Context

This line is spoken by Ethel Thayer (played by Katharine Hepburn) in the film On Golden Pond, directed by Mark Rydell (1981).

Ethel and Norman spend every summer on Silver Lake… no, wait, on Bronze Puddle... no, um, on Golden Pond. (Oh, so that's where they got the title from.)

They've had this annual tradition for years, and in On Golden Pond, Norman is about to turn 80. This year, like every year, Ethel looks forward to seeing the loons… and talking to the loons. She watches them, she calls to them, and she thinks they're welcoming these two looney tunes back to their cottage on Golden Pond.

Where you've heard it

You'll hear this if you're returning to a beloved summer vacation destination—or, you know, if you're talking to birds.

Additional Notable References: 

• Call the loons all you want. They might not answer. Yankee magazine talks about how the decreasing loon population in New England is making them harder and harder to hear.

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.

This quote's not pretentious, but you might end up sounding a little loony yourself if you repeat it too much.