Movie Info
Movie Name: Futurama: Bender’s Big Score
Studio: The Curiosity Company
Genre(s): Animated/Comedy/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date(s): November 27, 2007
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Bender’s coming at you…or is that Benders
Planet Express is back in business after their cancellation by the BOX Company…at least for a moment. A delivery to a nude beach opens up Earth to attacks from the scammers Nudar, Fleb, and Schlump…and it looks like Earth is going to be forced to sell out. When Nudar, Fleb, and Schlump discover Fry has a tattoo which can transport them into the past, it seems the perfect opportunity to rob the world of all the information with Bender as their time travelling slave! With a parallel Fry living in 2000 and tending to a narwhale named Leelu, the Fry of the future finds his life wrecked by the arrival of Lars…who appears to be the man Leela’s has always wanted!
Directed by Dwayne Carey-Hill, Futurama: Bender’s Big Score was a straight-to-DVD film which picks up the series two years after its cancellation at FOX. The full length film aired on Comedy Central on March 23, 2008 and is often broken up into four episodes (sometimes listed as Futurama—Season 5).
I’m sure this is going to work out…
Futurama was a series that really grew on me. The first time I watched it, I didn’t really enjoy it. I wasn’t able to watch it regular schedule and the series often had more continuing storylines when compared to its sister series The Simpsons. The full-length picture does feel bigger and better than the TV series.
Futurama was always rather smart in its science-fiction. The time travelling stuff has some real science-fiction aspects to it and the episode is really worth watching more than once to unravel all the time travelling. The movie smartly parallels Fry’s stories in the past and future and manages to tie them to the scammers in the future. I also like that the story always comes back to Fry’s freezing and the moments before and after…plus, we get more Seymour Asses!
The movie features the return of the great cast regulars including Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, and Phil LaMarr. It also features guest voices by Frank Welker, Coolio, Al Gore, Mark Hamill, and Sarah Silverman.
I know you think we’re hot!
The animation for the film didn’t change and is consistant with the series. I think it probably would have been jarring if Futurama had modernized the art for the series or changed a bunch. The decision to keep the art the same was a good choice.
Futurama: Bender’s Big Score was the first of four movies before leading into Futurama—Season 6. The lasting survival of Futurama is an interesting case and this restart sets up the next chapter of the animated series. Futurama: Bender’s Big Score leads into the next film Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs in 2008.
Related Links:
Futurama—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
Futurama—Season 2 Review and Complete Episode Guide
Futurama—Season 3 Review and Complete Episode Guide
Futurama—Season 4 Review and Complete Episode Guide
Futurama—Season 5 Review and Complete Episode Guide
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008)
