Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House is a 2002 American made-for-television Christmas family comedy film directed by Rod Daniel, which first aired on ABC on November 3, 2002, as the first episode of the forty-seventh season of The Wonderful World of Disney, followed by a DVD release on September 2, 2003. The fourth installment in the Home Alone franchise, the film stars Mike Weinberg, French Stewart, Missi Pyle, Jason Beghe, Erick Avari, Barbara Babcock, Joanna Going, and Clare Carey. It tells the story of Kevin McCallister who goes to spend his Christmas with his father and his new girlfriend as his old enemy Marv and his wife Vera come up with a plan to kidnap a visiting prince with help from an inside person that Kevin least suspects. This is the first film in the Home Alone franchise to not receive a theatrical release nor have any screenplay contribution from John Hughes. Whereas Home Alone 3 featured a standalone plot and new characters, this film brings back several of the main characters from the first two films, including Kevin McCallister, but with all of the roles played by different actors. The plot revolves around Kevin McCallister trying to defend his future stepmother's house from his old nemesis Marv and his sidekick/wife Vera. It was the last film that Rod Daniel directed before his subsequent retirement (partly due to his diagnosis from Parkinson's disease, complications of which resulted in his death in 2016). Plot Peter McCallister, who is finalizing a divorce from his wife, Kate, announces to their children, Buzz, Megan, and Kevin that he and his wealthy girlfriend, Natalie Kalban, are hosting the visit of a royal family at her mansion, and invites them to spend Christmas there. After the three initially refuse, Kevin accepts the offer after being bullied by Buzz (who was supposed to be at the movies with his friends) and revels in the mansion's luxuries. The next morning, Peter and Natalie go out while Kevin stays with Natalie's servants, Mr. Prescott the butler and Molly the maid. Kevin notices his old nemesis, Marv Murchins, and his wife, Vera, scouting the house. After failing to get Mr. Prescott's attention via the intercom, he drives them away by flooding the mansion. When Peter and Natalie return, they refuse to believe Kevin's explanation, especially since Mr. Prescott claims to have seen nothing. Kevin discovers that the security cameras