Editing Animal House (section)

===Critical reception===
At the time of its release, ''Animal House'' received mixed reviews<ref name="insidestory"/> but several prominent critics immediately acknowledged its appeal,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/animal-house |title=''Animal House'' Movie Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=June 20, 2010 |archive-date=April 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425022118/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/animal-house |url-status=live }}</ref> and it has since been recognized as one of the best films of 1978.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/1978.html |title=The Greatest Films of 1978 |publisher=AMC Filmsite.org |access-date=June 20, 2010 |archive-date=December 10, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051210070316/http://www.filmsite.org/1978.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1978/14955431 |title=The 10 Best Movies of 1978 |publisher=Film.com |access-date=June 20, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701173433/http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1978/14955431 |archive-date=July 1, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.films101.com/y1978r.htm |title=The Best Movies of 1978 by Rank |publisher=Films101.com |access-date=June 20, 2010 |archive-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322213531/http://www.films101.com/y1978r.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The film holds a 91% positive rating on the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] from 53 critics. Its consensus states, "The talents of director John Landis and ''Saturday Night Live''{{'}}s irrepressible John Belushi conspired to create a rambunctious, subversive college comedy that continues to resonate."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/national_lampoons_animal_house/ |title=''Animal House'' Movie Reviews, Pictures |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |date=June 1978 |access-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-date=September 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921202404/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/national_lampoons_animal_house |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/animal-house|title=Animal House Reviews|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=February 5, 2020|archive-date=April 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409200501/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/animal-house|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] gave the film four stars out of four and wrote, "It's anarchic, messy, and filled with energy. It assaults us. Part of the movie's impact comes from its sheer level of manic energy. ... But the movie's better made (and better acted) than we might at first realize. It takes skill to create this sort of comic pitch, and the movie's filled with characters that are sketched a little more absorbingly than they had to be, and acted with perception".<ref name="Ebert">{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=''National Lampoon's Animal House'' |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=January 1, 1978 |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/national-lampoons-animal-house-1978 |access-date=July 24, 2008}}</ref> Ebert later placed the film on his 10 best list of 1978, the only ''National Lampoon'' film to have received this honor.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041215/COMMENTARY/41215001/1023 |work=The Chicago Sun-Times |title=Ebert's 10 Best Lists: 1967–present |date=April 29, 2003 |access-date=June 20, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908200137/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20041215%2FCOMMENTARY%2F41215001%2F1023 |archive-date=September 8, 2006 |df=mdy }}</ref> In his review for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', Frank Rich wrote, "At its best it perfectly expresses the fears and loathings of kids who came of age in the late '60s; at its worst ''Animal House'' revels in abject silliness. The hilarious highs easily compensate for the puerile lows".<ref name="Rich">{{cite magazine |last=Rich |first=Frank |title=School Days |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=August 14, 1978 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946996,00.html |access-date=August 20, 2008 |archive-date=August 11, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090811051225/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946996,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Gary Arnold wrote in his review for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', "Belushi also controls a wicked array of conspiratorial expressions with the audience... He can seem irresistibly funny in repose or invest minor slapstick opportunities with a streak of genius".<ref name="Arnold">{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Gary |title=''National Lampoon's Animal House'': Bringing the Beast Out of the Fraternity |newspaper=The Washington Post |pages=B1 |date=August 11, 1978}}</ref> [[David Ansen]] wrote in ''[[Newsweek]]'', "But if ''Animal House'' lacks the inspired tastelessness of the Lampoon's ''[[High School Yearbook Parody]]'', this is still low humor of a high order".<ref name="Ansen">{{cite news |last=Ansen |first=David |title=Gross Out |work=Newsweek |page=85 |date=August 7, 1978}}</ref> Robert Martin wrote in ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', "It is so gross and tasteless you feel you should be disgusted but it's hard to be offended by something that is so sidesplittingly funny".<ref name="Martin">{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Robert |title=''Animal House'' – A Lampoon Zoo |work=Globe and Mail |location=Canada |date=August 5, 1978}}</ref> ''Time'' magazine proclaimed ''Animal House'' one of the year's best.<ref name="Top10">{{cite magazine |title=Year's Best |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=January 1, 1979 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,916590,00.html |access-date=August 20, 2008 |archive-date=October 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022031238/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,916590,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

When the film was released, Landis, Widdoes, and Allen went on a national promotional tour.<ref name="Arnold2"/> Universal Pictures spent about $4.5 million (${{Inflation|index=US|value=4,500,000|start_year=1978|fmt=c}} in today's money) promoting the film at selected college campuses and helped students organize their own toga parties.<ref name="TimeMag">{{cite magazine |title=Bed Sheets Bonanza |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=October 23, 1978 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946118,00.html |access-date=August 20, 2008 |archive-date=September 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917172504/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946118,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Darling">{{cite news |last=Darling |first=Lynn |author2=Joe Calderone |title=TOGA! TOGA! TOGA!: The Toga Party, Popping Up on Campuses Across the Country |newspaper=The Washington Post |pages=C1 |date=September 26, 1978}}</ref> One such party at the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] attracted some 2,000 people, while students at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] tried for a crowd of 10,000 people and a place in the ''[[Guinness World Records|Guinness Book of World Records]]''.<ref name="Darling"/> Thanks to the film, toga parties became one of the favorite college campus happenings during 1978 and 1979.<ref name="Schwartz"/>

In 2000, the [[American Film Institute]] placed the film on its [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs|100 Years...100 Laughs]] list, where it was ranked No. 36.<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=August 28, 2016 |archive-date=March 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316140859/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2005, AFI ranked John "Bluto" Blutarsky's quote "Toga! Toga!" at No. 82 on its list of [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes|100 Years...100 Movie Quotes]].<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/quotes100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=August 28, 2016 |archive-date=March 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313150615/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/quotes100.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>  ''[[The New York Times]]'' placed the film on its ''Best 1000 Movies Ever'' list.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080612032429/https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.] ''[[The New York Times]]'' via [[Internet Archive]]. Published April 29, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2008.</ref> In 2001, the [[Library of Congress]] deemed the film to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it as one of 25 films preserved in the [[National Film Registry]] that year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |website=Library of Congress|access-date=2020-02-27|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305191832/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|url-status=live}}</ref>