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I know for a fact there are other Futurama nerds here, so, who among you have seen the new movie yet? I preordered a copy with the express intent of making it the first movie I watched in pseudo-1080p on my new TV, which I did this morning while starting work.

All in all, I'd call it not quite the best thing Futurama has done; I think when they split the thing up into four episodes for Adult Swim, it won't actually work very well in that format. Taken together, though, it was pretty good. There was a bit too much of "let's jam every character in here!" for my tastes, because it seems like they've blown a lot of their energy considering that they still have, last I heard, three more feature-length DVDs in the works. However, the

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first Elzar scene, the repeated Al Gore bits, and Hypnotoad forcing the announcer to off himself

were alone worth the $20 I spent on AmaCoN to get this disc; however, if you think you can get by with swiping it from the internet or waiting for it on AS, I think you should reconsider for the special features, which I shan't give away here in order to guilt you dirty thieves into buying the bloody thing.

Bottom line: If you ever liked Futurama, check this out. Not the best episode they've ever done, but feature-length is a great way to see it.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Pretty much agree with Josh here. The plot really got great in the second half of the movie, with

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

the Fry and Leelu sub-plot, all the time travel and especially Fry being Lars - that was a wonderful moment.

They did try and cram in every character, but I think it worked pretty well for the most part, and the musical numbers were great. The Harlem Globetrotters and the Hannukah Zombie are awesome, too.

I said in chat that it's up there with some of the better episodes, but I think its length and the plot make it probably the jewel in the Futurama crown. The resolution at the end was pretty moving. Infinitely better than the Simpsons movie, for sure. My only complaint was the brevity of Zapp Brannigan's role, but then that's the huge Brannigan fanboy in me talking and really, I think he was used pretty damn well.

Agreed on it being better than the Simpsons Movie, but really, pretty much all of Futurama stacks up against the very best that Simpsons ever had to offer, to say the least of the mediocrity that Simpsons sometimes offers up. So it stands to reason.

Agreed on your spoiler, E, though I forgot to mention it myself. All those points were really great, particularly

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watching Fry visibly age over the flashbacks until he was middle-aged and finally content (before going to the North Pole, of course)

.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I don't have much more to add as my likes and dislikes were well-spoken by the both of you. I think what made me laugh the most was at the beginning, the well appropriated bash at Fox. True, this wasn't the greatest thing in Futurama history (that title still belongs to The Why of Fry in my book). But after a 4 year absence, this is a more than welcome return. It was a bit confusing at first, but really wrapped up nicely. I think they phoned it in at the end:

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"There's only one way to make this all make sense. Someone has to go back and put the tattoo on Fry's butt!" Seemed kinda forced to me. True, they probably were probably aiming for that sort of scantily laid joke, but they could've put a little bit more thought into it

. I guess my only REAL complaint is the title. I don't think the moniker Bender's Big Score is necessarily equivalent to the plot at hand. But if that's the only thing I can point out, that's pretty damn good. The public demands MORE!

Also, I believe it was announced that Comedy Central won the rights to air the new episodes, not Adult Swim as it was widely believed and assumed.

This post has been edited by Sabin on 30th November 2007 22:28

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"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

<-- Futurama nerd and Fry enthusiast.

I'll start dropping hints to the wife that it would make a nice Christmas gift. You guys make it sound better than even I had expected.

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Join the Army, see the world, meet interesting people - and kill them.

~Pacifist Badge, 1978

How much Zoidberg, Morbo, and the Neutral Planet does this movie contain? Those are the three characters that might actually make me spend money on a Futurama product. Not that I have anything against Futurama, but if I'm spending money on a TV show, I'd usually prefer it not be something I can watch every night (such as The Wire or Flight of the Conchords, but I'm getting off-topic.) Anyways, if there's a lot of the characters that consistently crack me up, I might add it to my Christmas list.

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"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

Quote (Gears @ 1st December 2007 00:44)

How much Zoidberg, Morbo, and the Neutral Planet does this movie contain?

There's only about 5 seconds that Morbo appears. (If I can remember correctly, Morbo is the TV alien anchor guy.. correct me if I am wrong) Zoidberg appears along with most of the other characters regularly. I don't know who/what Neutral Planet is.

There's many other Futurama incorporated in the movie that you don't think about at first, but realize once you watch it a 2nd time, and also some musical pieces that the other dudes have talked about. It was better than the Family Guy and Simpson movies, but like R51 said, it wasn't the best Futurama. I enjoyed it a lot, but I'd bet other people would hate it.

In all, I think the movie was pretty great, The beginning was meh, but the last half of the movie was awesome. I'd score the movie an 4/5 because the beginning was really not all the great.

Also, my favorite part was when

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Fry realised he was Lars and Bender went off thinking he had killed Fry.

This post has been edited by l)arkShadow on 1st December 2007 22:53

AmaCoN delivered my pre-ordered copy of Beast with a Billion Backs yesterday afternoon (on launch day, no less!). So, threadcromancy here to talk about the new movie; who else has seen this one?

I thought it was a bit weaker overall than BBS, primarily because the real emotional storyline, something Futurama does *so* well generally, just never really kicked in. It certainly was quite funny, though, and a decent movie. Again, you should watch it all in one sitting, because the Comedy Central split-up just will not cut very well, I don't think. I really enjoyed the beginning title sequence, when they did the extended 1930's Disneyfication of the characters, and I thought that David Cross did a good job in his role. I should also note that

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the tongue-in-cheek take on the Rapture and the nature of Heaven was extremely clever and subtle enough that I didn't quite catch it until about halfway through.

Finally, for now at least, the trailer for the next movie looks awesome.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I pretty much agree with all that. I thought it had the same pacing problems as Bender's Big Score, which will probably make it more enjoyable on a second watch through than the first, when it's hard to know whether you're coming or going.

I don't have the DVD yet, but based on my general experience of Futurama DVDs, the commentary will be well worth a listen. They're generally more entertaining than most, and the guys involved are clearly all pretty passionate about the show.

I haven't watched the actual feature commentary yet, though I noticed it features Groening (which I don't remember happening in BBS?). I did watch the commentary of the 3D modeling group, though, and I thought that was pretty interesting.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Groening and Cohen do every commentary IIRC, although you hear more from Cohen as he's more directly involved. You usually get at least one of Billy West or John DiMaggio too, who are always good value.

I'm bumping the thread now that the final movie has been out for about a month. I completely missed the release, which surprised me, but I ended up buying it for myself for my birthday and finally watched it about a week and a half ago.

It seems like the interest has kind of petered out on the movies, but did anyone else (besides Tiddles) check it out yet? In a lot of ways, I think it might be the best of the four; however, I definitely found it bittersweet as it is almost certainly the end of the series (will the comics continue? I think they're still active, aren't they?). They tied up so many long-running aspects of the series in Wild Green Yonder that there's really no way they can back away and do more new stuff without having to retcon a lot or risk losing a lot of the things that made the show carry on as well as it did.

So, if this is the end, raise a glass to Groening and co. for a star that probably still burned out a bit too early. And go buy the movies so they know which of their franchises was truly the best.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I've seen all 4 now, and I have to say, without having put them all back to back and analyzed them, the 2nd one (the beast,) was by far my favorite. The 4th one sort of rubbed me the wrong way when I predicted the ending way too early in the film.

We'll see if the end is really the end.

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If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

It was pretty good. But then again, I liked the DKZ live action movie, so call me crazy.

Quote (Rangers51 @ 16th April 2009 11:15)

I'm bumping the thread now that the final movie has been out for about a month. I completely missed the release, which surprised me, but I ended up buying it for myself for my birthday and finally watched it about a week and a half ago.

It seems like the interest has kind of petered out on the movies, but did anyone else (besides Tiddles) check it out yet? In a lot of ways, I think it might be the best of the four; however, I definitely found it bittersweet as it is almost certainly the end of the series (will the comics continue? I think they're still active, aren't they?). They tied up so many long-running aspects of the series in Wild Green Yonder that there's really no way they can back away and do more new stuff without having to retcon a lot or risk losing a lot of the things that made the show carry on as well as it did.

So, if this is the end, raise a glass to Groening and co. for a star that probably still burned out a bit too early. And go buy the movies so they know which of their franchises was truly the best.

My wife bought me the first of the 4 for Christmas back when it was first released. The other 3 I rented as they came out. I liked the last one how it did tie up a lot of loose ends in the entire series. I LOVED the TV series, the movies I'd give a 6 out of 10. I'm going to be sad now that there isn't anymore though.


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"And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped” -Sir Bedevere the Wise

Now that I've seen all of 'em (thanks Comedy Central!), I'd probably rate them: ITWGY > Bender's Game > BWABB > Bender's Big Score, on a 6-8/10 scale -- I think that's from newest to earliest. IMO that's as it should be, since they got most of "look at me, I'm a cameo!" and stuff out in the early going. I wouldn't say they're as great as the series but they're a nice final chapter that doesn't disrespect its legacy.

PS: David Cross is awesome!

This post has been edited by Shotgunnova on 29th April 2009 05:49

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