Vacation: Origins and Evolutions

On July 29, Vacation will hit theaters as the Griswolds travel cross-country to Walley World… again.

While Vacation was originally under consideration to be a reboot of the National Lampoon’s Vacation series, co-writers and co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have instead turned the film into a direct sequel to first four theatrical Vacation movies.

Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo are back in Vacation as Clark and Ellen Griswold. But this time, the focus is on their son, Rusty Griswold, now played by Ed Helms. Rusty has a family of his own, and he’s going to take them on a trip to give them one last chance to visit Walley World before it closes for good. But Rusty is a true Griswold, and comedic disaster awaits them on the road.

It’s been 18 years since the last Vacation movie was in theaters, but the Griswolds’ misadventures made the series into a franchise back in the ‘80s. And there’s nothing Hollywood loves more than mining an existing franchise for sequels.

The Vacation-verse also has an interesting history, numerous recastings and continuity that could confuse even hardcore fans of the series. Ahead of Vacation’s release later this summer, Origins and Evolutions has brought together an overview of the franchise’s backstory to bring everyone up to speed.

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Origins and Evolutions: Vacation

Vacation '58

“If Dad hadn’t shot Walt Disney in the leg, it would have been our best vacation ever!”

That was the opening sentence of John Hughes’ short story, Vacation ‘58, as it appeared in the September 1979 issue of National Lampoon. This story featured a fictionalized version of Hughes’ family on a disastrous trip to Disneyland, and it helped launch his career as a screenwriter. Even though Vacation ‘58 was under 20 pages in length, it still had the basic storyline that was eventually used in the feature film.

Several of the film’s most iconic comedy scenes are directly lifted from the short story, including the fate of the aunt’s dog and her own darkly comic demise. Even the father’s theme park meltdown is here.

Obviously Disney would have never allowed its beloved founder to be portrayed this way in any adaptation. But Vacation ‘58 is extremely funny when Walt Disney tries to talk down the very angry, gun-wielding father...unsuccessfully, I might add.

The entire story has been posted online, and you can read Vacation ‘58 here.
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

Because National Lampoon’s Animal House was a box office success, other stories that appeared in the National Lampoon magazine were under consideration for theatrical adaptations. Vacation ‘58 was chosen, and a film franchise was born.

John Hughes adapted his own story into a screenplay, which was directed by Harold Ramis, and he re-teamed with actor Chevy Chase after their successful collaboration in Caddyshack.

For the film, Hughes’ family became the Griswolds, and Chase took on the role of Clark Griswold. One of the most notable changes is that all of the major references to Disneyland were omitted. Instead, Walley World became Clark Griswold’s theme park obsession.
Clark W. Griswold Jr.

Before National Lampoon’s Vacation, Chevy Chase had established himself on the first season of Saturday Night Live, and in the film Caddyshack. But it was his role as Clark Griswold that helped turn Chase into a box office draw.

Chase has appeared as Clark in every theatrically released film in this series, as well as some unofficial spinoffs that were created for ad campaigns. As a character, Clark is generally a well-meaning family man with a wandering eye for other women. Clark also shows a little mental instability when disaster upon disaster befalls him and his family.
Ellen Griswold

Ellen Griswold is one of Beverly D'Angelo’s best known roles. Like Chase, D’Angelo had already established herself as an actress before landing the co-lead of the Vacation franchise.

Any time that Chase has appeared as Clark Griswold, D’Angelo has been right beside him as Ellen. Despite Clark’s close call with infidelity during the first film, Ellen forgave him and stayed with him. On most occasions, Ellen is also far more rational than Clark.
Russell ‘Rusty’ Griswold

Anthony Michael Hall originated the role of Clark’s son in the first National Lampoon’s Vacation, but Rusty has been played by a different actor in every Vacation movie since the first one.

Watching the earlier films in the series, it’s hard to imagine Rusty growing up to be so similar to his father. But if the film series gets another sequel beyond Vacation then the franchise is in Rusty’s hands.
Audrey Griswold

Dana Barron was not only the first actress to play Audrey Griswold, she was also the only one to reprise her role in a TV movie...twenty years after the original film came out.

Because Hall reportedly refused to come back for the first Vacation sequel, the producers decided to recast both Griswold children, which later became a recurring gag in the series.
Cousin Eddie and Catherine Johnson

Randy Quaid and Miriam Flynn were regulars in the Vacation franchise from the very beginning as Cousin Eddie, and his wife Catherine. Even though they call him Cousin Eddie, it’s actually Catherine who has the familial ties to the Griswolds. Catherine is Ellen’s cousin, and she’s also the one who forced Aunt Edna (Imogene Coca) and her annoying dog on the Griswolds during their trip to Walley World.

Clark has his meltdown moments, but Cousin Eddie might actually be crazy. But his redeeming factor is that he does actually care about the Griswolds as his extended family. Cousin Eddie and Catherine even headlined their own Vacation TV movie.

Just don’t expect to see them in Vacation later this year. Because of various legal issues, Randy Quaid can’t return to the US without being arrested. However, Flynn is still working as an actress, with recent appearances in Scandal and Bones.
The Girl in the Red Ferrari

Remember Clark’s wandering eye? It often fell upon the Girl in the Red Ferrari, as played by model turned actress, Christie Brinkley.

The unnamed Girl actually seemed to have some interest in Clark despite his clumsy attempts to get closer to her. Brinkley even returned for Vegas Vacation, as Clark ran into her one last time... and discovered that she was now a mother.

Judging from the trailer for Vacation, Rusty is going to have a Girl in the Red Ferrari of his own... which keeps the Griswold tradition alive!
Famous Griswold Alert: Anthony Michael Hall

Anthony Michael Hall was not only the first Rusty Griswold, he was the first supporting actor from the Vacation franchise to go on to greater success.

Hall re-teamed with writer/director John Hughes on Weird Science, Sixteen Candles, and The Breakfast Club. As an adult, Hall was a cast member of Saturday Night Live in 1985 and the star of the Dead Zone TV series in 2002. Hall has also appeared in The Dark Knight, Edward Scissorhands, Six Degrees of Separation, and Pirates of Silicon Valley.

Not bad for a Griswold!
National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985)

The Griswold clan returned in National Lampoon’s European Vacation, which featured Jason Lively and Dana Hill as the new Rusty and Audrey Griswold.

As the title suggests, director Amy Heckerling and screenwriters John Hughes and Robert Klane sent the Griswolds on another ill-fated vacation that included the destruction of Stonehenge, accidentally tricking a dog into jumping off of the Eiffel Tower, and the desecration of the Statue of Liberty on their way home.

National Lampoon’s European Vacation wasn’t quite as successful at the box office as the first film, but it was more than enough to keep the franchise going.
National Lampoon's Australian Vacation (Unproduced Script)

Monty Python veteran, Eric Idle had a small role in National Lampoon’s European Vacation as an unfortunate cyclist whom Clark hits with his car.

After that film wrapped, Idle and Chase collaborated on their idea for the next sequel: National Lampoon's Australian Vacation.

In the book Life Before and After Monty Python: The Solo Flights of the Flying Circus, Idle was quoted as saying that “We spent some time working together on [the National Lampoon script]. It had some nice shark gags, but I can't pretend it was in any way finished.”

Instead of going to another continent, the next Vacation sequel stayed a little closer to home...
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

John Hughes scripted the third Vacation film, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation; which was also based on a short story that he wrote called Christmas 59. You can read it online here.

Jeremiah Chechik stepped into the director’s chair for the second sequel; which brought in Johnny Galecki as the third Rusty, and Juliette Lewis as the third Audrey. This time out, Clark was obsessed with creating the perfect Christmas for his family... and even for Cousin Randy’s family, which had fallen on hard times.

After about 90 minutes of holiday mayhem and one kidnapped boss later, Clark actually gets his wish. Christmas Vacation was the highest grossing film in the franchise (at $71.3 million, domestically), and it has since become a true holiday classic.
Famous Griswold Alert: Johnny Galecki

There have been many Rustys in the Vacation film series, but Johnny Galecki is the most successful of them all.

Even if you don’t count Galecki’s most famous role, he still had a long stint on Roseanne, in addition to supporting parts in Suicide Kings, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Vanilla Sky, Hancock, and In Time.

But Galecki is also one of the stars of CBS’ "The Big Bang Theory" as Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. That’s more than enough to put him over the top.
Famous Griswold Alert: Juliette Lewis

Just two years after appearing as the third Audrey, Juliette Lewis’ career took off after her very memorable turn in 1991’s remake of Cape Fear. From there, she went on to star in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Natural Born Killers, Strange Days, The Evening Star, Kalifornia, From Dusk till Dawn, and The Basketball Diaries.

Lewis’ career isn’t quite as white hot as it once was, but she’s worked consistently and she’s currently headlining ABC’s "Secrets and Lies" in addition to her role on Fox’s "Wayward Pines."
Vegas Vacation (1997)

Here’s where the chronology of the Vacation films starts to fall apart. The conceit of the Vacation-verse is that the movies always take place in the year that they are released, but the kids haven’t fully aged with the films (and they are always recast between each movie). This is a commonly used trick in superhero comic books that is called a rolling timeline.

Vegas Vacation was an unexpected fourth film in the franchise eight years after the previous movie was released. And this film is largely the reason that the franchise didn’t get another theatrical release until later this year. John Hughes didn’t write the script this time. Instead, Elisa Bell and Bob Ducsay came up with the story of the Griswolds’ self-destruction in Las Vegas for director Stephen Kessler.

This is far from the best movie in the series, but Vegas Vacation still has some redeeming qualities. The return of the Girl in the Red Ferrari was a nice touch, Wayne Newton hilariously played himself as a suitor for Ellen, and comic icon Sid Caesar stole the show with a cameo role.

Additionally, Vegas Vacation made good use of Cousin Eddie and the Griswolds also got their happiest ending to date. But the box office returns were mediocre at best.
Semi-Famous Griswold Alert: Ethan Embry

Ethan Embry became the fourth Rusty Griswold in Vegas Vacation. And he’s had a very respectable career in Hollywood, with roles in Empire Records, That Thing You Do!, Eagle Eye, and Vacancy.

Embry had a starring role in Showtime’s original series, "Brotherhood"; and he’s made guest appearances in "Grey’s Anatomy," "House," "Once Upon a Time," "CSI: Miami" and many other shows.

“Semi-Famous” is not meant to mock what Embry has accomplished as an actor. He just isn’t quite as successful as some of the other Rustys in the franchise.
Semi-Famous Griswold Alert: Marisol Nichols

Martisol Nichols was the fourth Audrey in Vegas Vacation, but she’s much better known for playing Nadia Yassir in "24," Zoe Keats in "NCIS," and Victoria Santiago in "Resurrection Blvd" on Showtime.

Vegas Vacation was Nichols’ first feature film, but she went on to appear in Scream 2, Can’t Hardly Wait, Big Momma’s House 2, Delta Farce, and one of the title roles in the TV movie, "The Princess and the Marine."
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2 (2003)

In 2003, NBC tried to revive the Vacation franchise as a TV movie with Randy Quaid’s Cousin Eddie as the main character. To put it charitably, it didn’t go over well with anyone.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure starts with Eddie getting into a fight with his nuclear power plant co-worker (which was a monkey) before being fired and bribed by his former bosses with a free family vacation to a tropical island. Then Eddie manages to get everyone shipwrecked until they relearn the meaning of Christmas together.

Even that description makes this film sound more entertaining than it actually is. The only truly notable thing about it was that Dana Barron reprised her role as Audrey Griswold for the first time since the original film in 1983. Eric Idle also had a cameo as his character from National Lampoon’s European Vacation.

This was also the last time that National Lampoon was used in a title for this franchise. And until Randy Quaid works out his legal problems, this is the last time that anyone is going to see Cousin Eddie.
Swiss Family Griswold (Unproduced Script)

In the mid 2000s, Chase and D'Angelo began working on a new Vacation script that would have stranded the Griswolds on a deserted tropical island. Perhaps they didn’t see that TV movie that they skipped.

The working title was Swiss Family Griswold, and in 2007 Chase laid out the potential storyline. "There’s a cruise, there’s a fire on the ship, we think the whole ship’s on fire and we jump —- it’s just a little fire —- and we end up on an island where we meet Randy somewhere who’s been left there from an old Survivor series."

Ultimately, this idea never came to fruition, but Chase and D’Angelo still managed to reprise their roles yet again just three years later.
Hotel Hell: Vacation (2010)

Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo wisely sat out of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2, but they reprised their roles as the Griswolds in a 14 minute short film, Hotel Hell: Vacation that doubled as an extended ad for Home Away, Inc.

Hotel Hell: Vacation debuted during Super Bowl XLIV and found Clark and Ellen Griswold on the road to visit Rusty #5, as played by Travis Greer. Foreshadowing the eventual theatrical revival, Rusty had his own family including his wife and daughter.

For a commercial, Hotel Hell: Vacation isn’t bad. But it is out-of-continuity with the rest of the films. Vacation saw to that when it gave Rusty two sons, but no daughter.
Old Navy (2012)

In late 2012, the Griswolds were back in the most unexpected way possible: a series of ads for Old Navy. By now, it’s no longer a surprise to find Chase and D'Angelo in their familiar roles. But this time, Anthony Michael Hall and Jason Lively reprised their roles as Rusty, while Dana Barron and Juliette Lewis once again played Audrey.

To top everything off, a new Rusty and a new Audrey (both children) made their debuts in the ads. But the Old Navy-verse doesn’t share continuity with the films either. So technically, the new Griswold kids don’t count.
Vacation (2015)

It was inevitable that someone would get around to remaking the original Vacation movie. Only in this case, the remake became a full-fledged sequel.

Later this summer, moviegoers will get the chance to catch up with Rusty and his family as they head to Walley World, just as the Griswolds did in the first Vacation movie. Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo are also back as Clark and Ellen Griswold to help pass the torch on to the potential next phase of the franchise.

Because that is the ultimate goal here. Warner Bros. doesn’t just want a one-off comedy from its former franchise. It wants sequels. But any sequels are going to come down to the film itself, and whether the audience embraces the next generation of Griswold misadventures.
The New Rusty

Given the stardom of Johnny Galecki and Anthony Michael Hall, an argument could be made that either of them could have carried Vacation by reprising the role of Rusty. Galecki is the bigger star because of "The Big Bang Theory," but Hall would have still been a good choice.

Ed Helms was likely chosen to play the new Rusty in Vacation because of his breakout success in The Hangover films and in "The Office" on NBC. Helms has been a reliable supporting actor, but Vacation will be a real test for his drawing power. If Helms can carry the movie and lead Vacation to box office success, then it would go a long towards making him into a headlining movie star.
Debbie Griswold

Christina Applegate is playing Rusty’s wife, Debbie Griswold in Vacation. Applegate is best known for playing Kelly Bundy on "Married with Children" for 11 seasons. She also previously starred in "Jesse," "Samantha Who?," and "Up All Night."

Among her film credits are both Anchorman movies, Hall Pass, and the memorably-titled Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead.
James and Kevin Griswold

In Vacation, Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins are playing James and Kevin Griswold, the sons of Rusty and Debbie.

But to keep the Vacation tradition alive, both Gisondo and Stebbins should be replaced by younger actors if there is another sequel.
The New Audrey

Even though Rusty is the main character of Vacation, Audrey is also making a comeback. Leslie Mann will be the fifth onscreen Audrey in this movie, and she’s now a married woman going by Audrey Griswold-Crandall.

Mann has also appeared in numerous comedy films, including The Cable Guy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, 17 Again, Funny People, The Change-Up, This Is 40, and The Other Woman.
Stone Crandall

Chris Hemsworth made news recently by joining the female Ghostbusters movie as the new receptionist. But first, Hemsworth will join the Vacation franchise as Audrey’s husband, Stone Crandall, who works as an anchorman.

Hemsworth is known for starring in Rush, Blackhat, his cameo role in Star Trek as Kirk’s father...and yes, for playing Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The New Girl in the Red Ferrari

It just wouldn’t be a Vacation remake without a Girl in the Red Ferrari.

Although Vacation isn’t technically a remake, it will probably borrow a lot from the original film in the franchise. Case in point: model Hannah Davis is playing the new Girl in the Red Ferrari who catches Rusty’s eye during the movie.