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A red paint tin balances above an open doorway beside a glowing control panel and Christmas tree, with colourful paper marbles scattered across the pale hallway floor.

Christmas-adjacent · 2002

Home Alone 4

41/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 41 ↓
UK certificate Universal84 min
Comedy · Family

A made-for-television sequel shot in South Africa with every familiar role recast, and it shows.

On Disney+ · UK subscription →
Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 11 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas in good measure.

Two paper elves study a miniature Christmas hallway on a red workbench. A paint tin rests above its doorway and coloured marbles lie beside a decorated tree.

A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyChristmas is only the occasion.10/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for about half.10/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details2 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.3/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: partly.10/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionA big December film (80,000+).8/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

72/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Mostly warm in tone. Mild threat. A happy ending.

How we score →
What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →
Your next film night

Where to watch

United KingdomChecked

Disney+

Included with a subscription
Open Home Alone 4 on Disney+ (opens in a new tab)

Sky Store

Rent or buy
Search the service for it

Home Alone 4 · Rental and purchase cost extra, separately from membership.

Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Streaming availability information provided by Streaming Availability API by Movie of the Night (opens in a new tab). Sky and Rakuten TV data by JustWatch.

The story

About Home Alone 4

A boy whose parents have separated spends Christmas at his father's new girlfriend's gadget-packed smart mansion. One of the burglars from the earlier films turns up with a new partner, plotting to snatch a visiting young royal during a holiday party, so the boy turns the house's technology into a gauntlet of traps while quietly trying to push his parents back together.

The CineClaus verdict

A made-for-television sequel shot in South Africa with every familiar role recast, and it shows.

French Stewart throws himself into the part Daniel Stern turned down, while the smart-house gadgetry swaps homemade ingenuity for pressing buttons. Christmas is mostly set dressing for a kidnap caper. Young children won't mind a bit, because the traps are cartoonish and nobody is ever in real danger.

It does the job for the under-tens on a rainy afternoon; any adult who grew up with Macaulay Culkin should find something to do in the kitchen.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

U

Our take: rated U for mild comic violence. Most primary-age children will be fine: the kidnap plot is pure cartoon and it ends with the family back together.

BBFC advice: Contains mild comic violence.

Content advice & accessibility
Where the advice comes from
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
Our age guidance
Editorial, separate from the official U certificate, and never looser than it.
Subtitles
Check your chosen service and edition for supported tracks.

The series

The Home Alone films

2 films, in release order

  • 1997

    The film before

    Home Alone 3

    1997

    A television sequel with a new cast, set around a different family.

    Explore film : Home Alone 3 (1997)
  • 2002

    You’re here

    Home Alone 4

    2002

    You’re on this film’s page
The people behind the film

Cast and crew

The faces in front of the camera, and the people who brought the story to life.

Main cast

In billing order
A man with short brown hair in a dark suit, white shirt and black tie, seated in a television studio with a clip-on microphone.French Stewartas Marv Merchants
Mike Weinbergas Kevin McCallister
A smiling bald man with a grey goatee in a dark zip-up jumper, seated at a table with his hands folded in front of him.Erick Avarias Prescott
Black and white portrait of a young Barbara Babcock smiling in a wide-brimmed straw hat and a frilled pleated collar.Barbara Babcockas Molly
A man with thin round glasses and a dark top with a pale collar, photographed close up outdoors in front of a brick wall.Jason Begheas Peter McCallister
Clare Careyas Kate McCallister
A woman with shoulder-length dark brown hair in profile, speaking at an evening event with a dark backdrop behind her.Joanna Goingas Natalie
A smiling woman with wavy blonde hair and a navy top, seated at a microphone at a convention panel.Missi Pyleas Vera

Behind the camera

Directed by
Rod Daniel
Original score
Teddy Castellucci
Writing & production credits
Photo credits

Portraits via Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence, approved for this page by a person. Sources and full photographer credits:

French Stewart · Lifestyle.org · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Erick Avari · Nightscream · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Barbara Babcock · Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer · Source image (opens in a new tab) · Public domain.

Jason Beghe · tacosdelaluna · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Joanna Going · Mingle Media TV · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Missi Pyle · Gage Skidmore · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind Home Alone 4. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapCape Town

© OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab)

Open larger map ↗ (OpenStreetMap, opens in a new tab)

Map shows the selected place. Drag to explore; use + and − to zoom.

Photo credits & location sources

These are photographs of the places, not film stills. Dates vary; photographs do not show current conditions or guarantee access.

Cape Town · Diego Delso · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · D23 (opens in a new tab)

Map pins mark the place, not a camera position or a route. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including any pin positions read from OpenStreetMap.

A little more Home Alone 4

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

On set

Made for television, not cinemas

This fourth film never played in cinemas. It premiered on American television on 3 November 2002 as part of a Sunday night Disney anthology slot, with an entirely new cast.

Read the story

Source: D23 ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

A franchise film that left Disney+ in America

In November 2022 the film was pulled from Disney+ in the US because of contracts signed by the studio before the Disney takeover, while it stayed available on the service elsewhere.

Read the story

Source: What's on Disney+ ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

The Christmas in it
A holiday party at a smart house is the occasion for the plot; the Christmas setting is mostly backdrop.
Releases and certificates
: First on TV (US). Premiered on American television as a made-for-TV film.
Sources & a note on these facts

Each production story is linked to its source, in our own words. Ending details stay behind a spoiler reveal.

Good to know

Questions about Home Alone 4

Is Home Alone 4 a Christmas film?

Partly. We class it as adjacent: the holiday party is the occasion for the plot, but Christmas is mostly backdrop.

What age rating is Home Alone 4?

It is a U in the UK, for mild comic violence.

How long is Home Alone 4?

It runs for 84 minutes, a little under an hour and a half.

Where was Home Alone 4 filmed?

In Cape Town, South Africa, even though the story is set in an American suburb.

Is Home Alone 4 a sequel?

Yes. It is the fourth film in the Home Alone series and a made-for-television sequel to the third.

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Elsewhere on CineClaus

More places to find Home Alone 4, and a few good reasons to keep exploring.

Read a little further

Article ·

How many Home Alone films are there? All six, in order

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Stay for another story.All collections · The Christmas Edit