Dreamt up by an alcoholic, foul-mouthed robot that has gone a little crazy, the latest Futurama direct-to-DVD movie, Futurama: Bender's Game, provides fans with enough dragons and swords to keep their eye glued to the screen.
The crewmembers of the Planet Express return: though this time Fry (Billy West), Leela (Katey Sagal) and Bender (John DiMaggio) are thrown into a much different landscape than the usual hyper-futuristic surroundings - an imaginary land of the sword and shield that draws heavily from fantasy sources such as Lord of the Rings and one of the show's major influences, the late G. Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons and Dragons.
The film develops a nerd paradise riddled with references from D&D and varying other fantasy productions. It opens with the news that Earth is suffering from a black matter shortage, the world's main source of fuel.
Professor Farnsworth (Billy West) conjures up a plan to lead the world into finding a new source of fuel while taking the black matter market down, controlled by the usual Futurama antagonist, Mom (Tress MacNeille).
Surprisingly enough (sarcasm), Bender is dealing with problems of his own. He must face the horrible truth that he was never programmed with an imagination.
To remedy this, he takes up the game of Dungeons and Dragons to try and develop one. When things take a horrible yet amusing twist, the game gets to Bender's head. He soon believes that the game is real and that he is actually a knight.
Through the sorcery of 31st century magic, the crew is transported to an alternate dimension of fantasy.
Bender's Game continues the signature Futurama tradition of sharp wit with a multitude of pop culture references. Trading science fiction for sorcery, the new setting allows the writers to explore a new area of pop culture that remained largely untapped during the original run of the show.
Not only does the shift in setting allow for an invigorating take on the show but it also allows fans to see the characters as parodies of various famous fantasy characters.
Whether it is Bender the knight, Fry as Gollum or Farnsworth as a senile, Gandalf-like wizard, each one is an entertaining and humorous take on an original characterization.
Speaking of characters, one of the strongest points of Bender's Game is the overwhelming amount of hilarious support.
Each character is finely crafted and fleshed out. One of the greatest strengths of the show has always been how well it handles its large cast.
Even the smallest characters prove to be memorable, like Roberto the knife-wielding robot or Morbo the intergalactic invader and TV anchor.
Bender's Game still has its share of problems, the most glaring being its less-than-subtle message. The fuel situation takes center stage and becomes rather distracting, taking away from the film as a whole.
Much like many other movies based on TV shows, it feels like the film is stretched thin. It's as if the writers took the plot of an episode and stretched it out for an extra hour. This causes problems with the overall viewing and makes some of the jokes fall flat.
Even with these problems, Bender's Game is still a very strong package. With the show canceled, the direct-to-DVD movies are the only source of new Futurama material. And with only one upcoming film left, any new Futurama adventures are must-haves for fans of the show.
