Animal House

On a campus in the early 1960s, the Delta Tau Chi fraternity sticks out for its chaotic mischief and loud parties. The stern Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to shut them down, arguing they stain the school's reputation. His plan to expel the entire fraternity triggers a combative but playful clash with the students, who push back with prank after prank and with a cue of rowdy camaraderie. Amid the chaos, a group of pledges led by Bluto Blutarsky and his friends chase a sense of belonging, flouting rules and sticking together against the odds. The comedy follows their scheme, misadventures, and the escalating campus friction as the tensions rise and plans intensify. Its brisk pace keeps the laughs coming.

Directed by John Landis and built from a script by Kenney, Ramis and Miller, Animal House drew on campus life and spoofed fraternity culture. Made on a modest 2.7 million budget, it became a defining late 70s comedy for audiences.

Animal House opened to broad audience appeal and became a surprise hit, driving a robust gross against a modest budget. It earned roughly 141 million worldwide, cementing its status as a defining crowd-pleaser of late 1970s American comedy for generations.

Animal House left a lasting imprint on comedy by embracing chaotic fun over neat formulas, shaping a whole school of college humor and gross-out jokes. Bluto and the toga party moments became pop culture touchstones, and the film's freewheeling energy inspired later ensemble comedies and rebellious pranks across screens everywhere.

Critics praised the film's fearless humor and lively cast, while acknowledging its loosely plotted satire of campus life. The movie toys with authority, friendship, and the gap between rule keepers and rule breakers, offering a blunt snapshot of youth culture that still resonates as a benchmark for outrageous camaraderie today.