Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four and wrote, "It's anarchic, messy, and filled with energy. It assaults us. Part of the movie's impact comes from its sheer level of manic energy. ... But the movie's better made (and better acted) than we might at first realize. It takes skill to create this sort of comic pitch, and the movie's filled with characters that are sketched a little more absorbingly than they had to be, and acted with perception". Ebert later placed the film on his 10 best list of 1978, the only "National Lampoon" film to have received this honor. In his review for "Time", Frank Rich wrote, "At its best it perfectly expresses the fears and loathings of kids who came of age in the late '60s; at its worst "Animal House" revels in abject silliness. The hilarious highs easily compensate for the puerile lows". Gary Arnold wrote in his review for "The Washington Post", "Belushi also controls a wicked array of conspiratorial expressions with the audience. ... He can seem irresistibly funny in repose or invest minor slapstick opportunities with a streak of genius". David Ansen wrote in "Newsweek", "But if "Animal House" lacks the inspired tastelessness of the Lampoon's "High School Yearbook Parody", this is still low humor of a high order". Robert Martin wrote in "The Globe and Mail", "It is so gross and tasteless you feel you should be disgusted but it's hard to be offended by something that is so sidesplittingly funny". "Time" magazine proclaimed "Animal House" one of the year's best.