The Home Alone mistake that hints Kevin wasn’t the only child left behind
Christmas is on the way and for many of us that means yet another viewing of Home Alone, one of the most beloved festive movies of all time. The Macaulay Culkin-led films might seem like a lighthearted laugh, but in reality they tell a dark tale of child neglect — one which should end in Peter and Kate McCallister sharing a jail cell next to the Wet Bandits. Leaving your own child behind at the most wonderful time of the year on one occasion is tragic. Twice is beyond suspicious. Yet, with the rap sheet against the parents as long as it is alarming, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment from the original film might expose that the dereliction of care somehow runs even deeper. (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
Okay, so the McCallister parents didn’t notice that the son they had been raising for eight years wasn’t on the bus. Or at the airport. Or on the plane. Mainly because they were living it up, knocking back champagne in first class while the kids slummed it in economy. And yet, after Kevin indulges in his own crime spree with a campaign of cruel and unusual punishment against the robbers targeting his home, all is well and good for the family in the end. Except for one child, who not only seems to have also been left behind, but then disappears off the face of the Earth entirely. (Picture: Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock)
It all comes down to cousin Heather’s headcount outside the airport buses. We all know that a nosy neighbour rifling through the family belongings in the bus is accidentally counted in Kevin’s place, but mistaking a stranger for her own blood still isn’t the biggest blunder she makes. Heather walks down the line counting heads while Buzz shouts out random numbers like the toddler he is, and his distraction technique pays off when Heather can be seen counting herself twice during the process — patting her own head for both number three and number 11. (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
Shortly after Heather wraps up her disaster-class, Kate jumps in the bus and asks her if everyone is accounted for, to which she snidely replies: ‘11, including me. Five boys, six girls, four parents, two drivers, and a partridge in a pear tree.’ Which begs the question: if 11 children is correct and she counted herself twice, which other small, innocent child has been left behind on her watch? (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
It’s not a detail that has gone unnoticed with Home Alone superfans, and while some excuse it for a continuity error, others aren’t so forgiving. One wrote on Reddit: ‘It makes me think there’s another McCallister kid frozen under a bush somewhere that they didn’t even realize.’ Another said: ‘She misses Linnie. So she’s wrong in 3 different ways.’ A clip highlighting the moment was also posted on TikTok by user Jade.the.jinx, who said: ‘I’ve seen Home Alone thousands of times, how have I never noticed this?!’ (Picture: Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock)
With the film now nearing its 35th birthday, and decades of reruns throughout December, it’s not surprising that this is one of many small details that have been spotted along the way. Another which contributes to Kevin’s absence going unnoticed is when he attacks Buzz the night before the flight for eating his beloved plain cheese pizza. The chaos which follows shows drinks being spilled over passports and plane tickets on the kitchen counter, and one ticket is spotted for a brief moment in the trash along with a pile of napkins during the clean-up. When the parents hand out plane tickets, there’s no spares to raise the red flag of a missing child. (Picture: Rex/Fox)
A throwaway moment also highlights yet another family member not making it onto the trip — the family dog. The dog door in the McCallister home plays a big part in Kevin’s survival plan. He uses it to pay for his pizza, and then to shoot poor Marv point blank in the forehead with Buzz’s BB gun. Although we never see it, the existence of the family pet is confirmed in the opening scene when Kate is heard to say on the phone: ‘No, we’re not bringing the dog. We put it in the kennel for the holidays.’ (Picture: Moviestore/Shutterstock)
Speaking of Kevin ordering pizza, how exactly did he do it? A workman at the start of the film tells the family the ‘phone lines are a mess’ following the power cut which stopped their alarm going off. When they finally realise they’ve left Kevin behind, they desperately try to call the house and fail to reach their son — because the phone lines are down. So unless Kevin got Deliveroo a good decade before the rest of us, it’s never explained how the order was made. And don’t get us started on the call he makes to the police at the end of the film. (Picture: Moviestore/Shutterstock) Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
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