Vacation Movies In Order: How To Watch And Where To Watch?

Well, who doesn’t like vacations? The whole year children of our family wait for this time period especially when they have summer and winter vacations. Because in this time period, they get a lot of time to spend with their parents and their parents get time to spend with their children. In this busy life, this would not be wrong to say that neither parents nor children have time for each other and this is the major reason for planning vacations altogether. So, in today’s article, we are taking you on the vacation, not physically but virtually.

Whenever we feel low, what do we like to watch? When I ask you this question I expect you to answer that you always like to watch comedy genre. But different people have different likes and dislikes so we cannot judge anyone according to our choices. Today in this article we gonna talk about a comedy movie series named Vacation. This comedy film series is based on a short story Vacation 58 by John Hughes. Initially, the short story was originally published by National Lampoon magazine. At that time the magazine was very famous and this story become the choice of every second child and their family.

The story in the magazine was very famous at that time even in recent years the cast of the movie used in some advertising campaigns as well. Till now this film series has five main movies and one spin-off. The very first movie named National Lampoon’s Vacation was released on 29 July 1983, then the second movie, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, was launched on 26 July 1985, additionally, on 1 December 1989, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation was released. The fourth and fifth parts which are named Vegas Vacation and Vacation were released on 14 February 1997 and 29 July 2015. But before the fifth movie, there was a spin-off called National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2, released on 20 December 2003.

All the movies have been directed by different directors. Harold Ramis directed the first movie of the series, then Amy Heckerling is the responsible director for the second part of the series. The third part was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, Stephen Kessler directed the fourth part, and the last and fifth part was directed by John Francis Daley and Johnathan Goldstein. Now, all the movies of this film series have been distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. So, now let’s get started if you love to watch comedy films then this article will provide you with great help by telling you the correct order to watch the film series, Vacation.

1. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

Vacation Movies In Order

This is the very first movie directed by Harold Ramis which was released back on 29 July 1983. Created only on a budget of 15 Million US Dollars, this movie earned almost 61 Million US Dollars. In the movie, there was Chevy Chase in the role of Clark W Griswold, Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen Griswold, Dana Barron as Audrey Griswold, John Candy in the role of Russ Lasky, Anthony Michael Hall as Russell “Rusty” Griswold, Imogene Coca as Aunt Edna, Eddie Bracken as Roy Walley, and many more. On IMDb, it received 7.3 ratings out of 10.

The whole movie series revolves around the mishappenings of the Griswold family but in a comedic way. The movie is produced by Matty Simmons and Edited by Pembroke J. Herrings. The wonderful and funny music of this movie was given by Ralph Burns. In this movie, you will see the family’s cross-country road trip to an amusement park.

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2. National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985)

Vacation Movies In Order

National Lampoon’s European Vacation is the second movie of the Vacation film franchise. This part was released back on 26th July 1985 and directed by Amy Heckerling. The screenplay of the movie was written by Robert Klane along with John Hughes and the producer of the movie was Matty Simmons. In this movie, you will see that the Griswold family won an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe and obviously mess will definitely happen again. The ratings of the movie are quite good, it has 6.2 ratings out of 10 on IMDb. Made with a budget of only $17 Million, it earned $49.3 Million.

In this part, most of the previous actors come back and reprised their roles, as we can see, Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen Griswold, Dana Hill as Audrey Griswold, and Jason Lively as Russell “Rusty” Griswold. Apart from them, there was John Astin as Kent Winkdale, Paul Bartel as Mr. Froeger, Malcolm Danare as Moe Froege, Jeannette Charles as Queen Elizabeth II, Peter Hugo as Prince Charles, Julie Wooldridge as Princess Diana, Willy Millowitsch as Fritz Spritz, and many more.

3. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

Vacation Movies In Order

The third installment of the Nationa Lampoon’s Vacation film series is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation which hit the screens on 1 December 1989. $25 Million was the budget for this part but at the box office it earned almost $73 Million, so, we can say that it was a great hit at that time. And if we talk about the ratings of the movie, it has 7.5 ratings out of 10 on IMDb, which proves that the movie was liked by the audience as well as the critics at that time. So, if you love to watch comedy movies with a lot of traveling mess, then you should definitely go for this film series.

Well, the third part is directed by the director, Jeremiah S. Chechik, and this time it is produced by John Hughes and Tom Jacobson. The main lead pair of the movie is the same in this part as well. But apart from them, here is the list of the actors that are now changed for the third installment. In this movie, there is Juliette Lewis as Audrey Griswold, Johnny Galecki as Rusty Griswold, E. G. Marshall as Arthur “Art” Smith, Miriam Flynn as Catherine Johnson, John Randolph as Clark Griswold Sr., Diane Ladd as Nora Griswold, Cody Burger as Rocky Johnson, and Doris Roberts as Frances Smith.

4. Vegas Vacation (1997)

Vegas Vacation

Released on 14 February 1997, Vegas Vacation is the fourth movie of National Lampoon’s Vacation film series. The movie was directed by Stephen Kessler and produced by Jerry Weintraub. The whole film is Edited by Seth Flaum and Joel McNeely gave the music to this wonderful movie. We can not say that this part was a great hit, but yes, made with a budget of $25 Million, at the box office it earned almost $36 Million. In this part as well, the lead pair will be seen reprising their respective roles. This part was not so good in terms of IMDb ratings, it got only 5.9 stars out of 10.

But apart from them, the movie has Ethan Embry as Russell “Rusty” Griswold, Marisol Nichols as Audrey Griswold, Randy Quaid as Eddie Johnson, Miriam Flynn as Catherine Johnson, Sid Caesar as Mr. Ellis, Juliette Brewer as Ruby Sue Johnson, Shae D’lyn as Vicki Johnson, and Toby Huss as a Frank Sinatra. In this movie, Clark Griswold went to Las Vegas with his whole family to renew his vows with Ellen. So, it will become an interesting journey to watch them in Las Vegas.

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5. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2: Spin-Off (2003)

Vacation Movies In Order

This was the sequel to the 1989 film. This spin-off was released on the date, 20 December in the year 2003. Written by Matty Simmons and directed by Nick Marck this comedy movie was launched on NBC. In this movie, you will get to see the Johnson family with some old Griswold characters. In this part, you will watch the performance of Randy Quaid as Eddie Johnson, Miriam Flynn as Catherine Johnson, Dana Barron as Audrey Griswold, Beverly Garland as Aunt Jessica, Sung Hi Lee as Muka Luka Miki, Fred Willard as Professor Doornitz, Julian Stone as Melbourne Jack, Jake Thomas as Clark “Third” Johnson, and Ed Asner as Uncle Nick.

In this movie, we will see the mishappenings on the trip to South Pacific where Johnson Family and their tour guide were shipwrecked on an island. On IMDb, this TV movie got only 2.7 ratings out of 10, that’s very low. But you can give it a try at least once if you also have an interest in the previous National Lampoon’s Vacation film series movies.

6. Vacation (2015)

Vacation Movies In Order

Vacation is the fifth and final move ie from the series National Lampoon’s Vacation film series. It was released back on 29 July 2015. Directed and written by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the movie earned $107 Million against a budget of $31 Million. Also on IMDb, it has a rating of 6.1 out of 10. In this part, Griswold went to Walley World on a road trip and there he reconnected with his sons as well.

This time, the cast of the film is different but don’t worry the previous cast is also there along with the new ones. It has Ed Helms as Russell “Rusty” Griswold, Christina Applegate as Debbie Fletcher Griswold, Skyler Gisondo as James Griswold, Leslie Mann as Audrey Griswold-Crandall, Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen Griswold, Ron Livingston as Ethan, Catherine Missal as Adena, Steele Stebbins as Kevin Griswold, Chris Hemsworth as Stone Crandall, and Norman Reedus as Trucker.

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Frequently Asked Questions

In which order should I watch National Lampoon’s Vacation?

1. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
2. National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985)
3. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
4. Vegas Vacation (1997)
5. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2: Spin-Off (2003)
6. Vacation (2015)

How many total Vacation movies are there?

Till now, total 6 movies are there including one spin-off.

Is Vacation 2015 a sequel?

Yes, it is a sequel to Vegas Vacation.

Why do we call it National Lampoon’s Vacation?

We call it National Lampoon’s Vacation because National Lampoon was a magazine and Vacation is a story published in it.

Why is it called Christmas Vacation?

Because this movie originated from the short story named Chrismas 59.

Is Vacation available on Netflix?

Yes, you can watch it on Netflix.

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