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Futurama: Bender's Game Review

Comic Vine gets an early look at the latest Futurama full-length feature.

Another Futurama Movie!


Futurama: Bender's Game
Futurama: Bender's Game
20th Century Fox Entertainment releases the third, and best so far, Futurama full length feature (in stores Tuesday, November 4).  I'm not saying I didn't like the other two, I'll take any new Futuramas I can get.  I always thought it was a waste of a great show when the decision was made to cancel it.  You can't expect a show to have ratings when it wasn't even broadcast during prime-time and was often pre-empted due to sports broadcast.  I always thought ESPN was for watching sports.

The beauty of Futurama is they can spoof or make pop culture references to pretty much anything without making it feel forced.  I love The Simpsons but Futurama had a license to go all out and over the top if they wanted to.  In Bender's Game, they pretty much do just that.  Here's the official description from FOX:
Park your hover-car and saddle up your unicorn for the most fantastical “Futurama” yet: Futurama: Bender’s Game. With fuel prices skyrocketing, the Planet Express crew sets off on a dangerous mission to infiltrate the world's only dark-matter mine, source of all spaceship fuel. But deep beneath the surface, they discover a far stranger place... a medieval land of dragons and sorcery and intoxicated knights who look suspiciously like Bender.


Prepare for some weird situations
Prepare for some weird situations
From the moment the feature begins, we're treated to a delightful spoof in the opening credits.  It put a smile on my face and really set the tone for the story.  The driving force of the story is that  Bender was built without an imagination.  This caused problems when he tried playing Dungeons and Dragons with the kids.  Throw in a little dark matter (from the fuel price sub-plot) and things soon get crazy.

Futurama has always been great at squeezing in the subtle pop culture references.  At times I'm even surprised at what they decide to put in.  How many people remember the tv show Space 1999?  Part of the fun is trying to catch them all and it gives another reason to watch multiple times.

There's also something to be said but just the look of the show.  The opening has some pretty trippy squences and the animation and colors used in the show are so nice on the eyes.  I have to say I love the green used to color the Planet Express ship.  I believe it's referred to as "electric mucus green."  Either way, I like it.

Special Features


Another electrifying sub-plot throughout the story
Another electrifying sub-plot throughout the story
If there wasn't a single special feature, it would still be worth buying for the story and just the fact that it's new Futurama material.  Rest assured, there are some included.  There is the commentary, of course.  It's always entertaining to hear what they have to say about the episode and adds to the multiple viewings.

Story Animatics (21:48) are included.  This might not be a big sell for some people but I like seeing the story boards and how the episode came about.  It always amazes me seeing a production from an early stage.

Another feature is the Futurama Genetics Lab.  My daughter watched the end of the feature with me and we played around with this feature for a little bit.  It's a simple feature where you just choose two characters and get to see what they'd look like if they were genetically spliced together.  Surpisingly entertaining.

D & D & F (7:03) goes through some of the creators thoughts and experiences with Dungeons and Dragons.

Next is How to Draw Futurama in 83 Easy Steps (7:52).  Again, because of my dabbling in art in the past, it amazes me to see how easy it is for some to draw the characters and how quickly.

3D Models With Animator Discussion (5:03) takes a look at the different ships at various stages seen in the movie.

There is a deleted scene, "Cup or Nozzle?" (1:03).  A slight bummer that there wasn't more but perhaps that just means nothing had to be cut out.

Blooperama 2 (1:51) gives us a look at the actors in the studio.  It's nice to see them enjoying performing together. 

Bender's Anti-Piracy Warning (1:12) informs us about the horrible things that occur.

Finally, there is a trailer for the next (yes!) Futuram full-length feature, "Into the Wild Green Yonder" (1:14).  It looks like another crazy one (and doesn't seem to be focusing on love like the first two films).

I couldn't have been happier when I received this disc from Fox.  I'm overjoyed that there is still another feature coming in 2009 but I want more.  I don't want the fun to end.  It blows me away when I think about some of the other animated shows that are still somehow on the air.  Futurama got a raw deal and I can only hope that the next film will not be the end.

Futurama: Bender's Game is a hilarious ride that I didn't want to get off of.  Even though I have the dvd, I will be buying the Blu-ray version this Tuesday.  If you're looking for some zany futuristic humor (along with some primevil humor), do yourself a favor and pick up this movie.

5 stars out of 5.  No question about it.