‘Richie Rich’

This Christmas 1994 release presents an irresistible Macauley Culkin (pictured) in a wonderful part. Moreover, it bursts with the gadgetry that many adults thrill to see as much as children. The film is directed by Daniel Petrie with humor and panache, never losing touch with its humanity. In the title role, based on the Harvy Comics character, Culkin is the richest 12-year-old in the world. His Richie is a good kid and has everything the world has to offer but friends his own age. As Richie tries to remedy this he becomes endangered by one of his father’s greedy top executives, played with glee by John Larroquette. With Edward Herrmann and Christine Ebersole as Richie’s loving but amusingly innocent parents and Jonathan Hyde as their devoted butler (HBO Tuesday at 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.).