12 Animal House Tales That We’re Sure You Haven't Come Across

      Here are 12 behind-the-scenes stories from Animal House, including one about an actress who, as seen above, wasn’t part of the film.

      Many regard the 1978 film Animal House as one of the greatest, possibly the greatest, comedies of all time. It has become iconic, although the images of John Belushi’s Bluto in his “COLLEGE” sweatshirt were overly prevalent, and we hope that college students today are more original with their decorations.

      The success of Animal House transformed comedy and the film industry. It inspired numerous films, including direct imitators, and elevated the popularity of slobs-versus-snobs comedies, college-themed comedies, and raunchy, gross-out humor to new heights.

      Additionally, the film helped launch or enhance several notable careers. Now that Animal House is available for streaming on Netflix, here are 12 behind-the-scenes anecdotes we believe you may not know.

      Three Character Names Were Drawn from a Previous National Lampoon Project

      Universal – Credit: C/O Universal

      The film is officially titled National Lampoon’s Animal House, marking it as the first movie produced by National Lampoon, the well-known humor magazine. Beyond the magazine, the National Lampoon team also worked on one-off projects.

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

      A great deal of detail was included in the 176-page mock yearbook. At the time, Time Magazine referred to it as “the best comedy writing in the country.” Doug Kenney, a writer for Animal House and the original editor-in-chief of National Lampoon, was able to utilize some material from the fictional yearbook he helped create.

      Characters Larry Kroger (also known as Pinto) and Mandy Pepperidge both appear in the 1964 High School Yearbook Parody. The name Vernon Wormer is also included, where in the yearbook he serves as a gym and civics teacher.

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

      Universal – Credit: C/O Universal

      While Kenney had a bold, anarchic comedic style, he was not Bluto. During his time at Harvard, he was part of the affluent Spee Club. John Christian Miller, credited as Chris Miller on the Animal House screenplay, attended Dartmouth, another Ivy League school, and Kenney regarded him as the authority on fraternity life among National Lampoon writers, according to NPR.

      Miller had begun writing memoirs about his fraternity experience in a book titled The Night of the Seven Fires, but he never completed it.

      Luckily, he kept his manuscript, and under deadline pressure, he submitted a chapter from it, which earned him a credit as one of the writers for Animal House. Many of the character nicknames in the film were directly inspired by Miller's fraternity friends.

      Not Everyone Got the Roles They Desired

      Columbia – Credit: C/O Universal

      Ivan Reitman would go on to have a successful career as a comedy director, notably helming Ghostbusters. He was a producer for Animal House but also aspired to direct it. However, at that time, he had only directed one low-budget Canadian cult comedy, which did not satisfy the producers at Universal.

      Eventually, John Landis was brought on to direct, coming off the success of the racy comedy The Kentucky Fried Movie.

      Reitman had involved Harold Ramis from The Second City in the film, and he is a credited writer. While working on the script (which underwent nine drafts), Ramis envisioned himself in the role of Boon, but Landis felt he appeared too old for the part (even though 28-year-old John Belushi received less scrutiny) and offered him a smaller role. Ramis, displeased, declined the offer.

      John Landis Took Much Credit for Influencing Animal House

      Animal House – Credit: C/O Universal

      In a discussion with Digital Movie Talk, John Landis described the original Animal House script as “the funniest thing I had ever read,” yet also “really offensive.” He insisted the film needed to feature “good guys” and “bad guys,” leading him to introduce the concept of the villainous fraternity opposed to the “good guys” of Animal House.

      The director also influenced the casting. Originally, Animal House was intended to be a sort of Saturday Night Live film, featuring Belushi alongside Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd in the cast.

      However, Landis preferred lesser-known actors with dramatic backgrounds, paving the way for Kevin Bacon and Karen Allen to make their screen debuts. Landis’s bold demeanor caused some tension among the creative team; Harold Ramis stated that Landis often referred to Animal House as “my movie,” which annoyed the writers who had