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Alex Pruitt was an eight-year-old boy who was left home alone while sick with the chicken pox. After shoveling his neighbor Greta Hess' driveway, he came into possession of a toy car that concealed a computer chip containing a missile concealing program. With various booby traps, he fended off four thieves who were after the chip.

Biography[]

Alex lived with his parents, Jack and Karen, and brother and sister, Stan and Molly, in a quiet neighborhood in Chicago, where he would shovel snow for their neighbors.[1]

After finishing shoveling snow for his snooty neighbor, Mrs. Hess, she paid him with a remote control car that she mistook for her own bag at the airport during a luggage mix-up. Alex returned home with the car, which unbeknownst to him, hid a powerful missile defense microchip sought after by a group of professional thieves, Petr Beaupre, Alice Ribbons, Burton Jernigan, and Earl Unger. The next day, Alex was left home alone with a case of the chicken pox when his mom Karen had to go to work for a while. The four burglars initiated a house-to-house search for the toy car, starting with a house close to Alex's.[1]

While Alex watched neighborhood with his telescope from the window, he spied on Petr Beaupre in the house and immediately called the police. Unfortunately, the burglars left and expertly cover their tracks by the time the cops arrived. The next day, Alex was left alone once more, and again saw Beaupre snooping around in another house. He called the cops, who, once again, found no sign of a break-in. After getting a serious talking-to from the police chief, Alex decided to take matters into his own hands by catching the criminals himself. The next day, he rigged the chip-containing car with a video camera and directed it inside the next house that Beaupre was searching. Alex got implicating video footage on the camera, but the criminals discovered the car and remove the tape. When they tried to open the car and get the chip, Alex managed to outwit them and steer the car safely back home.[1]

Wondering why they pursued the car after they got the tape, Alex disassembled the car and discovered the chip. After reading the number, he called an Air Force Recruiting Office, who alerted the FBI, who then headed for Chicago. That evening, the four crooks tested a theory that Alex had the chip and alerted him that they were coming. He resolved to subdue them by himself and made preparations to booby trap his house. The next morning, he managed to deflect an attempt by Alice to enter the house and after his mom reluctantly left him again, he put the finishing touches on his traps. As the four crooks invaded the house, they fell right into each trap he set. After he had a quick run in with Petr, Alex took refuge in Mrs. Hess's house. The FBI finally made it to the neighborhood, arrested all four of them, and recovered the missile chip. Alex was then reunited with his entire family and was promised a large reward for finding and returning the stolen chip.[1]

Personality[]

Alex was very sweet, adorable and lovable. He had a serious side as well when it came to breaking the law. Like Kevin McCallister, Alex showed strong initiative and maturity when on his own, and was also calm, clever and resourceful in the face of danger, as well as being quite tech-savvy. Among his gadgets were a sighted TV remote control and a video camera which he configured with a direct feed to his TV. Alex also stood on his own when he was called into question after “falsely” alerting the police when he saw the criminals. He was very close with his mother.

Quotes[]

  • I guess you have to be 35 before anyone around here listens to you.
  • Can you free Mrs. Hess? She's very old and very cold.
  • (apologizing to the chief of police) Excuse me for being a good citizen.
  • You're not gonna find me up there, you big, dumb, law-breaking knuckleheads!
  • No matter how old they are, no matter how big they are, they can't beat me here. They can't beat me at home.
  • So, did you bring me anything?

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Alex Pruitt is different than Kevin McCallister (from the first two Home Alone films) in several ways:
    • For starters, Alex used intellectually-minded traps to capture the villains and hold them there until the police arrived. Kevin's traps were largely designed to simply maim the burglars and slow them down.
    • Secondly, Alex fought four international spies while Kevin fought two small-town crooks. Furthermore, Petr Beaupre had been wanted by the FBI for seven years, but Alex snared him in with his booby traps and ended his career on the run.
    • Thirdly, Alex's heroics were recognized by the police, the Air Force and the FBI, while Kevin's heroics went almost completely unnoticed, as he didn't need the credit and just wanted to see justice done.
    • Also, Kevin needed to be saved by adults (Old Man Marley and the "Pigeon Lady") on two occasions, respectively. In Home Alone 3, Alex saves himself and an adult (Mrs. Hess).
    • Alex also has one brother (Stan) and one sister (Molly), while Kevin has two brothers (Buzz and Jeff) and two sisters (Megan and Linnie).
    • Alex attempted to phone the police about the burglars, and only took action when nobody would listen. Kevin did not attempt to contact law enforcement until he knew where he could lure the burglars (across the street). It is possible that he did this because he did not want to scare his family.
    • Alex was home sick with chicken pox, while Kevin was accidentally separated while his family went on trips. Alex was also left at home (but only on a few occasions) for a few hours because his mother needed to go to work. Despite this, he was still being supervised by Mrs. Hess, so he was never truly "home alone", whereas Kevin really was home alone.
    • Kevin's parents are of lower upper class, while Alex's parents are middle-class citizens.
    • A few of Alex's traps seem to be more extreme than Kevin's.
  • Despite these differences, however, they are also similar in a number of ways:
    • Both live in Chicago.
    • Both have trouble dealing with their families, but they all love each other at the end of the day. 
    • Both are whiz-kids that have a mischievous sense of humor. 
    • Both use booby-traps to foil the plans of their enemies.
  • Besides Doris the rat, Alex also owns a goldfish named Speedy.
  • So far, Alex is the only Home Alone main protagonist to not be rescued by someone when captured. He scared off Petr Beaupre with a fake gun when he was cornered by the villain in Mrs. Hess' garage.

References[]

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