Back to the Future: The Ride heavily from the original. Following the events of "Back to the Future Part III", Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown moves to the present time in Hill Valley where, in 1991, he founded the Institute of Future Technology, a scientific institute specializing in his "futuristic" inventions. On May 2, 1991, he invites tourists into the facility as "volunteers" in order to test out his newest invention, the eight-passenger DeLorean time machine, by traveling one day into the future. Meanwhile, Doc travels to 2015 in the original DeLorean (a new time machine being built out of another DeLorean) to make sure the space
Back to the Future a rousing time-travel adventure with an unforgettable spirit." Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" felt "Back to the Future" had similar themes to the films of Frank Capra, especially "It's a Wonderful Life". Ebert commented "[Producer] Steven Spielberg is emulating the great authentic past of Classical Hollywood cinema, who specialized in matching the right director (Robert Zemeckis) with the right project." He gave the film 3 1/2 out of 4 stars. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" believed the film had a balanced storyline: "It's a cinematic inventing of humor and whimsical tall tales for a long time to