Joe Walsh was barely inducted in 2001.
The Back to the Future franchise is an American science fiction -- comedy film series written and directed by Robert Zemeckis , produced by Bob Gale and Neil Canton for Steven Spielberg 's Amblin Entertainment , and distributed by Universal Pictures .. Robert Zemeckis. Robert Zemeckis. Bob Gale. Bob Gale. Back to the Future. Back to the Future. science fiction. science fiction. comedy film. comedy film. Neil Canton. Neil Canton. Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg. Amblin Entertainment. Amblin Entertainment. Universal Pictures. Universal Pictures. The franchise follows the adventures of a high school student , Marty McFly -LRB- Michael J. Fox -RRB- , and an eccentric scientist , Dr. Emmett L. Brown -LRB- Christopher Lloyd -RRB- , as they use a DeLorean time machine to time travel to different periods in the history of Hill Valley , California .. Marty McFly. Marty McFly. Michael J. Fox. Michael J. Fox. Emmett L. Brown. Emmett Brown. Christopher Lloyd. Christopher Lloyd. DeLorean time machine. DeLorean time machine. The first film was the highest-grossing film of 1985 and became an international phenomenon , leading to the second and third films , which were back-to-back film productions , released in 1989 and 1990 , respectively .. Though the sequels did not perform quite as well at the box office as the first film , the trilogy remains immensely popular after 30 years and has yielded such spinoffs as an animated television series and a motion-simulation ride at the Universal Studios Theme Parks in Universal City , California ; Orlando , Florida ; and Osaka , Japan -LRB- now closed -RRB- , as well as a Microsoft Windows , Macintosh , iPad , PS3 , and Wii video game .. animated television series. Back to the Future : The Animated Series. motion-simulation ride. Back to the Future : The Ride. Universal Studios Theme Parks. Universal Studios Theme Parks. Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Windows. Macintosh. Macintosh. iPad. iPad. PS3. PS3. Wii. Wii. video game. Back to the Future : The Game. The film 's visual effects were done by Industrial Light and Magic .. Industrial Light and Magic. Industrial Light and Magic. The trilogy was nominated for five Academy Awards all together , winning one -LRB- Best Sound Editing -RRB- .. Academy Awards. Academy Awards. Best Sound Editing. Academy Award for Sound Editing