diff --git a/src/core/display/DisplayObject.js b/src/core/display/DisplayObject.js
index 182d242..db966b5 100644
--- a/src/core/display/DisplayObject.js
+++ b/src/core/display/DisplayObject.js
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@
  */
 DisplayObject.prototype.updateTransform = function () {
     // create some matrix refs for easy access
-    var pt = this.parent.worldTransform;
+    var pt = this.parent ? this.parent.worldTransform : math.Matrix.IDENTITY;
     var wt = this.worldTransform;
 
     // temporary matrix variables
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@
     }
 
     // multiply the alphas..
-    this.worldAlpha = this.alpha * this.parent.worldAlpha;
+    this.worldAlpha = this.alpha * (this.parent ? this.parent.worldAlpha : 1);
 };
 
 // performance increase to avoid using call.. (10x faster)