What Does 'National Lampoon' Mean & Why Is It In So Many Movie Titles?

From the food fight in "Animal House," to the misadventures of the "Vacation" movies, National Lampoon has been responsible for some of the most iconic and hilarious moments in film history. But what is National Lampoon, anyway? And how did that designator end up attached to the most celebrated cinematic romps of all time? 

It all started in 1876. That's when The Harvard Lampoon published its first issue at the namesake university. The magazine — which is still in publication to this day — offered a satirical take on life at Harvard and its surrounding communities. Nearly a century later, in 1970, Harvard Lampoon alums Doug Kenney, Henry Beard, and Robert Hoffman would launch a spinoff of that legacy magazine, The National Lampoon. Much like The Harvard Lampoon was founded to parody campus life, The National Lampoon would poke fun at the entire country. The magazine proved to be a massive hit and would become known for its signature brand of subversive, oftentimes counterculture humor.

The magazine ended up being so popular that the National Lampoon brand would branch out into other media, including books, albums, live theatrical productions, and television. But it wouldn't be until 1978 that National Lampoon made its big screen debut, and it did so in a historic way.

Upon its release, "National Lampoon's Animal House" quickly became the highest-grossing comedy ever at the time, taking in $141 million on a budget of less than $3 million. The movie, the first National Lampoon movie to hit theaters, carried on the magazine's anti-authoritarian attitude and would be the first film appearance of comedy legend John Belushi. Capitalizing on that runaway success, the National Lampoon brand has since been attached to dozens of movies over the years, with wildly varying degrees of success. Beyond just some of the Chevy Chase-led "Vacation" movies, much of the content produced under the National Lampoon label has proven to be commercial and critical failures. 

Besides "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" being Ryan Reynolds' leading man debut way back in 2002, the brand hasn't done anything too remarkable since its heyday. Once a promising sign of quality subversive and absurdist comedy, the National Lampoon label has since been slapped on titles like "301: The Legend of Awesomest Maximus." National Lampoon magazine printed its last issue in 1998, but the movies kept coming for a while — even though seemingly no one noticed. Still, despite the questionable quality of the later films bearing the name, there's no denying that National Lampoon once offered what are now some of the most memorable moments in movie comedy.