National Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The film is about a misfit group of fraternity boys who challenge their college's administrators. Of the young lead actors only John Belushi was an established star; several of the actors, including Tom Hulce, Karen Allen, and Kevin Bacon, were early in their careers.
When Herbert hops outside Chris Griffin’s window on a ladder in "Brian the Bachelor", the whole scene up to when he falls down is a parody of a scene from the film.
In "Mother Tucker", Stewie Griffin intends to play a clip of "Food Fight!" from the film during a broadcast of Dingo and the Baby. He instead plays a clip from Philadelphia by mistake.
When Lois tells Peter that Brian tried to have sex with her in "Play It Again, Brian", Peter asks, "Was he bigger than me?", a quote originating from Animal House.