Wear the Classics. Graphics from Universal’s Iconic Movies are Now on T-Shirts.
May 11, 2025
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Casper (1995)
Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Casper brings the friendly ghost from the beloved 1950s comic series to life in a charming, CGI-enhanced family film filled with humor, emotion, and heart. The story follows Kat (Christina Ricci), a young girl who, after her mother's death, has become emotionally closed off. She moves into a mysterious old mansion with her ghost-hunting father, James (Bill Pullman). The mansion's new owner, the greedy Carrigan, hires James to rid the house of the mischievous ghosts that haunt it. While the ghosts cause trouble, it is the lonely ghost boy, Casper, who makes an effort to befriend Kat and bring light into her life.
E.T. (1982)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, directed by Academy Award-winning Steven Spielberg, is a timeless sci-fi human drama that remains one of the brightest gems in cinematic history. The film tells the story of ten-year-old Elliott (Henry Thomas), who names the alien left behind on Earth "E.T." and hides him. With the help of his brother, Robert MacNaughton, and sister, Drew Barrymore, he sets out to help E.T. return home. The film's themes of trust, courage, and the irreplaceable bond of friendship continue to resonate with audiences across generations.
Jaws (1975)
Steven Spielberg's Jaws, released in 1975, became an instant global hit and is a landmark thriller that set the gold standard for suspense films, leaving a lasting impact on the movie industry. The story centers on a peaceful beach town that is suddenly thrown into turmoil by the appearance of a massive, man-eating shark. As the number of victims rises and panic spreads, the town's police chief (Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss), and a rough-edged fisherman (Robert Shaw) team up to battle the deadly shark.
The chilling theme song, which evokes fear, captivated audiences and remains an enduring masterpiece, still beloved as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Back to the Future (1985, Part II 1989, Part III 1990)
Produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Academy Award-winning Robert Zemeckis, Back to the Future is an innovative and original sci-fi adventure. The story follows teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) as he travels from 1985 to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean, invented by the scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd). Caught in a series of time-travel-related problems, Marty realizes that his actions in the past could change the future and erase his existence. The Back to the Future series has captivated audiences worldwide for over 40 years with its cutting-edge visual effects, memorable music, clever plot twists, and thrilling storylines.
Screenwriter and Co-Producer Bob Gale on the Origins of "Back to the Future"
40 years ago, Back to the Future hit the US movie theaters and changed the world. Bob Gale on the surprisingly personal spark that made the movie resonate beyond generations and cultures.
Q: Why did you want to use time travel in your work?
Bob Zemeckis and I saw the original George Pal movie, The Time Machine when it came out in 1960, and our heads exploded. The time travel episodes on The Twilight Zone were some of my favorites. I became a big fan of science fiction in high school and read a lot of time travel stories. Time travel has always struck me as really cool. And whenever Bob Zemeckis and I would sit around in the 1970s, we talked about making a time travel movie, but we never came up with an interesting hook.
Flash forward to August of 1980, and I was visiting my parents in St. Louis, MO. Our basement had flooded, and my dad had salvaged a bunch of stuff. He said, "See if there's anything in here that you want to keep". In there, I found his high school yearbook from the year 1940. I'd never seen it before. That's how I discovered that my dad had been the president of his graduating class, something I had no idea about.
It made me wonder, if I had gone to high school with my dad, would I have even been friends with him? That is when the proverbial bolt of lightning struck. And I realized that was the hook for that time travel movie that Bob and I have been struggling with for all these years!
When I returned to California, I told Bob, and he loved it. Then he said, "What if it turned out that your mom went to the same high school and did all the things she said she never did?" And that's how it got started.
Q: Please talk about the time machine.
Bob and I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, so we were Sputnik kids. We were into technology, and we thought that having a time machine would make it a lot more believable for our character to actually travel back in time. In earlier drafts of the script, the time machine was built from an old refrigerator. One day, Bob came into the office and said, “Wouldn't it be smarter to make the time machine mobile? What if Doc Brown built it into a car?" We love the look of the DeLorean, and the gull-wing doors made it look very futuristic, so that's why we chose a DeLorean.
Q: Why do you think the story still resonates with audiences 40 years later?
I think that at some point, all children come to truly realize that their parents were once kids. That is a cosmic moment when you absorb and understand that fact. Because when you are five years old and your mom is saying, "You know, when I was your age...” you're thinking, “What is she talking about? How could she have ever been my age?” But ultimately, you do understand: “Oh, wait a minute. My parents, they really were kids, just like me." And then you cannot help but wonder, "How did my parents get together? What did they do on their first date?" These are all basic human questions, which is why I believe the movie still resonates across generations and in every human culture.
Q: When the first Back to the Future movie came out, there was this phenomenal response and success. How did you feel about that?
It was absolutely unbelievable. Because this was a script that had been rejected 42 times! We were told over and over that time travel movies don't make money, so we changed history!
Q: What would your ideal future look like?
I'm living it. (laughs) I'm 73 years old. I'm in the third act of my life, and Back to the Future is as big a deal now, or bigger than it ever was. I mean, this is every writer's dream. To invent something, to create something that I think it's going to live beyond my years, that people will always be talking about. This is my baby. I'm going to be involved in this till the day I die!
Q: What's in store for the future of Back to the Future?
In April, a new production of Back to the Future: The Musical is opening in Tokyo. I am very excited to see how the show plays in Japanese. We have incredible fans in Japan, and some of them have traveled to London or New York to see those productions. So I think the Tokyo audiences will respond very well.
(*1) Since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, young people, particularly in the 1960s, are generally considered to have been significantly influenced by the advancement of science and technology and the hope for space exploration.
Bob Gale is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, producer, and director. Gale was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Cinema from the University of Southern California in 1973. It was there that he met and began his association with his long-time collaborator, Robert Zemeckis. Gale has written or co-written over 30 screenplays, and his other film credits include 1941, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Used Cars, Trespass, and Interstate 60, which he also directed. In addition to his film and television work, Gale has written comic books and participated in events such as Comic Conversation.
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