15 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Home Alone 2

If there's one thing we all know about Home Alone 2 it's that "a kid always wins against two idiots."

However, that leaves quite a lot of things that we don't know about it. Like these 15 facts. Merry Christmas, you filthy animal. *BANG BANG BANG* And a happy New Year...

Images: Rex / YouTube

1.

Donald Trump has a cameo (top) during which Kevin asks him for directions in the Plaza lobby. Trump owned the hotel from 1988 to 1995. Ally Sheedy also has a cameo role (bottom) as a Ticket Agent and Frank Oz can be seen in a very brief cameo, placing money into a donation can.

2.

The exterior of Duncan's Toy Chest in New York City was actually filmed outside the Rookery Building in Chicago. The building was also used as Eliot Ness's headquarters in The Untouchables (bottom).

3.

According to Box Office Mojo the film was the second most financially successful movie of 1992, earning over $173 million in the US. Aladdin was the most successful (it grossed $217 million) with Batman Returns in third ($162 million). Aladdin and Home Alone 2 led the box office to its richest-ever Thanksgiving weekend.

4.

A raft of video games based on the movie were released on Mega Drive, NES, SNES and Gameboy and numerous board games were also released including a Mouse Trap-style obstacle course game (pictured) which you can pick up from eBay for £15.

5.

Where Pepsi won the cola product placement battle in the original, rivals Coca-Cola won through in the sequel. Here you can see Macaulay Culkin's brother Kieran in the role of Kevin's cousin Fuller, in the respective movies. 

6.

The Talkboy cassette recorder used by Kevin in the film was originally a non-working prop that was used for filming purposes only. A working version was later released by Tiger Electronics, due to popular demand, along with a pink and purple Talkgirl. Check out the TV commercial for it. Macaulay Culkin himself kept the non-working prop. 

7.

The movie was novelised by Todd Strasser and published by Scholastic in 1992 to coincide with the film. An audiobook version was also released read by Tim Curry.

8.

Kevin's $967.43 room service bill indicates that he ordered 2 chocolate cakes, 6 chocolate mousses with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream topped with M&Ms, chocolate sprinkles, cherries, nuts, marshmallows, caramel syrup, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, whipped cream and bananas, 6 custard flans, a pastry cart, 8 strawberry tarts, and 36 chocolate covered strawberries.

9.

Although the hotel suite used in the movie is a real Plaza suite, the pool you see in the film isn't based at the Plaza at all. The scene was shot at a Four Seasons hotel in Chicago.

10.

The Plaza’s real phone number is used in the movie. After the movie came out, reservations went through the roof. The Plaza even offered Home Alone 2 packages to visiting families. For $1100 a night, families could stay in Suite 411 – the "Kevin Suite."

11.

Replicas of the turtle dove ornaments were sold for years after the movie came out. The original turtle doves used in the film were created specifically for the movie.

12.

Director Chris Columbus actually studied 1930s and 1940s film noir to make scenes for Angels With Filthier Souls - a fake sequel to the equally fake Angels With Filthy Souls, from the original Home Alone movie.

13.

The carpet was removed from The Plaza lobby for one scene so that Kevin could slip and slide on the floor. Plaza owner Donald Trump liked the new look so much, he never replaced it.

14.

Hundreds of pigeons were trained over a period for some 12 weeks for the movie. One of them flew into Daniel Stern's mouth during his brilliant scream scene. 

15.

Several of the cameras froze during production of the film because it was so cold. There was a blizzard during filming so some of the snow is actual snow. Fake snow was also used, mind you.