3. Kevin McAllister (Home Alone)
When buying groceries one afternoon, Kevin (Macauley Culkin) is asked by the saleswoman whether he has arrived to the store without parental supervision. He replies, ''Ma'am, I'm eight years old. You think I'd be here alone? I don't think so.'' But, of course, he is alone- as his family have mistakenly jetted off to Paris without him. And the timing couldn't have been worse. It's Christmas and the neighbourhood has fallen victim to a spate of break-ins. Luckily, Kevin is a one-boy army, a booby-trapped burglar alarm. After overhearing small time crooks Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) plan to raid his home, Kevin undergoes something of a 'Cinderella' transformation. Sure enough, as the clock strikes twelve, Kevin becomes a military tactician. As the hapless housebreakers are shot, stapled and spiked from one trap to the next, Kevin watches on in sadistic glee; occasionally adding insult to injury as though he were Sgt. Hartman addressing new recruits. The sequel follows the original almost to the letter. Armed with only a credit card and a mischievous disposition, Kevin is able to outwit not only a fawning/frightened hotel staff but Harry and Marv, again. He deflects each adult's suspicion with a winning charm, learns to confront his fears and even finds time to befriend a philanthropic toy store owner. Not bad for a kid who's been abandoned by his parents. Twice.