One of the most poignant scenes in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation already teased the perfect opportunity for a prequel movie about a decades-old Griswold family holiday. Based on a short story by John Hughes, the holiday classic Christmas Vacation follows the exploits of the Griswold family tree, led by Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold, as they gather in his Chicago home for an extended Christmas celebration. While Christmas Vacation is already a holiday-themed sequel to the 1983 Griswold-focused movie Vacation, the chaos of the family’s 1989 holiday shenanigans subtly teases the potential for another Christmas-centered narrative set 30 years prior.
The Vacation movie series originally concluded in 1997 with the critically panned box office flop Vegas Vacation, which continued the Griswolds’ misadventures after Vacation (1983), European Vacation (1985), and Christmas Vacation (1989). The original movie and the Christmas sequel remain the franchise’s most successful and fondly remembered outings today, though there have been a few subsequent lackluster attempts at reviving the series. In addition to the 2003 made-for-TV spinoff Christmas Vacation 2, centered on Randy Quaid’s Cousin Eddie, a 2015 sequel titled Vacation saw a grown-up Rusty take over Clark’s role. While these efforts didn’t fare well with critics, a prequel movie set up by a sad Christmas Vacation scene could help breathe life into the franchise again.
Clark’s Home Movie From Christmas 1959 Teases A Perfect Christmas Vacation Prequel
In addition to Christmas Vacation’s subplot involving neighbors Todd and Margo, one of the most notable scenes that departs from the primary story involves Clark Griswold bittersweetly watching home movies from his childhood. When accidentally locked in the attic, Clark stumbles upon a box of films, ultimately choosing to project footage from Christmas 1959. While the year in question is a subtle reference to John Hughes’ short story “Christmas ‘59,” which partially inspired the 1989 movie, it could also serve as the basis of an intriguing prequel in the Vacation series. This time, rather than once again continuing the franchise with a sequel, a Christmas Vacation follow-up could bring the Griswold family 64 years back in time to 1959.
Not only would this potential prequel explore how young Clark Griswold became to be the spirited, sarcastic family man that he is in the later films, but it would also give glimpses at Christmas Vacation’s older Griswold family members at significantly younger ages. Clark was seemingly around 12 years old in the home video of Christmas ‘59, with the movie also featuring more youthful versions of Clark Sr., Nora, Aunt Bethany, and Uncle Lewis. The drawback with a prequel, however, would be the lack of iconic figures like Ellen (unless she’s included as a young peer), Rusty, Audrey, Cousin Eddie, and Ellen’s parents.
A Christmas Vacation Prequel Movie Would Need To Avoid Adapting John Hughes’ Original Short Story Too Closely
While taking the Griswolds’ story back to 1959 would seemingly allow for a Christmas Vacation prequel to adapt Hughes’ short story more closely, this may not be the best idea. “Christmas ‘59” prominently features a character named Xgung Wo, who is shockingly laden with racist stereotypes even more grotesque than Mickey Rooney’s portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. To make it worse, the college-aged character becomes a thief at the end of the story, crashing a stolen car before the family retaliates by pulling a BB gun on him. Including this storyline in a 1959-set Christmas Vacation movie would spell disaster, which doubtlessly accounted for it being ignored in the 1989 film.
There may be some crucial parts of Hughes’ short story that would have to be avoided, but, similar to the elements taken for the 1989 film, some unused storylines could still see their way into a prequel. For instance, young Clark and the other kids wandering downstairs to peek at their presents, jokes about the Coast Guard needing to search for a fallen Santa, and an engraved cigarette lighter being the Christmas bonus “gift” rather than a Jelly of the Month club membership. With Clark looking back on this holiday with tearful fondness in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, a 1959-set Griswold prequel could brilliantly revive the franchise.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
The third installment in the National Lampoon’s Vacation series, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, stars Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, father of the Griswold family whose intentions to have a good Christmas with his family face several setbacks. Between his arguing parents, the uncooperative decorations, and the unexpected arrival of some unwanted distant relatives, Clark’s dreams for a wonderful Christmas seem to be fading, forcing him to take some comedically drastic measures.
- Release Date
- December 1, 1989
- Director
- Jeremiah S. Chechik
- Cast
- Chevy Chase , Beverly D’Angelo , Randy Quaid , Juliette Lewis , Johnny Galecki , John Randolph , Diane Ladd , E.G. Marshall , Miriam Flynn
- Runtime
- 97 minutes
- Writers
- John Hughes
