The DVD Dissection: Futurama - Bender’s Game

Posted by Chad Webb on 11.12.2008

The third Futurama film has finally arrived! How does the new DVD stack up?

Featuring the Voices of:
Billy West: Fry/Dr. Zoidberg/Professor Farnsworth/Zap Brannigan/God Entity
John Di Maggio: Bender/Robot Santa/Joey Mousepad
Katey Sagal: Leela
Lauren Tom: Amy Wong
Phil LaMarr: Hermes Conrad
Tress MacNeille: Mom, and others
David Herman: Larry/Dr. Ogden Wernstrom
Frank Welker: Nibbler
Dan Castellaneta: The Robot Devil
George Takei: Himself
Directed By: Dwayne Carey-Hill
Created By: Matt Groening
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: November 4, 2008







Not Rated

The Film

Bender’s Game, the third installment of a four film story arc from the cancelled animated series Futurama, will no doubt will please fans more than those just fleetingly familiar. I made the same comment with the previous film, but it should be reiterated here as well. Each movie is certainly accessible to all types of viewers, but I do not think this particular effort will acquire loads of new followers. Luckily, I love Futurama, so I wait patiently until a new adventure arrives. Bender’s Game is not a flawless victory, but it is yet another entertaining romp with this hilarious delivery crew through the world of Dungeons & Dragons.

It has been established in previous episodes of Futurama that the fuel of the future is called dark matter. It now seems that prices of dark matter are skyrocketing out of control, and it is aggravating everyone, including the Planet Express crew, who must conserve money. Many are blaming Mom (voice of Tress MacNeille, The Ant Bully), the two-faced elderly owner of Mombil, who states that the supply is dwindling and she is in danger of losing money. However, figures have shown her profits to be better than they have been in years. What gives? Professor Farnsworth (voice of Billy West, Pinky and the Brain) is supremely irritated because he has a complicated history with Mom, and is determined to obliterate her dark matter source in favor of alternative energy options. In order to achieve this revenge, he needs a powerful crystal and the aid of his trusty employees Fry (also voiced by Billy West) and Leela (voice of Katey Sagal, Eli Stone).

Meanwhile, Bender (voice of John Di Maggio, Kim Possible) is upset because of his lack of imagination. So he sets out to master the game Dungeons & Dragons, which some of the kids play around the workplace. Not only does he find out how to use his imagination, but Bender becomes addicted to D & D to the point where needs psychiatric treatment. At the same time, Leela is forced to wear a collar due to her escalating temper problem, and the entire gangs learns what happens when you mess with such powerful crystals. An alternate dimension is formed!

I should point out that if you plan to experience Bender’s Game, or The Beast with a Billion Backs, or Bender’s Big Score!, understand that they are all basically a series of vignettes tied together by an outlandish plot. This is the joy of the show. The most obvious culprit of this was Bender’s Big Score!, which is the best entry so far, but more than the others feels like a string of episodes. Since then, the creators have improved the cohesiveness of the script vastly with flying colors. Bender’s Game deftly weaves various sub-plots into the central dilemma.

As usual, the beginning offers an homage, this time to the classic film Yellow Submarine, which is simply stunning in terms of visual splendor. Three-quarters of this latest mission are mesmerizing, uproarious, and enormously entertaining. The final section is where the momentum shifts downhill a bit. Nevertheless, this is filled with laugh out loud moments, witty jokes, and superb dialogue that actually expands upon the characters. For instance, in one scene, Cubert Farnsworth and Dwight Conrad, the clone of Professor Farnsworth and the offspring of Hermes Conrad exchange lines after a smell emits from their Dodecahedron die. They assume the other farted, and it starts predictably with “Her who smelt it dealt it”, but goes on longer than you would expect.

In addition, look for jabs at The Jetsons, Mork and Mindy, and even Deepak Chopra. One of my favorite scenes has George Takei (voiced by himself) bumping into Scott Bakula accusing him of “destroying the franchise.” Just fabulous. I appreciated the storyline on Leela’s anger management, and the history of Nibbler’s planet. You see, Nibbler is Leela’s pet, and when he craps, it can be used for…..oh nevermind. That concluding portion I mentioned launches the fantasy film spoof, which is handled with intelligence, and the majority of the gags avoid obvious genre clichés, but making fun of Lord of the Rings and even Star Wars in such a manner did not feel like Futurama. That is something I would have expected from Family Guy. It was hysterical don’t get me wrong, but audiences are accustomed to a heightened level of creativity. I suppose it was a mixed reaction.

Time is whizzing by just like the Planet Express ship normally does, and we are approaching the final adventure from the Futurama crew. While certain jokes and certain stories have been superior to others, having the smart writing, sharp characters, and beautiful animation back in any form has been a spectacular blessing. Bender’s Game has noticeable flaws, which unfortunately rest with the ending reality, but the overall taste is super sweet and funny as hell.

The Video

This is the third time that Futurama was made in high definition and widescreen. The result is an instant success. The picture is pristine, and the animation is gorgeous. Despite what anyone thinks of the storylines, I have always felt that Futurama was more visually invigorating than any other hand drawn animated program today. It takes 6-9 months to finish an entire episode from writing to animating and voice recording. To be more specific though, this series uses a mixture of CGI and hand drawn styles. This infuses the film with a completely distinctive guise. This is because the colors are wonderfully integrated, and the tones are always bright and bold. I detected no grain or blurs, but the picture was visibly fuzzy during some scene transitions. It was extremely sharp when in focus though. This is presented with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and has been enhanced for 16x9 television sets.

The Audio

No defects on the audio side of things. The dialogue is clear, and all the characters are lucid and understandable. My volume knob rested at a comfortable position throughout. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is pretty good with some nice sounding effects like the guns firing and the spaceships flying coming out of the speakers. The Demolition Derby scene will definitely provide some exercise for the speakers. For the most part, all was crisp and spectacular.

The Packaging

Futurama: Bender’s Game was distributed in an environment friendly cardboard carbon neutral case with very flashy artwork to grab any passerby’s attention. Inside is a cardboard binder like holder for the disc. On display are various designs, a lithograph, and an advertisement for Futurama comic books. On the back of the cover, a website is listed that reveals how this film reduced carbon emissions during production. Unfortunately these cases bend and tear easily. Al Gore would be proud though.

The Extras

Audio Commentary - This features a large group such as Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Billy West, John Di Maggio, Tress MacNeille, Michael Rowe, Claudia Katz, and Dwayne Carey-Hill. As usual, David X. Cohen is the person who provides the most interesting information and trivia. The rest just have a good time and fill in the dead spots. At times, Di Maggio goes into great length about his Dungeons & Dragons playing days, which can be weird unless you know how to play the game. These are always exciting commentaries with a laid back atmosphere, but constantly dropping neat tidbits.

Storyboard Animatic (21:47) – This is basically the hand-drawn sketches of the first portion of the film, complete with sound effects. This is cool to watch for a few minutes, but you kind of get the picture after that. If you are a passionate animator or love to draw, this is something you’ll watch the entire way through.

Futurama Genetics Lab - This bonus allows you to choose two characters and merge their DNA. I found this to be a blast, and combining the characters can easily distract you with no trouble.

Dungeons & Dragons & Futurama (7:03) – The majority of this is spent showing clips of old episodes where Dungeons & Dragons creatures or related lingo was discussed. The creators definitely know a lot about the game. The remaining part of this extra has David X. Cohen and others trying to be funny by acting like over the top D&D addicts. The clips were good, the rest was odd.

How to Draw Futurama in 83 Easy Steps (7:52) – No explanation needed for this one. Basically we enter different rooms in the studio and watch the animators complete a quick drawing of Zoidberg, Leela, and others. Again we have the crew acting silly.

3D Models with Animator Discussion (5:03) – This was extremely neat as it revealed all the intricate details of the ships displayed during the Demolition Derby sequence. You can spot the Enterprise, the Space 1999 ship, a Lego ship, and many more as the animators describe how they were constructed.

Deleted Scene (1:03) – The scene is entitled “Cup or Nozzle” and is actually quite funny as Cubert is force fed Slurmie, which must be the same as a Slushie. Sadly, this was the only deleted scene.

Blooperama 2 (1:50) – Unlike the Pixar films, which provide animated bloopers, this was behind the scenes slip ups, which is funny, but not what I anticipated. Still, it is always great to see the voices in action.

Bender’s Anti-Piracy Warning (1:12) – This spoofs one of the antipiracy commercials that would automatically play when you popped in a DVD. This was pretty comical, but anything with Bender is.

Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (1:13) – Last I heard, this would be the final film, and I have not heard about any other future material. This is a sneak peek of that DVD, set to be released in 2009 sometime. Of course it looks fantastic, and I hope to have the review for you.

Note: The rating for this film was determined according to standard DVDs, not Blu-Ray as well. Obviously the picture and sound quality of Blu-Ray is superior, but comparing the standard to that format would be like saying a VHS is inferior to a regular DVD. They are different, and must be rated as such.

The Film: 7.5/10.0
The Video: 8.0/10.0
The Audio: 9.0/10.0
The Packaging: 8.5/10.0
The Extras: 7.5/10.0

The 411: Futurama: Bender’s Game, the third DTV film has thankfully arrived and it is a blast to watch. The random humor is fresh and hilarious as usual from start to finish. Though I was a bit disappointed with the final quarter of the movie, I still laughed regularly at the how they handled the fantasy film jokes. The technical specifications are top-notch as always despite some slight picture issues. The extras are fun, but a lot smaller in quantity compared to the previous two DVD releases. Bender’s Big Score! was stacked with bonus features, and this is not as big. Check the running times for proof. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of Futurama, even a casual one, this is a definite purchase.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]