( CNN ) Ready for your `` Christmas Vacation '' ? Just make sure you pack an ax . In 1989 , the Griswold family was n't so lucky in National Lampoon 's `` Christmas Vacation , '' the third movie in a franchise that included 1983 's inaugural `` Vacation , '' 1985 's `` European Vacation '' and 1997 's `` Vegas Vacation . '' Directed by Jeremiah Chechik in his feature film debut , `` Christmas Vacation '' reunited Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo as Clark and Ellen Griswold , Chicago-area parents of two who never seem to get the `` vacation '' concept quite right . The story , like the original `` Vacation , '' was written by John Hughes and based on his 1980 National Lampoon piece , `` Christmas '59 . '' While the plot is filled with the usual gags about the disaster-prone Griswolds , it also happens to perfectly capture the hope a lot of us feel around the holidays : the desire to have the biggest and best celebration ever , even if that means stringing up an insane number of tiny , twinkling lights that nearly blind our neighbors and knock out power for the entire neighborhood . When `` Christmas Vacation '' premiered in December 1989 , it opened in second place at the box office and went on to gross $ 71.3 million domestically . Without adjusting for inflation , it 's the most successful `` Vacation '' movie of the series . According to The Hollywood Reporter , there will soon be another title to add to the franchise . Simply called `` Vacation , '' the upcoming movie will focus on the Griswold 's son Rusty , who in the new movie will be an adult taking his own family on a getaway . Ed Helms has signed on to play the grown-up Rusty Griswold with Leslie Mann as his sister , Audrey , and Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo making cameos as the Griswold parents . That movie is expected to arrive in fall 2015 , but in the meantime , we 're celebrating `` Christmas Vacation . '' In honor of the holiday classic 's 25th anniversary , we 're catching up with where the cast is now in the gallery above .
` ` ' ' '' celebrates its 25th anniversary this year . The film was the third in the National Lampoon ` ` ' '' series . It was written by John Hughes based on one of his short stories .