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

      Here are 12 behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Animal House, including a story about an actress, depicted above, who wasn't part of the film.

      Many people regard the 1978 film Animal House as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, comedies ever made. It has become iconic, although the images of John Belushi's Bluto wearing his "COLLEGE" sweatshirt became overly common, and hopefully, today’s college students showcase more originality in their decorating.

      The success of Animal House transformed comedy and filmmaking. It influenced numerous films, inspiring many direct imitators. The slobs-vs-snobs theme, collegiate comedies, and outrageous humor reached a new height in popularity starting with this film.

      Additionally, Animal House played a key role in launching or enhancing several significant careers. Now that Animal House is available for streaming on Netflix, here are 12 behind-the-scenes stories you probably haven't heard.

      Three Character Names Were Borrowed from a Previous National Lampoon Work

      Universal – Credit: C/O Universal

      The film's official title is National Lampoon’s Animal House since it was the first film produced by National Lampoon, the renowned humor publication. In addition to their magazine, National Lampoon produced various projects.

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

      A significant amount of detail went into the 176-page faux yearbook, which Time Magazine deemed “the best comedy writing in the country” at that time. Doug Kenney, a writer for Animal House and the initial editor-in-chief of National Lampoon, extracted some ideas from this fictional yearbook he helped create.

      The characters Larry Kroger, also known as Pinto, and Mandy Pepperidge both appear in the 1964 High School Yearbook Parody. The name Vernon Wormer also appears, but he is portrayed as a gym and civics instructor in the yearbook.

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

      Universal – Credit: C/O Universal

      Though Kenney had a wild comedic style, he wasn’t Bluto. While at Harvard, he belonged to the elite Spee Club. In contrast, John Christian Miller, credited as Chris Miller on the Animal House screenplay, attended Dartmouth, another Ivy League school, but Kenney viewed him as the authority on fraternity life among National Lampoon's writers, as reported by NPR.

      Miller had actually begun writing about his fraternity experience in a memoir titled The Night of the Seven Fires, which he ended up not completing.

      Fortunately, he held onto his manuscript. Pressed for time, Miller submitted a chapter from his memoir, which led to him being credited as one of the writers for Animal House. Many of the character nicknames in the film are directly drawn from Miller's fraternity brothers.

      Not Everyone Got the Roles They Desired

      Columbia – Credit: C/O Universal

      Ivan Reitman went on to have a successful career as a comedy director, known for directing Ghostbusters. While he produced Animal House, he also aspired to direct. At that time, however, he had only directed one film, a low-budget Canadian cult comedy, which did not meet Universal's producers' expectations.

      Ultimately, John Landis was hired to direct, having just achieved success with the raunchy comedy The Kentucky Fried Movie.

      Reitman had recruited Harold Ramis from The Second City for the film, and he is listed as a credited writer. While drafting the script, which went through nine revisions, Ramis had written the role of Boon with himself in mind. Landis felt he looked too old for the part (despite the fact that no one criticized the 28-year-old John Belushi) and suggested a smaller role, which Ramis declined in frustration.

      John Landis Took Significant Credit for Shaping 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” but also “extremely offensive.” He insisted on having distinct “good guys” and “bad guys,” leading to the creation of the villainous fraternity in contrast to the “good guys” of Animal House.

      The director also influenced the cast selection. Initially, Animal House was essentially set to be a Saturday Night Live movie, with Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd all considered for roles.

      However, Landis preferred to cast unknown actors with dramatic backgrounds. This choice paved the way for Kevin Bacon and Karen Allen to make their film debuts. Due to his brash demeanor, Landis rubbed some of the other creative team members the wrong way. Harold Ramis noted that Landis frequently referred to Animal House as “my movie,” which irked the