What is your favorite Futurama movie?

[Reply #160 on:]

Everybody else is doing it:

My current take...

Bender's Big Score:

It was a first attempt. It was laudable. It was a return to so much, and a deviation from so many comfort zones that we all had low expectations and were prepared to forgive a lot.

Which turned out to be fortunate, because there's a lot that needs forgiving. Nibbler speaking and nobody being too surprised, the Nibblonians being so ineffective against steel chairs, the whole spam/scammer thing, the closed time loop with no explanation, the whole film is riddled with snooks cocked in the face of continuity, with bizzare twists to a convoluted plot, and with totally un-necessary elements either added to or taken away from a thousand years of backstory... not to mention that the snooks cocked at continuity were hardly minor ones.

But it's enjoyable, watchable, and bears repeat viewing. It contains some pure Professor gold, some nuggets of genius from throwaway or secondary characters, and it has some beautiful CGI.

It's an average concept, it's an average execution, and it's a decent substitute for four average episodes.

Beast With A Billion Backs:

It starts with more snooks being cocked at continuity and at the very characters that had been established so clearly and so well, previously. It plays purely for shock value, provides mindless chuckles and is a thoroughly unintelligent movie. It could be removed from canon entirely without leaving much of a gaping hole.

Yet, it is also the film that explores the widest concepts, and as much as anything else tries to push the boundaries of what we have come to expect. It also does feature some wonderful little moments.

It's a solidly bad movie, with good highlights. It's a substitute for four terrible episodes with one great line each.

Bender's Game:

A departure from the usual themes, and a bold direction for a sci-fi cartoon. They tried hard, that much is obvious. But they failed to take account of what they should have learned from the other films. This one turned out pretty well for a zany comic romp with only one major plot point... but that's not saying much. Another average offering.

Into The Wild Green Yonder:

They learned lessons from the previous films, and managed to hit their stride for the finale. A return to Futurama's best, and a solid alternative to four excellent episodes or even a whole season of sub-par ones.

I think that the movie concept is proven with this one, and that the crew should either make more movies from this point, or start to put together runs of 20 or so episodes that continue on from one another, with a fully developed story arc that has a couple of red herrings, a climax, and a gripping season finale before we finally have perhaps two episodes that are more-or-less standalone and help wrap up loose ends nicely.

Either way, they've clearly grown beyond the previous format of the show, and that could be a great thing... if it is to continue.

[Reply #161 on:]

totalnerduk: You have expressed everything I feel in a concise and clean way. Sure makes my writing look like a pile of crap. Bravo!

[Reply #162 on:]

Wow, tnuk, I was agreeing with you along the way until your last statement about turning Futurama into some sort of The West Wing like show.  Well, with the continuing parts between episodes, not the political aspect.

My point is, if the writers only can hit the spot 1 out of 4 times, well, I'd rather want Futurama back in its original form.  I have no problem watching "A Leela of Her Own" because despite not being a very good episode, it is only 22 minutes long.  I have a problem watching The Beast with a Billion Backs again, because it is 88 minutes long.

I want episode length back, damn it!

[Reply #163 on:]

I want episode length back, damn it!

Agreed. I don't have a problem with aspects of the story that are interwoven throughout various episodes (like how "The Why of Fry" is somewhat of a continuation of "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid"), but too much acknowledgement of previous episodes and a strict adherence to continuity just wouldn't be Futurama to me. I'm stealing this sentiment from others on PEEL, but Futurama has never been the sort of show where you have to watch last week's episode to get what's happening in this week's. Having a season-long arc that plays a major role in almost every episode of the season would give the show a much different feel.

Regardless of whether or not they've matured as writers and are now capable of taking the show in different directions, I still think DXC and co.'s strengths lie in episodic format (hell, the first part of ItWGY is basically a self-contained episode), and that's where I'd like to see the show return.

That said, the ideal return situation, for me, would be an hour-long movie premiere that deals with that whole wormhole/fugitive business, then a run of 20-ish episodes that returns to the show's original, 22-minute, self-contained (for the most part) format.

[Reply #164 on:]

I think having a season-long story arc would be a really stringent constraint on the show.  Having mostly stand-alone episodes with running threads in the background seemed to fit Futurama's versatile, multi-layered style of humor and storytelling just fine.

They could certainly throw in the occasional multi-part episode from time to time, but if they have a truly spectacular, epic plot they should consider saving it for a possible theatrical release.

[Reply #165 on:]

Theatrical release - when will Groening make it happen?

[Reply #166 on:]

I'm not super-optimistic about Futurama ever making it back to a screen of any sort.  That being said, DXC and MG have both said that they'd like to do a proper feature film, and in this day and age of plummeting television ad revenues, a feature film does have its advantages.

[Reply #167 on:]

Wow, tnuk, I was agreeing with you along the way until your last statement about turning Futurama into some sort of The West Wing like show.  Well, with the continuing parts between episodes, not the political aspect.

My point is, if the writers only can hit the spot 1 out of 4 times, well, I'd rather want Futurama back in its original form.  I have no problem watching "A Leela of Her Own" because despite not being a very good episode, it is only 22 minutes long.  I have a problem watching The Beast with a Billion Backs again, because it is 88 minutes long.

I want episode length back, damn it!

I wasn't thinking West Wing, I was thinking Reaper. Episodic in nature but with a unifying story arc that ties all episodes together.

[Reply #168 on:]

To add some credence to totalnerduk's theory that a story arc could work I'd like to mention that there is already a very popular sitcom that used season long story arc's that worked without impacting your ability to randomly tune in: Seinfeld.

Season 4 of Seinfeld had Jerry and George writing up the pilot to Jerry's sitcom, Jerry. Season 7 of Seinfeld had George engaged to Susan. Both story arc's formed a backdrop to their respective seasons while still allowing the episodes to remain self-contained. They both came to satisfying conclusions and they even became part of the show's internal history (later episodes had Jerry try to resell the show to a Japanese broadcast station (807, The Checks) and George make it into an exclusive nightclub with his story as a "tragic" widow (803, The Bizzaro Jerry).

If Seinfeld can do it, why can't Futurama?

P.S. Am I the only one who gets annoyed at Susan's death? Not that they killed her off, more that they never explained why she decided to lick the death envelopes. Before she and George bought them he mentions that they'll buy some Elmer's on the way home. It be nice if they included a line like "Oh, I forgot to buy the Elmer's. Oh well, how hard could it be". I know it doesn't really matter and I don't care that much, it just bothers me. Drop me a PM if I missed a line.

[Reply #169 on:]

into the wild green yonder!

[Reply #170 on:]

Does anyone like benders game?

[Reply #171 on:]

That poll at the top suggests that at least 8 people do.

[Reply #172 on:]

Didn't know where to ask this but didn't wanna make a new topic but..

Does anyone know when ITWGY is gonna be on Comedy Central

[Reply #173 on:]

Go ahead and make the topic. There was one for Bender's Game: http://www.peelified.com/Futurama-Forum-1/Topic-17554-0-Whens_Benders_Game_coming.html

To answer your question: Bender's Game was released in November and premiered in April. Going by that I'd say since ITWGY was released in February it will premier in August.

[Reply #174 on:]

I can't decide.

[Reply #175 on:]

From best to worst...

1. Wild Green Yonder
2. Bender's Game
3. Bender's Big Score
4. Billion Backs

[Reply #176 on:]

I do not know if I have a favorite, but I can say that none of them disappointed me.  They all seemed to retain the old Futurama feel to a significant enough extent.  But maybe it is hard to be extremely critical haha.

[Reply #177 on:]

My reviews for each movie:

Bender's Big Score:  Awesome way for the show to make a comeback!  Loved the time traveling, Fry going back to the past, and everyone getting scammed by Nudar and his henchmen.  Although the flashbacks with Fry and Leelu got tiresome after a while, other than that, great movie!

Beast With a Billion Backs:  This one was my favorite of the four movies!  Hilarious parody of religious cults, loved the Deathball game, Bender and the 'League of Robots'.  Fantastic thrill ride from beginning to end!  Yivo was cool as well.  I know a lot of people say this is their least favorite of the four movies, mainly because my guess is nobody liked seeing Fry with Colleen.  Even Kiff dying and then coming back to life was great too! 


Bender's Game:  Another great Futurama movie!  The battle with Mom for dark matter, Leela's shock collar, the demolition, Bender getting sent to the robot nut house for getting too obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons.   Loved seeing the characters go on a medeval adventure!  I like medeval history, anyway.

Into The Wild Green Yonder:  Sorry to say, but, this was the worst of the Futurama movies.  Knowing that it might be the last Futurama ever is one of the reasons.   And as I explained in the 'Human Resources Department' about the treatment of Leela.  Making her get cruelly told off my Leo, joining the Feminstas and getting practically spat on for it, Zapp tracking them down and throwing her and the Feminstas in prison, and Leela getting attacked by The Dark One, and Leo almost beating the crap out of her before the end.   And the whole sexism thing was just downright abysmal.  I thought sexism didn't exist in the future anymore.  Fry's storyline with the Mad Hatters was no better either.  Leela deserved better than what she got in this movie.  The only part I liked was Bender and Fanny.   And the wormhole just left us hanging with a cliffhanger, and it made it seem like they all died.   And it looks like we might never know what happened to them.  If only ITWGY was something totally different.  Mars Vegas was stupid, too!  Futurama should've went out in a blaze of glory, not an unknown ending!


And that's my two cents. 

[Reply #178 on:]

My answer is basically: None of the above.

Granted that the movies have made the show's revival possible. Props for that.

But I remember eagerly buying BBS the first morning it was out, saving it for Xmas eve '07, popping it in the machine and sitting down  to watch it with my wife. We sat there for half a hour before even a mild chuckle emerged from our mouths. And it didn't get much better. Pretty much a laugh-free zone. We were amazed at how little we liked it. Our working theory was that space zombies took over the writing duties. I guess the other three movies were better, but nothing like the original show. I sure hope the Futurama crew doesn't try to keep doing what they did in the movies.

[Reply #179 on:]

I wish they were on this forum so they'd hear us and make sure they don't make a crappy series.

[Reply #180 on:]

BBS kinda destroyed Jurassic Bark. Bad move.

Not really. It tied back to it, made it make sense.

Of course, it destroyed the illusion that Seymour waited for Fry for a thousand years... which means you won't cry at the ending anymore, but that's surely an acceptable casualty given that it's still a very moving sequence?

Agreed. Still, everytime I watch the end of JB, even after having seen BBS, I still tear up. Same goes for Luck of the Fryish. The sequences are still sad regardless.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna agree with most everyone ever and say ITWGY, but I think BBS is great, too. I liiike the middle two movies, definitely BwaBB moreso than BG. First time I watched BG, I really couldn't get into it at all. Overall, it's pretty sloppily done, but in small doses, it's funny. Especially the beginning half. It's the one I've watched the least, though.

[Reply #181 on:]

Best to worst ranking for me:
1. Into the Wild Green Yonder
2. Beast With A Billion Backs
3. Bender's Big Score
4. Bender's Game


I never understood why people didn't like BWBB. I found it to be the funniest of all the movies; The League of Robots is a classic Futurama moment that will have to be mentioned again in the new episodes. Is there any other moments in any of the films that stand out as "has to be mentioned again" moments, whether plot, humor, or serious-wise, other than the obvious end of IWGY?

[Reply #182 on:]

BWABB dislike: Blah Blah Blah OOC Blah Blah Blah doesn't follow up on BBS Blah Blah Blah Crude Humor with little to no intelligent humor to counteract it Blah Blah Blah.

Referenced plot threads in future episodes: Well, let's see-

They'd have to mention Igner as the Professor's son in Future episodes. You could have him own PE during the PE Crew's time off (he is the Professor's oldest son). There is also plenty of material there for a rivalry between Cubert and Igner ("real" son versus clone son), a rivalry between the Professor and Wernstrom (I would imagine Wernstrum would make fun of the Professor for having the stupid son), and some stuff with Mom and her various relationships.

Future Fry's Past episodes might have to address BBS. It depends on whether you think Fry 2's life in the past is important to Fry 1's. If they set them before January 1st, 2000 at 12:30 A.M. then they wouldn't have to address Fry 2's life. After all, Fry 1's past doesn't involve what Fry 2 did. Fry 1's personal timeline in the past ended on January 1st, 2000 sometime around 12:35 A.M. (I haven't watched it in a while).

[Reply #183 on:]

I never understood why people didn't like BWBB. I found it to be the funniest of all the movies; The League of Robots is a classic Futurama moment that will have to be mentioned again in the new episodes. Is there any other moments in any of the films that stand out as "has to be mentioned again" moments, whether plot, humor, or serious-wise, other than the obvious end of IWGY?

I'm sort of a...reformed fan of "The Beast With a Billion Backs." First time I saw it (July-ish of 2008--it was the only movie that I wasn't eagerly awaiting), I was incredibly disappointed. I initially attributed this to the complete lack of continuity, in my eyes, between TBWaBB and BBS: BBS filled my shippy little heart with hope for the future of Fry and Leela. Leela had all but admitted that Fry was the only man she could ever love--the most conclusive evidence Fry had ever been given that, hey, maybe the cyclops chick likes me. So what was with this new woman? And, more perplexing still, why was Fry hopping through some dangerous anomaly when things didn't work out with her?

It just bothered me. Fry's deep, Colleen-related depression in TBWaBB struck me as his most out-of-character moment ever (and I'm still not a fan of him in the movie because of it). The lack of even a Lars call-back when Leela is commisserating with Amy over Kif's death also bugged me. And Leela's faux-comforting assurance to Fry at the Spaceport--"There are times when I also feel like you need to go away"--is not only cruel by her standards, but particularly out-of-character considering the events of BBS. Those three moments, in particular, turned me off.

So fast-forward about seven months, to the release of ItWGY. And finally, we are given some closure between Fry and Leela. And, what's more, though it seems a wee bit out-of-the-blue, it's still incredibly satisfying and convincing. My Futurama obsession is rekindled, and I spend a nice little weekend rewatching all four movies. And, wouldn't you know--this time around, I'm able to appreciate "The Beast With a Billion Backs" for what it is: a mindless monster movie with some hilarious moments (particularly those involving The League of Robots), decent genre send-ups (I really enjoy the Leela/Amy/Zapp escape-from-Yivo plot about halfway through the movie) a passable performance by David Cross (his defining line, for me, is "Your universe dresses provacatively"), and an ending that at least attempts to cover some emotional bases (what with all the would-be lovers arguing, and Bender's speech about love). I definitely think that the closure that we got in ItWGY made it possible for me to accept TBWaBB (I've often said that I look at it in terms of a season two episode, in which case the characterization makes better sense).

And then I reemerge here at PEEL, and I start arguing the merits of TBWaBB. In fact, I think I may be one of the few die-hard shippers who, while admitting to the movie's faults, still enjoys it quite a bit.

That said, I do understand why a lot of people were disappointed with TBWaBB. It's more plot-driven than character-driven--in fact, I'd go as far as to say that the only main character who actually acts like himself is Bender, what with the jealousy towards Fry's various romantic partners. Leela and Fry, however, are completely out-of-character (Fry moreso than Leela, IMO). This is definitely an example of the writers writing for the story, and not the characters--which I wouldn't have such an objection to in the abstract, but in execution you wind up with a movie that is totally gag-driven, with a hero and heroine who are almost unrecognizable at points. And there's nothing wrong with that, exactly, but I generally expect more from Futurama.

[Reply #184 on:]

There is no movie beter then Benders Big Score

[Reply #185 on:]

There is no movie beter then Benders Big Score

::blinks::
::shakes head::

You don't see too many movies, don't you?

[Reply #186 on:]

Not realy.

[Reply #187 on:]

Not realy.

Well, that little mystery is solved... 

[Reply #188 on:]

And thats the end of that.

[Reply #189 on:]

My favorite Futurama movies are:

Bender's Big Score

and

Into The Wild Green Yonder

It was pretty hard for me to vote for just one, as I like both those movies a lot.  XD  

But after some thinking, I went with Bender's Big Score, because I really love time-travel.  And I also loved how Fry got to go back to his own time.  

And as for ITWGY, I like it a lot because of the hilarious lines in the script.  All of the characters had awesome lines, of course.  But personally, I think Fry had the best lines in the whole movie!!!!  

[Reply #190 on:]

My favourite is by far Beast with a Billion Backs. Zapp Brannigan taking advantage of Amys grief was hilarious

[Reply #191 on:]

Still have to see BWABB and ITWGY, but out of the 2 I liked Bender's game. Just because it seemed like a "part" episode, and not a movie.

[Reply #192 on:]

I thought that too, I thought Benders Game was a good movie.

[Reply #193 on:]

Kelly and I watched ITWGY tonight.  She usually watches her DVD's on her computer (Being wheelchair-bound, it's easier to watch DVDs that way) but tonight we played it on the Home Theatre.  The 5.1 sound was great and I really enjoyed it more than the first time I watched it.

My complaint is the same as most people's - the first part with Fanny was just filler - the movie really didn't start to pick up speed until after Bender and Fanny split up.

The ship between Fry and Leela built up slowly - I have to say that the end wasn't tacked on but was the payoff for F/L's increasing affection for each other.  Fry was trying to help Leela and kept it secret while Leela constantly defended Fry.

The sperm and egg thing at the end was just wayyyy too over-the-top, but it did make for a nice story.

[Reply #194 on:]

I thought that too, I thought Benders Game was a good movie.

God, finally I find someone

Anywho, I'm going to torrent the rest tommarow probably

And I don't get how people don't like BG.


I can see why just, come on. How could you of not laughed at the knife part. I just liked it, because it was SO GOD DAMN true all infomertials are like that(I can't spell ffff)

[Reply #195 on:]

Damnit Gorky you spoiled the movie for me.  Oh well.

[Reply #196 on:]

I thought that too, I thought Benders Game was a good movie.

God, finally I find someone

Anywho, I'm going to torrent the rest tommarow probably

Dude, pirating and torretting things, especially Futurama. is frowned upon on this site.

If you're purchasing a digital copy, that's fine but the reason we're getting the renewal of the series is because it did turn a decent profit.

This isn't attacking you in any way, it's just how the mods and admins police this site.

As for BG, it had its moments.  I'm one of the biggest fans of Leela's shock collar.  The funny thing was, nobody offered to take the thing off of her.

[Reply #197 on:]

As for BG, it had its moments.  I'm one of the biggest fans of Leela's shock collar.  The funny thing was, nobody offered to take the thing off of her.

Leela in BG used to annoy the hell out of me because the writers made her so one-dimensionally angry. They took one aspect of Leela's personality and made it entirely who she is. But, I got over it a little by telling myself that the shock collar is why she was acting so angry. After all, it didn't start feeling good to her till sometime around when they invaded Mom's fortress. Plus, the bits with it are funny.

As for Game, I think the first half (Leela's OOC-ness aside) is fantastic. It definitely feels like a classic Futurama episode. Hell, if you pretend that Igner told the Professor his secret in the Nibblonian chamber and  the fantasy bit didn't happen, it's a great Mom story.

The second half wouldn't have been so disappointing in 2004. The jokes would have worked (at least a little more) back then. But the jokes are tired and have mostly been done before by just about everybody else. Plus, just when that segment was actually starting to get good (for me) it ends. Classic Fantasy is always long and epic. Pushing the fantasy section down to 44 minutes made it lose that all important feeling.

The writers really should have made the Dark Matter Storyline and the Fantasy Storyline separate episodes. But it's still pretty good as a combined episode (if feeling like two separate episodes stitched together).

[Reply #198 on:]

Damnit Gorky you spoiled the movie for me.  Oh well.

Uh, sorry.

As for "Bender's Game": I agree that everything preceeding the fantasy segment is enjoyable. Maybe it's because I'm not into RPGs, LotR, or anything else in the fantasy genre--but it all just fell flat for me. It wasn't unfunny, per se (it had its moments; I actually really liked the infomercial bit, though it was a little, shall we say, Family Guy-ish in how long they carried it out), but I found it mostly boring. And it's weird, because I liked it initially (better than "The Beast With a Billion Backs"). But now, it's the only movie (with the exception of TBWaBB on my first viewing) that I feel really can't end soon enough.

[Reply #199 on:]

On a related note, the second half of BWABB is the point when that movie falls flat for me. Sure, the first half does have a lot of OOC moments, it doesn't always go after the main plot of "giant rip in space", and overall the humor is crude with little to no intelligent humor to counter it (one of Futurama's strengths to me was it's great mix of High and Low-Brow humor), but it's overall enjoyable past it's faults and crude humor doesn't mean unfunny humor.

By contrast the second half doesn't have nearly as many laughs. It focuses more on the horror aspect (3rd Chapter) and screwed up relationship (4th chapter). Neither of those things work for me. I don't like the Beast as a character and since the second half doesn't focus on humor as much as the first half, I'm left with a lot of time to think, meaning a lot of time to get pissed off at the OOC-ness of it all. If it was funny I could have let it go, but it isn't.

Whatever. I can always tell myself that Fry didn't board the Nimbus and that the Universe-to-Universe Missile worked (the first chapter is the best one anyway).