20 Best Back To The Future Quotes From The Whole Trilogy

Dec. 1, 2023, midnight

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20 Best Back To The Future Quotes From The Whole Trilogy

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Summary The best Back to the Future quotes have guaranteed the franchise a place in pop culture history.

Outstanding performances from Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown and Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly are a key reason many moments are so memorable.

Other characters like Biff Tannen have some great Back to the Future quotes, but the majority of the best lines come from Doc and Marty.

Back to the Future quotes have helped to ensure the trilogy's long-lasting legacy as one of the best sci-fi franchises of all time. All three movies took fun and unique approaches to the time-travel genre, creating a shared overall story remembered fondly decades later. The culture clash of 80s teen Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and his eccentric genius friend, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), taking their time-traveling DeLorean to different time periods set up a comedic and thrilling adventure. While the visual elements of the three movies have become iconic, the best Back to the Future quotes have also become cemented in pop culture history.

The Back to the Future trilogy remains one of the few Hollywood franchises untouched by a remake or a reboot despite constant rumors of some continuation being in the works. Director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale have always maintained that as long as they have a say, the original trilogy will remain untouched and cemented in time. As a result, the best Back to the Future quotes remain as pristine as they were when they were first put out into the world almost 40 years ago.

All Back to the Future movies are available on Peacock Premium.

Related Back To The Future: All Three Movies, Ranked Worst To Best Back to the Future has three movies of Marty McFly and Doc Brown's time-travelling antics, leading to a great cinematic trilogy, but which is best?

20 “This Is Heavy!”

Marty McFly

“This is heavy” is one of Marty McFly's catchphrases which he says throughout the Back to the Future trilogy whenever he’s stunned or confused. Given the high-stakes time-travel adventures he finds himself sucked into, it's not surprising that the quote comes up a lot. It also sets up a great joke in the first movie when Doc asks him about the turn of phrase: “There’s that word again, ‘heavy.’ Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth’s gravitational pull?”

There is a lot of humor about the 80s culture clashing with the 1950s setting. However, what makes this line so funny is that Doc Brown approaches it through a scientific mind and tries to make sense of what it would mean for the future. Though it was contemporary slang, it's gained an 80s throwback element that's made it remain one of the best Back to the Future quotes.

19 “Silence, Earthling! My Name Is Darth Vader. I Am An Extraterrestrial From The Planet Vulcan!”

Marty McFly

It is a bit like Marty has a superpower, knowing things that no one else does, and he is even able to use the most popular cultural aspects of the 1980s to get things done.

While Marty is very much a fish out of water when he finds himself back in the 1950s, the first Back to the Future movie has a lot of fun with him using the future to his advantage. It is a bit like Marty has a superpower, knowing things that no one else does, and he is even able to use the most popular cultural aspects of the 1980s to get things done.

When he needs to put some fear into his timid father back in 1955, Marty mixes together some Star Wars and Star Trek while pretending to be an alien. While it is an effective plan, it is funny to think about George's reaction when these franchises hit pop culture in a couple of decades. It also shows Marty's teenage mind dealing with this situation by just grabbing from every sci-fi property he can think of.

18 “I Hate Manure!”

Biff Tannen

Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) makes for a terrific villain in the first movie with him being the kind of easily detestable character that audiences love to see get what he deserves. The first humiliation comes when Marty meets the Bully in 1955. Biff ends up covered in manure as he chases Marty through the streets of Hill Valley several times in the first Back to the Future. The first time is as Biff and his friends try to run him down in Biff’s car.

It is one of the recurring gags that comes back in each of the sequels, delivering some much-needed comeuppance to the trilogy's main villain. It is hard to imagine a more disgusting and humiliating punishment, and it is a joy to see Biff, in any of his incarnations, get his mouthful of manure while voicing his displeasure at the situation.

17 “Jesus, Didn’t That Guy Ever Have Hair?”

Marty McFly

Though the first movie doesn't spend too much time in the 80s, it does include a quintessential 80s teen movie character with the harsh and domineering authority figure. In 1985, Marty is given a hard time at school by his teacher, Mr. Strickland (James Tolkan). Strickland is always getting after Marty for not paying attention to his teachers or showing up to class on time. When he travels back to 1955 and goes to the school where his teenage parent attends, he sees a younger Mr. Strickland.

Hilariously, Strickland looks almost exactly the same in the 1950s as he would do in the 1980s. Marty cracks, “Jesus, didn’t that guy ever have hair?” What makes the moment even funnier is that it is never explained how Strickland has seemingly always been an old bald man.

Related Back To The Future: All 8 Timelines In The Movies Explained Back to the Future's classic time travel trilogy has been delighting viewers for decades. Here's a breakdown of all eight timelines in the movies.

16 "Shark Still Looks Fake."

Marty McFly

There are a lot of fun elements to see Marty explore in the future when Back to the Future: Part II takes him to 2015. However, one of the best ones is an in-joke aimed at Back to the Future producer Steven Spielberg and one of his most popular movies. Marty sees an advertisement for Jaws 19 with a 3D shark coming right at him.

While it takes him by surprise at first, Marty then makes a joke about how even after all these years, the killer shark still looks fake. The Back to the Future Jaws joke is a fun Easter egg and, thankfully, the shark movie franchise knew to quit at four movies. However, regardless of Marty's criticisms, there are many who think that the original shark in the first movie looks far more realistic than what was to come in the sequels.

15 “1.21 Gigawatts!?!”

Doc Emmett Brown

When Marty arrives in 1955, he wastes no time tracking down a young Doc Brown to help him fix the time machine and return to the present day. At first, Doc is skeptical that the teenage boy who showed up on his doorstep is actually from the future, but as Marty explains the flux capacitor, Doc realizes he’s telling the truth.

When Marty tells Doc that the DeLorean time machine requires 1.21 gigawatts of power to operate, Doc is horrified: “1.21 gigawatts!?!” It's Lloyd's delivery of the Back to the Future quote that makes it memorable with him leaping into a characteristically animated response. Lloyd is able to make Doc a true eccentric without going too over the top. As much fun as Marty's misadventures are with his young parents, seeing these moments in which Doc Brown excitedly tangles with the science are some of the most entertaining moments.

14 “If My Calculations Are Correct, When This Baby Hits 88 Miles Per Hour, You're Gonna See Some Serious S***.”

Doc Emmett Brown

Wild-eyed scientist characters were quite commonplace in movies before Back to the Future, but Christopher Lloyd was the first to play a mad scientist who didn’t take everything so seriously. Doc Brown is deeply invested in his work and excited about the possibilities of what he can achieve. However, as he describes the experiment at hand as being “some serious s***", it shows a charming fun side to the character.

The line is a perfect tease to put the viewers on the edge of their seats for what comes next. The audience is about to see the time machine in action for the first time, and it helps to build anticipation for the iconic moment. It also makes Doc Brown an instantly likable and relatable character despite being an eccentric genius and helps to explain why Marty would hang out with this old man.

13 “Why Don’t You Make Like A Tree And Get Outta Here?”

Biff Tannen

One of the main character traits of Biff Tannen is that he gets idioms wrong. While he might be intimidating in size, he is also a massive buffoon who cannot help but make a fool of himself. Instead of “Make like a tree and leave,” he says, “Why don’t you make like a tree and get outta here?” His total oblivious nature to his frequent mistakes is part of what makes Biff such a terrific comedy villain.

He leaves a lasting impression as he appears across all three movies, which is why he's the source of so many of the best Back to the Future quotes. The movies perfectly balance the fact that he can be a real threat to the heroes while allowing the audience to laugh at him for his dim-wittedness, which makes him another wildly fun character for this world.

Related Back To The Future’s 10 Biggest Mysteries That Still Need Answering Almost 40 Years Later Back to the Future may be decades old, but the time-traveling storylines still have several questions and mysteries that haven't been resolved.

12 "Why Do You Keep Calling Me Calvin?"

Marty McFly

The awkward interactions between Marty and his own mother when he travels back to the 1950s make for some of the most memorable scenes in the first movie. This is especially true of their first meeting after Marty is hit by a car and taken to Lorraine's room to recuperate. Marty is understandably confused by the whole situation of him in his underwear in his mother's bedroom in the past, as she continually calls him Calvin. When asked why, she points out the name on his underwear, a reminder that Calvin Klein products weren't around in the 1950s.

Given that the 80s are so far into the past, it is interesting to look back on the movie and see how the 80s and the 50s differed so much.

It is a hilarious origin for Marty's Calvin identity in Back to the Future which lasts throughout the rest of the movie. Given that the 80s are so far into the past, it is interesting to look back on the movie and see how the 80s and the 50s differed so much. The idea of a company putting brand names on their underwear was a new concept in the 50s.

11 "It’s Leave, You Idiot! 'Make Like A Tree, and Leave.' You Sound Like A Damn Fool When You Say It Wrong."

Biff Tannen

Biff is Back to the Future's villain throughout the trilogy, and he seems to get meaner and more detestable with each new installment in the franchise. Some of the best scenes with the character come from Back to the Future: Part II involving two versions of Biff interacting which shows that he is a bully to everyone, including himself. The sequel has Biff able to meet his past self and use him to alter their future.

However, even future Biff cannot stand his own stupidity, as past Biff uses his moronic insult "Why don’t you make like a tree and get outta here?" and the older Biff angrily corrects him. It is a funny idea of how embarrassing people would be to meet their younger selves and be confronted with how embarrassing they really were back in the day.

10 “Who’s Vice President, Jerry Lewis?”

Doc Emmett Brown

Doc Brown is very careful not to know too much about the future as it could affect the past. However, while he is excited about all the possibilities, one tidbit of information that he learns just seems too ridiculous to take seriously. When Marty claims to be from 1985, 1955 Doc asks him, “Tell me, Future Boy, who’s President of the United States in 1985?” Marty lets him know that it is Ronald Reagan, leading to Doc's hilarious bewildered reaction to an actor being president and all the strange possibilities that implies.

The Back to the Future movies always have a lot of fun pointing out the absurdity of 80s culture as well as 50s living. Lloyd completely sells the incredulity in Doc's voice as the Back to the Future quote plays on the idea that a lot of things in the modern world would sound implausible to someone 30 years ago.

9 “I Guess You Guys Aren’t Ready For That Yet. But Your Kids Are Gonna Love It.”

Marty McFly

Back to the Future set the template for time travel comedies. One thing that was in Back to the Future and has been in almost every time travel comedy made since then is the scene where the characters accidentally create a part of modern culture. While many movies have done it, none are as memorable as Back to the Future's hilarious contribution.

At the end of Back to the Future, Marty plays Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and gets carried away with his guitar solo, adding a little too much 80s rock into the song. The moment is perfectly set up throughout the movie with Marty's dreams of being a rock star. However, instead of him getting a rapturous response from the audience, Marty's performance is met with stunned silence as Marty admits that the song might be ahead of their time.

Related 10 Fascinating Facts About The Back To The Future Trilogy Back to the Future is one of the most beloved trilogies of all time, but there are still many fascinating things to discover about the series.

8 "Chuck, It’s Marvin. Your Cousin, Marvin Berry. You Know That New Sound You’re Looking For? Well, Listen To This!"

Marvin Berry

While the 1950s students at the high school dance might not have understood what to do with the music that Marty was playing, it was enough to impress someone else. As Marty jams out on his guitar, one of the musicians backstage makes a phone call to his cousin Chuck Berry to let him hear the new sound.

The Back to the Future Chuck Berry paradox is a confusing one if thought about too much with the idea being that Berry was influenced by his own music, but it makes for a fun time-travel gag as Marty accidentally influences the musician who influenced him. It is one of those great time travel ideas that doesn't necessarily have to make sense when closely examining it, but that introduces a fun idea into the wild concept.

7 “Eastwood. Clint Eastwood.”

Marty McFly

So, when he’s asked for his name, Marty says, “Eastwood. Clint Eastwood.”

Back to the Future Part III switches up the formula in an interesting way as it sees Marty and Doc stuck in the Old West. Not only does the movie get to remain a fun time travel comedy, but it gets to have fun in the Western genre as well. Marty has no real understanding of the era other than the pop culture of his own time that's based on it. So, when he’s asked for his name, Marty says, “Eastwood. Clint Eastwood.”

It's a similar gag to how everyone in 1955 knew him as Calvin Klein, but it also feeds into another reference that's set up in the previous film. During the climax of Part III, Marty steals an idea from Eastwood's famous Spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars, as he takes the idea from the film playing on Biff's TV in Part II.

6 “Roads? Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads.”

Doc Emmett Brown

While Back to the Future is often regarded as one of the best trilogies of all time, its ending was so perfect that it could have concluded there and still be incredibly satisfying. The final Back to the Future quote from the original movie sets up an enormous amount of excitement for a sequel back when the film was first released. As Doc prepares to take Marty and Jennifer off on another time-travel adventure, Marty suggests there isn't enough road to get up to the required 88 miles per hour.

Doc delivers this iconic closing line, which sets up the wonderful reveal of the DeLorean now able to fly. It is a great moment to end the movie, while also teasing all the exciting places the franchise can go from there. However, even if the sequel tease went unanswered, it is a brilliant and exciting final line.

5 "Your Future Is Whatever You Make It. So Make It A Good One, Both Of You."

Doc Brown

Throughout his time-traveling adventures with Marty, Doc Brown has tried valiantly to protect the events of the past to ensure that nothing is altered. However, as the series reaches its conclusion, it becomes clear that he is becoming less and less concerned with those rules. By the end of Back to the Future: Part III, Doc has started a family and found happiness while Marty and Elizabeth's future is wide open.

Because of what they changed in the past, Doc assures them the future is unwritten. It is a fitting farewell, especially for the character of Doc Brown, who is willing to put things up to fate after living a life dictated by science and the search for certainty. While many would like to see Back to the Future 4 happen, this hopeful ending is quite pitch-perfect.

Related Back To The Future: 10 Things That Still Hold Up Today Robert Zemeckis' time-travel comedy Back to the Future is a movie that never gets old. But what exactly makes it a timeless classic?

4 “Nobody Calls Me Chicken.”

Marty McFly

Every character has their Achilles’ heel, and Marty McFly’s is that as soon as someone calls him a “chicken,” he can’t back down. Even if he knows in his heart that the best thing for the fabric of the space-time continuum is for him to walk away from a situation, he simply can’t do it. Marty is not the tough-guy hero seen in other adventure franchises and finds himself in over his head in many instances.

Michael J. Fox sells this now-iconic Back to the Future quote, making Marty seem like someone who shouldn't be messed with. Marty is an easy character to cheer for and lines like this when he is willing to stand up for himself despite being against more intimidating characters just make him an even more likable hero in cinema history.

3 “It’s Your Kids, Marty! Something’s Gotta Be Done About Your Kids!”

Doc Emmett Brown

Ending movies with cliffhangers that set up a sequel has become commonplace in big Hollywood franchises now, but few ever did it as effectively as Back to the Future. Just as things seem to be wrapped up nicely, Doc Brown arrives at Marty's driveway in the time machine, itching to get him back into more paradox-inducing high jinks. There is the added tease that Marty's girlfriend Jennifer has to tag along this time, as their children in the future are what is at stake.

However, part of the reason that it works and doesn't feel forced is that Doc gives Marty a very reasonable explanation for needing his help. The reveal of what it was that had gone with Marty's kids isn't until the beginning of Part II, but even if the sequel never did come, it is a fun promise that the time-travel adventures are far from over.

2 “Great Scott!”

Doc Emmett Brown

Before he played Doc Brown in Back to the Future, Christopher Lloyd had become a star from appearing on the sitcom Taxi and from playing supporting characters in movies like the critically acclaimed masterpiece One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. However, it was the role of Doc Brown that would come to truly define him as an actor. Though he would go onto other popular roles, he was beloved for his commitment to Doc Brown.

His performance is sometimes cartoonish, but there’s also a healthy balance of genuine emotion. Lloyd is a brilliant actor who has played a wide range of characters, but he cemented himself as an icon with this famous Back to the Future quote that serves as Doc's favorite exclamation, “Great Scott!” The amount that Lloyd puts into this line each time is a prime example of why his performance works so well.

1 “Wait A Minute, Doc. Are You Telling Me You Built A Time Machine... Out Of A DeLorean?”

Marty McFly

Back to the Future has many strengths when it comes to the script, acting, and direction, but none of them matter more than the sense of wonder that the film is able to achieve using familiar scenarios and cultural iconography. That sense of wonder is created the second Marty McFly says, “Wait a minute, Doc. Are you telling me you built a time machine...out of a DeLorean?”

Transforming the often-joked-about car into something entirely new kicks the time travel adventure off with such a fun and unique note. The fact that this is now the DeLorean's legacy is best remembered is a testament to the impact of the movie after all these years. The time machine was famously a refrigerator in an earlier draft of Back to the Future, and it just wouldn't have been the same.

Back to the Future Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown. In 1955, he meets his parents when they were his age, and must step in to make sure they wind up together before he gets back to 1985. Director Robert Zemeckis Release Date July 3, 1985 Cast Claudia Wells , Christopher Lloyd , James Tolkan , Thomas F. Wilson , Michael J. Fox , Wendie Jo Sperber , Crispin Glover , Marc McClure , Lea Thompson Runtime 116 minutes

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