Movie Info
Movie Name: Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
Studio: The Curiosity Shop
Genre(s): Animated/Comedy/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date(s): October 19, 2008
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Yivo…the best girlfriend-boyfriend ever!
The universe has been ripped open anomaly hangs in the sky above Earth. Fry has found a new girlfriend at the potential end of days in a girl named Colleen, but Colleen has secrets of her own. Amy and Kif finally tie the knot as Amy becomes Kif’s Fonfon Ru, and Bender finds a secret society of robots called The League of Robots led by his idol Calculon. When a being named Yivo breaches the anomaly, the future of Planet Express…and Earth is in question.
Directed by Peter Avanzino, Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs is the second film following the series cancellation on FOX. Following Futurama: Bender’s Big Score in 2007, the series continues the story set out in that film and was released straight-to-DVD. It aired on October 19, 2008 on Comedy Central and is broken up into four episodes for syndication (sometimes being listed as Futurama—Season 5).
Steamboat Futurama!
Futurama was generally off my radar during its run. I would catch and episode here or there and enjoyed it, but for the most part I found it pretty average. With its cancellation in 2013, I went back and started to watch the series from the beginning…and found it much more enjoyable as a whole than as individual episodes.
I liked this movie entry into the series. At the beginning of the movie, I thought the story was wandering a bit too much, but it all comes together at the end. The story does date itself a little with references, but as someone who remembers almost all the references it is fun (I don’t know how well it will hold up down the line).
The show often is pretty sci-fi based, but this episode is more fantasy. I generally prefer the sci-fi episodes of Futurama because despite the comic presentation, they are generally accurate scientifically (kind of a like A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or Doctor Who). This is more of a sci-fi fantasy with the invading Yivo…it is still entertaining, but I probably like the sci-fi nature of the show more than the ’50s aspect.
Will Kif and Amy’s love last?!?!
The cast continues to be strong but this entry has some nice guest stars. Brittney Murphy stopped by from her regular spot on King of the Hill and this ended up being her last voice over work outside of it. David Cross is always fun and plays the lonely (and betrayed) Yivo and Stephen Hawking stops by for a visit.
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs continues to show Futurama has strength. I do think this entry stands alone a bit better than the previous film, but it still is primarily enjoyable for fans. Futurama seemed to be a misunderstood show (I misunderstood it), but it is a nice and different show from The Simpsons. Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs was followed by Futurama: Bender’s Game in 2009.
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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: Bender’s Big Score (2007)
