What is "National Lampoon" as in the movie "National Lampoon's Animal House"? Is it a company or just something made up on the movie title?

National Lampoon started as a print magazine that would make fun of anything and everything. National Lampoon is now part of the publicly traded J2 Communications company, still making fun of everything.
NL is on the web at http://www.nationallampoon.com/ where you can find such headlines as 'Vatican Declares: World's Suffering Now Bores Pope'. Also check out the link to the NL Site for the Blind. Just try to keep the laughter down.