The Best Trilogy Of All-Time Has An Forgotten Animated Sequel Series On Streaming
When it comes to all-time trilogies, it’s tough to beat what happened with Back to the Future. The Michael J. Fox-led string of movies hit every note when they first came out and continue to hold up today. But many don’t know that the movies actually ended up spawning an animated series that aired for 26 episodes back in the early 90s. And now you can actually stream Back to the Future: The Animated Series on Roku. What a blast from the past (literally and figuratively).
Back to the Future: The Animated Series
Back to the Future: The Animated Series follows the events of the original Back to the Future movie trilogy, picking up after Marty McFly and Doc Brown get back from their Old West adventures.
In it, we get all of the old characters from the movies along with some additions as well. Emmett “Doc” Brown and Clara Clayton Brown are married and living on a farm together. Dan Castellaneta voices Doc, though Christopher Lloyd appears in some live segments. And Mary Steenburgen is on as Clara, reprising the role from Back to the Future Part III.
Marty McFLy Is Back, But Not Michael J. Fox
Of course, Marty McFly is back in the action here as well, continuing his own time-traveling adventure. But Michael J. Fox didn’t voice this role for Back to the Future: The Animated Series with that role going to David Kaufman. In the series, Marty is married to Jennifer and the two are attending college together
Plus, Biff Tannen is back for Back to the Future: The Animated Series, and he’s voiced by Thomas F. Wilson, carrying things over from the original trilogy of movies. The character is still at the center of some storylines, with the idea that he and basically everyone he’s ever been related to are bad guys in their own timeline. The franchise is nothing if not consistent there.
Doc Brown’s Family
Back to the Future: The Animated Series used stories around the central trilogy characters while also introducing Jules and Verne Brown, Doc’s sons who get in on the adventures as well.
The show used an animated format, but also brought in live-action, educational elements with Christopher Lloyd and Bill Nye along for the ride in that respect.
Only Two Seasons
Back to the Future: The Animated Series lasted only two seasons on CBS (13 episodes each) and was part of the vaunted Saturday morning cartoon block that we can all look fondly back at. Those were the days when waking up and catching our favorite characters was a weekly ritual.
Though while this show was clearly trying to capitalize on the franchise good will from the original franchise, it had trouble sticking with a core audience. The ratings were pretty bad and CBS decided to cancel it the next year.
Streaming Back to the Future: The Animated Series
It’s always fun finding these gems out there, the shows you forgot even existed especially when they are attached to a time-honored franchise like Back to the Future. Back to the Future: The Animated Series is available for streaming on Roku now.
Take a little time to see what those Saturday mornings were like with Marty, Doc, and the rest of the crew. Back to the Future: The Animated Series
