robbed them as a Calling Card, calling it a sick thing to do. He's also concerned that it would let the police connect their burglaries to each-other and make them easier to track down, and the ending proves he was right.
  • After Marv hears what he believes to be a murder in the McCallister house (actually Kevin playing the gangster movie to scare Marv off), he tries to convince Harry they should beat it. Instead, Harry wants to keep an eye on the house and find out who the murderer is. That way, if they happen to get nailed by the cops for the robberies they committed, they could offer that information as a bargaining chip for a plea deal.
  • In the sequel, he calls out Marv for stealing change from a Salvation Army Santa's collection jar in the middle of a crowded street. As they have just escaped from prison, they would do well in keeping a low profile rather than committing petty crimes in broad daylight.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Before attempting to execute Kevin at the end of the second film:
  Harry: I never made it to the sixth grade, kid, and it doesn't look like you're gonna either.
• Red Right Hand: His golden tooth in the first movie, which he loses after being hit with a tin can by Kevin. By the end of the first film, there is his "M" scarred right hand from touching the booby-trapped doorknob, which is kept in the second.
• Scars Are Forever: In the first film, he tries to open a door, not knowing that Kevin had heated up the doorknob on the other side. He burns his right hand and cools it off in the snow. He also gets the top of his head burned by a flamethrower and has to cool that in the snow as well. In the second film, he still has a burn scar in the shape of an M on his right palm and it's heavily implied that the top of his head never recovered either (as evidenced when he sets his head on fire again and doesn't feel it).
• Shout-Out: The credits list his last name as "Lime". There was another villain named Harry Lime in The Third Man.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Notably averted, given Joe Pesci's previous roles. In fact, they actually had to do at least one retake of a scene with Harry when Pesci actually did manage to let slip a swear word.
• The Sociopath: He certainly shows enough signs, especially in the second film.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: When his head is on fire. Not so girly like Marv, though.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: He gives a couple of these, once in the first film after slipping off the ice-covered steps and landing on his back, and again in the sequel after falling on a car. Played for Laughs, of course.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: He is a lot crankier and more irascible in the second film. Justified perhaps in that he has just spent a year in jail thanks to Kevin.
• Verbal Tic: He frequently mutters angrily to himself regarding Kevin.
• Villainous Gold Tooth: His gold tooth produces a rare live-action Twinkle Smile. When he takes a paint can to the face while attempting to burgle Kevin's home, it breaks the gold tooth out of his mouth.

Marv

Marvin "Marv" Merchants

Played By: Daniel Stern, French Stewart (Home Alone 4)

The taller of the Wet Bandits, and certainly not the brightest.

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• Aesop Amnesia:
  • He apparently learned nothing from the first movie.
  Marv: What can he do? He's a kid. Kids are helpless.
  • Lampshaded when Harry tries to stop him from running into another stair trap:
    Harry: Don't you remember what happened last year?!
    Marv: ...No?
• Alliterative Name: Marv Merchants.
• Beard of Evil: He's never seen without his iconic beard.
• Bumbling Sidekick: At least in the second film. In the first film, he seems to be closer to Harry in terms of intelligence.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Much to Harry's disgust.
  "Remember, if this makes the papers, we're no longer the Wet Bandits, we're the Sticky Bandits!"
• Cloudcuckoolander: Especially in the second film.
• The Ditz: He's so clueless that he makes Harry look downright smart compared to him. In the second movie, he had trouble spelling "sticky", and stopped after the t, though in fairness, four bricks and a giant bag of cement to the head probably aren't helping his cognition along.
• The Dragon: To Harry, who comes up with all the plans. He tends to be the follower.
• Dumbass Has a Point:
  • In the first movie he thinks that Harry's plan to try to rob the McCallister's house even with Kevin inside is not a good idea. Given what happens next to him and Harry he surely was right.
  • In the first movie, when Harry says the McCallisters' house is "the one", Marv says there could be toys worth stealing inside. Some toys can be valuable collector's items.
  • In the first movie, he warns Harry not to go out the window on the rope leading to Kevin's tree house. He does the same in the second movie when Harry wants him to climb down from the roof of Uncle Rob's brownstone with him. He turns out to be right both times.
  • In the second movie, he warns Harry they should leave when he notices all the pigeons. He proves right when the pigeon lady appears.
  • In the second movie, it was Marv who suggested that they leave Kevin alone after he ran away from them into Central Park, knowing very well that he is alone and out of his element from the last time. Even Harry agrees, seeing that the Park gets even more dangerous at night.
  • In a deleted scene from the first film, he convinces Harry to stop pursuing Kevin, pointing out that following a child around is a terrible idea, as it's practically sending an invitation to the cops.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Along with Harry, he warns Kevin to watch out for traffic, hinting that "Santa doesn't visit funeral homes." Before that, once he notices Kevin crossing, Marv shouts to Harry to "watch out" in a clearly worried tone. Like Harry, he is also contrary to enter a church to follow Kevin. He also thinks that trying to rob the McCallisters' house even if Kevin's inside is a bad idea.
• Evil Is Petty: In between big scores, he either nicks change from a Salvation Army Santa or leaves the water running in the homes they rob.
• Expy: Marv is based on James Woods' worthless thief (yes, that James Woods) in an early episode of Kojak. "We don't leave clues, we leave dead-ends. We're the Dead-End Kids, remember!"
• For the Evulz: He floods the houses he and Harry rob for no better reason than to leave a 'calling card'.
• Informed Judaism: He has a few lines that likely come from how Daniel Stern, who is Jewish himself, improvised a lot of Marv's lines and antics.
  • "Merry Christmas, Harry!" / "Happy Hanukkah, Marv." (to himself)
  • In the second movie, he threatens Kevin by saying "American don't fly to the Promised Land, little buddy".
• Large Ham: Especially in the second movie.
• Manchild: In the first movie, Harry states that Marv is afraid of the dark. In addition, Marv wanted to steal toys (though he could have been planning for him and Harry to sell them, which may not be as stupid as it may seem). That's on top of him wanting him and Harry to have a criminal calling card. In the second movie, he's practically giddy to go ice skating, and reminds Harry that the latter promised to take him to the zoo.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
  • In the first film, Marv leaves a makeshift calling card for the police, namely by flooding the houses the duo robs. As the cops tell them once they are arrested, doing so let them know which houses were the ones they hit, much to Harry's dismay.
  • In the second film, Marv tells Kevin about how he and Harry will rob Duncan's Toy Chest, leading Kevin to stop them just like he did in the first film. This leads to their second arrest, the store's money going to the children's hospital, and Mr. Duncan sending Kevin and his family tons of gifts.
• Not as You Know Them: Reappears without Harry in the fourth film, which has only loose connections to the first two and seems to be set in a different continuity. He looks and acts nothing like his traditional self, and if anything, looks much more like Harry.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: When he and Harry are seen robbing a house together, the answering machine picks up a call from the McCallisters, and Marv, despite being the dumber of the two, catches on pretty quick that the family isn't home. Besides, he's shown that while being more reasonable than Harry, he can be sadistic and cruel like him when pushed too far, as he gleefuly plans to smash Kevin's face with an iron and "shove a nail through his foot".
• Primal Fear:
  • According to Harry, Marv is afraid of the dark. He denies it.
    Marv: Kids are scared of the dark.
    Harry: You're afraid of the dark too, Marv. You know you are.
    Marv: No I'm not.
    Harry: Yes you are.
    Marv: Not not not!
    Harry: You are so.
    Marv: Not not not not NOT NOT!...
  • He is also afraid of spiders and creeped out by flocks of pigeons gathering mysteriously. In his defense, who wouldn't be freaked out by a tarantula three or four inches wide landing on your face?
• Sarcasm-Blind: When he's arrested in the second movie.
  Officer: You guys should have started earlier. The prisoners have already exchanged gifts.
  Marv: We missed the presents!?
• Screams Like a Little Girl: He does this in the first movie when Kevin puts the tarantula on his face and again in the second movie when he and Harry are being attacked by the pigeons. This is evidently how Daniel Stern actually screams in real life. He also does it in City Slickers and Bushwhacked!.
• Spell My Name With An S: The novel spells his name as Marv Murchens. The fandom page has his surname listed as "Murchins". Go figure.
• Sticky Fingers: Literally in the second movie, after covering one hand with tape. He then says that he and Harry are no longer the "Wet Bandits", but the "Sticky Bandits".
• Stupid Crooks: Harry isn't all that smart himself (he never made it to the sixth grade in fact), but Marv is much, much dumber. His idiotic moments include:
  • Flooding all the houses they rob just to leave a Calling Card, which allows the police to tie all their thefts together, as well as probably adding property damage to their list of charges.
  • After stepping on broken glass and cutting his feet, instead of clearing the rest of the glass out of the way, he walks over the rest of it.
  • Stealing many things in broad daylight after he just broke out of prison.
  • Admitting to the police that they tried to steal from a children's charity, despite Harry telling him they have the right to remain silent.
  • When he and Harry notice that Kevin is taking a picture of them robbing a toy store, instead of hiding or shielding his face he leans in and smiles widely for the camera.
  • Perhaps his biggest idiot moment of all, in the second film, he walks into a room and does not notice a large gaping hole in the floor in front of him that anyone with half a brain cell would see. Though to be fair, he'd just been hit on the head with a brick several times.
• Terms of Endangerment: He calls Kevin "Little buddy" and "Squirt".
• Took a Level in Dumbass: In Home Alone 2, he's a lot dumber than in the first film, possibly thanks to the head injuries he sustained in the first film (and/or additional head injuries he might have sustained in prison).
• Underestimating Badassery: Throughout the second film Marv continually comments on how helpless Kevin is, thinking there's no way they can lose this time. When he and Harry chase Kevin to the brownstone Marv wants to charge right in, even declaring there's no way Kevin could repeat his antics from last year. Harry, despite his spiteful temper, has the wherewithal to show caution on this one and tells Marv to do the same.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: If his major freakout with Buzz's tarantula is anything to go by, he has a bad case of arachnophobia.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: When he and Harry chase after Kevin following their burglary of Duncan's Toy Chest, they corner him at a certain house. Harry thinks they should be cautious, but Marv thinks they've got nothing to worry about since they're far from Chicago, let alone Kevin's house, so there's no way it could be rigged. What he doesn't know is that this is actually the house of some of Kevin's relatives and he's likely been there at least once before, so Kevin does know the layout and has made use of the fact that it's under renovations to build a whole new booby-trap gauntlet.

The McCallister Family

Immediate Family

Kate

Kate McCallister

"Kevin!"

Played By: Catherine O'Hara, Clare Carey (Home Alone 4)

Kevin's mother. After discovering that Kevin was left home alone, she does everything humanly possible to get to him.

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• Aesop Amnesia: In the sequel. When she confronts Kevin in the attic after the choir debacle, she uses the exact same passive-aggressiveness that she did with Kevin in the first film, even knowing how well that had worked out before and snarkily admitting it. Granted, she attempts to make absolutely certain that Kevin doesn't get left behind this time. She sided with Buzz instead of Kevin. Even when Kevin told her that Buzz's apology was a fake; however, she doesn't listen to him.
• Badass Boast: "Right now, no mugger or murderer would dare mess with me!" She says this before going into New York City in the middle of the night, trying to find Kevin.
• Berserk Button: Don't even think about standing in her way when she's looking for Kevin. Bonus points for when she slaps the concierge for advising her against it.
  Kate: The way I'm feeling right now, no mugger or murderer would dare mess with me.
• Determinator: Given the measures she goes to in order to find Kevin, you can bet your bottom dollar she'll find a way to reunite with him.
  Kate: This is CHRISTMAS! The season of perpetual hope! And I don't care if I have to get out on your runway and HITCHHIKE! If it costs me everything I own, if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself, I am going to get home to my son.
• Deuteragonist: Kate doing everything humanly possible to return to Kevin becomes a hefty sub-plot in both films.
• Easily Forgiven: Justified — come on, it's Christmas! Kevin's just happy to see her at all.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Before developing into a protective Mama Bear she was pretty bad to Kevin. She barely notices all the abuse he receives from his older siblings and doesn't even defend him when Uncle Frank (another adult!) calls him "little jerk" in front of everyone. However both movies show that she really cares for her son.
• Kick the Dog: An unintentional one. When Kevin complains that the rest of the family hates him, Kate suggests that he ask Santa for a new family. Thus implying that they really do hate him, leading to Kevin telling her that he hopes that he doesn't see them ever again.
• Mama Bear: Both times Kevin is separated from the family, the sub-plots follow Kate doing everything in her power to get to him. The second film especially, which gives us this gem of a quote:
  Kate: Peter, I'll be fine. The way I'm feeling right now, no mugger or murderer would dare mess with me!
• Misplaced Retribution: She sends Kevin to the attic for the mess in the kitchen, which was actually caused by Buzz eating Kevin's cheese pizza and taunting him over it.
• Must Make Amends: At any cost, for leaving her son behind.
• My God, What Have I Done?: All she was trying to do is discipline Kevin after he acted out, and it winds up leaving him alone in Chicago. Not so much her fault in the second movie, but she takes it pretty hard nonetheless.
  Kate: What kind of a mother am I?
• No Sympathy: She acts rather ignorant about Kevin's problems at the beginning of the movie. She gets better later on when she realizes that Kevin was left alone at home.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • In both films where the family is going on a trip and once they get there, she realizes that they forgot Kevin.
  • Also in both films when her and Peter realize that they slept in and almost missed their flight.
• Parental Neglect: To Kevin. She blames the rest of her family for how busy and loud it gets in the house, making her unable to focus on Kevin. She very poorly carried out that pizza dinner argument, exiling Kevin for it when it was Buzz's fault.
• Parents as People: She doesn't handle Kevin's emotional problems well, but when he gets left behind, she moves heaven and Earth to get home to him.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: She is the emotional and outspoken red to Peter's calm and collected blue. This is notable in the first film when she would hop from airport to airport and not rest until she got home to Kevin.
• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Kate "The Mama Bear" McCallister.
• Was Too Hard on Him: When she realizes that she left Kevin at home, it absolutely eats her up inside for the rest of the movie.

Peter

Peter McCallister

"Kevin! You spent $967 on room service?!"

Played By: John Heard, Jason Beghe (Home Alone 4)

Kevin's father. He seems to take Kevin missing relatively more calmly than his wife.

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• Accidental Hero: Much like how his son Buzz's actions would affect Kevin's role to protect the household, Peter's actions in "Lost in New York" ended up helping out Kevin stopping Harry and Marv from robbing Mr. Duncan's money due to him accdently unplugging the alarm the night before leaving.
• Closer to Earth: While he's just as worried about Kevin as Kate; he doesn't go to the same desperate lengths she does.
• For Want Of A Nail: In the second movie. He lets Kevin rummage through his bag to get batteries for just a moment, and it leads to them getting separated and dealing with an even bigger catastrophe than last year.
• Henpecked Husband: He shows shades of it at times, giving Kate a wide berth in both movies during her absolute determination to find Kevin regardless of what she has to do.
• Happily Married: To Kate, mainly since he just lets Kate boss him around and make all their decisions.
• Mellow Fellow: Mostly by comparison. Kate is a whirlwind of panic when trying to get to Kevin; meanwhile Peter is just calmly trying to get everything in order. Additionally, whenever Kevin gets in trouble, Kate tends to yell at him while Peter just calmly tries reasoning with him and disciplines him if he continues acting out.
• Nice Guy: He's much more laidback than Kate, and his methods disciplining Kevin and reacting under pressure are always calmer than hers.
• Not So Stoic: The only time he really loses it is at the end of the second film when he discovers how much Kevin spent on room service.
• Only Sane Man: In relative terms, anyway. In the first Home Alone, Peter tries to talk Kate into waiting for the next flight from Paris to Chicago instead of hopping from airport to airport. She doesn't listen, but he turns out to be right. Peter and the whole family arrive home just minutes after she does. In the sequel, he's the first to notice that Kevin is missing, responding to the "Kevin's not here" train with "What?!".
• Papa Wolf: He becomes this in the second movie. Has a seething Death Glare at the concierge for letting his son run into the streets rather than keeping him at the hotel until they could arrive. He tells them off for being so egotistical. When Kate says she's going to the streets to find Kevin, Peter advises her to be careful and he will "handle" the hotel staff getting the family to their rooms.
• Parental Neglect: Accidentally, to Kevin. He seems to handle it a lot more reasonably than Kate does, since he's much less of a jerk to him.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: He is the calm and collected^note Except when he finds out that Kevin spent $967 on room service. blue to Kate's emotional and outspoken red. This is notable in the first film when he is willing to wait the two days for the flight home so he and the rest of the family (except Kate) can rest.

Buzz

Buzz McCallister

"I wouldn't let you sleep in my room if you were growing on my ass!"

Played By: Devin Ratray, Gideon Jacobs (Home Alone 4)

Kevin's older brother. He seemingly has nothing better to do but pick on his brother Kevin, although he is quite protective of him and does have something genuinely nice to say to him at the end. Home Sweet Home Alone reveals he eventually grew up to become a police officer.

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• Accidental Hero: He is indirectly responsible for the events leading to Kevin busting Harry and Marv for burglary in the first two movies, both times caused by his fights with Kevin.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Buzz was always a bully to his youngest sibling and was the main conflict of the first two movies. But the Classic Pop books altered or remove those parts out (Kevin just accidently spills the milk and the school choir was cut) and has Buzz be a bit more friendly.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Or cousin, to Heather during the scene where she's counting heads and he starts rattling off random numbers to mess with her.
  Heather: Buzz, don't be a moron.
• Big Brother Bully: Especially in the first movie, where he's nothing but an utter sourpuss to his younger brother Kevin. He's not much better in the second movie... until the end when he redeems himself.
• Book Dumb: He has to be reminded they can't go to the beach in the winter.
• Deadpan Snarker: Even moreso in the second movie.
  Buzz: [after Kevin blows up at the family] What a troubled young man.
• Dirty Kid: He fantasizes about hot French girls and savors at the prospect of a nude beach.
• Enemy Eats Your Lunch: He eats Kevin's pizza on the first night, and not only does he get away with it, but for losing his temper and bum-rushing Buzz, Kevin is sent to the third floor and doesn't get anything to replace his pizza. No wonder he thought everyone in the family hated him.
• Former Teen Rebel: The first trailer for Home Sweet Home Alone shows that he grew up to become a police officer for the family's town.
• Hidden Depths: His dialogue, particularly in the second movie, is actually quite sophisticated for a teenager and even when compared to most of the adults in the movies, and even his "A, 2, and D" speech could be snarkiness rather than him being dumb since he logically points out Kevin being in danger isn't likely (or so he thinks). He also plays almost every character in his family like a fiddle, including Kevin. One could infer that he's just as bright as Kevin in his own way and his pranks against them are born of boredom.
• Hypocrite: He is completely unconcerned about Kevin being home alone, believing he deserves whatever happens to him for being such an irresponsible jerk and that maybe getting a dose of reality will set him straight. Buzz, meanwhile, is an unpleasant and immature pest himself who never once accepts any responsibility for his own failings (including his part in Kevin's abandonment).
• It's All About Me: When the families make it to Paris, he complains about Kevin ruining their trip. His first reason for convincing Megan that Kevin will be fine alone is "I'm not that lucky."
• Jerkass: Could give Uncle Frank a run for his money. The reason why the family becomes mad at Kevin at the beginning of both movies before Kevin is left behind is because of something he did and made Kevin mad; eating the cheese-only pizza that was for him in the first movie and pulling a prank on him at the school's Christmas concert in the second.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • Buzz gets understandably upset at Kevin for barging into his room without knocking.
  • He was right in telling Megan that Kevin could use a few days in the real world. With no parents or older siblings around, it forced Kevin to get his own food, do his own grocery shopping, his own laundry, and protect his home from thieves.
• Jerkass to One: Seems to take delight in pushing Kevin around, but he's never seen bullying their sisters or Jeff.
• Karma Houdini: In the second movie. Sure, Kevin pushes him down after the electric candle debacle, but Buzz still gets away with conning the whole family with an insincere apology after the fact, and suffers no retribution.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: In the first movie. He initially gets away with taunting Kevin over pizza, which causes Kevin to bum rush him afterwards. But he later gets his comeuppance in the form of Kevin destroying his room and using his life savings to buy food.
• Lack of Empathy:
  • In the first movie, the family shows concern for Kevin's safety — all except Buzz, that is, who thinks that Kevin could use some time in the real world.
    Megan: You're not at all worried that something might happen to Kevin?
    Buzz: No, for three reasons: A, I'm not that lucky. Two, we use smoke detectors, and D, we live on the most boring street in the whole United States of America, where nothing even remotely dangerous will ever happen. Period!
  • In a deleted scene, the whole McCallister family lies awake at night in Paris worrying about Kevin, except Buzz, who sleeps soundly.
• Manipulative Bastard: After publicly humiliating Kevin in the school choir for cheap laughs and prompting Kevin to punch him for it, Buzz offers his family a completely phoney whimpering apology and they buy it, then smirks at Kevin to admit it was fake which prompts the latter to lash out at the family for buying it and taking Buzz's side over this, making Buzz look even better by comparison again!
• No Sympathy: He has no pity for Kevin being alone, and he chides the rest of the family for showing any pity. This is partly out of jealousy, partly because he thinks Kevin needs to grow up a bit, and partly because he thinks nothing terrible could ever happen in a boring street like theirs.
• Odd Name Out: For some reason, he has the strangest name compared to the rest of the family. This may be a case of Only Known by Their Nickname ala Buzz Aldrin.
• Pet the Dog:
  • In the sequel, he gives Kevin credit for making the family's holiday trip much better by causing them to end up in a luxury New York hotel with a truckload of toys.
  • He also gives major props to Kevin for managing to look after the house at the end of the first movie.
• Police Are Useless: Is single-handedly responsible of this happening in Home Sweet Home Alone from the parents' end (Max refuses to call the cops thinking he will get his parents in trouble for apparent child endangerment). When he gets told by dispatch to check on Max's home after they call, he instantly dismisses it as Kevin's annual prank and does nothing himself and tells dispatch to forget about it.
• Precision F-Strike: More like Precision A-Strike with his "growing on my ass!" quote.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: While everyone else is worried about Kevin's safety, Buzz isn't concerned at all (and chides the rest of the family for showing concern) and thinks nothing bad will happen to him because he lives in a boring street where there's no danger. The family returns to find Kevin completely unscathed, but only because the kid was able to defend himself from criminals, not because of the lack of danger.
• Tempting Fate: He claims that Kevin will be fine because they live on the most boring street in America, where nothing remotely dangerous will ever happen. Cue the Wet Bandits.
• Token Evil Teammate: While none of the McCallister family members are nice to Kevin, he's the only one who goes out of his way to antagonize Kevin, and doesn't pretend to be worried about him.
• Villain with Good Publicity: In 2, he embarrasses Kevin in public but manages to get away with it by offering a groveling phony apology to his family, then manipulating Kevin into another outburst. Jeff is the only one who immediately knows he's full of it and their mother only realizes the truth after Kevin has to spell it out for her.
• Vocal Evolution: His voice got much deeper in the second movie. Justified, as the actor hit puberty.

Jeff

Jeff McCalister

Played By: Mike Maronna

"Kevin, you're such a disease."

Kevin's second older brother after Buzz.

---

• Big Brother Bully: Though Buzz gets more focus, he's not very nice to Kevin either, just like the rest of the family.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Although the fourth film brings back the McCallister family, he is neither seen nor mentioned.
• Demoted to Extra: While never a major character, he goes from one of Kevin's mean siblings in the first film to a background character in the second.
• Pet the Dog:
  • While he's a Big Brother Bully to Kevin, he's the exact opposite with Fuller as he's shown playing pirates with him in the opening scene of the first film.
  • A deleted scene in the first movie shows that Jeff can't sleep in Paris, because he is worried about Kevin.
  • Although he laughed with Buzz while he ruins the pageant in the second movie, when everyone applauds when Buzz apologizes to Kevin, Jeff is glaring at him, clearly knowing that Buzz is full of shit.

Megan

Megan McCallister

Played By: Hillary Wolf, Chelsea Russo (Home Alone 4)

"Kevin, you're completely helpless!"

Kevin's sister.

---

• Alliterative Name: Megan McCallister.
• Big Sister Instinct: During the Paris scene, she reveals to Buzz she's worried about Kevin being at home on his own.^note Deleted scenes show that Jeff and Linnie are too.
• Demoted to Extra: Like all of Kevin's siblings not named Buzz. In the second film, she doesn't have many lines and never interacts with Kevin.
• Pet the Dog: In the first movie she shows concern for Kevin's safety, unlike Buzz. Even her shot at Kevin when the family is mad at Kevin is to say that he's "completely helpless", which makes her sound rather concerned in comparison to what her other siblings call him.

Linnie

Linnie McCallister

Played By: Angela Goethals (Home Alone); Maureen Elisabeth Shay (Home Alone 2: Lost in New York)

"You know, Kevin, you're what the French call les incompétents."

Kevin's other sister.

---

• Bait the Dog: Linnie spends about thirty seconds sounding patient and friendly as she talks to Kevin before calling him les incompetents.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Much like Jeff, she does not appear in the fourth film.
• Delusions of Eloquence: She uses French phrases to sound intelligent, but she comes off as pathetic. Her actual mistake is using the plural form instead of the singular when referring to Kevin. She should have called him "l'incompétent".
• Demoted to Extra: Similarly to Jeff and Megan. In the first film she has a name and a few interactions with Kevin but in the second film she is reduced to a Living Prop.
• Gratuitous French: "Les incompétents!"
• Jerkass Has a Point: She does tell Kevin he shouldn't worry because Kate would pack his stuff for him.
• Pet the Dog: Deleted scenes show that she, like Megan and Jeff, is worried about Kevin's well-being.

Extended Family

Frank

Frank McCallister

"If it makes you feel any better, I forgot my reading glasses."

Played By: Gerry Bamman

"Look what you did, you little jerk!"

Kevin's uncle and the brother of Peter. He is a highly eccentric guy, a penny pincher and quite a bit of the Jerkass. Kevin (understandably) hates him the most out of all his adult relatives.

---

• Adapted Out: He and the rest of the family are cut from the Classic Pop books to simplify the cast to just Kevin's own family.
• Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa: Skinny Papa to his chubby wife Leslie.
• Dreadful Musician: Sings very off-key in the shower.
• Everyone Has Standards: Even he's at least responsible enough to not let his eight-year-old nephew watch a violent gangster movie.
  Kevin: It's not even rated R. He's just being a jerk.
  Kate: Kevin, if Uncle Frank says no, then it must be really bad.
• Evil Is Petty: He tries to steal champagne glasses en route to Paris.
• Evil Uncle: Downplayed. He's not evil, but treats Kevin quite poorly, and shows no emotion when his parents leave him behind accidentally. In the sequel, he hasn't changed much, although he does mellow slightly by the end. To the viewer, however, this appears to be in very much doubt. Therefore, it is still currently unknown whether he really meant it or not, since he's the only family member who did join in cheering Kevin, but didn't clap for him, as he was a little more focused on looking for his presents to open, and he'll most likely remain the same, maybe after finding out that Kevin spent $967 on room service.
• Gosh Dang It to Heck!: His mild expletive of choice is "gol-dern".
• Happily Married: Despite being a grouch, Frank and Leslie are happily married to each other.
• Hate Sink: By far the most unlikeable character in the first two films. He's greedy Jerkass who is needlessly cruel to Kevin, and unlike Buzz, he doesn't get any major Pet the Dog moments to make up for it.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: One of the more memorable scenes in the second movie involves him in the shower, busting out a… truly stunning rendition of the Capitols' "Cool Jerk." Thanks to Kevin's Talkboy, this becomes a major Chekhov's Gun later on.
• Hypocrite:
  • He calls Kevin a jerk… while being the biggest Jerkass in the family.
  • He calls Kevin a nosy little pervert in the sequel — the same man who pulled down Kevin's pants in a deleted scene in the first film. Though it's unclear whether the deleted scenes are considered canon or not.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • He wasn't wrong about how Kevin shouldn't watch a violent movie. When Kevin actually does watch it when he's home alone, it traumatizes him. Granted, Kevin does use it to his advantage later on, but Frank still had a good point.
  • He bitches about the unlikelihood they would make it to the plane because it leaves in 45 minutes, given that their house is 30 minutes away from O'Hare Airport, it was only pure luck that the McCallisters made it on time.
  • In the second film, he points out that Kate and Peter are terrible at waking the family up on time.
• Jerkass to One: Uncle Frank is grumpy and argumentative with everyone but Kevin often gets the bear brunt of his abuse.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: None of the other members of Kevin's family are very nice, but he takes the cake. Even the rest of the family has moments where they seem to merely be putting up with him. He also originally seems to care about Kate when she realizes they left Kevin behind. To make her feel better, he says he forgot his reading glasses. Aunt Leslie and Kevin's parents give him a Disapproving Look.
• Karma Houdini: He's a complete and utter ass to everyone (including his own wife and kids) and never faces any consequences whatsoever, though Kevin does use Uncle Frank's Jerkass-ness to his advantage in the hotel.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: In Home Alone 2, Frank insults Kevin in front of everyone; however, Kevin calls him a cheapskate. Frank is humiliated by everyone. In a deleted scene, everyone is heading to New York to find Kevin. Frank blames Kevin for ruining Christmas. Kevin's parents finally tell him to shut up and put him in his place.
• Lack of Empathy: Tries to console Kate and Peter after they realize that Kevin was left behind by saying: "I forgot my reading glasses", earning a scowl from Leslie.
• Manchild: Out of the four McCallister adults, he's the only who laughs at Buzz's childish prank on Kevin in the second film. He later says, "Immature or not, it was pretty gol-darn hilarious".
• No Indoor Voice: "LOOK WHAT YOU DID, YOU LITTLE JERK!" and then "GET OUT OF YOU HERE, YOU NOSY LITTLE PERVERT, OR I'M GONNA SLAP YOU SILLY!".
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: His reaction to everyone realizing Kevin was left at home? He forgot his reading glasses.
• Pet the Dog:
  • He is carrying Fuller during the family's run through the airport in the first film.
  • Even he claps for Kevin at the hotel in the second film, only briefly for a short time.
• The Scrooge: Frank is regularly portrayed as a penny pincher; he avoids paying for his share of pizza, tries to steal airline champagne flutes, and it's heavily implied he is only taking his family to Paris because Peter and Kate are paying. Kevin is the only family member to call him out on it, directly telling him he's a cheapskate in the sequel.
  Kevin: Oh, wouldn't want to spoil your fun, Mr. Cheapskate!
• Shower Scene: In Home Alone 2, when Kevin is trying to get his tie, he hears Uncle Frank's singing and records it. This would serve as a Chekhov's Gun later in the movie.
  "Get outta here, you nosy little pervert, or I'm gonna slap you silly!!!"

Leslie

Leslie McCallister

Played By: Terrie Snell

"Fuller, go easy on the Pepsi!"

The aunt to Kevin and Buzz, wife of Frank, and mother of Fuller, Tracy, Rod, Sondra, and Brooke.

---

• Adapted Out: She and the rest of the family are cut from the Classic Pop books to simplify the cast to just Kevin's own family.
• Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa: Chubby Mama to Frank's Skinny Papa.
• Doting Parent: She's shown to be a doting mother to Fuller.
• Happily Married: To Frank. They seem to genuinely care for each other, even despite Frank's casual Jerkassery to everybody else.
• Nice Girl: Compared to Uncle Frank anyway.
• Only Sane Woman: In the first film she gives Frank a dirty look when he has the gall to compare Kate forgetting Kevin to him forgetting his reading glasses. In the second film, she tries to get Frank to stop laughing at Kevin.
• Token Good Teammate: Out of Frank's family, she's the only one to show any explicit concern for Kevin's well-being. She also calls Frank out on trying to steal champagne glasses from the plane.

Fuller

Fuller McCallister

Played By: Kieran Culkin

The younger cousin of Kevin and son of Frank and Leslie McCallister. He likes to drink soda and is said to wet the bed, much to Kevin's dismay.

---

• Adapted Out: He and the rest of the family are cut from the Classic Pop books to simplify the cast to just Kevin's own family.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: More like an Annoying Younger Cousin to Kevin (although his actor actually is Macaulay Culkin's younger brother).
• Ascended Extra: Downplayed. While his overall role isn’t expanded upon he does receive more lines in the sequel.
• Bratty Half-Pint: He constantly wets the bed — in the second film, it's implied he does it on purpose, or at least finds it amusing that Kevin might have to share a bed with him for that reason. And during the dinner at the start of the first movie, we see Fuller drinking a Pepsi, but then he briefly stops and gives a smug look at Kevin.
• Casting Gag: Kevin's dislike of him is all the more amusing if you know that he's played by Macaulay Culkin's Real Life younger brother.
• Embarrassing Damp Sheets: He is notorious for wetting his bed. He takes advantage of that to get a bed to himself.
• Informed Attribute: Fuller is apparently a bed-wetter, though we never see the, erm, "results" (probably for the best). This leads to a Chekhov's Gag toward the end of the second movie when he's seen with a few Coke cans on either side of him in bed.
  Aunt Leslie: [as Fuller chugs a soda] Fuller! Go easy on the Pepsi!
  Fuller: [big grin; cue pee noises]
• Meaningful Name: The kid named Fuller is cautioned to watch his fluid intake because of his notorious bladder problem.^note In Roman times, fulling was conducted by slaves working the cloth while ankle deep in tubs of human urine.
• Potty Failure: This is why Kevin hates sharing a bed with him. In the sequel, it's implied he's graduated to doing it on purpose.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He sure loves his fizzy drinks.
• Troll: Look at that smirk. Seriously. And they say Kevin's the troublemaker.

Tracy

Tracy

Played By: Senta Moses Mikan

One of Kevin's cousins, daughter of Uncle Frank and Aunt Lesile.

---

• Adapted Out: She and the rest of the family are cut from the Classic Pop books to simplify the cast to just Kevin's own family.
• Messy Hair: Tracy's hair is frizzier than that of any of her female cousins or sisters. Interestingly, her first scene has her trying to find some shampoo during Harry's visit to the house.
• Nice Girl: While Tracy never directly interacts with Kevin, she looks concerned on both occasions when he's missing, and seems to sympathize with Kevin rather than Buzz during the forced apology scene in the sequel.

Sondra

Sondra

Played By: Daiana Campeanu

One of Kevin's cousins, daughter of Uncle Frank and Aunt Lesile.

---

• Adapted Out: She and the rest of the family are cut from the Classic Pop books to simplify the cast to just Kevin's own family.
• Be as Unhelpful as Possible: When Harry is trying to find the owner of the McCallister house while disguised as a cop in the opening scene, Sondra answers his questions in cheeky, one word answers and leaves without having given him any helpful information.
• Tan Lines: Sondra is excited about getting a tan in Florida and scoffs at Tracy's decision to bring sunblock.

Brooke

Brooke

Played By: Anna Slotky

One of Kevin's cousins, the youngest daughter of Uncle Frank and Aunt Lesile.

---

• Adapted Out: She and the rest of the family are cut from the Classic Pop books to simplify the cast to just Kevin's own family.
• Nerd Glasses: Brooke wears large, awkward-looking glasses similar to her brothers'.

Rod

Rod

Played By: Jedidiah Cohen

One of Kevin's cousins, the oldest son of Uncle Rob and Aunt Georgette (who live in France) and Heather's younger brother.

---

• Adapted Out: He and the rest of the family are cut from the Classic Pop books to simplify the cast to just Kevin's own family.
• All There in the Script: The films don't make this clear, but the first movie's novelization and the Lost in New York one by A.L. Singer mention that Uncle Rob and Aunt Georgette are Rod's parents, not Uncle Frank and Aunt Leslie.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Rod often gets mad at Kevin and doesn't seem worried about his cousin's safety after he gets left home alone. However, he tolerates Kevin's presence more than almost anyone else does in one early scene and claps for him at the end of the second movie.
• The Watson: Along with Kevin, Rod serves as someone for Buzz to tell the spooky stories about Old Man Marley.

Heather

Heather

Played By: Kristin Minter

"Buzz, don't be a moron."

One of Kevin's cousins, daughter of Uncle Rob and Aunt Georgette. As the oldest of the kids, she holds the most authority after the parents.

---

• Adapted Out: She was cut from the first Classic Pop book to simplify the cast to just Kevin's own family.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Absent in the second movie. Considering she seemed to be late high school aged in the first movie, she may have moved out for college or is living with her parents again.
• Deadpan Snarker: She ends her head count with "...and a partridge in a pear tree."
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Cousin example. She is put in charge of keeping track of the younger kids, and aside from Kevin, she's the only one who calls out Buzz on being a Jerkass.
• My God, What Have I Done?: She is visibly shaken after Kate discovers that Kevin's home alone. Kate had tasked her to do a headcount of the kids, and she mistook Mitch Murphy for Kevin.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She's the one who causes Kevin to be left home alone by mistaking a neighbor's kid for Kevin while doing a headcount.

Supporting characters specific to Home Alone

Old Man Marley

"Old Man" Marley

"Come on, let's get you home."

Played By: Roberts Blossom

Kevin's neighbor. Buzz told a story about how he was called the "South Bend Shovel Slayer" because it was said that he murdered his family and half of the people on the block with a snow shovel and kept them in a garbage can full of salt. Kevin meets up with him several times through the film before learning that he's far the opposite from what he seems.

---

• Adapted Out: He doesn't show up at all for any of the games.
• The Atoner: He got into an argument with his son years before and clearly regrets how he handled things. They reunite at the end of the film.
• Badass Longcoat: His all-black winter coat, apart from being practical for the intense Chicago winter, also enhances his imposing presence.
• Beware the Nice Ones: The fact that he turns out to be a kind, good-natured old man rather than the terrifying killer some think he is doesn't mean he can't also kick ass when needed as Harry and Marv find out the hard way.
• Big Damn Heroes: He's the first person in the whole neighborhood to notice the ongoing chaos at the McCallister house when the Wet Bandits barge in, and arrives just in time to save Kevin by taking out the intruders with his snow shovel.
• Cool Old Guy: He turns out to be this, being a polite, charming and good-natured grandfather who Kevin quickly strikes up a friendship with.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Inflicts one on Harry and Marv, taking them out easily.
• Dark Is Not Evil: He dresses in dark clothing for much of the film and is rumored to have murdered his family years before, but it turns out the rumors about him are not true and he's not on speaking terms with his family because of an argument he had with his son.
• Death Glare: His large, piercing eyes give this impression most of the time, and it's likely the main reason why Kevin keeps getting scared off by him. Subverted, because despite the way he stares, he doesn't mean any harm. That is until he sets his sights on Harry and Marv...
• The Dreaded: Invoked. People like Buzz instigated rumors of him being a psychopath capable of killing anyone with a shovel like he did to his own family, but later on it's revealed they were all false when he and Kevin meet at the church.
• Face of a Thug: He has an ominous appearance that's not at all helped by the intense stare he typically wears which looks like a perpetual Death Glare, but the truth is he's just a kind, lonely old man who's going through his own family troubles.
• Foil: To Harry Lime. Both Marley and Harry are introduced as characters that are not who they seem during the pizza party. While Harry initially is outwardly helpful and trustworthy-seeming, Marley at first gives off the impression that he's a deranged killer who turns out really to be a kind-hearted old man. Harry and Marley each subsequently appear to menace Kevin the most during his unsupervised shopping trips, ironically Marley being the one to drive Kevin himself to unintentionally commit petty theft out of fear.
• For Doom the Bell Tolls: His appearances are often accompanied by an ominous bell chiming which helps mask the fact that he's not a Serial Killer.
• Good All Along: Marley is feared by most people because he's rumored to be a Serial Killer, and he's rather stoic and unnerving in general. As it turns out, he's completely innocent, and is simply depressed because he had a bad falling-out with his son. When Kevin gives him some helpful advice, Old Man Marley repays the favor by saving Kevin's life at the climax.
• Good Is Not Soft: Marley isn't a killer or even remotely malevolent. But as the Wet Bandits find out, he can be if you mess with a little kid.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: He's rumored to be a Serial Killer. He's not.
• Improvised Weapon: He uses a snow shovel at the end of the first installment to knock out the Wet Bandits.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Develops one with Kevin through their conversation in the church.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Don't be fooled by that menacing stare; Marley's just a lonely old man who has no-one in his life.
• My Greatest Failure: He got into an argument with his son years prior that seriously damaged their relationship, and it's clear he sees how he handled things as this.
• Nice Guy: Despite his fearsome reputation, he's very polite, soft-spoken, and heroic and doesn't even seem all that bothered by what people say about him.
• Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Although rumors of his villainy abound, he's anything but a bad guy.
• Not Helping Your Case: A minor example in the store scene when Kevin is buying a toothbrush. As it turns out, Marley's not a serial killer and the rumors of him killing his family aren't true at all. That being said, however, Marley really doesn't do himself any favors by slamming a bloody, bandaged hand on the counter in front of Kevin and then making a menacing face at him. Furthermore, when Kevin understandably backs away, Marley continues glaring at him and doesn't even try to apologize and explain himself. One can't blame Kevin, a young child, for getting scared and running out of the store (which makes him accidentally forget to pay for the toothbrush).
• Parental Abandonment: Years ago, he had a fight with his son, which ended with him telling his son that he didn't want to see him anymore and it's implied he's not had much, if any, contact with his granddaughter as a result. They manage to reconcile at the end of the movie.
• Papa Wolf: Towards Kevin. He's the one who eventually takes down Harry and Marv after they capture Kevin and threaten to torture him.
• Shadow Archetype: Like Kevin, he got into an argument with family and refused to reconcile for years. As such, he illustrates how lonely Kevin's life would be if he got his wish.
• Shovel Strike: According to Buzz, he's rumored to have murdered his entire family with a shovel. Subverted as the rumors are patently untrue, then played straight when he uses his shovel to take down Harry and Marv.
• Walking Spoiler: He's a rare positive example of a character not being what they appear.
• When He Smiles: He smiles for the first time during his conversation with Kevin in the church, to reassure him he doesn't need to be afraid. He's also overjoyed in the climax when he reunites with his son.

Gus Polinski

Gus Polinski

"You want to talk about bad parents? Well, look at— look at us."

Played By: John Candy

The "Polka King of the Midwest." When Kate McCallister is trying to get a flight to Chicago, upon hearing about her dilemma, Gus offers her a ride, which Kate gladly accepts.

---

• Adapted Out: He doesn't show up at all for any of the games and the Classic Pop book based on the first movie.
• Disappeared Dad: In a sense. He's not really proud of this, but he and the boys are on the road constantly, and it really cuts down on time spent with family. And that goes for all the members of his band, too: according to Gus, one of the boys has never even met his kids.
• Dreadful Musician: His music career isn't exactly a glowing success.
• Expy: Of Del Griffith from Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Same happy-go-lucky sort of demeanor, except with a polka band.
• False Reassurance: His story about traumatizing his son by leaving him in a funeral parlor is no doubt this to Kate.
• Good Samaritan: He offers to help Kate get home to Kevin with no strings attached.
• Nice Guy: As one would expect from John Candy. He is nice enough to offer Kate McCallister a ride back to Chicago. He even tries to comfort Kate when she starts lamenting she's a bad parent to Kevin for leaving him home alone, as Gus points out at least she's doing her best to return to him.
• No-Hit Wonder: In-universe. You might not know it to look at him, but Gus and his Kenosha Kickers had a few big hits... on the early 70's Midwest polka circuit, that is. (And Gus defines "big" as "sold 623 copies in Sheboygan".) He certainly doesn't hold it against Kate for not recognizing him, but he is a little bit disappointed.
• Parental Abandonment: He once accidentally abandoned his son at a funeral parlor.
• Parents as People: He uses his own mistakes as a parent so that Kate shouldn't feel too hard on herself.
• Red Baron: The Polka King of the Midwest! Awkwardly, Kate has never heard of him.

"Santa Claus"

Fake Santa

Played By: Ken Hudson Campbell

• Bad Santa: Averted. Despite his not very good fortune, he still is nice to Kevin.
• Butt-Monkey: His notable moments other than listening to Kevin were various misfortunes. When we first see him, he is shown dealing with a parking ticket he got on Christmas Eve. Then after he listens to Kevin's Christmas wish, his car breaks down as he tries to go to the get together he's late for. Still, he manages to be a decent guy to Kevin.
• Mall Santa: Kevin can tell right away that he's not really Santa, despite his best efforts to put on the act.
• Mr. Vice Guy: He's seen smoking a cigarette and muttering about a parking ticket but is conscientious enough to discard the cigarette and his annoyance when he sees a kid.
• Nice Guy: He discards his cigarette as soon as he sees Kevin and is kind enough to listen to his Christmas wish and even humor him despite being late for a get-together. He even gives Kevin some Tic Tacs to make up for not being able to give him any candy canes.

Mitch Murphy

Mitch Murphy

Played By: Jeffrey Wiseman

The neighbor's kid who wanders over while the McCallisters are rushing out the door and gets mistaken for Kevin while pestering the drivers with questions.

---

• Accidental Hero: Had he not been snooping around the McCallister's luggage and been mistaken for Kevin, there's a very likely chance that Kevin would not have been able to defend the McCallister house from the Wet Bandits.
• Constantly Curious: He annoys the shuttle van staff with questions and rummages through the McCallisters' luggage for no particular reason than because he can.
• Small Role, Big Impact: While he's curiously checking the transportation shuttle out he gets mistaken for Kevin during a headcount, which is what results in Kevin being left alone.

Supporting characters specific to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Pigeon Lady

Pigeon Lady

"It's Christmas Eve. Good deeds count extra tonight."

Played By: Brenda Fricker

"Let him go! Kevin, run!"

A homeless woman tending to pigeons at Central Park who strikes a friendship with Kevin.

---

• Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: The Sega game doesn't have her show until the end of the game as Kevin has to find her to rescue him from Harry and Marv. But this makes it confusing to players on why this random woman is helping Kevin due to how the game cuts out the interaction between the two before the climax.
• Adaptational Late Appearance: She met Kevin early in the movie, though some of the game and books adaptations made her appear later.
  • In the Classic Pop book, Kevin bumped into the Pigeon Lady as he tries to run away from Harry and Marv.
  • In the Nintendo games, she appears at the end of the second level.
  • In the Sega game, she appears at the final level.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She's a kind and humble soul, but when she confronts the Wet Bandits at Central Park, she goes full Beastmaster and takes them down with a swarm of pigeons.
• Big Damn Heroes: When she steps in and saves Kevin literally just before Harry is about to shoot him.
• Crazy Cat Lady: Eccentric pigeon lady, at any rate.
• Distaff Counterpart: She serves the same role that Old Man Marley did in the first film; a person who at first appears menacing and as such scares Kevin, before an encounter with him reveals that they're actually a Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold, became a loner because of a tragic incident in their lives, becomes friends with Kevin, came to Kevin's rescue when Harry and Marv had him cornered, and eventually made peace with themselves thanks to Kevin.
• Friendship Trinket: At the end, Kevin gives her one of the two turtle doves from Duncan's store, a symbol of their newfound friendship. It's probably her first Christmas gift in years.
• Homeless Pigeon Person: After her life collapsed, she dealt with it by taking care of the pigeons in the park, leading to her distraught and homeless state.
• Mama Bear: Towards Kevin. Much like Old Man Marley in the first film, she's the one who eventually takes down Harry and Marv after they capture Kevin and Harry is about to shoot him.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: As mentioned above, she's the Old Man Marley of Home Alone 2. Maybe not quite as scary — at first, Kevin's not so much scared of her as extremely disturbed by all those pigeons on one person ("...sick!!"). Regardless, Kevin soon warms up to her.
• Nice Girl: Like Old Man Marley, she comes off as a bit off putting but once Kevin talks with her she's a very sweet lady who just keeps to herself because of a broken heart.
• No Name Given: She's either called the Pigeon Lady or the Bird Lady, but we never get an actual name out of her.

Mr. Hector

Mr. Hector

What's the matter? Store wouldn't take your... stolen credit card?

Played By: Tim Curry

"What's the matter? Store wouldn't take your... stolen credit card?"

The concierge at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, where Kevin stays. He thinks Kevin had stolen his father's credit card, and as such over-eagerly treats Kevin like a criminal, which really didn't help Kevin when he was chased by Harry and Marv.

---

• Adapted Out: He and the whole Plaza Hotel are absent in the Sega version of the game.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Unlike in the movie where he wants to catch Kevin that something was fishy about him checking out the hotel, Mr. Hector in the Classic Pop book of the movie while confused on letting a child pay for a room, rather lets Kevin in and doesn't go on the goose chase like in the movie.
• Background Halo: An overhead light turns on after he discovers Kevin "stole" his dad's credit card.
  Mr. Hector: "Bingo." *ding*
• Bitch Slap: He ends up on the receiving end of one of these, courtesy of Kate.
  Mr. Hector: "Madam, there are hundreds of parasites out there armed to the teeth— *SLAP!* Do bundle up, it's awfully cold outside."
• Butt-Monkey: Along with the hotel staff, he's outsmarted and humiliated by Kevin.
• Demoted to Extra: Because his main coflict with Kevin was cut out in the Classic Pop version of the movie, Mr. Hector only appears when Kevin checks in the hotel.
• Disc-One Final Boss: He and the hotel staff serve as this as the rest of the second half of the movie's conflict is spent on the Wet Bandits.
• For the Evulz: He has no real reason to be a Smug Snake over discovering Kevin's credit-card fraud — beyond "is played by Tim Curry".
• The Heavy: While he isn't a villain by any means as he is just doing his job, he does go out of his way to cause trouble for Kevin during his stay in New York City, specifically his time at the Plaza Hotel due to him having his suspicions of him and very well could have been the Big Bad of the movie. Until the Wet Bandits showed up again in Kevin's life thus the conflict switches to them.
• Idiot Ball: He sure kept dropping it as what he does could certainly get him fired from his job. He didn't even try to call child services to help Kevin find his parents when he finds out that he's alone. Later on, Kate yells at him for making Kevin leave and for what he's done. This causes the staff to nod in agreement.
• Inspector Javert: He's the only one suspicious of a boy staying all by himself in a hotel in New York.
• Jerkass: Is an overall smug jerk.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Despite being established as a smarmy jerk, he does have a point when he tries to talk Kate out of looking for Kevin in New York City at night, alone. Since he is the very one who chased Kevin out into those dangerous streets, the slap he receives is deserved.
• Large Ham: As can only be expected, given who plays him.
• Meaningful Name: To hector someone means to harass or bully them in an arrogant manner.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: The morning after the "shower incident", he puts on a pleasant and cheerful persona as he tries to apologise to Kevin. While Kevin keeps up the charade, saying his father, who has not been seen with him once, has already left, Hector pretends to fall for it. As soon as Kevin leaves, he returns to his smug persona, and decides to get to the bottom of the situation once and for all.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Downplayed to the point of Villainy-Free Villain. He's doing his job and is right that Kevin used his father's credit card to illegally book a room, but he's overly motivated in catching Kevin and it looks like he's doing it out of spite.
• Pyrrhic Victory:
  • After exposing Kevin for the credit card fraud and kicking him out of the hotel. Kevin managed to humiliate him and the staff and escape.
  • Later, when Kevin's family showed up to the hotel and confront him, Hector was proud for what he did and see this as a victory; however, Kate scolds him for what he had done. The staff agreed with her. Kate slapped Hector when he tried to stop her from looking for Kevin. Hector humilated again adviced her to stay warm while trying to hold back the tears. Hector's victor turn into a Pyrrhic Victory.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Zig-Zagged. Although he clearly is eager to hand Kevin over the the police, he does have his moments.
  • As mentioned above, he’s only doing his job when he confronts Kevin.
  • He advises Cedric the Bellhop not to count his tips in public.
  • He takes an active shooter threat very seriously. After he and his fellow staffers nearly get killed by "an insane guest with a gun" (or so they think), he orders all the guests inspecting the commotion to stay in their rooms. On the same note, he, for the moment, forgets about his desire to capture Kevin.
  • When Kate says she’s going out to look for Kevin, he tries to dissuade her by mentioning the dangers of New York at night, only to get slapped in the face causing him to cry.
• Skewed Priorities: When confronted by Kevin's parents about scaring Kevin away from the hotel:
  Peter: When you realized that the credit card was stolen...
  Mr. Hector: *proudly* I made the discovery!
• Slasher Smile: When he discovers Kevin "stole" his dad's credit card.
• Smug Snake: Is very proud in discovering the credit card "thievery", but Kevin got away. Oops. He still tries to take credit for his discovery while talking with Kevin's parents, only to get yelled at by Kate for his actions.

Mr. Duncan

Elliot-Fox "E.F." Duncan

Played By: Eddie Bracken

"You see, turtle doves are a symbol of friendship and love. And as long as each of you has your turtle dove, you'll be friends forever."

The philanthropic owner of Duncan's Toy Chest, a toy store in New York City. He donates the proceeds from the store's Christmas sales to a children's hospital. Unfortunately, Harry and Marv plan on stealing it all the night before.

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• Big Good: He ultimately cares for the children, as he's donating the proceeds from the store's Christmas sales to a children's hospital. As a matter of fact, it's his desire for the children that drives Kevin to stop Harry and Marv from stealing in the store, and Mr. Duncan rewards him with presents.
• Cool Old Guy: An old toy store owner who runs a charity fundraiser and gifts Kevin and his family with toys on Christmas Eve for preventing said fundraiser from being stolen by the Wet Bandits.
• Friend to All Children: Regularly donates charities to children, and his store even allows kids to come in and play with the toys. Kevin even points out that most toy stores won't allow kids to play with the toys before purchasing them.
• King Incognito: He's posing as an ordinary cashier when Kevin meets him.
• Nice Guy: He perfectly understands why Kevin had to break the window of his store, and secretly sends him and his family tons of gifts in gratitude for Kevin saving the charity fund.
• Third-Person Person: Justified as he's pretending to be a cashier in employ of Mr. Duncan.
• Wealthy Philanthropist: Plans to donate the proceeds his toy shop makes to a children's hospital. Unfortunately, Harry and Marv plan on stealing it all.

Donald Trump

Donald J. Trump

Played By: Himself

"Down the hall, to the left."

A well-known businessman (and future President of the United States) in New York who owns the Plaza Hotel and gives Kevin directions to the lobby.

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• As Himself: Behind the scenes reveals he would only allow filming at the hotel if he were in it^note Well, technically, the contract seemed to only dictate that they film a cameo, they weren't necessarily required to keep him in the final cut. In fact, Chris Columbus almost cut it but test audiences reacted very positively to it, forcing him to keep the scene.
• The Cameo: His one scene in the film is him giving directions to Kevin in the lobby^note Though he actually points in the wrong direction, and Kevin just walks past him to the desk..
• Pet the Dog: He's willing to give Kevin directions to the lobby, even though Kevin is a minor who should be with his parents. The stare from behind implies he might be concerned given Kevin is too young to be in public.

Fashion Model

Fashion Model

Played By: Leigh Zimmerman

• Adapted Out: She doesn't show up in the Sega port.
• Ms. Fanservice: Downplayed. While she is beautiful, and DEFINITELY Marv thinks so due to her profession she doesn't wear anything revealing or skin exposure but her clothes are form fitting to a certain degree.
• Unprovoked Pervert Payback: Subverted. While Marv touching her was an accident, he really didn't fix things by trying to flirt with her. Therefore, her slapping Marv wasn't entirely unprovoked.
• Unwitting Pawn: She gets goosed by Kevin while he was being held hostage by Harry and Marv. She punches Marv, and then Harry after Kevin blames it on him. Although the whole thing was one of Kevin's tricks, she seemed satisfied knowing she freed Kevin from the two thugs.
• You Don't Look Like You: Her looks in the Nintendo games don't match her appearance in the movie aside from her blonde her.

Angels with Filthy Souls characters

Johnny

Johnny

Played By: Ralph Foody

"Keep the change, ya filthy animal."

A fictional gangster in the Angels with Filthy Souls series of films.

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• Ax-Crazy: He seems to enjoy killing a bit too much. He even admits in "Angels with Even Filthier Souls that "I'm off my hinges."
• Big Bad: He's either this for the Angels with Filthy Souls movies, or the Villain Protagonist.
• Bond One-Liner:
  • "Keep the change, ya filthy animal!"
  • "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal! (fires another salvo from his gun) And a happy new year."
• Character Catchphrase: "...Ya filthy animal!"
• Crossover Cameo: He appears (through his movie) in, of all films, Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
• Distinction Without a Difference: "Alright, I believe ya, but my Tommy Gun don't!"
• Evil Is Hammy: His In-Universe actor must've been having a blast playing him; the real one certainly did.
• Evil Laugh: In both films, Johnny laughs maniacally while mowing people down with his Tommy Gun.
• Faux Affably Evil: He's a cheerful and chummy guy...even when he blows other people away.
• Jerkass: Aside from being an insanely murderous gangster he also acts very harsh and arrogant towards both Snakes and Carlotta.
• Laughing Mad: Whenever he kills someone.
• Multiple Gunshot Death: Way too fond of unleashing them on other people
• Offstage Villainy: In the first film, "Snakes" asks Johnny about some money owed to him according to "Acey". Johnny smiles menacingly and tells Snakes that Acey "ain't in charge no more" and is "upstairs, taking a bath" (implying that Johnny killed him beforehand).^note In gangster slang, "taking a bath" means to soak a dead body in acid to erase any DNA evidence or to even dissolve the body altogether. Snakes gets the hint and is visibly disturbed.
• Would Hit a Girl: He guns down his girlfriend, Carlotta, because he believed that she was cheating on him.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: Both films.
  • "I'm gonna give you until the count of ten to get your ugly, yellow, no-good keister off my property before I pump your guts full of lead! One... two... ten!"
  • "I'm gonna give you until the count of three to get your lousy, lying, no-good, four-flushing carcass out my door! One... two... (proceeds to gun down his girlfriend) ...three!"

Snakes

Snakes

Played By: Michael Guido

"It's me, Snakes. I've got the stuff"

Another fictional gangster.

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• Bullying a Dragon: He initially acts tough towards Johnny even throwing his toothpick on Johnny's floor and demanding his money for the "stuff." Of course it didn't end well for him.
• Oh, Crap!: He shows clearly discomfort when Johnny tells him that Acey is "upstairs taking a bath."

Carlotta

Carlotta

Played By: Clare Hoak

"If my love was an ocean, Lindy'd have to take two airplanes to get across it!"

Johnny's ladyfriend who appears in "Angels with Even Filthier Souls".

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• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Gets on her knees and tells Johnny she loves him when he orders her to. It gains her nothing.
• Kick the Dog: Her death to Johnny's machine gun is notably more cruel that his kill of Snakes. He shoots her dead body. Twice.
• The Mistress: She's implied to be this to Johnny.
• Really Gets Around: Johnny accuses her of "smooching" with his brother and many other people, though there's no solid evidence of this.

Characters specific to Home Alone 3

Alex Pruitt

Alex Pruitt

Played By: Alex D. Linz

• Badass Boast: "No matter how old they [Petr Beaupre's gang] are, no matter how big they are, they can't beat me here. They can't beat me at home."
• Cassandra Truth: No one initially believes him about Beaupre and his gang robbing the houses.
• Heroic Bystander: After taking care of the crooks, he quickly covers Mrs. Hess in a blanket and closes the garage doors. This ends up saving her life.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Much like Kevin, he's very smart and resourceful for someone his age.

Pruitt Family

Pruitt Family

Played By: Kevin Kilner (Jack), Haviland Morris (Karen Pruitt), Seth Smith (Stan), Scarlett Johansson (Molly)

Alex's family.

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• Big Brother Instinct: Unlike Kevin's older siblings, who were never shown standing up for him, Stan and Molly are shown to immediately close ranks at the first indication that Alex is in actual danger. Their protectiveness is forceful enough to convince an FBI agent that it would be easier to simply tell them what's going on instead of continuing to play the 'matter of national security' card.
• Family Versus Career: Essentially the reason Alex is left home alone in the first place. Both his parents have fairly demanding jobs and are in the middle of home renovations so money is tight. Karen spells out the basics of the trope when her boss calls her in.
  Karen: "You are asking me to choose between making a house payment and taking care of my sick child and I do not appreciate it!"
• Obfuscating Stupidity: A bit downplayed, but Stan doesn't seem like the academic type. He has, however, apparently trained his pet parrot to speak complex thoughts often relevant to the situation. Including asking for better bribes and carrying on long prank calls.
• Sibling Rivalry: Of a fairly standard variety. Stan and Molly constantly and take unashamed pleasure in deriding him when it looks like he's screwed up. However, they are also just as quick to praise him when he succeeds.

Petr Beaupre And His Gang

Petr Beaupre, Earl Unger, Alice Ribbons, Burton Jernigan

Played By: Olek Krupa (Petr), David Thornton (Earl), Rya Kihlstedt (Alice), Lenny Von Dohlen (Burton)

A terrorist cell. They consist of Petr Beaupre, Earl Unger, Alice Ribbons, and Burton Jernigan.

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• Affably Evil: Unger when not pushed too far can be quite affable.
• Child Hater: Unger hates children.
• The Comically Serious: Jernigan tries to act like a Consummate Professional but it winds up making him more like this.
• Deadpan Snarker: Unger is the most sarcastic one of the team.
• Eek, a Mouse!!: Alice freaks out when she sees Doris the rat.
• First-Name Basis: Unlike Beaupre, Unger, and Jernigan, Alice is addressed by her first name.
• Informed Attribute: They're supposed to be highly skilled terrorists, but they are all defeated by a child, and none of them are very smart. Even Beaupre is dumb enough to mistake a toy gun painted black for a real gun, despite the fact he should have known that it was a toy due to the light weight.
• Knight of Cerebus: They are criminal spies that may or may not have killed Alex if Alex was not smart. Also considering they are armed with guns and wear snow camouflaged suits when they prepare to invade Alex's house, it is safe to say that they take their job of retrieving the chip very seriously. Downplayed as despite their more serious motivations they are still Home Alone villains and thus they are dealt with comically.
• Last-Name Basis: Beaupre, Unger, and Jernigan are all addressed by their last names.
• Made of Iron: Just like Harry and Marv, they take huge amounts of injuries during the film. At one point, a barbell is dropped on Beaupre and Unger, but they keep going.
• Not So Stoic: They all act like calm, cool and collected professionals, but they start losing it as they start falling for Alex's traps.
• Outside-Genre Foe: Compared to Harry and Marv, they are more like villains in a Political Thriller.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Unlike Harry and Marv, they frequently insult one another.
• The Ditz: Jernigan. He's the dumbest of the four.
• The Smurfette Principle: Alice is the only female in the group.
• The Leader: Beaupre. He is in charge of the group.
• Would Harm a Senior: Forget harm, Alice leaves an elderly lady Bound and Gagged in her garage with the door open so that she'd freeze to death.
• Would Hurt a Child: None of them have any problems with trying to kill Alex.

Agent Stuckey

Agent Stuckey

Played By: Christopher Curry

• Big Good: An FBI agent who has been chasing Petr Beaupre for seven years.
• Police Are Useless: Somewhat averted given that he wasn't able to arrive until after Alex had things mostly wrapped up. He does, however, arrive in force and does not waste any time at all.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: When he receives a memo about a kid in Chicago reporting the very chip he's looking for, he doesn't question the source and only hesitates exactly long enough to confirm that the serial numbers match before heading to retrieve it.
  Agent Stuckey: "We're going to Chicago."

Mrs. Hess

Mrs. Hess

Played By: Marian Seldes

• Bound and Gagged: She's tied up and gagged with white duct tape to a loan chair in her garage by Alice.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: She fills in the same role as Marley or the Pigeon Lady, though unlike the first two where Kevin was just scared of them because they were scarying looking and didn't actually know what they were until he actually interacted with them, Hess and Alex already knew each other and aren't very close until the very end. Also unlike Marley or Pigeon Lady where they help rescue Kevin at the end of the movie, Alex had to rescue Hess himself.
• Cranky Neighbor: She lives in the same neighborhood as Alex and is a Grumpy Old Lady.
• Grumpy Old Man: She's elderly and rather rude to Alex at the beginning of the movie.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She later mellows out after Alex saves her life.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Though unlike her two predecessors, who just have undeserved reputations, she's rude and surly until the chips are down and she realizes there's real danger. From her point of view, Alex is this; she sees him as a brat and his entire involvement in the plot starts when she gives him the car just because she doesn't want it and doesn't want to pay him for shovelling the walk, but as she tells him later, "You're a very sweet young man, I just never took the time to know you."

Characters specific to Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House

Vera Merchants

Vera Merchants

Played By: Missi Pyle

• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She and Marv do seem to love each other.
• Ms. Fanservice: Seeing how she’s played by the very beautiful Missi Pyle, Vera is highly attractive.
• Unholy Matrimony: She and Marv met in prison and got married after they escaped, with her replacing Harry as his partner.

Molly Merchants

Molly Merchants

Played By: Barbara Babcock

• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She seems very nice at first, but it turns out she's Marv's mother, and a criminal like him.
• Family Business: She's a criminal just like her son.
• The Mole: She gets a job as Natalie's maid, acting as Marv's "inside man".
• The Butler Did It: Or the maid did it in this case. Kevin initially suspects Prescott to be the one who helped Marv and Vera into the house only to learn that she was the responsible.

Characters specific to Home Alone: The Holiday Heist

Finn Baxter

Finn Baxter

Played By: Christian Martyn

• Kid Hero: Just like Kevin and Alex before him.

Sinclair and His Gang

Sinclair, Jessica, Hughes

Played By: Malcolm McDowell (Sinclair), Debi Mazar (Jessica), Eddie Steeples (Hughes)

• Affably Evil: They are all A Lighter Shade of Black than the other villains in the series. Hughes is very affable and Laughably Evil and actually seems to care for Jessica. Jessica has a boyfriend she wants to call her back. Sinclair actually has a valid reason to want the painting, as it is a portrait of his great grandmother. In addition, unlike the other criminals in the films, they did not know there were children in the home when they tried to break in, and when they catch Finn, instead of killing him like Harry, Marv, or the terrorists would, they just lock him in their car while they continue their work.
• The Ditz: Hughes. He could give Marv a run for his money. Jessica is also pretty dumb, but not as dumb as Hughes.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Jessica has a boyfriend who she wishes would call her back.
• Hellbent For Leather: Jessica is a burglar who wears leather pants and a leather jacket.
• It's Personal: Sinclair is an art thief by trade, but he wants to steal the painting in Finn's house for sentimental reasons, as the people in the picture are his great-grandmother and her children.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Hughes is named after John Hughes, the writer of the first three movies.
• Terrible Trio: Subverted as they are more greedy than evil.
• Token Minority: Hughes is the only African American criminal in the series.
• Token Trio: Sinclair's group of burglars is made up of a white man, a white woman, and an African-American man.
• Villainous Friendship: Hughes seems to have one with Jessica.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: They just lock Finn up when they catch him.

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