Amblin Entertainment produced the film, with Universal Pictures handling distribution. The name "Amblin Entertainment" might not mean anything to you but the name behind it probably will: Steven Spielberg.

Amblin was founded by Spielberg, and has produced over the years such tiny, obscure films as E.T., Schindler's List, Men in Black, Saving Private Ryan, and all of the Jurassic Park movies.

Fortunately for director Robert Zemeckis, he and Spielberg were buddies. Spielberg had been mentoring Zemeckis ever since he'd knocked the legendary director's socks off with a student film he'd made while at USC.

Back to the Future was their first big joint success… but it wouldn't be their last. Zemeckis would go on to follow it up a few years later with Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, the most successful movie ever made starring a cartoon rabbit married to a cartoon bombshell co-starring actual human beings.

So where did BTTF fit into Amblin's brand? Well, the company's roster of films is a bit all over the map. There are gripping historical dramas, sci-fi and adventure movies, animated movies (An American Tail), gut-wrenching dramas (The Color Purple). But they all have one thing in common.

They've all got heart. Yeah, to get Spielberg to sign off on a project a movie has to have the potential to strike an audience member right behind the sternum. No big blockbusters that are just about explosions and car chases, no frivolous comedies. No matter the genre, an Amblin film has got to fiddle upon the heartstrings at least a little bit. Even if sometimes that means hitting the "sappy" button.