National Lampoon's Vacation
Official film series logo
Directed by	Harold Ramis (1) Amy Heckerling (2) Jeremiah S. Chechik (3) Stephen Kessler (4) John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein (5)
Screenplay by	John Hughes (1, 3) Robert Klane (2) Elisa Bell (4) John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein (5)
Based on	National Lampoon magazine
Produced by	Matty Simmons (1–2) John Hughes (3) Tom Jacobson (3) Jerry Weintraub (4) David Dobkin (5) Chris Bender (5)
Starring	Chevy Chase (1-5) Beverly D'Angelo (1-5) Anthony Michael Hall (1) Dana Barron (1) Imogene Coca (1) John Candy (1) Randy Quaid (1,3-4) Miriam Flynn (1,3-4) Jason Lively (2) Dana Hill (2) John Astin (2) Paul Bartel (2) Victor Lanoux (2) Eric Idle (2) Juliette Lewis Johnny Galecki John Randolph (3) Diane Ladd (3) E. G. Marshall (3) Doris Roberts (3) Ethan Embry (4) Marisol Nichols (4) Wallace Shawn (4) Sid Caesar (4) Shae D'lyn (4) Ed Helms (5) Leslie Mann (5) Christina Applegate (5) Skyler Gisondo (5) Steele Stebbins (5) Chris Hemsworth (5)
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	1983–2015
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	Total (5 films): $113 million
Box office	Total (5 films): $299,743,059

National Lampoon's Vacation film series is a comedy film series initially based on John Hughes' short story "Vacation '58" that was originally published by National Lampoon magazine. The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists of five main films, two of which are not sponsored by National Lampoon, and one spin-off. In recent years, the series has been the inspiration for various advertising campaigns featuring some of the original cast members. The series portrays the misadventures of the Griswold family, whose attempts to enjoy vacations and holidays are plagued with continual disasters and strangely embarrassing predicaments.

Films

Original series

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)

National Lampoon's European Vacation was directed by Amy Heckerling and written by John Hughes and Robert Klane. After becoming the winning family on a game show called "Pig In A Poke", the Griswolds win a two-week trip to Europe. The vacation begins in London, where they visit sights such as Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace. Having trouble with driving on the left side of the road, Clark ends up in many accidents and unknowingly knocks down Stonehenge. From there they stop in France, where their camcorder gets stolen; in West Germany, where they spend the night at the home of strangers they mistake for their relatives; and in Italy, where they become involved with a thief's robbery and kidnapping. In addition, they also have many run-ins with a bicycle rider.

This is the first of two Vacation films to not feature the Randy Quaid "Cousin Eddie" character. The second film is the 2015 Vacation.

In the opening "Pig in a Poke" sequence as well as the closing credits, the family's name is spelled as "Griswald" as opposed to "Griswold". Clark's passport during the opening credits also shows his last name as Griswald.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and written by John Hughes. The film follows Clark's attempt at delivering "the most fun-filled old-fashioned family Christmas ever". As Clark's parents, aunt, and uncle, Ellen's parents, and Catherine and Eddie's family begin arriving early, he becomes obsessed with ensuring that everything goes right. Meanwhile, he is also expecting a large Christmas bonus check from Frank Shirley that will cover a surprise backyard swimming pool that he already ordered. However, when the Christmas bonuses are cut, he instead receives a one-year membership to the Jelly of the Month Club, causing him to snap and go berserk.

The film's success resulted in a sequel, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2, centered on Eddie's family.

Vegas Vacation (1997)

Vegas Vacation was directed by Stephen Kessler and written by Elisa Bell, based on a story by Bell and Bob Ducsay. After receiving a large bonus check from Frank Shirley for the success of one of the preservatives that he worked on, Clark takes his family on vacation to Las Vegas. Immediately hitting the blackjack tables, he begins to blow all his money, resulting in them breaking off in their own directions. While he tries to regain his money through the help of his cousin-in-law Eddie, Ellen becomes infatuated with Wayne Newton as Rusty wins big at the dice tables and Audrey turns to go-go dancing with her cousin Vicki. The film is notable for being the first (and to date, only) installment to receive a PG rating from the MPAA and the first to be made without the involvement of John Hughes.

Vacation (2015)

Vacation is a 2015 theatrical installment of the series written and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. Following in Clark's footsteps, a grown-up Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) surprises his wife, Debbie (Christina Applegate), and their two sons James (Skyler Gisondo) and Kevin (Steele Stebbins) with a cross-country road trip back to Walley World, in an effort to recreate the family vacations he had with his parents and sister (Leslie Mann).^[1] It is the first entry since the original to receive an R rating.

Spin-off

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2 (2003)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure is a made-for-TV spin-off film directed by Nick Marck and written by Matty Simmons. After a workplace accident involving a chimpanzee, Eddie Johnson is given a free vacation for him and his family to an island in the South Pacific by his boss Professor Doornitz to avoid a potential lawsuit from Eddie. But when he tries to catch a shark during a family boat trip, they become lost and eventually shipwrecked on an isolated island.

It can be considered a sequel to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, although it is more of a spin-off than a direct chapter in the Vacation series, because Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo do not appear. It stars Randy Quaid and Miriam Flynn, reprising their roles as Cousin Eddie and Catherine, with Dana Barron returning as Audrey Griswold. Ed Asner appears as Eddie's uncle Nick.

Short film

Hotel Hell Vacation (2010)

Hotel Hell Vacation is a short film directed by Bryan Buckley. On their way to visit Rusty and his family at a vacation rental, Clark and Ellen decide to have a romantic getaway at a hotel before they get there. Everything goes wrong and they hastily make their way to Rusty's rental.

The film was a campaign ad for HomeAway that originally aired in part during the broadcast of Super Bowl XLIV and in entirety on Homeaway.com.^[2] While it was sanctioned by Warner Bros., it was not sponsored by the National Lampoon label.

Cast and crew

Principal cast

Key

• A ^Y indicates the actor portrayed the role of a younger version of the character.
• A ^V indicates the actor or actress lent only his or her voice for his or her film character.
• A dark gray cell indicates the character was not in the film.

Additional crew