Funny skill +7
When Bender wants to be a part of a Dungeons and Dragons-esque game, he soon discovers that he may not have an imagination. When he finally gets one, it turns into something worse and starts controlling him. As he is working it out, his counterparts discover that they are having a tough time getting Dark Matter for their vehicle to continue the company’s delivery business. When they go to confront Mom, who monopolizes the Dark Matter business, they are somehow transported (through the communication of two crystals — really two dice) into the imagination of Bender, who now lives/plays within a place called Cornwood. Now, they must save Cornwood against Mom’s folks and make their way back to their own time and place.
I generally find Futurama very funny, but I think that their imagination and manipulation of Lord of the Rings was a bit too much at times. The feature is entertaining, don’t get me wrong, but I think it grows stale at moments. It concludes way too fast. The storyline is a bit jagged and it seems very sloppy when it’s brought together, but because of what Futurama is/was it is still entertaining to watch. The fact that Bender’s end (SPOILER) never gets resolved, it doesn’t really tie up the ends like it has in the past with episodes. It should always have a very good beginning that wraps up at the end. Bender’s Game simply doesn’t have it. It’s not from a lack of acting from the players, as they all come in full force to bring the feature alive, but it’s just not enough. There isn’t enough spectacular here, there’s just funny. One of the easter eggs, which I won’t ruin, pretty much explains the force behind this episodes concept. Again, like I mentioned in some bad action films, it’s as if moments had been developed instead of a solid storyline. Sometimes that happens, it’s more often in comedy than any other genre. This has a series of moments that are hilarious, but ultimately doesn’t do so hot when it comes to something solid.
Again, very sloppy for this Futurama team, but I can see why and where this works. If you like the show, you’ll probably like this, but it won’t be overly impressive when it comes to the actual feature.
Rolling the dice on features
The feature is presented in 5.1, which is great considering there are tons upon tons of sound effects pushing out of this film. It sounds spectacular and looks pretty good on DVD.
As for the features, here’s what you’re getting:
– Commentary by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Michael Rowe, Claudia Katz and Dwayne Carey-Hill.
– Storyboard Animatic: Bender’s Game, Part One
– Futurama Genetics Lab – Cross-breed Your Favorite Characters!
– Dungeons & Dragons & Futurama feaurette
– How To Draw “Futurama” In 83 Easy Steps Featurette
– 3D Models Featurette With Animator Discussion
– Deleted Scene: “Cup or Nozzle?”
– Blooperama 2: Outakes From Bender’s Game
– Bender’s Anti-Piracy Warning
– A Sneak Peek at the Next “Futurama” Epic, Futurama: Into The Wild Green Yonder
The features are quite entertaining, as is the menu that they come with. You get a lot of choices of featurettes and commentary and some very odd-ball easter eggs (easy to find, don’t look too hard). The Blooperama is entertaining, but I think the anti-piracy warning takes the cake. If you have the patience and love the show, you’ll simply adore the commentary. It’s witty and inspired comedy.
Overall, I think the features are a great compliment to the feature itself.