Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (Video 2009)

Dark forces older than time itself are on the attack, hell-bent on stopping the dawn of a wondrous new green age. Don't you hate when that happens? Even more shocking: Bender's in love with... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Avanzino

Writers:

Matt Groening (creator), Matt Groening (developer),

Stars:

Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Billy West	...	Philip J. Fry / Professor Hubert Farnsworth / Dr. Zoidberg / Leo Wong / Poker Sign-Up Clerk / Leo's Caddy / President Richard Nixon / Miniture Gold Construction Worker / Zapp Brannigan / The Dark One's Psychic Voice / Antonin Scalia's Head / Madfellow / Striped Biologist Taunter (voice)
Katey Sagal	...	Turanga Leela (voice)
John DiMaggio	...	Bender / Joey Mousepad / Elzar / Sal (voice)
Tress MacNeille	...	Fanny / Michael's Wife / Boobs Vanderbilt / Dixie / Linda / Petunia / Ruth Ginsberg's Head / Mom (voice)
Maurice LaMarche	...	Donbot / Clamps / Fanny's Announcer / Tex Connecticut / Lrrr / Lrrr's Father / Headless Body of Agnew / Morbo / Kif Kroker / Narrator / Abe Lincoln / Calculon (voice)
Phil LaMarr	...	Hermes Conrad / Magna-Phallix Commercial Voice-Over / Nixon's Bodyguard / Thomas / The Dark One / Preacherbot (voice)
Lauren Tom	...	Amy Wong / Inez Wong / Trixie (voice)
David Herman	...	The Number 9 Man / Scruffy / Michael / Neputnian (voice)
Dawnn Lewis	...	LaBarbara Conrad / Womens' Prison Warden (voice)
Snoop Dogg	...	Himself (voice)
Phil Hendrie	...	Frida Waterfall / Hutch Waterfall / The Encyclopod (voice)
Seth MacFarlane	...	Mars Vegas Singer (singing voice)
Penn Jillette	...	Himself (voice) (as Penn & Teller)
Teller	...	Himself (credit only) (as Penn & Teller)

Storyline

Dark forces older than time itself are on the attack, hell-bent on stopping the dawn of a wondrous new green age. Don't you hate when that happens? Even more shocking: Bender's in love with a married fembot, and Leela's on the run from the law - Zapp Brannigan's law! Fry is the last hope of the universe, recruited for an ultra-top-secret mission. Could this be the end of the Planet Express crew forever? Say it ain't so, meatbag!

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Plot Keywords:

manic laughter | environmental issue | flame thrower | miniature golf | phone booth | 

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Taglines:

All the other galaxies will be green with envy!

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Futurama Movie 4

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Curiosity Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 89 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Brannigan and Bender overhear the conversation between Leela and Fry, using some sort of spying device, Brannigan orders Kiff to set the coordinates to 36-24-36. This is Bart's locker combination from The Simpsons, as well as the obvious, according to his hand movements, the measurements on Leela.

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Goofs

In the scene when Leela discovers and decides to protect the leech, Fry is to be seen standing behind her - but only a few shots later he regains consciousness and stands up after being crushed by on of the feminists.

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Quotes

Hermes Conrad: Bender, are you crazy?
Bender: Nooo, it's Fry who's crazy in this one!

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Connections

References Maude (1972)

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Soundtracks

"That Was Then (And This is Too)"
Written by Ken Keeler
Performed by Seth MacFarlane

User Reviews

A great movie and a great finale for a much-loved series. Do not miss it!

Direct-to-DVD movie; Genre: Sci-Fi, Animated Comedy; Content Rating: Unrated (contains adult content & animated violence); Available: DVD and Blu-Ray; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 – 4);

After 4 hugely rewarding seasons on the Fox Network (not that they knew it) and 3 DVD movies, Matt Groening and David X Cohen's cancelled, cult sci-fi saga "Futurama" comes to a rollicking close with "Into the Wild Green Yonder". The movies were a reward for those who got slapped in the face by Fox's abrupt cancellation and were underwhelmed by the run's finale, "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings" in which the show micro-focused its entire story down to a love story between future fish-out-of-water Phillip J. Fry (Billy West) and one-eyed mutant space pilot Leela (Katy Segel). "Yonder" is the epic finale we've been waiting for and I'm thrilled to report it delivers.

As always, "Futurama's" focus is still its unique cast of characters and their conflicting motives, but "Yonder" is a bigger, funnier, more epic ending, worthy of the vast, detailed universe this series created. As a movie, it's the best of the 4 DVDs which says a lot given how highly I still regard "The Beast With A Billion Backs". Where "Beast" was an ambitious and sharp story it still felt disjointed and episodic, where "Yonder" is the first film to feel like a real theatrical release movie from start to finish. It's smoother, with a more complex story, than "The Simpsons Movie".

As with any "Futurama" story, it would be almost criminal to describe the plot: both because it is so delightfully convoluted in its accurate and liberal basis in science fact and sci-fi convention and I do not wish to spoil the numerous wonderful twists and turns herein. However, in the first few minutes events transpire that set our heroes on a collision course toward series end and saving the galaxy: Al Gore-style! Amy Wong's (Lauren Tom) dad is building a new casino on Mars, but his plans to put in a massive mini-golf park threaten the endangered species of the entire galaxy which raises the ire of eco-femenistas (led by radio genius Phil Hendrie in duel role as a female member of the show's Waterfall hippie family and her brother) as well as a secret society Fry gets involved with when an accident leaves him with the ability to read minds. Oh yeah, and Bender has an affair with the Don-Bot's wife.

Almost none of the action in "Yonder" takes place on Earth or at Planet Express. With Leela joining the femenists, Fry in a double-cross to save the universe and Bender dodging the mob and joining up with Zapp Brannigan (again West), the characters spend the movie away from or at odds with each other. Cohen and co-writer Ken Keeler have scripted a clever chess game where each story and each motive weaves together beautifully, all building to a finale that finds that perfect balance between being a thrilling sci-fi adventure and a satisfying character conflict for our 3 unlikely heroes.

"Yonder" is also the funniest movie of the 4 and at times more laugh-out-loud than the series. When Fry (now reading minds) and Bender (with the DonBot's lucky Robot's Foot - his own) go head to head in a high-stakes poker tournament the scene is one of the funniest and most cleverly constructed the show has ever done. "Yonder" has a lot of fun with Bender in this movie. Bender is the kind of anti-hero character that usually has his own story as it is hard to write him into helping the gang save the world in the primary story without cheating his character's nature. "Yonder" finds a perfect place for him. The movie also has a load of fun with the eco-femenists. Few shows make fun of women the way "Futurama" has the balls too with Cohen and Keeler's unique vision of male/female clichés turning "Yonder's" conflicts into a damn-near battle of the sexes. It's refreshing. The movie gets less riotous as the 3rd act comes and the stakes of the story are raised, but that's the case with any action/comedy.

This is a fun one, people. "Into the Wild Green Yonder" fires on all cylinders, deliver the kind of originality and imagination that only "Futurama" can. As funny and poignant as any episode of the series. Both a great movie and a great finale for this much loved series. Don't miss it.

* * * * / 4