| General | Trivia | Gallery | Soundtrack | Quotes | Transcript | Trailer transcripts | Credits | Release dates | Home media | Television broadcast timeline | Tropes |
| How I Spent My Summer Vacation | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Simon Wells |
| Written by | John Hughes |
| Produced by | John Hughes Tom Jacobson |
| Starring | Fred Savage |
| Music by | John Debney Ira Newborn |
Production | Hughes Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | March 17, 1989 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $95 million |
How I Spent My Summer Vacation (also known as How I Spent My Vacation) is a 1989 American traditional-animated adventure comedy film produced by Hughes Entertainment. It is directed by Simon Wells (in his directorial debut) and written by John Hughes.
The film's plotline concentrates on Ben (Fred Savage) as he and his parents leave the state of Missouri to visit the town of Chicago, Illinois for the whole entire summer vacation. While his parents are out doing stuff, Ben takes off on an all-out epic journey to experience a vacation of freedom in the big city. After creating all kinds of chaos and mayhem throughout the summer, Ben begins to realize near the end of the season that he and his family might stay in Chicago forever and must accept the ultimate consequence of his actions. In a similar vein to Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ben breaks the fourth wall from time to time to explain to the audience what his inner thoughts are.
Apart from Savage, the film features the voice talents of TBD.
The film was released by Paramount Pictures on March 17, 1989 and became a critical and commercial success. The film continues to be a cult classic and a staple on television during the summer.
Plot[edit | edit source]
In the state of Missouri, on the last day of school before summer vacation, sixth-grade student, Ben and his friends, David and Timmy wait anxiously for summer vacation to start while also pulling out every trick in making the last day of school better for the rest of the kids. Throughout the film, Ben breaks the fourth wall from time to time, to talk to the audience about his friends and family, what his inner thoughts are, and many various subjects. Ben, David and Timmy hijack the auditorium in the middle of the school principal's speech, creating a small concert where Ben performs while lip-syncing to "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones. The performance succeeds in making Ben a school celebrity and impressing many of the children at the assembly, but he, David and Timmy get caught and sent to the principal's office.
While waiting outside of the office, the school principal calls Ben's parents and forewarn them that his behavior in Missouri may result in him facing capital punishment. Fearing for his future, Ben's parents decide to take him on what he thinks will be a summer-long trip to Chicago, after reminiscing of the dates they had here, many years ago.
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Cast[edit | edit source]
- Fred Savage as Ben.
- Beverly D'Angelo as Ben's mother.
- Howie Mandel as Ben's father.
- Macaulay Culkin as David, one of Ben's friends.
- Matthew Lawrence as Timmy, one of Ben's friends.
- Kristy Swanson as Emily, a girl in Chicago who has a secret crush on Ben.
- John Cleese
- Cheech Marin
- Steve Martin
- Eugene Levy
- Madeline Kahn
- Alfred Molina
- Jon Lovitz
- Matthew Broderick
- Charlie Sheen
- John Candy
- Wallace Shawn
- Ben Stein
- Edie McClurg
- Dee Dee Rescher
Additional voices[edit | edit source]
Production[edit | edit source]
Development[edit | edit source]
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Writing[edit | edit source]
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Casting[edit | edit source]
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Animation[edit | edit source]
To create the animation for the film, Wells brought in artists from Who Framed Roger Rabbit as well as artists who worked on recent animated films at that time. He also hired artists who would later work for Amblimation and Walt Disney Feature Animation.
Deleted scenes[edit | edit source]
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Music[edit | edit source]
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Release[edit | edit source]
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Home media[edit | edit source]
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Reception[edit | edit source]
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Box office[edit | edit source]
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Critical reception[edit | edit source]
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Accolades[edit | edit source]
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