National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 1989 Plot
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Then again, it might not be too far off the mark, considering suburban family dysfunction is kind of the running theme there (albeit it’s played up more for laughs than surrealist horror in this flick). Turns out Aunt Bethany isn’t the only voice actress in the family. Miriam Flynn, who played Eddie’s adoring wife in four Vacation pictures, voiced Taz’s mother on the animated Warner Bros. series Taz-Mania. She’s also lent her vocal talents to The Land Before Time franchise and voiced Maa, the elderly sheep in Babe.
Johnny Galecki received an award from Chevy Chase.
Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. You can check out a bunch of behind-the-scenes shots of the 1989 "Christmas Vacation" production in Breckenridge online here. After six rounds of voting, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" beat out 63 other movies to be named the best Christmas movie by 9NEWS viewers. Meanwhile, Summit High School in Frisco was converted into a cover set for the throwback home video scene. The sledding scene was filmed at Breckenridge Ski Area's Peak 8. When Clark is dodging traffic on the slick saucer, that was on Frisco's Summit Boulevard.
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Those references include (but are not limited to) the house covered in lights, Clark Griswold hanging from the roof, the Christmas tree bursting through the ceiling and of course the fan-favorite character Cousin Eddie, bathrobe and all. That scene is the inspiration for the Estes Avenue home’s display, including lining the home’s front facade in bright Christmas lights, home owner Kyle Hillman said. During the official lighting ceremony, which takes place every year on the day after Thanksgiving, Osterland told visitors about the deeper purpose behind their annual endeavor. Homeowner Greg Osterland sought to recreate the iconic Griswold house from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” since childhood. The tradition of watching the movie with his family every Christmas Eve fueled his passion and made him an expert in exterior illumination. It went on to gross a total of $71,319,546 in the United States while showing in movie theaters.[25] It was the highest-grossing film in the series, until the release of Vacation in 2015.
Blondie Street, Burbank, Los Angeles
Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The home had Clark's station wagon, thousands of twinkling lights just like Clark hung on his own home, and even came with cousin Eddie and his RV. The display grew so much that the Harbaugh family decided to launch a toy drive to go along with their decorations in an effort to give back to needy kids at Christmas. Every year, they'd fill cousin Eddie's RV up with toy donations.
Eddie’s son, Rocky, doesn’t speak in the film.
Though Johnny Galecki wasn’t there, two previous Rustys—Anthony Michael Hall and Jason Lively—were. The 1989 movie classic "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" — which tells the story of Clark Griswold trying to put on the perfect Christmas for his family — filmed many of its scenes in Colorado. The house in the 2200 block of West Estes Avenue is decked out in honor of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” the beloved 1989 movie set in the Chicago area. The movie includes a famous scene where Clark Griswold encounters struggles in his effort to put lights on his house, resulting in a truly over-the-top Christmas lights display that briefly browns out the neighborhood until backup power is added. The house, located about an hour and 45 minutes from Columbus, is illuminated every night through the holiday season from 5 p.m.
Fans of the movie who don’t want to drape their homes in Christmas lights, but still want to add some holiday movie magic can turn to Department 56’s beautiful Christmas Vacation Village collection. However, after the holidays the city orders that the second story must come down. Some municipalities have promoted displays with contests, calling on residents to nominate their favorites.
And a word on cousin Eddie’s RV
Filming took place in Summit County, Colorado, Silverthorne, Breckenridge, and Frisco as well as Burbank, California between March and June 1989. The house has been altered a lot to serve other movies, especially the interiors, which are also only a set, not a real house. With much of the movie taking place in the property, we got to see many of the rooms throughout the house.
House inspired by ‘Christmas Vacation’ brighter than ever for holiday lights - OCRegister
House inspired by ‘Christmas Vacation’ brighter than ever for holiday lights.
Posted: Sat, 16 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The Griswolds also get a surprise visit from Cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and her moocher husband, Eddie, played by Randy Quaid. While the story takes place in Chicago amid the snow and chill, the Griswold house is actually located in Los Angeles and is part of the Warner Brothers studio. As it turns out, Clark’s impressive light display isn’t the only magical component of the Griswold family house.
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If Clark’s childhood home featured in those old movies looks familiar, that’s because it’s the same house featured on Bewitched, as well as The New Gidget. Except it’s not a house at all; it’s part of the Warner Bros. back lot, located on what is known as Blondie Street. The rest of the Griswolds’ neighborhood is on a studio back lot as well. And if the home of their snooty neighbors, Todd and Margo, looks familiar, that’s because it’s where Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) and his family lived in Lethal Weapon. Though the holiday season is usually packed with Christmas-themed movies, Christmas Vacation was one of only two that were released in 1989. Given that the movie is set in Chicago (which is a multi-day drive away from the mountains) those big alpine trees and mountainous valleys might look familiar to Coloradans.
After a disastrous Christmas Eve dinner, during which Aunt Bethany's cat is electrocuted and Uncle Lewis accidentally burns down the Christmas tree while lighting his cigar, a courier delivers an envelope. Instead of the bonus Clark expects, it is a membership in a jelly club. He snaps and angrily wishes for Frank to be delivered to the house so he can insult him to his face.
And of course, the 25,000 Christmas lights on the exterior of the house made the family home that much more memorable. "It's really light. It's all studded together and I used metal connectors," Norton. The second story was something I envisioned as a 30 day add on. Each year, Christmas Vacation superfan Greg Osterland and his family adorn their Wadsworth, Ohio, residence with an exact duplicate of Clark’s over-the-top lighting arrangement. (And in 2019, they added a replica of Cousin Eddie’s banged-up RV.) Visitors are encouraged to make donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Great Strides. Sure they’re wrapped differently, but size- and shape-wise, the gifts are identical.
While the display brings cheer to fans of the holiday flick, it also helps spread cheer by raising donations for Great Strides, a national fundraising event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. A speaker installed in the front yard is activated by motion sensor when people walk by. There is also a display showing an FM frequency that drivers can tune into to listen to the audio of the scenes being projected. WEST RIDGE — A home in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood is paying homage to a Christmas movie classic with a massive lights display. The display comes complete with 25,000 lights adorning the outside of the house, the “Family Truckster” topped with the Griswold’s Christmas tree and cousin Eddie, standing outside his RV. The Griswold house is actually an exterior set on “Blondie Street” on a Warner Brothers back lot in Burbank, CA, as is Todd and Margo’s house (the neighbors next door).
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