Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
by Peter Avanzino
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DVD Cover Information
Director: Peter AvanzinoBrand: Fox
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-02-24
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Movie Review: Now that's more like it! They're back baby!
Summary: 5 Stars
They're back baby! Futurama returns to form after the two previous duds that were Bender's Game and The Beast with a Billion Backs. I was worried that Futurama was past its prime and that maybe it should end after movie #4. But after seeing "Into the Wild Green Yonder" I hope that Futurama is just getting started again!
The movie starts off with our crew enjoying a vacation in New Mars Vegas developed by Amy Wong's parents moments after demolishing old Mars Vegas. During the construction, the Greenorita Eco-Feminist Collective led by Frida Waterfall come to protest against Leo Wong. Fry gets injured in an explosion and gains telepathic powers after a piece of a necklace is logged in his skull. Leela eventually gets fed up with Leo Wong's plan to demolish a large portion of the Milky Way galaxy to build an enormous miniature golf course and joins the Feminitos. From this point, the main story arcs develop:
1) Leela and her eco-feminists work to save a violet dwarf star and a primordial planet. After President Nixon and Zapp Brannigan are bought off by Leo Wong, Leela and the other women of Futurama become fugitives.
2) Fry meets a homeless bum named Hutch who teaches him to block the constant noise of other people's thoughts with a tinfoil hat and is brought into a secret society led by the number 9 man. He must find out who the Dark Ones are and protect the violet dwarf star from destruction.
3) Bender falls in love with the Don Bot's wife, wins a poker tournament, and double crosses most everyone.
4) Everyone comes together in the end to watch Leo Wong's demolition of the dwarf star, the Dark One is revealed, and our crew end the movie fleeing into a worm hole and a touching moment. I hope Futurama returns again!
This movie is massive, though not epic in how much story is laid out. Overall I would say that Bender's Big Score was the biggest story, which you really had to pay attention to in order not to get lost. Billion Backs and Bender's Game were just long. Into the Wild Green Yonder is enjoyable, interesting, and very smooth all the way through. I felt that Billion Backs and Bender's Game were pretty jerky and showed their seams too easily while Bender's Big Score was busy but fluid. Into the Wild Green Yonder is the most seamless movie and feels more like it was always intended to be a feature-length movie rather than be broken into several episodes.
The characterization in this movie is very strong, our heroes act like themselves without being flat or one dimensional like I felt they were in Bender's Game. Happily our characters aren't overly predictable and aren't stuck throwing out recycled gags.
The animation, as always, is incredible. Colors are vibrant, 3D animation is well blended and just plain cool, and there are many visual treats to be had. This is one of the reasons I loved watching Futurama so much during its original television run. There is plenty of freeze-frame fun for fans (whoa, 5 f's!) but not much in the secret jokes or science/math references department. The movie looks stunning on Blu-ray in widescreen, I highly recommend it over the regular DVD!
The audio is in 5.1 surround and fits the movie well. The Sinatra-esqe song at the beginning is performed by Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame and has a nice bit of the Futurama theme thrown in. The rest of the musical score works just fine for the movie, I just wish it was a full orchestral one like we got in the TV broadcast days. Oh well.
Both the DVD and Blu-ray are packed with lots of extra features:
* As with all previous Futurama DVD releases, there is an audio commentary track for the whole movie on which members of the Futurama crew including creator Matt Groening and executive producer David X. Cohen give background information while having a good time. [The Blu-ray includes the commentary with video overlays.]
* Other random goodies include a funny Behind the Scenes with Amy's voice and jack-of-all-trades Lauren Tom
* An animatic of the first 22 minutes
* Guides on how to draw Futurama characters
* Five deleted scenes
* 3D models with discussion by the designers
* Zapp Brannigan's guide on "how to make love at a woman"
* Bender's cinema etiquette
* A "toilet paper" animation
* And a short featurette with Penn Jillette, Matt Groening and David X. Cohen in "space".
Very good amount of extras in my opinion. The other unique feature to the Blu-ray would be the more fluid menu design.
So in closing, I am very happy with Into the Wild Green Yonder as far as the movie itself and the Blu-ray. After getting worried about, what I feel to be a mediocre performance in Billion Backs and Bender's Game, I am glad to see movie #4 pack in a lot of the elements that made the series what it was. Great voice acting, fun story, geeky references (anyone spot the Botany Bay?), and fantastic animation. If you've ever liked ANY part of any episode of Futurama this is a sure-fire addition to your movie collection.
Summary of Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
FUTURAMA:INTO THE WILD GREEN YONDER - DVD MovieMatt Groening?s sci-fi adventure/comedy series Futurama comes to a typically absurd close with In the Wild Green Yonder, the fourth in a series of direct-to-DVD series that followed in the wake of the animated series? cancellation in 2003. Yonder keeps in the kitchen-sink tradition of the show and features by cramming as many pop culture references as possible into its already convoluted plotline, from cameos by Family Guy?s Seth MacFarlane and Snoop Dogg to riffs on eco-terrorism, The View and television poker tournaments. All are interwoven into the feature?s main storylines, which concern Fry?s sudden ability to read minds, a massive, environmentally unfriendly rebuild of Mars Vegas by Amy?s parents, and Leela?s admission into a group of radical eco-minded protestors who aim to bring that project to a halt. And if that?s not enough, there?s a threat to the universe as a whole from the Dark Ones, and the summation of various character arcs, including the long-simmering relationship between Fry and Leela. Obviously, In the Wild Green Yonder isn?t the place to start for first-time Futurama visitors; its immense cast of characters--which in one scene, swell to over 250 from the show?s entire network run and all of the features--and elaborate (if ridiculous) mythology will most likely leave most newcomers scratching their heads. Longtime fans, however, will appreciate the return of so many favorite personalities, including Zapp Brannigan and the mysterious No. 9, as well as the wrap-up of sorts provided by the conclusion (although, in typical fashion, it leaves room for a series return or another feature). The humor is spotty in places--Bender?s Big Game remains the best blend of comedy and storyline of the four features--but there are enough laughs to keep die-hards happy. The wealth of special features should accomplish that goal as well; the audio commentary by Groening, executive producer David X. Cohen, and members of the cast and production team is lively and full of anecdotes, while making-of featurettes provide a tour of the Futurama production offices, a gander at guest star Penn Jillette recording his cameo, and tips on drawing various characters. The most offbeat and amusing extras are faux PSAs from Bender and Zapp Brannigan (on movie theater etiquette and romance, respectively), and the producers? field trip to a zero gravity simulator. --Paul Gaita
Stills from Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (Click for larger image)
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