I love Futurama. I loved it when it was on. I loved it in re-runs. I loved it on DVD. So I was extremely excited about its return. However, the first of four straight-to-DVD movies, Bender’s Big Score, left me feeling sort of meh. But I was willing to cut them a little slack. It’s hard to take several years off, then jump right back into the story and characters. So I focused all my pent-up fanboy expectations on the second release, The Beast with a Billion Backs. Good news, everyone! It’s a better offering than Bender’s Big Score, but if you’re looking for more than a passing feeling of satisfaction, you might be disappointed. I really believe that Futurama works best in the 22-minute format. The pace is quicker, the jokes fly faster and you get just enough of all the characters. These films have a decidedly slower pace, too many of the jokes rely on gross-out humor and by the end, it’s kind of hard to care about any of these folks anymore. The animation is great, the voice acting is top-notch, and I will watch it again, but I’m reluctant to recommend it to anyone but a diehard Futurama fans. Here’s hoping the third time’s the charm, and the third installment keeps improving the game.
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I love Futurama. I loved it when it was on. I loved it in re-runs. I loved it on DVD. So I was extremely excited about its return. However, the first of four straight-to-DVD movies, Bender’s Big Score, left me feeling sort of meh. But I was willing to cut them a little slack. It’s hard to take several years off, then jump right back into the story and characters. So I focused all my pent-up fanboy expectations on the second release, The Beast with a Billion Backs. Good news, everyone! It’s a better offering than Bender’s Big Score, but if you’re looking for more than a passing feeling of satisfaction, you might be disappointed. I really believe that Futurama works best in the 22-minute format. The pace is quicker, the jokes fly faster and you get just enough of all the characters. These films have a decidedly slower pace, too many of the jokes rely on gross-out humor and by the end, it’s kind of hard to care about any of these folks anymore. The animation is great, the voice acting is top-notch, and I will watch it again, but I’m reluctant to recommend it to anyone but a diehard Futurama fans. Here’s hoping the third time’s the charm, and the third installment keeps improving the game.
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