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 Used: $11.00
You Save: $18.99 (63%)
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Rating:  48 reviews
Format: Ac-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5
MPN: FOXD2254187D
UPC: 024543541875
EAN: 0024543541875
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: November 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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 43 more reviews...
 The weakest of the Futurama movie titles December 4, 2008
J. C. Amos (Seattle)
I'm a huge fan of Futurama and I happen to love Bender's Big Score and Beast With a Billion Backs. BBS, while perhaps not having that many of the laugh out loud moments, was concise and well put together and I loved it, it's actually my favorite of the movie releases so far. BwaBB was just plain funny with a few parts that made me want to pee myself. I think Bender's Game misses on both of those aspects. It has some funny moments, but really feels like a jumble of episode ideas that never made it previously and it doesn't flow well at all.
Aside from problems with cohesion, the funny moments are pretty few and far between. Fry had a very minimal part in this movie, and his little stupid one-liners are one of my favorite parts of the show/movies. I almost don't remember what he even did in this one. Most of the story revolves around Bender, which wouldn't normally be a bad thing, but in this case his part of the "story" just felt out of place and wasn't very funny at all. His foray into Dungeons and Dragons and the inevitable fantasy parallel universe side plot just weren't funny and took up too much of the movie's time. The plot about the dark matter shortage was kind of funny and it explained a big part of Futurama continuity (even tying in some of the past episodes, as this show commonly does so well) but the fantasy segment had absolutely nothing to do with it, and when that part was done, the original plot thread just continued almost as if nothing had changed. So basically it was like there was a 30 or so minute interruption in a movie that was only mildly funny to begin with. Also, another con about Bender's Game is the definite lack of Zapp Brannigan.
So it is with regret that I give this only three stars, and the extra star is just because it's Futurama. Now here's where I become a little hypocrytical: do I recommend getting this? Yes! Why? Because it's Futurama! Give them your money so they will continue making more! I'll let them have a dud as long as what they continue to bring us later will be up to my usual standard for the show. The preview for Into The Wild Green Yonder definitely looks like it'll be back on track.
So while this one might have some lost opportunity, it's still Futurama and this is still one of my favorite TV shows of all time.
Sweet Thompson's Gazelle of Rivendell! December 3, 2008
K. Rust (Manchester, MO United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Of the three Futurama "movies" currently available, this one is by far the superior product. Biting sarcasm (thanks, Bender), an actual plot line, and a pop-culture skewering satire of "Lord of the Rings" make this Futurama at its best. Hermes as a hermaphroditic centaur? Why not? Keep 'em coming lads, and remember that Dungeons and Dragons is Bad for You!
 OMG December 3, 2008
Blonde Mermaid
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Okay, this was not what I expected.
Everything was just fine in the beginning. It had funny jokes such as the Robot Nut House, and the Demelition Derby. It was all good...until they got into the fantasy part of the movie.
That part got weird and gross and they just repeated the same things. When they explained how the Prof. created Dark matter, or Ignor's "Big shocking" (not really) secret, they would explain it in the 1st act, then when they got into the fantasy world, they would explain it again.
I just felt like it was just dragging on. What happened to the episodes of Futurama that are humorous, get to the point, and have a bit of emotion.
Do not buy this. It's worth a rent if you're real curious, but not a buy.
 Episodes, not movies!!! December 1, 2008
Deejay (London)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
With the exception of the first movie Bender's Big Score, the Futurama movie formula has shown (sadly) that it just doesn't work. Both Bender's Game and the even worse Beast with a Billion Backs feel like exercises in padding out an episode to make it reach that magic 90 minute running time. When do we get to the plot??!! - I kept asking myself as I watched these last two installments, as pointless diversion built upon pointless diversion. The simple and sad fact is that these movies feel like a Futurama episode with all the deleted scenes left in. And there are other writing problems too - where is the character development, or humor that comes from the characters? Bender's Game has an interesting message about fuel shortages, but that just gets buried in all the padding - the entire dungeons and dragons fantasy bit is a complete detour from the plot. And unlike the first film, which delved into Leela and Fry's relationship, Bender's Game gives us zilch, while the previous movie just undermines the first one by having Fry forget all about his love for Leela. In Bender's Game, even Bender goes off on some pointless detour in search of his imagination - somewhat ironic considering the quality of writing here. Futurama fans, Fox simply isn't going to commission more of this, or a feature-film - not after seeing the last two films. The only way to save Futurama is to campaign for a fresh season of episodes - that is where Futurama belongs and that is where it shines. If they wanted to stick to this formula, they could release DVD sets of four episodes at a time. These movies are making me turn against a show I have loved for so long, and that is sad. Episodes, not movies!!!!
Not the best of the three, but a must have December 1, 2008
M. Sikora (Aviano)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a huge Futurama fan so this was a must have. I only watched this one once so far and it wasn't my favorite of the three. There was no hint at a possible end to Fry's love for Leela. The whole plot was very far fetched. There were some good parts and it made funny references to another hit movie, but I would say that this is by far not the funniest of three movies. I also didn't notice many scientific or mathmatical references for us nerds.
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