Griswolds back on the road for family trip in 'Vacation'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than 30 years after his father took him on a road trip to the Walley World theme park in "National Lampoon's Vacation", Rusty Griswold is back with his own family-bonding plans in "Vacation". Starring "The Office" actor Ed Helms and "Anchorman" actress Christina Applegate, the film sees the Griswolds on the road again as an adult Rusty follows in his father's footsteps with an adventurous cross-country trip back to Walley World. "There are a lot of conceptual elements that overlap but story-wise and joke-wise this is a really new endeavor," Helms said at the film's premiere in Los Angeles on Monday night. "The character of Rusty Griswold as an adult is brand new so it really felt like a clean slate in a lot of ways." The original 1983 comedy hit starred Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo, who reprise their roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold. The movie also stars "Thor" actor Chris Hemsworth and "This is 40" actress Leslie Mann. "We are not re-doing, rebooting, having the audacity of trying to improve upon anything," Applegate said. "We are completely different people, we're like a distant cousin. We just want people to have an enjoyable ride." "Vacation" is released in U.S. cinemas on Wednesday. (Reporting By Reuters Television in Los Angeles; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in London)