#11 - Bender's Big Score

2007 Animated Comedy
Directed by Dwayne Carey-Hill
Not Rated

***

I was never into Futurama. It's not that I had anything against it, just every time I sat down to watch an episode, I lost interest quickly. Now that I have seen all 72 episodes of the original run (over about four days) I understand that, unlike another show that was recently resurrected, Futurama has a lot more continuity and character development. Going through the episodes in order, I realized why so many people love the show. With that being said, I was very excited to learn that the show was being back, albeit in the form of four dvd movies. The first of the four, Bender's Big Score, has enough in it to satisfy old and new fans alike. The first fifteen minutes or so are just a lot of cancellation jokes, but after that, it becomes just a fun, extended episode. The biggest problem I had, however, is that this movie is a lot more plot driven than comedy driven. That worked well in the episodes, because each one was only 22 minutes long. However, stretching out a plot over 90 minutes doesn't work very well for this show. The jokes and characters are enough to keep it afloat, but the story really is mediocre in the scope of the Futurama universe. I recommend checking it out, but only after you've seen all the episodes. You'll certainly enjoy it more.

NOTE: I strongly suggest skipping the songs. Easily the worst part of the entire film. What were they thinking?