Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008)

Futurama Scores Again On New DVD Movie

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Jun 28, 2008 | 0 out of 1 found this Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008) review helpful

Pros: The movie felt less forced this time around than the first one.

Cons: It still felt like nothing but an extended tv episode, which it is going to become anyways.

Futurama's back again. Yes it's only a straight-to-dvd movie. But true fans of Futurama will appreciate this movie. The movie, which is the second of four expected movies, picks up right where the first one leaves off. Thanks to Bender's time travelling in Bender's Big Score, a huge hole in the space-time contiuum had been ripped open. And now, a giant inter-dimensional creature has slipped through and taken control of everyone on earth.

The creature is voiced by none other than comedian/actor David Cross. It's ironic that Cross voices a character in this movie. The original Futurama tv show--like Cross's other show, Arrested Development--was a short lived show on FOX. Both shows were cancelled well before their time. Thankfully for DVD, fans of both shows can enjoy both shows any time they want. And now, there's rumor of an Arrested Development full length movie in the works; even more motivation for fans of that show.

Back to the matter at hand. The Beast With A Billion Backs is a step up from the first Futurama movie. Yes, this one feels just like another extended episode. There are even points in the movie that are set up for when it gets sent to air on Comedy Central. But there is something about this movie that makes it better than Bender's Big Score.

Perhaps it was the spot on jokes that made the movie so enjoyable. Or perhaps the recent contract dispute with the cast of The Simpsons gave Matt Groening and company more time to focus on this one. Sadly, it wasn't the bonus features. The bonus features add very little to the experience on this DVD. But that is not saying much, since the story is more enjoyable this time around. The movie is just as good without the bonus features. Even the featurette with Cross himself added very little to the overall experience. Regardless of what it was, Matt Groening and company have put together a movie that is worth the money.

This movie is only the second of four expected movies. That leaves two more movies for Futurama fans to look forward to in the future. The movies will also be put to air on Comedy Central, making for a total of about 16 new episodes. As of now, there is no talk of any new episodes being created after that. But what with the contract talks shortening the upcoming season, and the ratings still falling for The Simpsons, fans of Futurama can only hope that Matt Groening and company will start to consider finding a new network home for a possible Futurama rebirth one day.