Futurama was an animated sitcom created by The Simpsons Matt Groening, and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox network. The series followed the adventures of a former New York pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, after he was cryogenically frozen seconds before the start of the year 2000, and thawed out on New Year’s Eve 2999. The series got progressively better during its four years on the air, but network support continued to dwindle. Futurama’s timeslot was shuffled around; for a time, the series’ broadcast directly followed The Simpsons, but it didn’t last long. The series was eventually cancelled in August of 2003, though subsequent DVD releases (broken into four “volumes”, due to the erratic broadcast schedule) reinforced Futurama’s loyal fanbase.
The strong DVD sales caused fox executives to sit up and take notice. It was at that point that Groening approached the studio about making a series of direct to DVD films. Eventually, Fox, Groening and his team agreed to make four films; Futurama: Bender’s Game is the third film in the series.
As the story begins, Cubert, Dwight and some of their friends are playing Dungeons & Dragons in the Planet Express conference room. Bender wants to join in, but his lack of imagination causes the others to shun him. In an effort to be one of the guys, Bender takes the idea of an imagination a bit too far and can’t distinguish fantasy from reality. He finds himself swathed in a straitjacket, locked away in a padded cell at the Hal Institute for Criminally Insane Robots. Irony of ironies, the robot nurse is named Ratchet. Plus we get a guest appearance from Rosie, the robot maid from The Jetsons (but we can only guess at what she’s inside for).
In another twist, dark matter prices are on the rise, thanks to Mom’s Corp monopoly on fuel prices–headed by a sweet, old mom and her idiot sons–Walt, Larry and Ignar. Mom owns the dark matter mine. When our heroes arrive to thwart her evil plans, they discover it is not a mine but instead a battery farm for Niblonians (who, as we all know by now, poop out dark matter).
Professor Farnsworth tells the story of his early years–he once worked for and was married to Mom. Further, he was a scientist who created an energy crystal that turned all the dark matter in the universe into fuel. Of course, once their relationship soured, it was stolen. Realizing the energy crystals could be stolen, Farnsworth developed an anti-crystal of sorts that would negate the potency of the fuel, so it’s up to the Planet Express crew to put a stop to her monopolizing ways. All of this is just a convoluted way of getting all the characters to an alternate reality called Cornwood.
In the end, all of the different plots tie together quite well to create a solid fantasy adventure. The relatively disappointing Beast With A Billion Backs followed a similar pattern—but luckily for us, the jokes are funnier this time around. In fact, Bender’s Game may be the most satisfying Futurama film yet and should please fans that didn’t care for the last adventure. At the very least, Bender’s Game has increased my anticipation for the fourth and final Futurama film: if we’re lucky, the filmmakers will go out with a bang.
Bender’s Game is presented in 1.78:1 format and enhanced for widescreen displays. Because I’m reviewing this film on the basis of a Fox “Special Screening Copy”, I don’t think I can fairly evaluate the DVDs video quality.
The film’s Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is lively and active, though not much more so than the original series. Dialogue is clean and clear, music cues are typically strong and a few clever directional effects can be heard along the way. English, Spanish and French subtitles (and Closed Captions) have all been included during the main feature, but not for the bonus material.
All bonus features are presented in anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 aspect ratios, but no subtitles or Closed Captions are included.
Leading things off is a feature-length Audio Commentary with lots of familiar voices: creator Matt Groening, executive producer David X. Cohen, voice actors Billy West, John DiMaggio and Tress MacNeille, director Dwayne Carey-Hill, co-writer Mike Rowe and producer Claudia Katz (from Rough Draft Studios). As usual, this is a lively and engaging track filled with introspective remarks, trivial tidbits and general humor.
Next up is a complete Story Animatic (21:46) for “Part One” of Bender’s Game—AKA the first of four episodes, once these are finally aired—and like the animatic presented on The Beast With a Billion Backs, this is an interesting extra for several reasons. We get to see early sketches of the segment presented in order, but also a rough version of the final audio is also included.
Our next extra is Futurama Genetics Lab, a straightforward menu-based game. Viewers can choose two of several key Futurama characters and click the “mutate” button, which displays a piece of full-color art along with the hideous new character’s name.
Also here is “D&D&F (AKA “Dungeons & Dragons & Futurama” (7:02), a brief chat with David X. Cohen, writer Mike Kaplan and non-fan Mike Rowe. These three talk about their nostalgic memories of the game, or lack thereof, while sharing a handful of D&D-influenced scenes from earlier Futurama episodes. A related Easter Egg, hidden somewhere on the sub-menus, takes this little chat one step further.
“How to Draw Futurama in 83 Easy Steps” (7:51) is next, featuring several members of the Rough Draft crew and their sketches of Zoidberg, Leela and Bender. Some staff members are more helpful than others. There is another 3-D Model Gallery (5:03) with commentary from several animators, in which a number of ships from the film’s “Demolition Derby” sequence are put on rotating display.
A number of shorter extras close things out, leading off with a Deleted Scene entitled “Cup or Nozzle?” (1:02). This short sequence, which involves the kids at a treat stand, is presented in rough animatic form and bookended by finished clips where it would’ve fit in. “Blooperama 2” (1:48) is another session with several key voice actors goofing around and flubbing their lines. There’s also an Anti-Piracy Warning (1:11) featuring Bender that spoofs those PSAs on all your favorite discs, as well as a Preview for Into the Wild Green Yonder (1:12), the fourth and most likely final Futurama film.
