Home Alone is a classic tale of a little boy who accidentally gets forgotten when his entire family goes on vacation, leaving him by himself in their suburban mansion. He has a delightful time until two burglars try to do a home invasion. While he ultimately defeats them, the boy still grows to miss his family. They return in time to reaffirm the warm, loving feeling of the holiday season.
At least, that’s what happened in the classic film made in the nineties. How would this story play out now? We’re going to find out, because Disney has just announced a Home Alone reboot.
Buzzfeed reports that CEO Bob Iger announced plans that the company is developing a “reimagining” of the film for “a new generation.”
Remaking their own films is pretty much Disney’s brand strategy at this point. I guess turning an animation into a live-action film is an interesting thought experiment, but what is to be gained from turning a live action film into a live action film?
In fact, fans of the original franchise heard the news and promptly freaked the f*ck out online:
Dont even think about rebooting this Disney. Not this one. #HomeAlone pic.twitter.com/i2lcbvfMyi
— Akë (@MyFootUpUrAss) August 7, 2019
Disney: We’re going to remake the classic that is Home Alone
Literally Everybody: #HomeAlone
— David Grimmett (@TheDGrimmett) August 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/tonylfc4eva/status/1159036232640421888
Home Alone is a classic. Just leave it alone pic.twitter.com/LtFv4L5uY9
— 🍀🌺 (@Aurelie_Salas) August 7, 2019
Me waking up to the news that Disney are remaking Home Alone…
LEAVE HOME ALONE ALONE! pic.twitter.com/dun25Qpd6p
— Siobhán Doyle (@thekickart) August 7, 2019
A few people pointed out that Disney tried to squeeze life out of the franchise for years, making multiple sequels that most people barely remember—probably because they never wanted to see them in the first place:
Disney: We’re going to do a reboot of #HomeAlone!
‘90s kids who lived through the 3rd and 4th installments: pic.twitter.com/VHIy8l4Jhy— Markis (@_MarkWithAnM) August 7, 2019
Disney wants to reboot #HomeAlone Nobody wants this. Want proof? There are 4 sequels to Home Alone that nobody cares about.
The first movie was perfect. No reboot or sequel will ever recapture the magic that was the orginal. pic.twitter.com/tvJMTiUJSl— sean brett (@BaconKnight) August 7, 2019
There’s also one very obvious issue with setting the film in modern times. We have cell phones now. The original set up that left little Kevin McCallister alone at Christmas was already convoluted. How are they going to write out the existence of basic technology?
#HomeAlone remake cancelled pic.twitter.com/wOngrxviyp
— Karl Downey (@Karl_Downey) August 7, 2019
Prayers up for the writers who have to solve the cell phone problem in a rebooted Home Alone. https://t.co/9XhEbc8eJ1
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) August 7, 2019
But the best response of all probably came from star Macaulay Culkin, who tweeted a picture of himself being gross on the couch with the caption, “This is what an updated Home Alone would actually look like.”
This is what an updated Home Alone would actually look like. pic.twitter.com/sGj86933LA
— Macaulay Culkin (@IncredibleCulk) August 7, 2019
Hmm, I would actually watch that. Culkin suggested Disney get in touch, so maybe it will happen?
Hey @Disney, call me!
— Macaulay Culkin (@IncredibleCulk) August 7, 2019
The fervor of response to the Home Alone reboot is probably the exact reason that Disney is remaking it. They know it’ll get a lot of angry attention. I guess as long as Culkin gets a cameo, it will all be okay.