Where Were You When You Were Introduced To Marty McFly?

Where were you the first time laid your eyes Marty McFly, on the DeLorean time machine, heard the term "1.21 Jiggawatts" or The Power of Love? Thirty-five years ago on July 3, 1985, the world was introduced to Marty McFly and the world of Robert Zemeckis's Back to the Future. The film, which later spawned two sequels, grossed over $381 million worldwide making it the highest-grossing film of the year.

Michael J. Fox, who played the lead character Marty McFly, was catapulted into superstardom when the movie was released. Can you imagine that role being played by anyone else? He was the filmmakers' first choice to play the lead, but Michael was already committed to Family Ties which would have been shooting at the same time. So Eric Stoltz was cast and shot for a couple of weeks and then was fired! Finally, the people at Family Ties worked it out so Fox could film for their show during the day and shoot the movie at night. The double-duty shooting schedule and lack of sleep definitely paid off for the young actor. [Read more on this from vocal.media]

This wasn't just a movie, it was a phenomenon. Everyone wanted to have a friend like "Doc" Brown and everyone knew a guy like Biff. Oh, and let's not forget the cringeworthy moment when Marty McFly was being hit on by his mother, played by Lea Thompson when he visited the past. That scene still strikes fear in the hearts of teenage boys to this day.

Back to the Future holds such a place in the hearts of kids of the 80s around the world, in February of 2020 (34 years after it hit the big screen) a musical version premiered in the UK! Not to mention the movie gave birth to a ride at Universal Studios, an animated series, countless merch and many Halloween costumes for kids of the 80s.

If you want to rewatch the series, all three movies are on Netflix to stream!

Written by: Rachel Pitts | Pop Culture writer & child of the '80s.