179 Fun Facts About Back to the Future

What was Doc Brown standing on when he slipped and hit his head?

His toilet: Doc was standing on it to hang a clock when he slipped, hit his head on the sink and came round with a vision of the device that makes time travel possible.

Which carmaker offered to pay to have one of its models replace the DeLorean as the time machine?

Ford offered a product-placement fee if a Mustang replaced the DeLorean; one of the writers refused, saying Doc Brown doesn't drive a Mustang.

What is Doc Brown's first name?

Emmett: Doc reveals in Part III that his family were the Von Brauns until his father changed the name to Brown during the First World War.

What speed must Doc Brown's DeLorean reach to travel through time?

88 miles per hour was more than a stock DeLorean could show: its speedometer stopped at 85, so the film car was fitted with a specially built one.

What element does Doc Brown steal from Libyan terrorists to power the time machine?

Plutonium: Doc took it from Libyan terrorists who believed he was building them a bomb, handing them a casing stuffed with used pinball-machine parts instead.

Who plays Marty McFly in the Back to the Future films?

Michael J. Fox spent his days on the sitcom Family Ties and his nights as Marty, snatching only a few hours' sleep between the two sets.

Who plays the bully Biff Tannen in all three Back to the Future films?

Thomas F. Wilson was asked the same things about the films so often that he wrote a comic 'Question Song' answering them all for his stand-up act.

What iconic invention by Doc Brown enables time travel within the DeLorean?

The Flux Capacitor is 'what makes time travel possible'; Doc says realising it took him almost thirty years and his entire family fortune.

Which studio put Back to the Future into turnaround after first developing the script?

Columbia Pictures liked the idea but judged it not sexual enough beside the raunchy teen comedies of the day, and suggested the writers try Disney.

At which mall's parking lot does Doc Brown first show Marty his time machine?

Twin Pines Mall: in 1955 Marty flattens one of farmer Peabody's two young pines, so he returns to a 1985 where the sign reads Lone Pine Mall.

What is the name of Marty's girlfriend in 1985?

Jennifer Parker is taken to 2015 in Part II, where she comes face to face with her older self and both of them faint.

Which instrument does Marty McFly play in the Back to the Future films?

Guitar: Marty plays lead guitar in a rock band whose school-dance audition is cut off for being 'just too darn loud'.

What phrase does Doc Brown often exclaim when surprised or making a discovery?

'Great Scott!' is the last thing 1955 Doc says before he faints, when Marty reappears moments after being sent home to 1985.

What is the name of the dance where George and Lorraine are supposed to first kiss?

Enchantment Under the Sea: Lorraine recalls it at the 1985 dinner table as the night of her first kiss, so Marty knows exactly which dance he must rescue.

What natural phenomenon is used to power the DeLorean's return trip to 1985?

A lightning strike: with no fuel for the car's reactor in 1955, Doc runs a cable from the courthouse clock so the bolt feeds the DeLorean the instant it hits.

How much power does Doc say the time machine needs to make a jump?

1.21 gigawatts: Doc pronounces it 'jigowatts', a rare but accepted pronunciation, and the writers even spelled it that way in the script.

What song does Marty perform at the dance that his parents attend?

"Johnny B. Goode": Marty gets carried away into a wild solo decades ahead of its time, then tells the silent 1955 crowd that their kids are going to love it.

Which designer's name does Lorraine mistake for Marty's own in 1955?

Calvin Klein: Lorraine finds the name printed all over his underwear after her father's car knocks him out, and assumes it must be his.

Before the script settled on a sheepdog, what kind of animal was Doc Brown's pet originally written as?

A chimpanzee named Shemp was Doc's pet in early drafts, until studio chief Sid Sheinberg insisted that films with chimps never did well.

Which scientist is Doc Brown's dog, the first-ever time traveller, named after?

Einstein: for the first test Doc belts the dog into the DeLorean alone and drives the car by remote control from across the car park.

At the end of Back to the Future, what does Doc Brown say they won't need where they're going?

Roads: 'Where we're going, we don't need roads,' says Doc as the DeLorean lifts off; no sequel was planned until after the film opened, so the ending was written with no follow-up in mind.

What does Biff crash his car into while chasing Marty around the town square in 1955?

A manure truck: Biff ends the chase buried in its load, and in every film of the trilogy a Tannen winds up in a heap of manure.

What is George McFly's hobby, which eventually leads to his success in the altered timeline?

Writing science fiction: in 1955 George hides his stories for fear of rejection; in the 1985 Marty returns to, he is a confident, successful author with a first novel out.

Who was first cast as Marty McFly, then replaced after filming had begun?

Eric Stoltz played Marty with a dramatic intensity that drained the comedy, so the filmmakers replaced him and shot all his scenes again.

Back to the Future opened just before which US holiday in 1985?

Independence Day: it opened on July 3 after test screenings went so well that the studio pulled the release forward, reaching cinemas only nine weeks after shooting wrapped.

What do several people in 1955 take Marty's puffy down vest to be?

A life preserver: the diner's owner takes it for one, and Lorraine's mother assumes he is a sailor in port, so Marty claims to be in the Coast Guard.

Which Huey Lewis and the News song was written as Back to the Future's theme?

'The Power of Love': Huey Lewis first declined, unsure how to write a film song, then agreed simply to hand over the next song he wrote.

Which 1980s slang word does Marty keep using that baffles Doc in 1955?

"Heavy": hearing it yet again, 1955 Doc asks why things are so heavy in the future and whether there is a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull.

What insult does the school disciplinarian throw at Marty while comparing him to his father?

'Slacker': he says Marty is a slacker just like his father and that no McFly ever amounted to anything in Hill Valley; Marty replies that history is going to change.

What is the name of Marty's older brother?

Dave starts the film in a Burger King uniform; in the 1985 Marty returns to, he heads off to an office job in a suit.

What do the Peabody family take Marty for when he crashes into their barn in 1955?

A space alien: in a yellow radiation suit, climbing out of a car with gull-wing doors, Marty looks like a visitor from another planet, and the farmer reaches for his shotgun.

Who composed the brassy orchestral score for the original Back to the Future film?

Alan Silvestri had first worked with the film's director only a year earlier; the partnership stuck, and he has scored almost every film the director has made since.

How far into the future does Doc's dog travel in the first test of the DeLorean?

One minute: the dog's stopwatch comes back exactly one minute behind Doc's, after Marty has feared the animal was disintegrated.

What became of the Brown family mansion between 1955 and 1985?

It burned down: the mansion was destroyed by fire in 1962 and its land sold to developers, leaving Doc to live and work in what had been the garage.

What is the name of the band Marty McFly plays in?

The Pinheads: Marty's band is cut off at the school-dance audition in the opening scenes for being 'just too darn loud'.

Who co-wrote the screenplay of 'Back to the Future' with its director?

Bob Gale and his co-writer saw the script rejected more than 40 times; Disney turned it down as a film about incest.

Which company made the black 4x4 pickup Marty finds in his garage at the end of Back to the Future?

Toyota: the black pickup Marty longs for at the start of the film is waiting in his own garage in the improved 1985, freshly waxed by Biff.

At which 1955 diner does Marty first meet his teenage father, George, in Back to the Future?

Lou's Cafe, run by Norman Alden's Lou, who hears Marty's order for a Tab as a request for the bill and says he can't have one until he orders something.

Which item from 1985 tells Doc exactly when the courthouse clock will stop?

A flyer: the 'Save the Clock Tower' leaflet records the minute the clock stopped, and Marty still has it only because his girlfriend wrote a phone number on the back.

Who plays Marty's mother, Lorraine Baines McFly, across the Back to the Future trilogy?

Lea Thompson plays Lorraine in all three films, wearing prosthetics to age from a 1955 teenager to a 2015 grandmother.

What is the name of the bald disciplinarian who patrols Marty's high school?

Mr. Strickland: in the lawless alternate 1985 of Part II he trades shotgun fire with a passing gang outside his own house.

Which 1955 soda-shop employee is destined to become mayor of Hill Valley?

Goldie Wilson vows he will clean up the town; his boss says he can start by sweeping the floor, and Goldie muses, 'Mayor Goldie Wilson, I like the sound of that.'

Which earlier comedy by Back to the Future's two writers won their time-travel pitch a hearing?

Used Cars: studio president Frank Price had liked the earlier comedy enough to take the meeting, though the script then spent years in turnaround.

Who plays Marty's father, George McFly, in the first Back to the Future film?

Crispin Glover skipped the sequels after a pay dispute, then sued when the filmmakers made up another actor to look like him; the case was settled.

Who plays Marty's girlfriend in the first Back to the Future film?

Claudia Wells stepped away from acting when her mother fell ill with cancer, so the part was recast for both sequels.

What is the name of Marty's older sister?

Linda has boy trouble at the start; in the 1985 Marty returns to, she has a boutique job and boys keep phoning the house for her.

Which insult is Biff Tannen forever hurling at George, Marty and anyone in his way?

"Butthead!" is Biff's all-purpose insult; he also mangles sayings, telling people to 'make like a tree and get out of here' until his older self corrects him in Part II.

Which find at his parents' home gave a Back to the Future writer the idea?

A yearbook: finding his father's and seeing he had been class president, he wondered whether the two of them would have been friends as teenagers.

In Back to the Future Part II, on which date in 2015 do Marty and Doc arrive?

21 October 2015 was celebrated as 'Back to the Future Day' when it arrived for real, with fans and the press marking the date the film had imagined.

Why does Doc Brown whisk Marty to 2015 at the start of Part II?

To save Marty's son from jail: the boy is about to join a robbery that will put him behind bars, so Marty poses as him and refuses.

What does Marty buy in 2015 that sets the whole plot of Part II in motion?

Grays Sports Almanac, a book of results from 1950 to 2000 that Marty hopes will make him rich; old Biff fishes it out of the trash and takes it to 1955.

In the alternate 1985 Biff creates with his gambling fortune, what has happened to George McFly?

He was killed in 1973: in the Biff-ruled 1985 a newspaper records George McFly shot dead in March 1973, and Biff went on to marry the widowed Lorraine.

In the 2015 of Part II, what must be done to the McFlys' tiny Pizza Hut pizza before dinner?

Hydrate it: the pizza comes dehydrated in a small foil packet, and a few seconds in the kitchen hydrator swell it to full family size.

In the Biff-ruled 1985 of Part II, what is Biff's casino hotel called?

Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise: the casino hotel stands on the old courthouse site, built on the fortune Biff piled up from an unbroken run of betting wins.

Besides Marty, which two other characters does the lead actor play in Part II?

Marty Jr. and Marlene: the same actor plays both of Marty's 2015 children, and the family dinner scene puts all three on screen together via split-screen effects.

Which baseball team does the 2015 of Back to the Future Part II show winning the World Series?

The Chicago Cubs really did win it in 2016, a year late, ending a 108-year drought.

What brand of self-lacing shoes does Marty put on in 2015?

Nike Air Mag: Nike auctioned replicas without power laces in 2011, then made a truly self-lacing version in 2016, both in tiny numbers to fund Parkinson's research.

A holographic shark in 2015 Hill Valley advertises which fictional sequel?

Jaws 19: when the real 2015 came round, the studio marked the date by releasing a spoof trailer for the sequel that never existed.

How does Part II end for Doc's DeLorean?

It is struck by lightning and vanishes, and a Western Union courier immediately hands Marty a letter from Doc, sent from 1885.

Which soft drink does Marty order from the video waiters at the Cafe 80s in 2015?

Pepsi: what he gets is a bottle of Pepsi Perfect, and the company sold a limited run of real ones when 2015 arrived.

What did cinema audiences see at the end of Part II, just before the closing credits?

A trailer for Part III: the two sequels were filmed together, so enough of the finale was already shot to cut a preview promising it for summer 1990.

In Part III, what happens when a heartbroken Doc downs a shot of whiskey?

He passes out cold: Doc sets out to drown his sorrows, but one drink floors him, leaving Marty to face Buford's deadline until Doc can be revived.

In Part III, what trade does Doc Brown practise in 1885 Hill Valley?

Blacksmith: Doc shoes the town's horses, and when Buford's horse throws a shoe the outlaw blames him and demands money, the grudge that drives the plot.

What alias does Marty use in 1885 Hill Valley?

Clint Eastwood: the town believes the stranger fell to his death in the gorge, so in the 1985 Marty returns to it is called Eastwood Ravine.

Who plays Clara Clayton, the schoolteacher Doc falls for in 1885?

Mary Steenburgen took the part at the urging of her children, who loved the first film; she had already played a time traveller's love interest in 1979's Time After Time.

Which of Marty's ancestors take him in after he is knocked out fleeing a bear in 1885?

Seamus and Maggie McFly, his Irish-born great-great-grandparents; Seamus warns him about a brother, Martin, who was stabbed to death after letting a taunt goad him into a fight.

How do Doc and Marty finally get the DeLorean up to speed in 1885?

Push it with a steam locomotive, which then plunges off the unfinished bridge into Shonash Ravine just after the DeLorean vanishes.

How does Marty survive Buford's shot in their showdown?

A stove door worn as a bulletproof vest under his poncho takes Buford's bullet; Marty then knocks the outlaw down, and Buford and his gang are arrested for an earlier robbery.

Which rock band cameos as the Old West band at the Hill Valley festival?

ZZ Top: the band appears as the festival musicians, and their song 'Doubleback' is heard in a period arrangement before playing over the end credits.

Who was offered the part of Hill Valley's 1885 mayor in Part III but declined?

Ronald Reagan, a fan who had quoted the first film in his 1986 State of the Union address, was sounded out through his old agent but politely declined.

What destroys the DeLorean moments after Marty arrives back in 1985 in Part III?

A freight train: Marty rolls to a halt on the railway line and leaps out just before the train smashes the car, which is what Doc wanted done with the time machine.

Which Part III stunt went wrong on set, leaving its star unconscious until the director noticed?

The hanging scene: he did the stunt himself, and on the third take the noose tightened for real; he passed out and hung there until the director realised he wasn't acting.

What are the names of Doc and Clara's two sons, seen aboard the time train at the end?

Jules and Verne, named for Doc's favourite author Jules Verne; they ride the flying time train with Doc and Clara in the final scene.

Which street-racing rival does Marty avoid at the end of Part III?

Needles: by refusing the race Marty avoids the crash with the Rolls-Royce, and the fax announcing his 2015 firing erases itself.

What alternative title did studio chief Sid Sheinberg propose for Back to the Future?

Space Man from Pluto: Sheinberg's memo called the real title 'less than wonderful'; by the writers' account, Spielberg killed the idea by thanking him for his 'most humorous memo'.

Biff Tannen's surname was a jab at Ned Tanen, a man who held what job?

Film studio executive: Ned Tanen had been unpleasant to the writers in a script meeting on their earlier film I Wanna Hold Your Hand, so they gave his name to the bully.

Why did Family Ties' producer first keep the Back to the Future script from his lead?

A co-star was on maternity leave: with Meredith Baxter away, Gary David Goldberg felt the sitcom couldn't spare its lead; once she was back he relented, and his star shot the show by day and the film by night.

Why was Melora Hardin dropped as Marty's girlfriend once Marty was recast?

Too tall: cast opposite the original Marty, Hardin stood taller than his replacement, and it was decided the hero shouldn't be shorter than his girlfriend; she later played Jan in The Office.

Which relative of Marty's, a baby in a playpen in 1955, is in prison in 1985?

Uncle Joey: in 1985 'Jailbird' Joey has just missed parole again, so when Marty meets him as a baby who loves his playpen, he tells him to get used to those bars.

Which Pasadena landmark served as the exterior of Doc Brown's 1955 mansion?

The Gamble House, designed by Greene & Greene, supplied only the exterior; Doc's interiors were shot inside the same architects' Blacker House nearby.

Which real Southern California school stood in for Hill Valley's?

Whittier High School, in Whittier, California, doubled as the town's high school for both the 1985 and 1955 scenes.

Which Academy Award, its only win, did Back to the Future take home in 1986?

Best Sound Effects Editing, won by Charles L. Campbell and Robert Rutledge; its three other nominations (screenplay, song and sound) went elsewhere.

Which comedy knocked Back to the Future off the US number-one spot for a single weekend?

National Lampoon's European Vacation opened on top in late July, Back to the Future's fourth weekend; the time-travel film took the spot back a week later and held it for eight weekends.

Which action sequel did Back to the Future overtake that October to become its year's top-grossing US release?

Rambo: First Blood Part II had led the year with about $150 million until October, when it was passed by a film whose script studios had turned down some forty times.

What role does Huey Lewis play in his Back to the Future cameo?

A Battle of the Bands judge: Lewis, whose songs fill the soundtrack, cuts off Marty's band mid-song for being 'just too darn loud'.

Which real-life tycoon did the trilogy's co-writer say inspired the casino-owning Biff of Part II?

Donald Trump: asked in 2015, the co-writer said 'we thought about it when we made the movie', pointing to the scene where Biff strikes the same pose as the giant portrait behind his desk.

Which future Lord of the Rings star appears as a boy playing Wild Gunman in Part II?

Elijah Wood, in his first film role, is one of the two boys who sneer that a game you 'have to use your hands' for is 'like a baby's toy'.

Which Red Hot Chili Peppers member plays Marty's slippery co-worker in Part II?

Flea, the band's bassist, plays Marty's co-worker, whose dodgy 2015 deal gets Marty fired by fax.

Which pop star appears as a video waiter in the Café 80s of 2015?

Michael Jackson: his flickering video likeness pushes the day's specials alongside those of a US president and an ayatollah, while 'Beat It' plays in the background.

In Back to the Future Part II, which word does Griff use to goad Marty into a fight in 2015?

Chicken: Marty can't walk away from the word, and his 2015 self is baited the same way by a co-worker; learning to ignore it at the end of Part III spares him a car crash.

Over how much money did Buford Tannen kill Doc Brown, according to the 1885 tombstone?

80 dollars: Buford blamed Doc for a fall from his horse and wanted $75 for the horse, which he had shot, plus $5 for a smashed bottle of whiskey; Doc's refusal to pay is what the tombstone records.

Which iconic Western landscape was used for Part III's location shooting?

Monument Valley, on the Arizona-Utah border, where Marty arrives in 1885 in the middle of a cavalry chase; the 1885 Hill Valley set was built near Sonora, California.

What does Marty throw at the 1885 festival to spoil Buford's shot at Doc?

A pie plate: Marty notices the maker's name, Frisbie's, on the tin ('Far out!') and flings it like a Frisbee to knock Buford's aim off; Buford later sneers at him as a pie-slinger.

Which two artists designed the DeLorean time machine with Lawrence Paull?

Ron Cobb and Andrew Probert, working with production designer Lawrence Paull, decided an eccentric inventor rather than a corporation should look to have built it in his garage.

The Mr. Fusion unit on the DeLorean was built from what household appliance?

A Krups coffee grinder: the prop builders turned one into the Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor, which powers the car's time travel with household garbage after Doc's trip to 2015.

Which car's V8 was mixed with a Star Wars landspeeder for the DeLorean's engine sound?

A Porsche 928: its V8 was recorded and blended with the Star Wars landspeeder effect, since the real cars kept their modest PRV V6 engines during filming.

Which museum took in the restored 'A' car DeLorean used in the films?

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles: the hero car had sat for years on show at the studio's theme park, where visitors walked off with pieces of it, before a team restored it to screen condition.

What souvenir does Doc bring Marty when he returns at the end of Part III?

A photograph from 1885: it shows the two of them standing beside the town's brand-new clock, the one Marty has only ever known as stopped.

Who styled the body of the real DMC DeLorean sports car?

Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign styled the body, drawing on his 1970 Porsche Tapiro concept car; Colin Chapman's Lotus was then brought in to engineer what lay beneath it.

Near which city was the DeLorean factory located?

Belfast: the factory was at Dunmurry in Northern Ireland, built with British government money, and the first production car left the line in January 1981.

What was John DeLorean arrested for in 1982?

Cocaine trafficking: John DeLorean was videotaped agreeing to bankroll a drug deal as his company failed, but a jury acquitted him in 1984 after his lawyers argued that he had been entrapped.

Which three carmakers shared the PRV V6 engine used in the DeLorean?

Peugeot, Renault and Volvo developed the PRV V6 together; in the DeLorean it made 130 horsepower, which is why the wedge-shaped sports car was never as quick as it looked.

At what time does Hill Valley's courthouse clock stop for good on November 12, 1955?

10:04 p.m.: the clock froze at that minute on Saturday, November 12, 1955 and the town never repaired it, which is how Marty knows the moment to the minute thirty years later.

Which sci-fi name does Marty use to scare George into asking Lorraine out in 1955?

Darth Vader: in a radiation suit with a Walkman, Marty announces himself as 'Darth Vader, an extraterrestrial from the planet Vulcan' and blasts Van Halen into George's ears.

What does Doc build in 1955 to show Marty the clock-tower plan?

A scale model of the street: Doc apologises for 'the crudity of this model', then has Marty release a wind-up car that bursts into flames and shoots off the table into the trash.

Which TV show on the Baines family's new set does Marty claim to have seen before?

The Honeymooners: as the Baineses watch 'The Man from Space', Marty calls it a classic he saw on a 'rerun', a word nobody at the 1955 table understands.

What does 1955 Doc call the camcorder from 1985?

A portable television studio: marvelling at the JVC camcorder, Doc decides it is no wonder the future president has to be an actor, since he has to look good on television.

How does George finally win Lorraine outside the 1955 dance?

He knocks Biff out with one punch: George floors him in the parking lot and walks Lorraine into the dance, and Marty returns to a 1985 where his father is confident and successful.

What does 1955 Doc do with Marty's letter warning him about his future?

Tears it up unread; but he later pieces the letter back together and reads it after all, which is how he survives the 1985 shooting.

What vehicle do the Libyan terrorists drive when they chase Doc around the mall lot?

A Volkswagen bus: the Libyans chase Doc and Marty around the parking lot in a VW van, which stalls at the crucial moment and gives Marty time to get away in the DeLorean.

Who took over the role of George McFly in the sequels?

Jeffrey Weissman wore prosthetics made from a mould of the original actor's face; that actor, who had not agreed terms to return, sued over the use of his likeness and the studio settled.

Told an actor is President in 1985, whom does Doc guess is Vice President?

Jerry Lewis: told that a 1950s film actor is President in 1985, Doc scoffs 'Then who's Vice President, Jerry Lewis?' and imagines Jane Wyman as First Lady.

What do Doc's slow clocks earn Marty at his high school?

A tardy slip: Doc phones to say his experiment worked and every clock is exactly 25 minutes slow, so it is really 8:25, and Marty collects his fourth late mark in a row.

Which 1984 adventure hit gave Back to the Future's director the clout to get his film made?

Romancing the Stone was a surprise hit after the director's earlier films had disappointed; only then did studios show interest in the time-travel script he had been shopping around for years.

Meaning to call Lorraine his 'destiny', which word does a nervous George McFly say instead?

Density: reading the line Marty fed him off a notepad in the diner, George announces 'I'm your density', and has to check his notes before he can correct himself.

Which two historical figures inspired Doc Brown's appearance?

Albert Einstein and Leopold Stokowski: Christopher Lloyd has said Doc's wild white hair came from the physicist and from an album cover showing the white-haired conductor against the cosmos.

Which theme park hosted the first Back to the Future: The Ride in 1991?

Universal Studios Florida, in May 1991; the Hollywood version followed in 1993, with riders chasing Biff, who had stolen the DeLorean.

Which attraction replaced Back to the Future: The Ride at both of its US parks in 2008?

The Simpsons Ride took its place in both Florida and Hollywood in 2008; as a parting nod, Doc Brown turns up in a short cartoon in the new ride's queue, voiced by Christopher Lloyd.

In which English city did Back to the Future: The Musical premiere in 2020, before its West End run?

Manchester: it opened at the Manchester Opera House in March 2020 and was shut by the pandemic within days; it did not play again until it reached London's West End the following year.

Who played Doc Brown in the stage musical in London and on Broadway?

Roger Bart created the stage Doc and later took him to Broadway, though a positive Covid test kept him out of the show's West End opening night.

Which future TV science star assisted Doc in the live-action segments of the 1991 Back to the Future cartoon?

Bill Nye, then a Seattle sketch-comedy performer, silently ran the experiments beside Christopher Lloyd's Doc, two years before Bill Nye the Science Guy made him the famous one.

Which Simpsons voice actor played Doc Brown in the animated segments of the 1991 Back to the Future cartoon?

Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, voiced Doc in the cartoon, while Christopher Lloyd appeared only in the live-action bookends.

Which studio developed the 2010 episodic Back to the Future: The Game?

Telltale Games released it in five episodes from December 2010, with Christopher Lloyd back as Doc; newcomer A.J. LoCascio won the part of Marty with an audition tape that sounded just like the films.

Which song beat Back to the Future's theme to the Best Original Song Oscar?

'Say You, Say Me': Lionel Richie's ballad from White Nights was left off that film's original soundtrack album, because Motown would not let his new single come out on another label's record.

Which Huey Lewis and the News song plays over Back to the Future's end credits?

'Back in Time': asked for a second song to run over the credits, Lewis and his band wrote one whose lyrics, unlike their first for the film, are about the plot itself.

Which tall tale about hoverboards did Part II's director spread in 1989?

Real, but blocked by parents' groups: he deadpanned in a promotional featurette that toy makers had been stopped from selling them, and enough viewers believed it to ask for hoverboards in toy shops.

Before Back to the Future, the Courthouse Square backlot set was known by a name taken from which 1962 film?

To Kill a Mockingbird: the set was known as Mockingbird Square after doubling as that film's courthouse, though it had been built back in 1948 for another picture entirely.

What destroyed much of Courthouse Square on November 6, 1990?

An arson fire: it was set by a security guard hired to watch over the lot, and it gutted every façade on the square except the courthouse itself.

In the alternate 1985 of Part II, what has become of Doc Brown?

He has been committed: Marty and Doc find a 1983 newspaper reporting that this timeline's Doc was sent to a mental hospital, in a Hill Valley that Biff now runs.

Which 2015 short stars Christopher Lloyd's Doc explaining why the real 2015 lacks flying cars?

Doc Brown Saves the World, a short made for the trilogy's 30th-anniversary home release, in which Doc says he erased hoverboards and other inventions to head off a nuclear disaster in 2045.

How is Buford 'Mad Dog' Tannen, the villain of Part III, related to Biff?

His great-grandfather: Buford 'Mad Dog' Tannen, the 1885 outlaw, got his nickname, the town's records say, from his short temper and his tendency to drool.

Which honour did the Back to the Future stage musical win in London in 2022?

Olivier for Best New Musical: the prize came two years after the pandemic had shut the show's first run within days of its opening night.

Sierra No. 3, the vintage engine in Part III's railway scenes, also appears in which classic Western?

High Noon: the engine has been in films since the silent era and lives at a California park known as 'The Movie Railroad'; built in 1891, it is six years too young for its 1885 scenes.

When the fax announcing Marty's firing goes blank, what does Doc say it means?

The future isn't written yet: 'No one's has,' Doc tells Jennifer. 'Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one.'

In which Japanese city did a third Back to the Future: The Ride open in March 2001?

Osaka's park opened with the ride in March 2001 and kept it running until 2016, nine years after both American versions had closed.

How does Marty get to school in 1985, hitching rides off the backs of passing cars?

A skateboard: Marty hitches rides from car bumpers on his board, and when he improvises one in 1955 the onlookers can only call it 'a board with wheels'.

In early drafts, what was Marty to drive into to power his trip home to 1985?

A nuclear test blast: Marty was to drive into an atomic explosion at a Nevada test site, but the effect was priced at about $1 million, so the finale was rewritten around the town's clock tower.

Why does Doc knock Jennifer out on arriving in 2015?

So she won't learn about her own future: Doc uses a sleep-inducing alpha rhythm generator because 'no one should know too much about their future', and says she will think it was a dream.

In 1885, how does Doc first meet schoolteacher Clara Clayton?

He saves her from falling into a ravine: Doc rides alongside her runaway buckboard and she jumps to him just before it goes over the edge; in the original timeline she died there, and it was named Clayton Ravine.

Which cartoon scientist began as a parody of Back to the Future's Doc Brown?

Rick Sanchez grew out of a crude 2006 short spoofing Doc and Marty, which evolved into Rick and Morty. Christopher Lloyd later played Rick himself in live-action promos for the series.

In Back to the Future, what was Doc Brown doing in his bathroom when he fell and first envisioned time travel?

Hanging a clock while standing on the toilet, Doc slipped and hit his head on the sink. He came to with a vision of the device that makes his time machine work.

At the end of Back to the Future Part II, which company hands Marty a letter Doc Brown wrote seventy years earlier?

Western Union had held the letter since 1885, and its courier turns up moments after Doc disappears. The letter tells Marty that Doc is alive and well in the Old West.

Why did Christopher Lloyd play Doc Brown with a hunched posture throughout Back to the Future?

To seem shorter, the 6 ft 1 in Lloyd stooped so that he stood closer in height to the 5 ft 5 in actor playing Marty.

By 1985 in Back to the Future, where does Doc Brown live after fire destroys his family mansion?

In its garage: Doc was born into money but spent decades burning through the family fortune on his time-travel dream, leaving him one outbuilding packed with gadgets and clocks.

In Back to the Future, which astronomer gives his name to the dog Doc Brown owns in 1955?

Copernicus is the 1955 dog, and Doc wires him up to test a brain-wave analyzer. Doc keeps using his pets as test subjects for his experiments.

Which kind of scene in Back to the Future Part III had Doc Brown's veteran actor never performed on camera before?

A screen kiss was new to Christopher Lloyd after 15 years of acting, so he took the director aside to confess before the scene with Clara. The co-writer thought he made a fine romantic lead.

In the backstory told by Back to the Future's co-writer, how did a 14-year-old Marty McFly first meet Doc Brown?

He snuck into Doc's lab after hearing the man was a lunatic, and Doc caught him there. Marty decided Doc was cool, and Doc hired him as a part-time assistant.

In the Back to the Future films, what was the original family name of Doc Brown, whose father was German?

Von Braun was the family name of Doc's German father. Despite those roots, the films make Doc thoroughly American and a keen baseball fan.

Across the Back to the Future trilogy, which substance does Biff Tannen keep getting buried in and loudly hate?

Manure buries Biff's car twice in one week in 1955, and his outlaw ancestor Buford is knocked into a wagonload of it in 1885.

In Back to the Future, Lorraine cools on Marty after a kiss that she says feels like kissing which relative?

Her brother is the comparison Lorraine reaches for, and it ends the crush on the spot. The writers decided she had to be the one who stopped the romance, one of their toughest scripting problems.

In Back to the Future Part III, which one-word taunt from Buford Tannen goads Marty into agreeing to a showdown?

Yellow is the Old West's word for a coward, and it stings Marty just as a similar jibe does in 2015. By the end of the trilogy he has learned to walk away from it.

What verbal habit do Biff Tannen and his relatives share across the Back to the Future films?

Mangling idioms is the Tannen family trait: they botch stock put-downs while trying to sound menacing, so each threat lands as a joke on them.

In Back to the Future, Marty poses as an alien from which planet to scare George into asking Lorraine out?

Vulcan is Spock's home world in Star Trek. Marty makes the claim in a radiation suit after waking George in the night.

In Back to the Future Part III, which kind of message announcing Marty's firing goes blank in Jennifer's hands?

A fax sent to the McFly home in 2015 fires Marty over a shady deal, and Jennifer pockets a copy. It wipes clean once he refuses a street race, proof that the future is not fixed.

In which 1986 speech did the US president quote Back to the Future to appeal to young voters?

State of the Union viewers heard the president borrow the film's closing line about not needing roads. He used it to promise young Americans an age of wonder and achievement.

In the Back to the Future sequels, which make of car does Marty hit in the street race that derails his life?

Rolls-Royce is the car Marty hits after being dared to race, breaking his hand, and its owner presses charges. In Part III he refuses the dare, and the crash never happens.

Which exclamation from a Superman TV series did Back to the Future's co-writer first expect Doc Brown to shout?

Great Caesar's Ghost came from the Superman show the writers grew up watching. The director pushed for a different old-fashioned cry, which became Doc's trademark.

In the French dub of Back to the Future, which designer's name replaces the brand Lorraine reads on Marty's underwear?

Pierre Cardin, the French fashion designer, stands in for the American label in the dub, which hands Marty a different borrowed name for his stay in 1955.

In Back to the Future, which real rock and roll pioneer does bandleader Marvin phone mid-song, calling him cousin?

Chuck Berry is on the line as Marvin holds the receiver towards the stage. The gag has him hearing his own 1958 hit three years before he released it.

Which Penguins doo-wop ballad is sung at the school dance in Back to the Future as George and Lorraine kiss?

Earth Angel was a 1954 hit for the Penguins, a group formed at a Los Angeles high school. In the film the vocal is by Harry Waters Jr., the actor playing the bandleader.

Which song by the Four Aces plays as Marty first walks into the 1955 town square in Back to the Future?

Mr. Sandman was a hit twice over in late 1954, in rival versions by the Chordettes and the Four Aces. The film uses the latter as Marty realises he really is in 1955.

Which rock guitarist recorded the screeching tape Marty uses to wake a sleeping George in Back to the Future?

Eddie Van Halen recorded the riff on his own, because the filmmakers wanted his band's music and the rest of the group refused to take part.

Which frontier hero's ballad, sung by Fess Parker, is heard in the 1955 scenes of Back to the Future?

Davy Crockett was a full-blown craze in 1955, which is why the ballad plays on a jukebox and one of Lorraine's brothers wears a coonskin cap.

On what condition, besides going uncredited, did singer Huey Lewis agree to his cameo in Back to the Future?

Wearing a disguise let the singer slip into the film unannounced. He modelled the character on a Chrysalis Records executive.

Which band, fronted by a singer called Marvin, plays the school dance in Back to the Future?

The Starlighters need a stand-in when one of them injures a hand freeing Marty from their car trunk, which is how Marty ends up on stage with them.

Which British rock star's song Heaven Is One Step Away appears on the Back to the Future soundtrack album?

Eric Clapton's track was produced by Phil Collins, who also added backing vocals and percussion. The song is heard only briefly in the film itself.

Which song did Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham contribute to the Back to the Future soundtrack album?

Time Bomb Town is one of two brief background pop songs on the album, so most viewers barely register it in the film. Buckingham wrote and performed it himself.

Which singer supplied Marty McFly's vocals for the school dance performance in Back to the Future?

Mark Campbell sang while the film's star lip-synced, but he got only a special-thanks credit so audiences would believe Marty was singing. A music supervisor later won him a cut of the soundtrack revenue.

Who took over the role of Marty's girlfriend Jennifer for Back to the Future Part II and Part III?

Elisabeth Shue stepped in when the original actress left to care for her seriously ill mother. The closing scene of the first film was then reshot with Shue, almost shot for shot.

Before the DeLorean was chosen, which household appliance was Back to the Future's time machine built into?

A refrigerator was dropped for fear that children might copy the film and climb inside one. A car also made the time machine mobile.

Which effects company created the time-travel visuals for Back to the Future?

Industrial Light & Magic needed only about 30 effects shots, a tenth of what bigger films used, but had under nine weeks to finish them.

In early Back to the Future scripts, what did Marty drive the time machine into to get home?

An atomic bomb test in the Nevada desert was the original way home, but the sequence was priced at about $1 million. The clock tower finale replaced it.

Back to the Future's bully Biff Tannen takes his surname from a real person in which line of work?

Studio executive Ned Tanen had reacted angrily to an earlier script pitched by the film's writers, so they named their bully after him.

What did the original George McFly actor do after Back to the Future Part II recreated his likeness without consent?

Sued the producers: a stand-in had worn prosthetics made from moulds of the actor's own face. The case was settled out of court, and actors' union contracts now bar the practice.

Back to the Future's school dance was filmed in the basement of which kind of Hollywood building?

A church hall did the job: the scenes were shot beneath Hollywood United Methodist Church, while the school's exterior was a real campus elsewhere in Los Angeles County.

Which artist, sought after for his painted film posters, created the poster for Back to the Future?

Drew Struzan was hired because the producers hoped his in-demand artwork would stir up extra interest in the film.

What does the vanity licence plate on Doc Brown's DeLorean read in the first Back to the Future film?

OUTATIME has eight characters, a deliberate cheat, since real California plates allow at most seven.

Which 1988 hit kept Back to the Future's director busy while his writing partner drafted Part II alone?

Who Framed Roger Rabbit tied the director up, so most of the first draft of Part II was written without him.

Which song, played acoustically at the 1885 town festival, runs over the end credits of Back to the Future Part III?

Doubleback was the lead single from the album Recycler, and its video used clips from the film. Only the acoustic version made it onto the soundtrack album.