Rating: Not Rated
Starring:
Katey Sagal as Turanga Leela / Leegola (voice)
George Takei as Himself (voice)
Lauren Tom as Amy Wong / Gynacaladriel / Additional Voices (voice)
Billy West as Philip J. Fry / Frydo / Dr. Zoidberg / Professor Hubert Farnsworth
John Di Maggio as Bender / Titanius Anglesmith / Ignar / Additional Voices (voice)
David Herman as Larry / Additional Voices (voice)
Maurice LaMarche as Walt / Additional Voices (voice)
Frank Welker as Nibbler / Additional Voices (voice)
Phil LaMarr as Hermes Conrad / Hermaphrodite / Dwight Conrad / Additional Voices (voice)
Tress MacNeille as Mom / Momon / Additional Voices (voice)
Kath Soucie as Cubert Farnsworth / Additional Voices (voice)
Rich Little as Himself (voice)
Special Features:
Commentary by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Michael Rowe, Claudia Katz and Dwayne Carey-Hill
Storyboard Animatic
Futurama Genetics Lab: Crossbreed You Favorite Characters!
D & D & F (Dungeons & Dragons & Futurama) Featurette
How to Draw Futurama in 83 Easy Steps Featurette
3-D Models with Animator Discussion
Deleted Scene
Blooperama 2: Outtakes from Bender’s Game
Bender’s Anti-Piracy Warning
Into The Wild Green Yonder: A Sneak Peek at the Next Futurama Epic!
Other Info:
Widescreen (1.78:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Spanish, French Subtitles
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the official DVD description:
“All-New Feature Length Quest
With fuel prices skyrocketing, the Planet Express crew sets off on a dangerous mission: to infiltrate the world’s only dark-matter mine, source of all spaceship fuel. But deep beneath the surface lies a far stranger place… a medieval land of dragons and sorcery and intoxicated knights who look suspiciously like Bender. So park your hover-car and saddle up your unicorn for Futurama’s grandest adventure yet: ‘Bender’s Game’!”
“Futurama: Bender’s Game” is not rated.
Mini-Review:
Like all the other recent “Futurama” DVD’s, “Bender’s Game” is little more than three random “Futurama” episodes loosely tacked together. This time around the stories involve a Dungeons & Dragons / Lord of the Rings parody, a storyline involving an oil crisis created by MOM, and a NASCAR parody. There are jokes involving LEGOs, Space 1999, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and all sorts of other pop culture references. I usually love “Futurama,” but “Bender’s Game” just wasn’t all that funny to me. I don’t think I laughed once. It was quite disappointing. Maybe if the plot was more coherent or if they didn’t seem to be trying so hard with the jokes it would be more enjoyable, but I was seriously watching the clock wondering when this would end. There are just enough amusing moments to justify giving this a 5 out of 10, but I think the previous DVDs were a lot better.
There are a lot of bonus features. You’ll find usual offerings like a commentary, storyboard animatics, blooper reel, and a deleted scene. The D & D & F (Dungeons & Dragons & Futurama) Featurette shows how Dungeon & Dragons has snuck into various episodes throughout the series. Two geeky D&D fan “Futurama” writers host while a third uninterested writer sits in, seething and holding a baseball bat. There are also a few other featurettes including games, a preview of the next DVD, and other goodies. All in all, I found the bonus features to be more entertaining than the movie itself.
