12 Animal House Tales That We Doubt You've Come Across

      Here are 12 behind-the-scenes stories from Animal House, featuring an actress, shown above, who did not appear in the film.

      But First

      Universal – Credit: C/O

      Many consider the 1978 film Animal House to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, comedy ever made. Its iconic status is marked by the prevalence of posters depicting John Belushi's Bluto in his “COLLEGE” sweatshirt, which seemed to be everywhere—which may prompt college students today to seek more unique décor.

      The success of Animal House transformed the comedy genre and influenced the film industry significantly. It inspired numerous films, some direct imitations, and ramped up the popularity of various subgenres, including slobs-versus-snobs comedies, college comedies, and raunchy humor.

      Additionally, the film played a pivotal role in launching or enhancing several notable careers, making it deserving of further exploration. Here are the behind-the-scenes stories of Animal House.

      Three Character Names Came from an Earlier National Lampoon Project

      Universal – Credit: C/O

      The official title of Animal House is National Lampoon’s Animal House, marking its distinction as the first film produced by National Lampoon, the well-known humor magazine. The team behind National Lampoon also created standalone projects.

      In 1973, they released the book National Lampoon 1964 High School Yearbook Parody, a complete spoof yearbook for the fictional C. Estes Kefauver High School set in the made-up town of Dacron, Ohio.

      As expected, immense detail was put into the 176-page fictitious yearbook, which Time Magazine praised as “the best comedy writing in the country” at the time. Doug Kenney, who co-wrote Animal House and was the first editor-in-chief of National Lampoon, utilized some content from the fake yearbook he helped create.

      Characters such as Larry Kroger, also known as Pinto, and Mandy Pepperidge originated in the 1964 High School Yearbook Parody. The name Vernon Wormer is also featured; however, in the yearbook, he is portrayed as a gym and civics teacher.

      Chris Miller, Not Kenney, Contributed Personal Fraternity Experience to the Script

      Universal – Credit: C/O

      Though Kenney had a chaotic comedic style, he wasn’t a character like Bluto. During his time at Harvard, he was part of the elite Spee Club. In contrast, John Christian Miller, credited as Chris Miller on the Animal House screenplay, attended Dartmouth, another Ivy League institution, but Kenney regarded him as the expert on fraternity life among the National Lampoon writers, as noted by NPR.

      Miller had initially begun writing about his fraternity experiences in a memoir titled The Night of the Seven Fires, although he did not complete it.

      Fortunately, he preserved his manuscript and decided to submit a chapter from it under pressure of a deadline, which earned him a co-writing credit on Animal House. Many character nicknames in the film were directly inspired by Miller’s fraternity brothers.

      Not Everyone Landed Their Desired Roles

      Columbia – Credit: C/O

      Ivan Reitman would eventually enjoy a successful career as a comedy director, notably directing Ghostbusters. However, at the time of Animal House, although he was a producer on the film, he aspired to direct. Having only directed one low-budget Canadian cult comedy in the past, the Universal producers were not convinced of his directorial capabilities.

      Ultimately, John Landis was brought on to direct, fresh off the success of the risqué comedy The Kentucky Fried Movie.

      Reitman enlisted Harold Ramis from The Second City to join the film's writing team. While working on the script, which underwent nine drafts, Ramis envisioned the character of Boon with himself in mind. Landis believed Ramis looked too mature for the role and offered him a smaller part, to which Ramis declined in frustration.

      John Landis Took Significant Credit for Shaping Animal House

      Universal – Credit: C/O

      In an interview with Digital Movie Talk, John Landis described the original Animal House script as “the funniest thing I had ever read” but also “very offensive.” He insisted that the film needed “good guys” and “bad guys,” leading him to create the concept of a villainous fraternity juxtaposed against the “good guys” of Animal House.

      The director also influenced casting decisions. Originally, Animal House was intended to serve as a Saturday Night Live movie. Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd were all initially considered for roles alongside Belushi.

      However, Landis preferred inexperienced actors with dramatic backgrounds, which allowed Kevin Bacon and Karen Allen to debut in the film. His bold personality sometimes irritated other creatives involved; Ramis claimed that Landis referred to Animal House as “my movie,” which frustrated writers who had worked for years on the script.

      Donald Sutherland