History YMMV / BackToTheFuturePartIII

** The bar patrons scoff at Doc Brown's ramblings of the future, dismissing cars as "autowhatsits". In actuality, extremely primitive cars did already exist in 1885 which one of them, [[https://static01.nyt.com/images/2007/08/17/automobiles/600-oldest.jpg?year=2007&h=340&w=600&s=f037c51d1deb52512dce49faae1fc8874d220b8532cdcad9ff62241ea8fa98ee&k=ZQJBKqZ0VN the 1884 La Marquis]], is currently the record-holder for the oldest functional car. In fact, thirty years prior in the 1850s, [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudgeon_(steam_automobile_company) a company existed that built self-propelled steam carriages]] that did not catch on with only two being built and only one still surviving. Steam-powered tractors, aka traction engines, were also in existence at the time and were essentially small steam locomotives that weren't bound by rails.

* MoralEventHorizon: The novelization had Buford Tannen, ancestor of Biff, shoots and kills Marshall Strickland in front of the lawman's son.

** During the climax, Doc Brown has Marty specifically enter October 27, 1985, 11:00 am as the destination time. Given Doc's predilection for trains and remembering certain events down to the moment, and given his desire to destroy the time machine, did he remember the 1985 train schedule and have Marty set the time circuits in such a way that the [=DeLorean=] would be almost immediately destroyed upon their return to the future?

** It makes perfect sense that 1955 Doc would think that the chip from Japan would be a piece of junk while Marty remarks that "all the best stuff is made in Japan". Prior to the mid-1970s, Japanese products were notorious for their shoddy quality and were essentially the "made in China" of their day. However, after that point, there was a massive restructuring of the Japanese manufacturing industry which is what caused a sudden leap forward in quality products. Which means that Marty would be too young to remember when Japan didn't make good products.

** The bar patrons scoff at Doc Brown's ramblings of the future, dismissing cars as "autowhatsits". In actuality, extremely primitive cars did already exist in 1885 which one of them, [[https://static01.nyt.com/images/2007/08/17/automobiles/600-oldest.jpg?year=2007&h=340&w=600&s=f037c51d1deb52512dce49faae1fc8874d220b8532cdcad9ff62241ea8fa98ee&k=ZQJBKqZ0VN the 1884 La Marquis]], is currently the record-holder for the oldest functional car. In fact, thirty years prior in the 1850s, [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudgeon_(steam_automobile_company) a company existed that built self-propelled steam carriages]] that did not catch on with only two being built and only one still surviving. Stesm-powered tractors, aka traction engines, were also in existence at the time and were essentially small steam locomotives that weren't bound by rails.

* MoralEventHorizon: This trope caused a scene to be removed from the film. Originally, the movie was to have contained a scene where Buford Tannen, ancestor of Biff, shoots and kills Marshall Strickland in front of the lawman's son. According to screenwriter Bob Gale, the scene was removed because it was felt that after Buford is seen committing such a deed, [[KarmaHoudini it doesn't seem right that he not die]] (and he ''can't'' die, seeing as he will need to live long enough to extend the family line). While one would wonder why the filmmakers simply didn't add a throwaway line implying Buford already had children, they probably felt that unless Buford was actually raising the children and being a constant presence in their lives, they would instead have ended up being put into loving homes, and thus, far less likely to become bullies themselves in adulthood. Plus under that scenario, Marty would likely be the one to kill Buford, and having the film's teenage protagonist kill another person, no matter how evil that person was, would have been too dark for the mostly lighthearted time travel comedy. The scene made it into the novelization of the movie, however.

* AccidentalAesop: While the main moral of the movie is "don't pick stupid fights out of wounded pride," the main conflict with Buford Tannen isn't exactly resolved through pacifism and being the bigger man. Buford is a temperamental maniac who kills for petty reasons, and Marty has to fight him to save Doc, which he does through underhanded means. The real messages of the movie seem to be "don't seek out conflict, but be prepared to defend yourself against a maniac" and "be smart in a fight because your opponent won't likely play fair."

** Clara not believing Doc about being a time traveler makes a good deal of sense: aside from such a thing not being believable, the time travel genre was not yet a serious form of fiction in 1885. It wasn't until Creator/HGWells published ''Literature/TheTimeMachine'' in 1895 that going back and forth through time gained serious literary attention. To Clara, the concept of time travel would sound even more nonsensical than it does today.

** Clara not believing Doc about being a time traveler makes a good deal of sense: aside from such a thing not being believable, the time yravel genre was not yet a serious form of fiction in 1885. It wasn't until Creator/HGWells published ''Literature/TheTimeMachine'' in 1895 that going back and forth through time gained serious literary attention. To Clara, the concept of time travel would sound even more nonsensical than it does today.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The revelation that two of the [=McFly=] ancestors [[IdenticalGrandson looked exactly like Marty]] helps explain why George and Lorraine never thought it suspicious that Marty looked exactly like "Calvin Klein".

* IdiotPlot:
** To a small degree. In the last 3rd of the film, Doc breaks up with Clara the night before he and Marty are supposed to go back to 1985. While it's understandable and explainable in that he'd be more worried about keeping the time-space continuum from falling apart, he forgets that in the time he and Marty come from, Clara had been dead for nearly 100 years. The fact that he ''saved'' her is the change in history they caused, so if he were to introduce Clara to the time machine and have Marty help him explain things to her the night before they go back, while she'd be understandably shocked, she'd most likely come to grips with everything and go back with them if asked since she loves him and loves things like science and Jules Verne (plus quickly accepts things when she realized Doc was telling the truth after hearing how heartbroken he was). There's absolutely ''no'' risk to the timeline for her to go missing and not still exist in the 1880s. The 1885 townsfolk would just assume she went missing and the timeline would mostly remain normal. Hell, she could even take a lot of her things with them if they move fast enough in the night.
** Also, the fact that 1955 Doc didn't pack another gallon of gas just in case Marty needed it for his trip back to the 1880s. While they both thought that it'd be a quick trip and Marty wouldn't rip the fuel line, the fact that 1955 Doc wouldn't be a bit more cautious after seeing how impractical the design of the Plutonium chamber was originally, as well as knowing how rough the terrain was in the desert parts of California 1885 (or even 1955), it might've been more practical of him to pack stuff like that and other things to repair the car if it were to become broken in some way.

* MoralEventHorizon: This trope caused a scene to be removed from the film. Originally, the movie was to have contained a scene where Buford Tannen, ancestor of Biff, shoots and kills Marshall Strickland in front of the lawman's son. According to screenwriter Bob Gale, the scene was removed because it was felt that after Buford is seen committing such a deed, [[KarmaHoudini it doesn't seem right that he not die]] (and he ''can't'' die, seeing as he will need to live long enough to extend the family line). While one would wonder why the filmmakers simply didn't add a throwaway line implying Buford already had children, they probably felt that unless Buford was actually raising the children and being a constant presence in their lives, they would instead have ended up being put into loving homes, and thus, far less likely to become bullies themselves in adulthood. Plus under that scenario, Marty would likely be the one to kill Buford, and having the film's teenage protagonist kill another person, no matter how evil, would have been too dark for the mostly lighthearted time travel comedy. The scene made it into the novelization of the movie, however.

** To a small degree. In the last 3rd of the film, Doc breaks up with Clara the night before he and Marty are supposed to go back to 1985. While it's understandable and explainable in that he'd be more worried about keeping the time-space continuum from falling apart, he forgets that in the time he and Marty come from, Clara had been dead for nearly 100 years. The fact that he ''saved'' her is the change in history they caused, so if he were to introduce Clara to the time machine and have Marty help him explain things to her the night before they go back, while she'd be understandably shocked, she'd most likely come to grips with everything and go back with them if asked since she loves him and loves things like science and Jules Verne. There's absolutely ''no'' risk to the timeline for her to go missing and not still exist in the 1880s. The 1885 townsfolk would just assume she went missing and the timeline would mostly remain normal. Hell, she could even take a lot of her things with them if they move fast enough in the night.

** To a small degree. In the last 3rd of the film, Doc breaks up with Clara the night before he and Marty are supposed to go back to 1985. While it's understandable and explainable in that he'd be more worried about keeping the time-space continuum from falling apart, he forgets that int he time he and Marty come from, Clara had been dead for nearly 100 years. The fact that he ''saved'' her is the change in history they caused, so if he were to introduce Clara to the time machine and have Marty help him explain things to her the night before they go back, while she'd be understandably shocked, she'd most likely come to grips with everything and go back with them if asked since she loves him and loves things like science and Jules Verne. There's absolutely ''no'' risk to the timeline for her to go missing and not still exist in the 1880s. The 1885 townsfolk would just assume she went missing and the timeline would mostly remain normal. Hell, she could even take a lot of her things with them if they move fast enough in the night.

* AwardSnub: The only film in the series not to be nominated at the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s. It was one of the shortlisted films for Best Visual Effects along with ''Film/DickTracy'', ''Film/{{Ghost}}'' and ''Film/TotalRecall'', but due to Oscar voting rules at the time, only ''Total Recall'' received enough votes to advance to the final nomination, so there were no official nominees in that category and ''Total Recall'' received a special achievement award.

* TearDryer: Marty returns to 1985, but the [=DeLorean=] is destroyed and Doc is stuck in 1885. Marty and Jennifer return to the wreckage of the time machine and then Doc appears in a train time machine with Clara and his sons Jules and Verne.

** The Native Americans that Marty almost runs into seem to have almost zero reaction to an automobile (which hasn’t even been invented yet) appearing out of nowhere in front of them.

** The moment when Doc explains that his family came from Germany and changed their original surname, Von Braun, during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. For one, it's a homage to the space architect Wernher von Braun (almost as if the two were distantly related...). Secondly, during and after [=WW1=] German Americans became increasingly ostracized because of Germany being an enemy to the USA. They were pressured into integrating and forfeiting their culture, so that many opted to anglicize their surname.

* HarsherInHindsight: The [[Film/BackToTheFuture first film]] had Doc and Marty use lightning striking Hill Valley's clocktower to enable the [=DeLorean=] and Marty to get back to 1985; this lightning stopped the clocktower from functioning at all. The town used for the 1885 Hill Valley was destroyed by lightning in 1996.