National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Corrected entry: When all the family is outside to see the christmas lights, there is an aerial shot of them. Clarke starts to say "Joy to the world" before you actually hear him say it. (00:26:20)

Dr Wilson

Correction: Clark is not trying to say "Joy to the World" in the overhead shot, he is vigorously moving his head to elicit more louder and enthusiastic "drum rolls" from his skeptical in-laws and parents. Further, the next shot of him (before he turns the lights on and actually sings "Joy to the World") shows him comically moving his mouth to simulate the drum rolls he is getting from his family.

Scott215

Corrected entry: When Clark is driving next to the old truck you see him floor the gas pedal. It's a Ford Taurus and the truck is old and hardly running, but in the next frame it's accelerating quickly past the car.

Correction: Just because the truck is old and beat up doesn't mean the guy driving it doesn't take care of the engine.

The log truck ran both of them down from behind.

Corrected entry: In the scene where Eddie is introducing Snots, the first shot has the dog perfectly clean, but when Eddie explains why that is his name, in the next shot he is covered with snot.

MattGrabowski

Correction: When the camera is on Eddie explaining his name, you can hear Snots sneeze thereby covering himself with snot.

William Bergquist

Correction: The next shot is not of Clark holding a blue package, but of Francis wondering why it's so cold, discovering the stairs are down, then closing them. That is plenty of time for Clark to discover another hidden and forgotten package from the past, which happens to be a blue one, now.

Scott215

Corrected entry: In the original "Vacation" and the "European Vacation" movies, Russ is older than Audrey. In "Christmas Vacation," Audrey is older than Russ.

Correction: Chevy Chase has said in interviews that the changing of the kids appearance as well as their age in Christmas Vacation was always part of the joke about how Clark forgets his kids names and never knows where they are etc.

Correction: This may also be an in-joke referring to a little-known fact related to the original film. In real life, Dana Barron (the original Audrey) is two years older than Anthony Michael Hall (the original Russ).

And in addition to Barron being older than Hall, the kids from European Vacation as well (Dana Hill was 4 years older than Jason Lively).

Correction: The age difference between Audrey and Rusty is never mentioned in any of the movies. Rusty mentions his age as 15 in European Vacation, and he is 12 according to the script for the original Vacation. Audrey's age isn't mentioned in either movie. Audrey and Rusty are 14 and 12 respectively according to the script for Christmas Vacation, which assumes this takes place prior to European Vacation (or that European Vacation wasn't considered canon because it wasn't written by John Hughes).

Correction: Also a side note - besides the age switch in this film, note the hair colors of the two kids switched. In the first two films Rusty was blonde and Audrey brunette. Now it's the opposite.

Corrected entry: There is no way all of Clark's lights would cause an overload to the power plant. His house's main breaker would have tripped a long, long time before that could happen.

Correction: This is an over the top comedic effect. Not meant to be taken seriously.

Quantom X

Corrected entry: At the beginning of the movie, when the Griswold family are in their car under the wood truck, everybody panics but not Russ, who sings or something like that. (00:06:30)

Dr Wilson

Correction: Character choice: He's used to this kind of thing from his dad.

Being used to that kind of thing are you kidding me know once used to be and under a truck that scary and deadly a lot of these mistakes in the movie I have seen because I've watched this movie about 365 times.

Correction: I just watched this scene. Rusty isn't losing his mind or anything, but he is obviously scared/worried. His lips are quivering, which may be what you think is singing. He is certainly not happy with the situation.

oldbaldyone

Corrected entry: Throughout the movie there is an Advent Calendar that is opened from time to time, revealing what day of December it is. However, in the scene where the grandmothers are sitting in the den and one of them is decorating a gingerbread house, they are watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, which takes place in November.

Correction: The grandmothers are watching a Christmas parade that takes place in Chicago; the announcer states that a parade float in a previous parade had knocked the 3rd floor windows out of the Marshall Field's Department Store. Marshall Field's doesn't have a New York City location so this parade isn't the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Corrected entry: When Clark is in freak out mode and cuts down the tree between his and the neighbor's house, Todd and Margo are inside eating a quiet dinner. Under normal circumstances, they would have heard the chainsaw.

Correction: They're obviously used to Clark doing odd things. They likely thought nothing of it.

Corrected entry: When Rusty drops the reindeer on the lawn, the legs break off the one closest to him but later all the deer are intact until Clark loses it and beats them up.

Correction: There is a significant time that passes from when Rusty drops it to when Clark "loses it." There is no reason he couldn't have glued everything back on.

Zwn Annwn

Correction: Everyone might be scared at first, but once over the initial shock, kids could easily find the adult's panic amusing.

Grumpy Scot

Nope that was a blooper they were laughing it never got cut from the scene.

Corrected entry: Some things in the chamber of Russ change from the scene where you see the grandfather in the bed and Clarke passing through the floor. (00:29:05 - 00:33:05)

Dr Wilson

Correction: That's not very specific. Does the bed change positions? Are there different posters on the walls? Is the wallpaper a different color? At least give one example of something that changes between the two shots.

Twotall

The scene itself is specific enough. When multiple things move around, it's easier to say "some things change position", especially when it's obvious. While an example would make it easier, it's not necessary in all cases. Corrections should only be made when the scene has been observed so you can validate or invalidate the mistake. If you've watched the scene and didn't see anything change, then you could suggest an example be given.

Bishop73

No but there's a hole in the ceiling from clot going through it and then the scene where they're in bed which is after that the ceilings were peered as a poster up another mistake in the movie.

Corrected entry: Watch in slow-motion when Eddie's dog passes through the door to chase the squirrel. The door is actually broken before.

Dr Wilson

Correction: As per the rules of this site, watching in slow-mo does not qualify this as a valid mistake.

Mister Ed

Corrected entry: When Clark goes around the side of the house to see why the lights don't work, one of the mothers goes in the garage and flips on the switch making the lights go on. Considering Clark covered the whole house with lights, he would've seen them come on.

Correction: The running gag in the Vacation movies is how oblivious Clark is. This is simply a joke pointing that out. He even thinks he figured out what was wrong without noticing the lights came on.

Bishop73

Corrected entry: When the Griswold family are going to buy a christmas tree, they are in the mountains. There are no mountains near Chicago, where the Griswolds live.

Dr Wilson

Correction: It's unknown how long they've been driving on the road so they more then likely drove somewhere in or near Illinois to get their tree like the Cascade Mountain or the Chestnut Mountain. Both of which are a mere three hour drive.

Correction: The driving scene towards the Christmas tree farm appears to very closely match the area approaching Wisconsin Dells, a very popular summer and winter resort area that is a 2-3 hour drive from Chicago - and also home to many Christmas tree farms.

Corrected entry: When Clark was trapped in the attic and fell through the ceiling in the bedroom, why didn't he just crawl out through the hole he just made onto the bunkbed?

Correction: Two reasons. 1) The hole is too small. 2) There isn't enough space between the bed and the ceiling.

Seniram

Corrected entry: When Cousin Eddie barges into the house with Clark's boss, Ellen jokingly tells him this is the family's first kidnapping, which is actually wrong. In National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Clark holds the security guard at Walley World hostage, and forces him to take the family on the rides.

Correction: First, that was the joke. And Ellen wouldn't admit that the family has a history of kidnapping people and would lie.

Bishop73

Corrected entry: When Clark gets locked in the attic he tries to open the door and calls out "Rusty" Then he calls out "Bev" instead of "Ellen".

Correction: He doesn't call out Bev, he screams "heeeeeeeelp." It then cuts to the outside with the rest of the family so his "help" call gets cut off.

lartaker1975

Correction: When? In what scene? It's a charred skeleton after the fire, then Clark immediately goes out and replaces it with a tree from the yard. You need to be more specific.

Brian Katcher

Corrected entry: We later learn that Eddie's RV makes a lot of noise when driven. How did they ever make it into the Griswald driveway without anyone noticing when they first arrive?

Correction: Eddie explains later that they "coasted in on fumes"; therefore, no loud engine noise.

Factual error: In the scene where Clark is working on the lights the full moon is shown. This is December 14th according to the advent calendar. On December 24th when Santa's sleigh goes sailing over the moon, it is still full.

David Schaal

More mistakes in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Clark Griswold: [reciting 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.] When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh, and...and Eddie with a man in his pajamas and a dog chain tied to his wrist and ankles. What the...?

Bishop73

More quotes from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Trivia: When Clark smashes up the decorations when he can't get the lights working, Chevy Chase genuinely broke a finger when he punched Santa, but stayed in character, kicking the decorations instead, and that's the take used in the film.

More trivia for National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Question: What is the name of the Christmas Tree farm they went to to get their tree?

Answer: They didn't go to a Christmas tree farm. He took them to a huge forest to get one most likely because it would be easier to get one free then to pay for one.

They went to a tree farm. After running off the road and jumping the snowbank the wagon crashes through a sign that says "Trees." Clark then says, "We're here...and we made good time too." The humor is Clark forgoes a normal "farmed" tree for the "wild" monster he takes home.

False. They may have run over the tree farm sign, but they absolutely did not harvest a tree from the tree farm.

Answer: They never went to a tree farm. Even though there is a sign that says "Trees", there is no employee there to greet them or even discuss how much the tress cost. Plus, trees on a tree farm are usually smaller and are always lined up in a row. The trees seen by the Griswold's are extremely large and are scattered about like what would be seen in a regular forest which is where they went.

They are never shown in the "store" area of the tree farm, so you can't say that there is nobody working there. They jump the snowbank, it shows them gathering themselves in the car, and the next scene is in the wilderness. It's a small, rundown tree farm, but it is a tree farm business, with a plowed parking lot, garbage cans, lights, other customers, etc. These tree farms usually had pre-cut trees for purchase, but you could also walk out and cut down your own for the "experience" if you wanted to. As someone who has walked a couple miles to get a Christmas tree in December in Minnesota, I can say with absolute certainty that this is accurate.

oldbaldyone

Answer: It was a tree farm (the car literally flies through a sign that says "Christmas Trees"). There's a deleted scene after they crash and walk to find a tree. Realizing that they didn't have a saw to cut the tree, the family walks to the lot attendant (an odd man, reclining in a lawn chair, wearing a Santa jacket and hat) to ask to borrow a saw. There is a conversation between them where Clark is told that they don't supply saws, but he gave him a shovel. THIS explains how the tree got dug out of the ground. You can actually see a picture of this scene on an old DVD cover.

More questions & answers from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

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