:''For the Japanese magazine once known as Animal House, see Young Animal''
'''''National Lampoon's Animal House''''' (often called '''''Animal House''''') is a 1978 comedy film in which a misfit group of fraternity boys takes on the system at their college. It is considered to be the movie that started the gross-out genre, predating ''Porky's'' and ''American Pie''.
It stars John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Karen Allen, John Vernon, Thomas Hulce, Cesare Danova, Peter Riegert, Mary Louise Weller, Stephen Furst, James Daughton, Bruce McGill, Mark Metcalf, James Widdoes, Verna Bloom, Martha Smith, Kevin Bacon (in his film debut) and Donald Sutherland. The movie was adapted by Douglas Kenney, Christopher Miller and Harold Ramis from stories written by Miller and published in ''
National Lampoon'' magazine. It was directed by John Landis.
In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Produced on a scanty $3 million budget, the film has turned out to be one of the most profitable of all time; since its initial release, ''Animal House'' has garnered an estimated return of more than $200 million in the form of video and DVDs, not including merchandising.
This film is first on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies". It was #36 on AFI's "100 Years, 100 Laughs" list of the 100 best American comedies.
Plot summary
It is Rush Week 1962 at Faber College, a mediocre school whose motto is "Knowledge is Good." Vietnam, the Sexual Revolution and the counterculture movement are but blips on the horizon. A 1950s mentality still pervades the campus, typified by the Omegas—the most prestigious, elitist fraternity. At the other end of the spectrum stands the Delta Tau Chi House, a repository for every campus misfit.
Two freshmen, wimpy but relatively normal Larry Kroger (Thomas Hulce) and fat loser Kent Dorfman (Stephen Furst) (described collectively as "a wimp and a blimp"), are trying to pledge a good fraternity. They first try their luck at the Omega House rush party, but they are totally out of their league. The Omegas quickly steer them to an area where they have segregated the other "undesirables": Mohammed, Jagdish, Sidney, and Clayton (who is blind). They try the Deltas next door, despite their reputation as "the worst house on campus". As they approach, a headless female mannequin comes flying out a window and lands at their feet. They meet "Bluto" Blutarsky (John Belushi), outside taking a leak. Bluto turns to greet them and urinates on their legs without noticing it. Another member, "D-Day" (Daniel Simpson Day) (Bruce McGill), rides his motorcycle through the
