Futurama: Bender's Game
Encyclopedia
Futurama: Bender's Game is the third of the four direct-to-DVD Futurama
films that make up the show's fifth season
. It was released on November 4, 2008 on DVD and Blu-ray.
According to the Beast with a Billion Backs
commentary, the film, which spoofs Dungeons & Dragons
, was in production when Dungeons & Dragons creator, E. Gary Gygax, died. The film contains a post-credits
tribute to Gygax in the form of a title card and a clip of him from the episode "Anthology of Interest I
". Elements of J. R. R. Tolkien
's The Lord of the Rings
and George Lucas
' Star Wars
are also parodied. The title of the film is a pun on the book Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card
, though the Futurama film has "very little to do with the subject material" of the book.
's orders to conserve fuel due to a rise in dark matter
prices, Leela borrows the Planet Express ship
to enter a demolition derby
after being insulted by rednecks. They win it, however the ship is wrecked, but due to botched laser eye surgery, the Professor only notices that the fuel has been used. As punishment, Leela is fitted with a shock collar
to teach her anger management. Meanwhile, Bender finds Cubert
and Dwight playing Dungeons & Dragons
with their friends, but he cannot join in since, as a robot, he has no imagination. After several tries at imagining things, Bender manages to imagine himself as a medieval knight named "Titanius Inglesmith, fancy man of Cornwood" and enters the game. Unfortunately, he soon gets lost in his fantasy and goes on a rampage, resulting in his commitment to the Hal Institute for Criminally Insane Robots
.
The crew learns that Mom
, who controls the world's only Dark Matter mine, is restricting the supply in order to drive up profits. The Professor reveals to the crew that while working for her many years ago, he stumbled on a way to turn dark matter from a useless curiosity into starship fuel. The process created two energy crystals, with Mom keeping one for herself and Farnsworth hiding the other, "anti-backwards" crystal. If the two crystals are brought together, they will render all dark matter useless. Farnsworth has forgotten where he hid his crystal, but it is being used as a 12-sided die in the kids' D&D game. Mom determines its location and sends her sons Walt, Larry and Igner to retrieve it, by saying that they are owl exterminators, but Farnsworth foils their attempt by sending an angry owl at them, messing up their plan since they do not know how to exterminate owls. Farnsworth, Fry, and Leela fly to Mom's mine with the crystal in order to neutralize the dark matter.
Reaching Mom's mine, the trio discovers the heart of the operation: thousands of captive Nibblonians, including Nibbler
, being force fed chickens in order to collect their excreted dark matter. Igner spots them, having earlier overheard Mom telling his brothers a secret about him, and helps them reach Mom's office. Farnsworth tries to bring his and Mom's crystals together, but swallows his in order to keep it out of Mom's hands.
In the robot asylum, Bender is diagnosed with insanity and is due for a "Robotomy" in order to remove his imagination processor. The closeness of the two dark matter crystals triggers a resonance in all dark matter—including a stockpile Bender has stored within his body—and catapults all the characters into Cornwood, the realm Bender imagines himself to be from. The other members of the Planet Express crew (Hermes
, Zoidberg, and Amy
) are transported as well.
"Frydo"
(Fry) and "Leegola"
(Leela, now a centaur
) emerge first and encounter Titanius (Bender); no one in Cornwood has any memory of their real-world lives, except for Fry and Leela. The three are attacked by "Waltazar" (Walt), "Larius" (Larry) and "Ignus" (Igner), who are trying to recover the anti-backwards crystal. While fighting them off, Frydo drops the crystal, which rolls like a die and magically banishes the sons from the area to the Swamp Hag
's swamp. Frydo and company meet the wizard "Greyfarn"
(Farnsworth), who explains that in this world, the anti-backwards crystal is known as the Die of Power
. The evil snake-haired sorceress "Momon"
(Mom) molded a set of powerful dice, but lost this one and has been trying to locate it so she can tap its immense potential. The only way to stop Momon is to enter her lair at the Geysers of Gygax
and throw the Die into the lake of molten plastic
from which it was formed, destroying it.
As the group sets out, the intersexual, pacifist centaur "Hermaphrodite
" (Hermes) bars their passage, since the centaurs are opposed to the violence that Frydo and company intend to do. However, (s)he is easily pushed aside by Leela, who leads everyone to the Cave of Hopelessness
. As they approach, "Gynecaladriel"
(Amy): Queen of the Water Nymphos
joins their quest and seduces the guard, enabling them to enter the Cave. Inside the Cave, a horde of "Morcs"
(orcs) attacks followed by a gigantic lobster creature (Zoidberg) which Leegola brutally cuts to pieces in a rage, and the wormlike Tunneling Horror
which Frydo defeats using the Die. As Frydo becomes obsessed with the Die
, Leegola renounces violence after realizing Zoidberg was not the tunnelling horror, and flees to take refuge among the centaurs. That night, Frydo makes a botched attempt to murder the other members of the party; when foiled, he flees with the die.
The remaining travelers journey to Wipe Castle
to raise an army against Momon, only to find that Roberto, its insane king
, has already sent his men on a pointless suicide mission. The heroes defend the kingdom alone as Waltazar and Larius lay siege to it, until Leegola regains her violent nature and rallies the centaurs to help her friends. Frydo makes his way into Momon's lair, aided by Zoidberg's still-living head; Frydo cannot bring himself to destroy the Die, so Zoidberg bites him to force him to drop it. Momon becomes a dragon
and goes after the Die, but when it stops rolling, it turns Frydo into a dragon as well. The rest of the party arrives, along with Ignus, who reveals a secret Momon told his brothers: he is Greyfarn's son. Overwhelmed by this revelation, Greyfarn falls on the Zoidberg creature (who had claimed the Die), allowing Momon to seize the Die.
Cornwood collapses in on itself, hurling the characters back into the real world. With the crystal back in the Professor's stomach, Mom once again orders Walt and Larry to retrieve it. Before his moment of discomfort, the Professor requests a hug from Igner. Mom complies, saying someone should hug him as she never has. As the Professor had theorized, Igner had swallowed Mom's crystal in defiance and the hug brings the crystals in the two men's stomachs close enough to render all dark matter useless, breaking Mom's stranglehold on the fuel supply. As a temporary propulsion source, the crew harnesses dozens of Nibblonians to pull their ship home, which they call "Nibbler Power".
. Similar to the previous film
, instead of the ship crashing into the Jumbotron as in a regular episode, it gets absorbed through the screen, whereupon the opening sequence becomes a parody of the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine. The crew flies by bits of the number e
then smashes back out through the screen and into the real world.
. Easter Eggs show David X. Cohen displaying a collection of different Polyhedrons, and extra outtakes of Billy West.
The Blu-ray also exclusively features Picture-in-Picture video footage of the commentary.
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
films that make up the show's fifth season
Futurama (season 5)
Futurama fifth production season began airing in March 2008 and concluded after 16 episodes on August 30, 2009. The episodes were TV versions and edits of the four DVD movies. This list is for the TV versions.-Production:...
. It was released on November 4, 2008 on DVD and Blu-ray.
According to the Beast with a Billion Backs
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs is an animated science-fiction comedy film, the second of the four Futurama straight-to-DVD films. The film was released in the United States and Canada on June 24, 2008, followed by a UK release on June 30, 2008 and an Australian release on August 6, 2008....
commentary, the film, which spoofs Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, was in production when Dungeons & Dragons creator, E. Gary Gygax, died. The film contains a post-credits
Post-credits scene
A post-credits scene is a short clip that appears after some or all of the closing credits of a film have run...
tribute to Gygax in the form of a title card and a clip of him from the episode "Anthology of Interest I
Anthology of Interest I
"Anthology of Interest I" is episode sixteen in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 21, 2000. This episode, as well as the later "Anthology of Interest II", serves to showcase three "imaginary" stories, in a manner similar to the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes of...
". Elements of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
and George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
' Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
are also parodied. The title of the film is a pun on the book Ender's Game
Ender's Game
Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional...
by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
, though the Futurama film has "very little to do with the subject material" of the book.
Plot
Ignoring Professor FarnsworthHubert J. Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
's orders to conserve fuel due to a rise in dark matter
Dark matter
In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
prices, Leela borrows the Planet Express ship
Planet Express Ship
The Planet Express Ship is a fictional spaceship in the animated series Futurama, which bears the official designation "U.S.S. Planet Express Ship." The ship was designed and built by Professor Hubert Farnsworth and is the sole delivery ship of Planet Express, a delivery service owned by the...
to enter a demolition derby
Demolition derby
Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...
after being insulted by rednecks. They win it, however the ship is wrecked, but due to botched laser eye surgery, the Professor only notices that the fuel has been used. As punishment, Leela is fitted with a shock collar
Shock collar
The term shock collar is a term used in order to describe a family of training collars that deliver shocks of varying intensity and duration to the neck of a dog via a radio controlled electronic device...
to teach her anger management. Meanwhile, Bender finds Cubert
Cubert Farnsworth
Cubert Farnsworth is a fictional character, Professor Farnsworth's clone from the animated television series Futurama. He was created from a growth on Professor Farnsworth's back in 2989. Cubert differs from the Professor in appearance due to his nose being squashed up against the wall of his...
and Dwight playing Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
with their friends, but he cannot join in since, as a robot, he has no imagination. After several tries at imagining things, Bender manages to imagine himself as a medieval knight named "Titanius Inglesmith, fancy man of Cornwood" and enters the game. Unfortunately, he soon gets lost in his fantasy and goes on a rampage, resulting in his commitment to the Hal Institute for Criminally Insane Robots
Insane in the Mainframe
"Insane in the Mainframe" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American animated sitcom Futurama, and originally aired in North America on April 8, 2001. The episode was written by Peter Avanzino and directed by Bill Odenkirk. In the episode, Fry and Bender are admitted to an insane...
.
The crew learns that Mom
Mom (Futurama)
Mom, real first name Carol, is a character from the animated television series Futurama. Voiced by Tress MacNeille. Mom is one of the show's two main antagonists, the other being Zapp Brannigan...
, who controls the world's only Dark Matter mine, is restricting the supply in order to drive up profits. The Professor reveals to the crew that while working for her many years ago, he stumbled on a way to turn dark matter from a useless curiosity into starship fuel. The process created two energy crystals, with Mom keeping one for herself and Farnsworth hiding the other, "anti-backwards" crystal. If the two crystals are brought together, they will render all dark matter useless. Farnsworth has forgotten where he hid his crystal, but it is being used as a 12-sided die in the kids' D&D game. Mom determines its location and sends her sons Walt, Larry and Igner to retrieve it, by saying that they are owl exterminators, but Farnsworth foils their attempt by sending an angry owl at them, messing up their plan since they do not know how to exterminate owls. Farnsworth, Fry, and Leela fly to Mom's mine with the crystal in order to neutralize the dark matter.
Reaching Mom's mine, the trio discovers the heart of the operation: thousands of captive Nibblonians, including Nibbler
Nibbler (Futurama)
Lord Nibbler is a fictional character from the animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Frank Welker, who provides not only his speaking lines but also the various noises he makes when not speaking English....
, being force fed chickens in order to collect their excreted dark matter. Igner spots them, having earlier overheard Mom telling his brothers a secret about him, and helps them reach Mom's office. Farnsworth tries to bring his and Mom's crystals together, but swallows his in order to keep it out of Mom's hands.
In the robot asylum, Bender is diagnosed with insanity and is due for a "Robotomy" in order to remove his imagination processor. The closeness of the two dark matter crystals triggers a resonance in all dark matter—including a stockpile Bender has stored within his body—and catapults all the characters into Cornwood, the realm Bender imagines himself to be from. The other members of the Planet Express crew (Hermes
Hermes Conrad
Hermes Conrad is a fictional character in the Futurama animated series. He is voiced by Phil LaMarr.- Appearance and personality :Born in 2959, Hermes is a grade 36 bureaucrat from Jamaica. He manages the Planet Express delivery business with responsibilities that include paying bills, giving out...
, Zoidberg, and Amy
Amy Wong
Amy Wong, voiced by Lauren Tom, is a fictional character, one of the main characters from the Fox and Comedy Central television animated series Futurama. She works as an intern at Planet Express...
) are transported as well.
"Frydo"
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
(Fry) and "Leegola"
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
(Leela, now a centaur
Centaur
In Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...
) emerge first and encounter Titanius (Bender); no one in Cornwood has any memory of their real-world lives, except for Fry and Leela. The three are attacked by "Waltazar" (Walt), "Larius" (Larry) and "Ignus" (Igner), who are trying to recover the anti-backwards crystal. While fighting them off, Frydo drops the crystal, which rolls like a die and magically banishes the sons from the area to the Swamp Hag
Hag
A hag is a wizened old woman, or a kind of fairy or goddess having the appearance of such a woman, often found in folklore and children's tales such as Hansel and Gretel. Hags are often seen as malevolent, but may also be one of the chosen forms of shapeshifting deities, such as the Morrígan or...
's swamp. Frydo and company meet the wizard "Greyfarn"
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
(Farnsworth), who explains that in this world, the anti-backwards crystal is known as the Die of Power
Rings of Power
The Rings of Power in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium are magical rings created by Sauron or by the Elves of Eregion under Sauron's tutelage...
. The evil snake-haired sorceress "Momon"
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
(Mom) molded a set of powerful dice, but lost this one and has been trying to locate it so she can tap its immense potential. The only way to stop Momon is to enter her lair at the Geysers of Gygax
Mount Doom
Mount Doom is a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. It is located in the heart of the black land of Mordor and close to Barad-dûr, it is approximately high. Alternative names, in Tolkien's invented language of Sindarin, include Orodruin and Amon Amarth...
and throw the Die into the lake of molten plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
from which it was formed, destroying it.
As the group sets out, the intersexual, pacifist centaur "Hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
" (Hermes) bars their passage, since the centaurs are opposed to the violence that Frydo and company intend to do. However, (s)he is easily pushed aside by Leela, who leads everyone to the Cave of Hopelessness
Moria (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains...
. As they approach, "Gynecaladriel"
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
(Amy): Queen of the Water Nymphos
Hypersexuality
Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased sexual urges or sexual activity. Hypersexuality is typically associated with lowered sexual inhibitions. Although hypersexuality can be caused by some medical conditions or medications, in most cases the cause is unknown...
joins their quest and seduces the guard, enabling them to enter the Cave. Inside the Cave, a horde of "Morcs"
Mork and Mindy
Mork & Mindy is an American science fiction sitcom broadcast from 1978 until 1982 on ABC. The series starred Robin Williams as Mork, an alien who comes to Earth from the planet Ork in a small, one-man egg-shaped spaceship. Pam Dawber co-starred as Mindy McConnell, his human friend and roommate...
(orcs) attacks followed by a gigantic lobster creature (Zoidberg) which Leegola brutally cuts to pieces in a rage, and the wormlike Tunneling Horror
Sandworm (Dune)
The sandworm is a fictional form of desert-dwelling creature from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. They first appear in the 1965 novel Dune, considered to be among the classics in the science fiction genre, and are iconic of the Dune series.In the series, the sandworms called Shai-Hulud...
which Frydo defeats using the Die. As Frydo becomes obsessed with the Die
Gollum
Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....
, Leegola renounces violence after realizing Zoidberg was not the tunnelling horror, and flees to take refuge among the centaurs. That night, Frydo makes a botched attempt to murder the other members of the party; when foiled, he flees with the die.
The remaining travelers journey to Wipe Castle
White Castle (restaurant)
White Castle is an American regional fast food hamburger restaurant chain in the Midwestern United States and in the New York metropolitan area, and the first of its kind in the US. It is known for its small, square hamburgers. Sometimes referred to as "sliders", the burgers were priced at five...
to raise an army against Momon, only to find that Roberto, its insane king
Denethor
Denethor II of the House of Húrin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, which is the third and final part of his novel The Lord of the Rings. In the novel, he is the 26th and penultimate ruling Steward of Gondor....
, has already sent his men on a pointless suicide mission. The heroes defend the kingdom alone as Waltazar and Larius lay siege to it, until Leegola regains her violent nature and rallies the centaurs to help her friends. Frydo makes his way into Momon's lair, aided by Zoidberg's still-living head; Frydo cannot bring himself to destroy the Die, so Zoidberg bites him to force him to drop it. Momon becomes a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
and goes after the Die, but when it stops rolling, it turns Frydo into a dragon as well. The rest of the party arrives, along with Ignus, who reveals a secret Momon told his brothers: he is Greyfarn's son. Overwhelmed by this revelation, Greyfarn falls on the Zoidberg creature (who had claimed the Die), allowing Momon to seize the Die.
Cornwood collapses in on itself, hurling the characters back into the real world. With the crystal back in the Professor's stomach, Mom once again orders Walt and Larry to retrieve it. Before his moment of discomfort, the Professor requests a hug from Igner. Mom complies, saying someone should hug him as she never has. As the Professor had theorized, Igner had swallowed Mom's crystal in defiance and the hug brings the crystals in the two men's stomachs close enough to render all dark matter useless, breaking Mom's stranglehold on the fuel supply. As a temporary propulsion source, the crew harnesses dozens of Nibblonians to pull their ship home, which they call "Nibbler Power".
Continuity
- There is no development of Amy's relationship with Kif, which was implied to have ended in Futurama: The Beast with a Billion BacksFuturama: The Beast with a Billion BacksFuturama: The Beast with a Billion Backs is an animated science-fiction comedy film, the second of the four Futurama straight-to-DVD films. The film was released in the United States and Canada on June 24, 2008, followed by a UK release on June 30, 2008 and an Australian release on August 6, 2008....
and later came back in the end of Futurama: Into the Wild Green YonderFuturama: Into the Wild Green YonderFuturama: Into the Wild Green Yonder is the last of a series of four straight-to-DVD Futurama movies. The movie was written by Ken Keeler, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by Peter Avanzino. Guest stars include Phil Hendrie, Penn Jillette , Snoop Dogg and Seth...
. - Bender is sent to the HALHAL 9000HAL 9000 is the antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction Space Odyssey saga. HAL is an artificial intelligence that interacts with the astronaut crew of the Discovery One spacecraft, usually represented as a red television-camera eye found throughout the ship...
institute as in "Insane In The MainframeInsane in the Mainframe"Insane in the Mainframe" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American animated sitcom Futurama, and originally aired in North America on April 8, 2001. The episode was written by Peter Avanzino and directed by Bill Odenkirk. In the episode, Fry and Bender are admitted to an insane...
". Also at the institute is Roberto, who in the aforementioned episode escaped only to be arrested again. Roberto was seen briefly in line for an upgrade in "Obsoletely FabulousObsoletely Fabulous"Obsoletely Fabulous" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama.-Plot:At a robot expo, Mom's Friendly Robot Co. introduces a new, more advanced robot: Robot 1-X. Feeling unwanted after Professor Farnsworth buys one to help out around the office, Bender decides to get a...
", but has presumably been sent back to the institute since then. - Farnsworth relates the third and, so far, final time he got back together with Mom, before the relationship ended once again; this time, with him being fired.
- Nibbler, having previously blanked Fry's mind to prevent him telling the others that he could speak, was not seen doing the same at the end of Bender's Big Score. This is addressed when the crew members point this out to Nibbler when he asks them why they are not surprised to hear him speak, although they do not explain how they know that he has the ability to blank minds. They did not say anything about what they knew, because Nibbler's pet behavior was 'cute'.
- The history of Mom's monopoly of dark matter, as related by Nibbler, recalls events in the episode "Love's Labours Lost in SpaceLove's Labours Lost in Space"Love's Labours Lost in Space" is the fourth episode in season one of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 13, 1999. The episode was written by Brian Kelley and directed by Brian Sheesley. This episode introduces the recurring character Zapp Brannigan when he attempts to prevent...
". - Nibbler refers to "Mom's Friendly Robots" as having been started 36 years earlier (approximately 2971) as a new enterprise within Mom's business empire, even though "A Tale of Two SantasA Tale of Two Santas"A Tale of Two Santas" is the third episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on December 16, 2001.-Plot:It is Xmas again and everyone is locking down for the arrival of Robot Santa. The Professor sends the crew to deliver children's letters directly to Santa at his...
" and "Mother's DayMother's Day (Futurama)"Mother's Day" is episode fourteen in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 14, 2000.- Plot :Every Mother's Day, robots made in Mom's Friendly Robot Company factories around the world give gifts, money and cards to the owner of the corporation, Mom.She,...
" refer to much earlier activities of the company.
Cast
Actor | Character |
---|---|
Billy West Billy West William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival... |
Philip J. Fry / Frydo Philip J. Fry Philip J. Fry, known simply as Fry, is a fictional character, the main protagonist of the animated science fiction sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25.-Character overview:... Professor Farnsworth / Greyfarn Hubert J. Farnsworth Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery... Dr. Zoidberg / Monster Additional voices |
Katey Sagal Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first achieved widespread fame as Peggy Bundy on the long-running Fox comedy series Married..... |
Leela / Leegola |
John DiMaggio John DiMaggio John William DiMaggio is an American voice actor. A native of North Plainfield, New Jersey, he is known for his gruff, deep voice and New Jersey accent, which he uses to voice mainly villains and anti-heroes.-Filmography:... |
Bender / Titanius Anglesmith Igner / Ignus Additional voices |
Tress MacNeille Tress MacNeille Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the... |
Mom / Momon Mom (Futurama) Mom, real first name Carol, is a character from the animated television series Futurama. Voiced by Tress MacNeille. Mom is one of the show's two main antagonists, the other being Zapp Brannigan... Nurse Ratchet Additional voices |
Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey... |
Walt / Waltazar Dr. Perceptron Insane in the Mainframe "Insane in the Mainframe" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American animated sitcom Futurama, and originally aired in North America on April 8, 2001. The episode was written by Peter Avanzino and directed by Bill Odenkirk. In the episode, Fry and Bender are admitted to an insane... Additional voices |
Phil LaMarr Phil LaMarr Phillip "Phil" LaMarr is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. One of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv, he is also known for his small, but memorable role as Marvin in Pulp Fiction... |
Hermes Conrad / Hermaphrodite Hermes Conrad Hermes Conrad is a fictional character in the Futurama animated series. He is voiced by Phil LaMarr.- Appearance and personality :Born in 2959, Hermes is a grade 36 bureaucrat from Jamaica. He manages the Planet Express delivery business with responsibilities that include paying bills, giving out... Dwight Conrad Additional voices |
Lauren Tom Lauren Tom Lauren Tom is an American actress and voice actress perhaps best known for her roles as Lena St Clair in The Joy Luck Club, Julie in the TV series Friends, and for providing the voices for both mother and daughter characters on two animated TV comedy series: on Futurama she voices Amy Wong and her... |
Amy Wong / Gynecaladriel Amy Wong Amy Wong, voiced by Lauren Tom, is a fictional character, one of the main characters from the Fox and Comedy Central television animated series Futurama. She works as an intern at Planet Express... Additional voices |
David Herman David Herman David Herman is an American actor, comedian and voice actor best known as an original cast member of MADtv and for his role as Michael Bolton in Office Space. He is also known for his voice roles on television programs such as Futurama and King of the Hill.- Biography :David Herman was born in New... |
Larry / Larius Roberto / King of Wipe Castle Additional voices |
Kath Soucie Kath Soucie Katherine Elaine Soucie is an American voice actress. She is sometimes credited as Kath Soucie, Katherine Soucie, Kath Souci, Kath E... |
Cubert Farnsworth Cubert Farnsworth Cubert Farnsworth is a fictional character, Professor Farnsworth's clone from the animated television series Futurama. He was created from a growth on Professor Farnsworth's back in 2989. Cubert differs from the Professor in appearance due to his nose being squashed up against the wall of his... Additional voices |
Frank Welker Frank Welker Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:... |
Nibbler Nibbler (Futurama) Lord Nibbler is a fictional character from the animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Frank Welker, who provides not only his speaking lines but also the various noises he makes when not speaking English.... Additional voices |
Gary Gygax Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games.... |
Himself (archive -taken from Anthology of Interest I Anthology of Interest I "Anthology of Interest I" is episode sixteen in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 21, 2000. This episode, as well as the later "Anthology of Interest II", serves to showcase three "imaginary" stories, in a manner similar to the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes of... ) |
Rich Little Rich Little Richard Caruthers "Rich" Little is a Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor. He has long been known throughout the world as a top impersonator of famous people, resulting in his nickname, "The Man of a Thousand Voices".... |
Himself |
George Takei George Takei George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the... |
Himself |
David X. Cohen David X. Cohen David Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:... Paul D. Calder Danik Thomas |
Die of Power (uncredited, singing harmony) |
Opening sequence
The opening subtitle of the DVD and the first part of the broadcast version is "The flames in your TV are not part of the show". The cartoon on the Jumbotron is Quasi at the QuackaderoQuasi at the Quackadero
"Quasi at the Quackadero" is a 1975 animated short by Sally Cruikshank. This cartoon follows two ducks and a pet robot at an amusement park in the future where time travel is exploited...
. Similar to the previous film
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs is an animated science-fiction comedy film, the second of the four Futurama straight-to-DVD films. The film was released in the United States and Canada on June 24, 2008, followed by a UK release on June 30, 2008 and an Australian release on August 6, 2008....
, instead of the ship crashing into the Jumbotron as in a regular episode, it gets absorbed through the screen, whereupon the opening sequence becomes a parody of the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine. The crew flies by bits of the number e
E (mathematical constant)
The mathematical constant ' is the unique real number such that the value of the derivative of the function at the point is equal to 1. The function so defined is called the exponential function, and its inverse is the natural logarithm, or logarithm to base...
then smashes back out through the screen and into the real world.
DVD
The DVD features an Audio Commentary, Storyboard Animatic, Futurama Genetics Lab, Dungeons & Dragons and Futurama featurette, How to draw Futurama in 83 easy steps Featurette, Deleted scene, 3D Model with Animator Discussion, Outtakes, Bender's Anti-Piracy Warning and sneak peek at Futurama: Into the Wild Green YonderFuturama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder is the last of a series of four straight-to-DVD Futurama movies. The movie was written by Ken Keeler, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by Peter Avanzino. Guest stars include Phil Hendrie, Penn Jillette , Snoop Dogg and Seth...
. Easter Eggs show David X. Cohen displaying a collection of different Polyhedrons, and extra outtakes of Billy West.
The Blu-ray also exclusively features Picture-in-Picture video footage of the commentary.
External links
- Bender's Game at The Infosphere.