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Futurama: Into The Wild Green Yonder

The fourth full length feature. In stores February 24, 2009

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The fourth Futurama full length feature is here.  "Into The Wild Green Yonder" is not just another Futurama movie, it's one with a message.  Actually more than just one.  The title has the word "green" in it.  This has to do with the current move to save the world.  In the movie, it goes beyond just saving a world.  There is some humor in the manner the topic is delivered but beneath it, you can see the seriousness also.  The idea of feminism also plays a big role.  While the inclusion of both of these topics may seem like the writers are making easy targets and poking fun, they manage to show the absurdity of those that are against them.  We do get laughs at the expense of both sides. 

That is what I like about Futurama.  It actually makes me laugh...out loud.  The humor is often of a clever nature but sometimes things are so simple or outrageous, you can't help but laugh.  Futurama isn't a one trick pony.  They don't rely on one simple type of humor to move things along.

Here's the synopsis:
All the other galaxies will be green with envy! In this all-new Futurama extravaganza, mankind stands on the brink of a wondrous new Green Age.  But ancient forces of darkness, three years older than time itself, have returned to wreak destruction.  Even more shocking: Bender's in love with a married fembot, and Leela's on the run from the law – Zapp Brannigan's law!  Fry is the last hope of the universe... so if you're in the universe, you might want to think about going somewhere else.  Could this be the end of the Planet Express crew forever?  Say it ain't so, meatbag!  Off we go, Into the Wild Green Yonder!

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The good news is the gangs all here.  Even Richard Nixon's Head makes an appearance along with guest stars Snoop Dogg and Penn and Teller.  The feature is very ambitious.  There is a lot going on with the story.  An accident gives Fry the ability to read minds, which he soon needs to try to block.  Bender falls in love.  That only is both funny and scary.  We see lots of satire on life events.  Watching it on Blu-ray, once again, my eyes are simply amazed.  The colors are just so...vibrant.  Watching, I would just marvel at the animation and colors while enjoying the movie.

I don't know if you can see it coming.  There is a "but" on its way.

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I have to say that I didn't enjoy this feature as much as the last one, "Bender's Game."  This was by no means a bad movie.  Even at its worst, Futurama is always entertaining.   Any Futurama we can get is more than enough.  It might be that, at times, it almost felt a little preachy.  Doing a satire on the 'green movement' almost felt too easy.  Maybe it was just after seeing "Bender's Game," it was hard to follow with all the genre specific humor contained in that one.

As I mentioned, I did laugh out loud at times.

Special features:


  • Audio commentary along with picture-in-picture video commentary (available on select players).
  • Docudramarama - How Do We Make Futurama So Good (5:09)
  • Storyboard Animatic (22:26)  (Always fun to see the rough sketches in motion).
  • Golden Stinkies - A Treasury Of Deleted Scenes (2:52)
  • Louder, Louder - The Acting Technique Of Penn Jillette (2:08)
  • Matt Groening And David X. Cohen In Space! (4:23)  (On board a zero-G plane).
  • How To Draw Futurama In 10 Very Difficult Steps (11:10)
  • 3-D Models With Animator Discussion (1:16)
  • Bender's Movie Theater Etiquette (1:16)
  • Zapp Brannigan's Guide To Making Love AT A Woman (2:49)
  • Short (hidden) Feature with the art of Bongo Comics Editor, Bill Morrison.

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I mentioned the beauty of the quality of the Blu-ray copy.  Some people tell me they don't see the need to get animation on Blu-rays.  I say, if you have a Blu-ray player, you can see a difference.  For those that do not have one, the  DVD copy will still look amazing.  What it comes down to is it's Futurama.  This may not have been my favorite of the four movies but I did still enjoy it.  I can only hope that the rumor of the show possibly returning to Fox for a new season is true.  Knowing that this was the last of the movies did hamper my enjoyment a bit.  I just don't want it to end.

Maybe it wasn't as good as "Bender's Game" but I still give it a solid 4 out of 5.  This is a movie that I will watch again.  If you're a fan of the show, you should already have plans to buy this.