E.T. Quotes
Shmoop will make you a better lover...of quotes
ALL QUOTES POPULAR BROWSE BY AUTHOR BROWSE BY SOURCE BROWSE BY TOPIC BROWSE BY SUBJECT
Source: E.T.
Speaker: E.T.
E.T. phone home.
Context
This line is spoken by E.T. in the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, directed by Steven Spielberg (1982).
In E.T., a lonely alien meets a lonely boy...and the two become friends. But lonely alien is still lonely, and he wants to reach his family back home.
In space.
His way of communicating his desire (as he barely knows English) is to say "E.T., phone home." This being the 1980s, they don't even have cell phones, much less intergalactic calling ability, so they have to build a device to do it.
Where you've heard it
People love to update E.T. with modern technology and have him phone home (or wherever he wants) on an iPhone.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Aw, the little fella just wants to phone home. Give him some Reese's Pieces and let him borrow your Galaxy SIII.