# Home Sweet Home Alone
**Home Sweet Home Alone** is a 2021 American Christmas comedy film and the sixth installment of the [Home Alone](https://www.edgepedia.org/home-alone) franchise, released exclusively on Disney+ on November 12, 2021 as a Disney+ Day premiere.[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/media-kits/home-sweet-home-alone) • [2](https://news.disney.com/home-sweet-home-alone) Produced by 20th Century Studios, it follows Max Mercer, a mischievous boy left behind while his family is in Japan for the holidays, who defends his home from a married couple trying to retrieve a priceless heirloom.[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/media-kits/home-sweet-home-alone) The film received broadly negative reviews from critics and audiences.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/home_sweet_home_alone)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | November 12, 2021, exclusively on Disney+, as a Disney+ Day premiere[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/media-kits/home-sweet-home-alone) |
| Franchise position | Sixth film in the Home Alone franchise[2](https://news.disney.com/home-sweet-home-alone) |
| Director | Dan Mazer[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/media-kits/home-sweet-home-alone) |
| Writers | Screenplay by Mikey Day & Streeter Seidell; story by Day & Seidell and John Hughes, based on a screenplay by John Hughes[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/media-kits/home-sweet-home-alone) |
| Lead cast | Archie Yates as Max Mercer; Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney as Pam and Jeff McKenzie[2](https://news.disney.com/home-sweet-home-alone) |
| Runtime and rating | 1 hour 33 minutes; rated PG for slapstick violence, rude material, and some language[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/home_sweet_home_alone) |
| Reception | 15% on the Tomatometer (72 reviews); Metascore 35 from 16 critics; user score 1.9 from 108 ratings on Metacritic[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/home_sweet_home_alone) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/home-sweet-home-alone) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Max Mercer, a resourceful and witty boy, is left home alone when his family travels to Tokyo for the holidays.[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/media-kits/home-sweet-home-alone) • [2](https://news.disney.com/home-sweet-home-alone) Pam and Jeff McKenzie, a married couple down on their luck, believe Max has taken a valuable antique doll from them, a heirloom they think could get their family out of debt, and they set their sights on the Mercer family's home to steal it back.[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/media-kits/home-sweet-home-alone) • [5](https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/movies/home-sweet-home-alone.html) Max, not knowing why the adults keep trying to break in, believes they are attempting to kidnap him, and defends the house with homemade traps.[6](https://www.slashfilm.com/659144/home-sweet-home-alone-director-dan-mazer-wants-to-subvert-your-expectations-interview/)
## Cast and production
The film stars Archie Yates ("Jojo Rabbit") as Max, Ellie Kemper ("Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt") and [Rob Delaney](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-delaney) ("Deadpool 2") as Pam and Jeff McKenzie, Aisling Bea as Max's mother Carol, Kenan Thompson, Tim Simons, Pete Holmes, Ally Maki, and [Chris Parnell](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-parnell).[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/media-kits/home-sweet-home-alone) • [2](https://news.disney.com/home-sweet-home-alone) [Devin Ratray](https://www.edgepedia.org/devin-ratray), who appeared in the original 1990 film, reprises his role as Buzz McCallister.[2](https://news.disney.com/home-sweet-home-alone)
Dan Mazer ("[Dirty Grandpa](https://www.edgepedia.org/dirty-grandpa)") directed, with Hutch Parker and [Dan Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-wilson) producing and Jeremiah Samuels as executive producer.[1](https://press.disneyplus.com/media-kits/home-sweet-home-alone) According to Mazer, his agent first approached him about four years before release to pitch a script for a rebooted Home Alone, and he declined, calling it a terrible idea; two years later he was asked to direct and accepted after learning that [Mikey Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/mikey-day) and Streeter Seidell, head writers of "Saturday Night Live," were writing it.[7](https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2021/11/14/why-director-dan-mazer-wanted-to-make-home-sweet-home-alone/) The production was one of many shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic before shooting resumed.[8](https://discussingfilm.net/2021/11/11/dan-mazer-on-home-sweet-home-alone-and-building-off-the-originals-exclusive-interview/)
## Inverting the formula
The filmmakers deliberately reversed the franchise's usual setup by focusing on the backstory of the intruders rather than the home-alone child, an approach intended to preserve the essence of the original without a simple remake.[2](https://news.disney.com/home-sweet-home-alone) Unlike the cartoonish burglars of earlier films, Pam and Jeff are ordinary parents in a rough economic patch who believe a wealthy child has made off with their valuable doll, and for the first time in a Home Alone movie the audience is positioned to sympathize with the home invaders.[6](https://www.slashfilm.com/659144/home-sweet-home-alone-director-dan-mazer-wants-to-subvert-your-expectations-interview/) Mazer described the project as an opportunity to take risks and subvert expectations, and the film includes what he called ridiculous and hilarious references to the original.[6](https://www.slashfilm.com/659144/home-sweet-home-alone-director-dan-mazer-wants-to-subvert-your-expectations-interview/) • [2](https://news.disney.com/home-sweet-home-alone) The soundtrack features [Tom Petty](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-petty)'s "Christmas All Over," a song Mazer called his favorite festive tune.[7](https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2021/11/14/why-director-dan-mazer-wanted-to-make-home-sweet-home-alone/)
## Reception
Critical and audience responses were negative. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 15% Tomatometer from 72 reviews and a 13% Popcornmeter score from more than 500 ratings, with the critics' consensus reading simply "Nobody's Home."[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/home_sweet_home_alone) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 35 based on 16 critic reviews, categorized as generally unfavorable, and the user score stood at 1.9 out of 10 from 108 ratings, with 83% of user ratings negative.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/home-sweet-home-alone) Reviewers criticized weak character development, a disjointed plot, and an unsympathetic protagonist, though some praised the comedic performances of Kemper and Delaney and the film's nostalgic callbacks to the original.[9](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/home-sweet-home-alone) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/home-sweet-home-alone) Some reviews were more favorable: the Houston Chronicle gave it three stars out of five, calling the execution fresh and the laughs hearty despite the familiar plot.[10](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/movies_tv/article/Review-Disney-film-Home-Sweet-Home-Alone-16615896.php)
The film's standing within the franchise has remained a point of contention. Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Home Alone films, said in a 2025 interview marking the original's 35th anniversary that the franchise had been ruined by the sequels, beginning with 1997's [Home Alone 3](https://www.edgepedia.org/home-alone-3), and argued the series should have been left alone.[11](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/home-alone-director-says-franchise-has-been-completely-fed-up-by-sequels/) • [12](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/family-movies/i-think-it-should-be-left-alone-home-alone-director-on-why-a-reboot-would-be-a-mistake/) One later review ranked it the worst of the franchise's six films.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/home_sweet_home_alone)
## References
1. [Home Sweet Home Alone Media Kit, Disney+ Press](https://press.disneyplus.com/media-kits/home-sweet-home-alone)
2. [20th Century Studios' Home Sweet Home Alone Puts a New Spin on a Beloved Classic, Disney News](https://news.disney.com/home-sweet-home-alone)
3. [Home Sweet Home Alone, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/home_sweet_home_alone)
4. [Home Sweet Home Alone Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/home-sweet-home-alone)
5. [Home Sweet Home Alone, Movieguide](https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/movies/home-sweet-home-alone.html)
6. [Home Sweet Home Alone Director Dan Mazer Wants To Subvert Your Expectations, SlashFilm](https://www.slashfilm.com/659144/home-sweet-home-alone-director-dan-mazer-wants-to-subvert-your-expectations-interview/)
7. [Why Director Dan Mazer Wanted To Make 'Home Sweet Home Alone', Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2021/11/14/why-director-dan-mazer-wanted-to-make-home-sweet-home-alone/)
8. [Dan Mazer on 'Home Sweet Home Alone' and Building off the Originals, DiscussingFilm](https://discussingfilm.net/2021/11/11/dan-mazer-on-home-sweet-home-alone-and-building-off-the-originals-exclusive-interview/)
9. [Home Sweet Home Alone Parents' Guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/home-sweet-home-alone)
10. [Review: Disney+ film 'Home Sweet Home Alone' is fun but familiar, Houston Chronicle](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/movies_tv/article/Review-Disney-film-Home-Sweet-Home-Alone-16615896.php)
11. ['Home Alone' Director Says Franchise Has Been 'Completely F***ed' Up by Sequels, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/home-alone-director-says-franchise-has-been-completely-fed-up-by-sequels/)
12. ['I think it should be left alone': Home Alone director on why a reboot would be a "mistake", GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/family-movies/i-think-it-should-be-left-alone-home-alone-director-on-why-a-reboot-would-be-a-mistake/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Direct-to-video and streaming series film entries*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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