| 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: $12.83
You Save: $17.16 (57%)
New (48) Used (18) from $11.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  47 reviews
Sales Rank: 174
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: 2254187
UPC: 024543541875
EAN: 0024543541875
ASIN: B001DZOC78
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: November 4, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New factory sealed. Will mail first class Postal. Ships from Georgia.
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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 42 more reviews...
Sweet Thompson's Gazelle of Rivendell! December 3, 2008
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
1 out of 1 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
2 out of 2 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
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.
 Not what I was hoping for November 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been a Futurama fan since Day 1, and I eagerly anticipate the release of any new material. This one, though, doesn't live up to the franchise. The plot is disjointed and makes no sense. There's a noble tradition of that in Futurama, though, so that's not really a strong criticism of the movie. The real problem is that it's just not funny. It's not even particularly interesting. If you condensed the best parts of this movie into a single 22 minute episode, it would still be one of the worst Futurama episodes made. Any real fan is going to buy it anyway, no doubt, but I really don't think they'll be watching it as often as they watch the others.
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