“Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” Remake: All the Surprise Cameos and Easter Eggs (Exclusive)
Eric Andersson
6 min read
Ready to dive into the remake's references to the cult classic 1991 comedy? We're right on top of that, Rose!
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Simone Joy Jones (Left) in 2024's Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead; Christina Applegate (Right) in 1991's Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
WhenDon’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead hit theaters in the summer of 1991 it wasn’t a smash hit by any means. But the movie found a cult fan base after it hit home video (and later, streaming), and now it has gotten the remake treatment.
Even with its far-fetched premise — fashion-obsessed teen Sue Ellen Crandell (Christina Applegate) pretends to be in her twenties and lands a job at a clothing company after her mom goes away for the summer, leaving her and her siblings in the care of a babysitter who dies — the film resonated with many.
“It's a feel-good movie,” Applegate told BuzzFeed in 2015. “Everyone gets a second chance, everyone gets the chance to turn themselves around and all kids want to feel that way. They don't want to feel stuck in what they are. These characters give kids hope and I think that's thematically what you walk away from it believing and sensing and seeing.”
Now the comedy has been updated for a new generation, featuring an all-new cast and some tweaks to the story: Sue Ellen is now Tanya (Simone Joy Jones), there are four siblings in the remake instead of five and there’s a whole lot of new technology that didn’t exist in 1991. However, there are still plenty of fun nods to the original we all know and love.
Read on to see how the new movie honors the original. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
The Crandells’ Home
The Santa Clarita, California, house that served as the Crandells’ abode in the original movie was used again for the remake. Nicole Richie, who plays Tanya’s boss Rose, couldn’t believe the filmmakers were able to get the same exact location.
“I was asking the producers, ‘How did you…?’ And I think it was like, you got to ask for what you want. You got to shoot your shot,” she tells PEOPLE.
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The house from Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
A Nod to the Original Release Date
In the remake, the Crandells debate what to do with the body of mean babysitter Mrs. Sturak (June Squibb) who dies in the house shortly after arriving to watch over the kids. They consider dropping the body off at a funeral home in the middle of the night (which is what the Crandell kids did in the original).
“It’s not 1991,” says Tanya’s younger sister Melissa (Ayaamii Sledge). “There are cameras everywhere. Use your head.” The line is a sly wink to the year the original film was released — and an acknowledgement that the movie needed to be updated to reflect modern technology.
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June Squibb plays Mrs. Sturak in the new version of Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
“The Dishes Are Done” Scene
In the original, wild son Kenny (Keith Coogan) takes care of the dirty dishes by hauling them up to the roof of the house, throwing them in the air like clay targets and shooting them with a gun. In an updated version of the scene, Kenny (Donielle T. Hansley Jr.) dispenses of the plates in a similarly destructive (but likely safer) manner: he plays baseball with them.
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Donielle Hansley Jr. in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
“I’m Right on Top of that, Rose!”
Perhaps the most quoted line to come out of the original movie, “I’m right on top of that, Rose!” is the phrase Sue Ellen is instructed to say to her boss Rose to indicate to others that they’re taking care of business. Tanya says those seven magic words in the remake.
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Christina Applegate (Left) and Joanna Cassidy (Right) in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
The Original Movie Makes a Cameo
In one scene, Tanya comes home to find her siblings watching television. On the screen: Joanna Cassidy in a clip from the 1991 Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead! The blink-and-you'll miss it moment comes and goes without any other reference to the movie.
David Newman’s Score
The synth-heavy score featured in the 1991 version is briefly heard again in the new movie. Listen up towards the end after Tanya’s mom returns home from vacation and walks in on the fashion show her daughter’s hosting.
The Sue Ellen Connection
The name of the main character was changed from Sue Ellen to Tanya. When Tanya’s mom (Ms. Pat) returns home from vacation and finds a party in full swing at her home, she bellows her daughter’s full name, “Tanya Sue Ellen Crandell!”
Coogan, who played teen son Kenny in the original, pops up in the new version in a brand new scene that wasn’t adapted from the original. In the 1991 movie, the Crandell matriarch goes on vacation with her boyfriend to Australia. Here, the Crandell mom (comedian Ms. Pat) is portrayed as an overworked, stressed out businesswoman who has a nervous breakdown when she’s passed over for a promotion at work. Watch out for Coogan as the coworker who condescendingly mansplains to Ms. Crandell during a business meeting, setting her off.
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From Left: Christopher Pettiet, Keith Coogan and Robert Hy Gorman in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
Richie and Jones say Coogan hung out on set, too. “Having his bubbly energy and watching him love the process was a beautiful co-sign,” says Jones.
Another original Crandell child makes an appearance in the update, too. Danielle Harris, who played Sue Ellen’s younger sister Melissa, has a brief scene after Rose hires Tanya at Libra Clothing and shows her around the office.
Sarah Buxton, aka Sue Ellen’s friend Tess in the 1991 movie, also appears in a clothing store as Tanya is frantically trying to put together a fashion show at her house to save Libra from going under.
But the cameo that will likely get fans most excited occurs at the end of the movie after the fashion show when two Roses collide: Richie’s Rose is walking on Tanya’s patio when a blonde woman turns around.
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Nicole Richie (Left) and Joanna Cassidy (Right) on the set of 'Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'
“Cute outfit,” they both say at the same time.
“I’m Joan, but you can call me Jo,” says Joanna Cassidy, the original Rose.
“I’m Rose,” says Richie, adding, “Have we met before?”
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is now playing in theaters.
