User Reviews

What I mainly find interesting about these "making of" mini-documentaries is seeing the cast members all these years later. But even beyond that, "The Yearbook: An 'Animal House' Reunion" is still quite entertaining, as most of the cast and crew put in their two cents about the production. One of the most impressive parts was footage shot by a Eugene, Oregon, TV station during production.

Absent from this are the late John Belushi, Doug Kenny and Cesare Danova - and John Vernon has since passed on - while the still alive Donald Sutherland, James Daughton, Tom Hulce and Martha Smith also don't appear. But the rest of the cast and crew do a pretty good job explaining what all happened on the set; it all sounded really fun! So, it's a must-see for any "Animal House" fan. I recommend it.

I wonder if Babs and Mandy are still as hot as they were in the movie...especially if we see them doing some of what they did in the movie!

The Yearbook: An Animal House Reunion (1998)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Fun documentary taking a look at NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE and its making. The film's director (John Landis), producers (Matty Simmons, Ivan Reitman), writers (Harold Ramis, Chris Miller), composer (Elmer Bernstein) and cast members Peter Riegert, Karen Allen, Stephen Furst, Kevin Bacon, Verna Bloom, John Vernon, Mark Metcalf, Tim Mattheson, Bruce McGill and James Widdoes are all interviewed in this 45-minute look at the film. With such a short running time you'd fear that not enough is covered but that's not the case here because just about everything you'd want to know about the production is covered. We learn the original ideas for the movie, how Universal got involved and then we go through the hiring of Landis and the casting of the film. Fans of the movie are really going to love this documentary because it has so many of the people who worked on the film and all of them have some great stories to tell. The cast does a nice job talking about the audition process and some really fun stories come about how they all stayed in character when they were filming meaning that the "prep" characters weren't allowed around the "animal" characters. There are also some funny stories from Kevin Bacon who couldn't get anyone to believe that he was actually in the movie. Everyone involved really does a nice job at keeping this thing moving as we get one great story after another. We hear about fights at a real college and the sex and drugs in the movie appeared to spill off screen as well.

Just watched this extra on the HD DVD of Animal House. The surviving cast and crew members of this now-classic movie share their thoughts and tell their versions of what went on during the making of the picture and it's impact on their careers and life. Among the interviewees: director John Landis, producers Matty Simmons and Ivan Reitman, surviving writers Harold Ramis and Chris Miller, score composer Elmer Bernstein, and the players-Karen Allen, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, Mark Metcalf, Verna Bloom, John Vernon, James Widdoes, Bruce McGill, Stephen Furst, and Keven Bacon. Among those missing: Martha Smith, Mary Louise Weller, and Tom Hulce. Of course, there are tributes to those no longer with us like John Belushi and Douglas Kenney and Judith Belushi-Pisano provides her own insights on her late husband. There's also some fascinating behind-the-scenes footage courtesy of a local Oregon TV station concerning the filming of the movie's climax. All great stuff. So on that note, The Yearbok: An 'Animal House' Reunion is highly recommended.