50 free Footloose trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
46 free Footloose trivia questions with answers. Footloose trivia for anyone who has ever cut loose to the title song at a wedding. The quiz covers the 1984 film in depth: Ren, Ariel, Willard and Reverend Moore, the tractor chicken, the brick through the window, the Bible-verse speech and the prom in the mill, plus how it was made, from the Oklahoma town whose dance ban inspired it to the Utah locations, the fired director and the stars who nearly played Ren. It also covers the soundtrack (Kenny Loggins, Deniece Williams and Bonnie Tyler's number ones and Oscar nominations), the 2011 remake with Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough, the Broadway musical, and Kevin Bacon himself, from Animal House to Six Degrees. Easy questions come first; the harder ones will stretch real fans. Every answer has been checked against the Wikipedia articles on the films, songs, musical and cast, and each question shows its source once you have answered.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who plays Ren McCormack, the dancing newcomer, in the 1984 Footloose?
Kevin Bacon
Cruise was busy with All the Right Moves and Lowe was injured; Bacon turned down Stephen King's Christine to screen-test.
Q 02From which city does Ren move to the small town of Bomont?
Chicago
In the 2011 remake he comes from Boston instead.
Q 03Which actor plays the strict Reverend Shaw Moore in the original film?
John Lithgow
He is moved by Ren's Bible speech but the town council still votes the ban down.
Q 04What tragedy led Reverend Moore to push the town's ban through?
His son died after a night of drinking
Ariel tells Ren the story on the drive back from the bar across the state line.
Q 05Who directed the 1984 film?
Herbert Ross
Ron Howard turned it down for Splash and Michael Cimino was fired after a month of extravagant demands.
Q 06Which director was hired and then fired from Footloose after a month, having demanded an extra $250,000?
Michael Cimino
It would have been his first film since the disaster of Heaven's Gate.
Q 07Which real town's dance ban, lifted for a 1980 prom, loosely inspired Footloose?
Elmore City, Oklahoma
The town had banned dancing since 1898 to curb heavy drinking and had never held a prom.
Q 08Since what year had Elmore City banned dancing?
1898
The junior class made national news in February 1980 when the school board split 2-2 and the president cast the deciding vote for the prom.
Q 09In which US state was Footloose filmed, and where is the fictional Bomont set?
Utah
Payson High School hosted the school and tractor scenes; the bar was Provo's Silver Spur.
Q 10Where was the mill in which Ren works, and does his famous angry dance?
Lehi Roller Mills
Bacon briefly worked at the mill as research; Geneva Steel was the steel mill location.
Q 11How many doubles did Ren's actor say he had for the warehouse dance scene?
Four
A stunt double, a dance double named Peter Tramm and two gymnastics doubles.
Q 12Which of these actresses did NOT audition for or get considered for the role of Ariel?
Molly Ringwald
Lori Singer got the part; Haviland Morris also auditioned.
Q 13Who plays Ariel in the 1984 film?
Lori Singer
Sarah Jessica Parker plays her friend Rusty; Dianne Wiest is Vi, the reverend's wife.
Q 14Which future Sex and the City star plays Rusty, Ariel's best friend?
Q 21How much did Footloose gross in North America, making it 1984's seventh-biggest film?
$80 million
Reviews were mixed but the soundtrack was a phenomenon.
Q 22Which studio released Footloose in February 1984?
Paramount
Fox had put the project into turnaround in 1981 before Paramount made a pay-or-play deal.
Q 23Who wrote the Footloose screenplay and most of the soundtrack's lyrics?
Dean Pitchford
He had already won an Oscar for the song 'Fame'; this was his first screenplay.
Which two tracks from the 1984 soundtrack were nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar?
Sarah Jessica Parker
It was one of her first major film roles, the same year as Firstborn.
Q 15Chris Penn plays Willard, Ren's best friend. What can Willard famously not do?
Dance
Ren teaches him in a montage; Penn was Sean Penn's younger brother.
Q 16What kind of vehicle is used in the game of chicken between Ren and Chuck?
Tractors
Ren only wins because his shoelace snags and he cannot jump off.
Q 17Where do the students finally hold their prom?
A grain mill over the county line
Reverend Moore and Vi listen from outside; Chuck's gang tries to crash it.
Q 18What does Ren use to argue his case for dancing before the town council?
Bible verses
He cites the scriptural significance of dancing to rejoice and celebrate; Ariel helps him find the passages.
Q 19What is written on the brick thrown through Ren's window?
Burn in Hell
His mother Ethel tells him to stand up for what he believes, even though it cost her job.
Q 20What does Reverend Moore stop members of his congregation from doing late in the film?
Burning library books
It is the moment he finally turns; he chastises them and sends them home.
The title track and 'Let's Hear It for the Boy'
Both also went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Q 25Who sings the film's title song, his only solo number one?
Kenny Loggins
It was his only solo number one and earned him the nickname King of the Movie Soundtrack.
Q 26How many weeks did the title song spend at number one on the Hot 100?
Three
Billboard ranked it the fourth-biggest song of 1984.
Q 27Who sang 'Let's Hear It for the Boy', the film's second number-one hit?
Deniece Williams
Country singer Jana Kramer covered it for the 2011 remake.
Q 28Which Welsh singer recorded 'Holding Out for a Hero' for the soundtrack?
Bonnie Tyler
Jim Steinman produced and co-wrote it; it later appeared on her album Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire.
Q 29The title-song singer earned what nickname for hits from Caddyshack, Footloose and Top Gun?
King of the Movie Soundtrack
'Danger Zone' from Top Gun followed 'Footloose' and 'I'm Alright'.
Q 30What 1980 news story inspired the screenwriter to write Footloose?
A town lifting an old dance ban
He teamed up with Daniel Melnick's IndieProd and set the film up at Fox in 1981.