A new video of the beloved holiday classic Home Alone, posted on December 22, garnered more than 37 million views and went viral for depicting how its cast members have aged. After more than three decades, fans found it surreal to see just how much the cast had grown and changed.
While the clip was created using AI technology, that did not stop Millennials from having a brief existential crisis on social media. One fan felt the cast was “aging like fine wine,” while another commented, “Well, none of us get younger…that’s for sure.”
Highlights
- An AI video revealing how the Home Alone cast has aged in the past 35 years went viral during the Christmas season.
- The before-and-after-style video left Millennial fans feeling old, who shared their feelings on social media.
- An anatomy professor‘s analysis of the robbers’ injuries caused by Kevin’s traps also went viral.
A Home Alone video comparing the cast’s then-and-now looks went viral
Image credits: 20th Century Studios
During the Christmas season, fans had wondered how the Home Alone cast, which includes Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, and Catherine O'Hara, would look in 2025, and the video satiated their curiosity. Culkin, who played Kevin, was actually ten when the movie was released.
Image credits: Just reviving history
In the video shared by Just Reviving History, an Instagram page dedicated to posting AI videos of celebrities at different ages, the 45-year-old actor appears alongside his younger self. Fans were in disbelief that Culkin, who is the father of two children, is the same person who portrayed the iconic eight-year-old character.
Image credits: Just reviving history
“It would be fun to see a second-generation Home Alone with Culkin playing Dad this time,” a fan suggested.
Similarly, other cast members are also depicted in the video, such as Pesci (82) and Stern (64), who famously played the thieves who targeted the McCallister family’s home.
Fans were also touched by John Heard’s appearance, who was depicted with wings as a reminder of his passing in 2017, at the age of 71.
Image credits: 20th Century Studios
Beyond the surprising comparisons, one thing sent the fans’ “existential crisis” into overdrive: learning that Catherine O'Hara was only 36 years old when she appeared as Kevin’s mother.
“She was 36!?” one viewer asked, suggesting her dress/style made O’Hara appear older than her actual age. “I'm 36, and I'm going to be 37 in 5 days,” they added.
Millennials admitted to feeling old after watching the viral Home Alone video
Image credits: Just reviving history
Most Millennials shared similar sentiments, admitting they suddenly felt old after watching the clip. One fan said, “Me unfortunately doing the math in my head and instantly aging myself as well lol.”
A second viewer commented, “The first Home Alone came out 35 years ago… Feel old yet??”
“The ladies haven’t aged!” another fan added.
Some fans were pleasantly surprised to find actress Brenda Fricker, who played the Pigeon Lady in the 1992 sequel, included in the video, but were confused by a supposed miscalculation, noting the difference between her then-and-now age was only 33 years.
Image credits: Just reviving history
One person asked, “The math on the pigeon lady doesn't add up.”
On the other hand, the other cast members had aged 35 years since the first installment was released. However, Fricker appeared in the sequel and was 47 when it was released, proving the calculation was correct.
The video came 5 days after an anatomy professor revealed the truth about the Home Alone robbers’ injuries
Image credits: Just reviving history
Earlier this month, Adam Taylor, an anatomy professor at Lancaster University, shared an analysis of the injuries suffered by the robbers, Marv and Harry, in the 1992 sequel. He claimed most of the traps Kevin constructs in the movie “involve levels of force that would be catastrophic in real life.”
Image credits: 20th Century Studios
Taylor explained that a gag featuring the robbers getting hit with a cement bag would generate a force of approximately 1,000 newtons, which would “exceed thresholds for a catastrophic neck injury.”
Image credits: Just reviving history
Such an accident would also pose a high risk of brain herniation. He concluded that surviving such extreme injuries made Marv and Harry “walking medical impossibilities.”
Image credits: Just reviving history
Fans were also treated to an alternate ending of the original movie after it was parodied in a sketch on Saturday Night Live during its December 20 episode. However, some viewers were stunned by its graphic and dark twist.
Image credits: Just reviving history
In a recent interview with Postmedia's Mark Daniell, Culkin was asked which of the two thieves “got it worse.” He jokingly responded, “Uh, yes. I think the answer to that is yes.”
Culkin also addressed the mystery surrounding the profession of Kevin’s parents, revealing his theory that the father was likely a “corporate lawyer” and the mother possibly was an “interior decorator,” explaining why the family could afford such a luxurious house in the first installment.
"If that don't make you feel old..." Home Alone fans were baffled by the viral AI video
