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Futurama: Bender's Game | 
 enlarge | Director: Dwayne Carey-hill
Actors: Billy West, Katey Sagal, John Di Maggio, Tress Macneille, Maurice Lamarche
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $13.98
You Save: $16.01 (53%)
New (47) Used (18) from $11.71
Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 277
Format: Ac-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 88
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5
MPN: FOXD2254187D
UPC: 024543541875
EAN: 0024543541875
ASIN: B001DZOC78
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: November 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 11/04/2008 Run time: 90 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com
At once a merciless skewering of all things fanboy and an extremely satisfying addition to the Futurama franchise, Bender's Game is among the best of the animated series' feature length adventures. The game in question is Dungeons and Dragons, and Bender wants in--only robots aren't programmed with the necessary imagination. Naturally, Bender's plans to develop one go completely awry and land him in an android asylum. The role-playing plotline later re-emerges--in typically convoluted Futurama fashion--via a subplot involving Professor Farnsworth's conversion of dark matter into spaceship fuel, which created a key to a very D&D-influenced universe where our hapless heroes eventually find themselves. The alternate world storyline allows for much lampooning of fantasy tropes, with Lord of the Rings receiving the lion's share of the tweaks. Seeing as how the writers have already devoted much of the movie's running time to parodying Star Wars and Star Trek (and their Lego offshoots), one might think that Bender's Game might suffer from pop-culture overload, but surprisingly, it all feels fresh and frequently funny, and the writers are wise to ground the story in their eccentric characters rather than pinballing them through an endless string of gags. The result is probably the strongest of the direct-to-DVD Futurama releases to date, and one that newcomers to the show's cracked universe can appreciate as much as longtime fans.As with previous Futurama DVD releases, the extras come fast and furious on Bender's Game: commentary by members of the cast and production team (including Matt Groening) is both informative and funny, while interviews with the writers and producers discuss, among other topics, the influence of Dungeons and Dragons on the series and the 3D models used in the feature. Aspiring animators might appreciate "How To Draw Futurama in 83 Easy Steps and the storyboard animatic for the first part of the story, while the "Genetics Lab" feature allows for some amusing Dr. Moreau-style cross-breeding of the characters. Recording session bloopers and a deleted scene offer their own laughs, but the most enjoyable extra must be the preview for the next Futurama feature, Into the Wild Green Yonder, which suggests a shocking development for one of the show's regulars. -- Paul Gaita
Beyond Futurama: Bender's Game 
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Stills from Futurama: Bender's Game (Click for larger image)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...
 The unmistakable stench of dwarf urine! November 5, 2008
34 out of 37 found this review helpful
The first two Futurama movies were ok (well, to be honest, Beast with a Billion Backs was terrible), but this third installment is a winner. It has all the sly humor from the classic Futurama seasons that you've missed, and then some. I enjoyed the greater inclusion of Dr. Zoidberg.
The premise is quite true to life; the Planet Express crew must deal with the increase in dark matter fuel prices. This somehow segues into a Lord of the Rings plot which I won't spoil, but it actually works out quite well. We have an interesting tie-in between Mom and Professor Farnsworth.
All the old favorite characters are here too, including Morbo the Annihilator, Nibbler, Sal, Scruffy the Janitor, and George Takei. I didn't see Zapp Brannigan or Kif, but they weren't missed, and would've detracted from the story, or rather, the semblance of a story.
In conclusion, I think it's the unmistakable stench of dwarf urine that makes this Futurama movie a winner!
Incentivise that employee for a great movie. November 4, 2008
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
This movie is completely independent from the other two films, with everything back to normal at the beginning of it from when the last ended. It's pretty easy to follow along for thsoe who haven't seen the other two, or even the rest of the series. As others have mentioned, this movie takes on a D&D / Lord of the Rings feel to it as it explores the fantasy realm, but it's nicely explained as to why it happens that way. Everything seems to blend together well in this movie (the various subplots set up at the beginning join together). The movie also refers back to the original series and explains various things: a possibile origin between the Farnesworth-Wordstrom rivalry, more on the Mom-Farnesworth relationship, Nibbler being picked up off Vergon 6 as it implodes (and why it does implode), and a few other things. I think all of these add to what's known in the Futurama universe without taking away from anything, and fits very well in to what is already established.
I really enjoyed the movie, probably more than the other two movies. The one thing I didn't like so much about the DVD were the features. I didn't find them all that exciting. I enjoyed seeing how to draw the characters, and the genetics lab was somewhat interesting (but limiting). Everything else wasn't bad, but just seemed a bit short.
Features:
-Movie Commentary
-Storyboard Animatic for part one (~ 20 minutes)
-Futurama Genetics lab (you can choose two characters and see what they look like merged- but only for a small number of characters)
-Dungeons & Dragons & Futurama (~ 7 minutes, explains D&D references in the show)
-How to draw Fry, Bender/Flexo, Leela, & Zoidberg (~ 8 minutes)
-3-D modeling of various ships in the series (~ 5 minutes)
-Deleted scene (only one)
-"Blooperama," outtakes from the movie (~ 2 minutes)
-Bender's Anti-Piracy Warning
-Trailer for the fourth movie: "Into the Wild Green Yonder"
The packaging I got my DVD in was the cardboard "carbon neutral" packaging, in which the disc is put into a cardboard slit. I went out and bought a CD envelope to put in my box instead of using the slit.
The box did contain 4 Futurama postcards: giant Bender and Zoidberg (from the Anthology of Interest), Fry and Leela running away from aliens attacking, an ad to "Keep your robot clean" and a generic "The future is today, worry about it tomorrow." Even though these were mostly put in to advertise that these images were for sale in paintings, I kind of like the extra of having postcard-sized art ("One 'art' please").
Futurama is Back! November 7, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
wow! now this is a real futurama movie. the other 2 just did not have that futurama feel, they seemed weird and uninspired. this futurama has the same wit and feel of the old series.
as i was watching it i kept thinking ok here is were its gonna get too weird, or have lazy shock humor that is more gross than clever. this never happend in benders game, it was great.
if you want to see futurama like the way it was on the tv series buy this movie. dont forget that based on the sales of these movies will probably be the deciding factor on the futurama series coming back to t.v.
Bender's Game January 6, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Finally the Futurama that you have been waiting for! Lets face it the last two Futurama Movies have been just side of painful to watch, this one was the same recipe that you fell in love with when Futurama was still on Fox.
Great... the Best of the Futurama Movies November 6, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I felt this was the funniest and most visually spectacular of the three movies so far. The grandeur of the animation in the fantasy world gives it an extremely cinematic feel. While there is some subtle backstory that will be appreciated by long-time Futurama fans, it's nothing that would derail a first-time viewer. What surprised me most, though, is how timely it felt (for an animated movie). The plot is set in motion by a "dark matter fuel" shortage that gives the story a relevant feel despite the fantastical setting. Long live Futurama!
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