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Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Release Date: Available now (released February 10, 2009)
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Packaging/Materials: Single-disc Blu-Ray case with collectible postcards
Year: 2009
Rating: UR
Running Time: 1h29m
MSRP: $39.99
| MAIN FEATURE | |
| Video | 1080p high definition 16x9 1.78:1 |
| Audio | DTS HD Master Audio: English 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English SDH, Spanish, French, Cantonese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish |
The Feature: 3.5/5
The Planet Express crew continue their misadventures in this fourth and final animated, direct-to-video feature, following "Bender's Big Score," "The Beast with A Billion Backs," and "Bender's Big Score." In this installment Amy Wong's father Leo is out to destroy a violet dwarf star system to make way for his galactic-sized miniature golf course. Horrified by the impending destruction, Leela joins the Eco-Feministas in an attempt to stop it, while Fry develops telepathic powers that put him on a quest that proves as old as the known universe. Not to be outdone, Bender has an affair with Don Robot's wife Fanny, wins a million dollars in a poker tournament and gets dressed like a prostitute.
This and the previous direct-to-video "Futurama" projects were undeniably made for the fans of the TV show, which was canceled back in 2003. Having a mild familiarity with the show, I found the feature consistent with the show's nonsensical and "see what sticks" variety of humor, which I have always found about 50% funny. But I'm clearly not the core audience for this thing. On a more general level, I can't help but be impressed by the existence of these projects, which represent real gifts to fans. In fact, these direct-to-video movies have proved successful enough that there are rumors Fox will be bringing the show back to television. I can think of plenty of prematurely canceled shows I would have loved to see get the same treatment and possible second lease on life.
Video Quality: 4.5/5
The film is correctly framed at 1.78:1 and presented in 1080p with the AVC codec. Black levels are very good, stable and deep. Fine object detail is hard to judge, given the lack of surface textures, but several shots of dense, CGI starfields show very good clarity and detail. Colors are also very good, the purple of Leela's purple ponytail and Fry's orange shock of hair showing nice depth and pop. The only noticeable issues with the transfer are mild aliasing along the edges of the line art, along with some slight edge halos, giving the overall image a hardness that it could have done without.
Audio Quality: 4/5
The DTS HD Master Audio audio track is reasonably detailed, dynamic and enveloping. Surround channels provide occasional directional effects and general support for dramatic cues in the score. There are also some nice moments of LFE sprinkled throughout, mostly involving explosions, the rolling of giant miniature golf balls, and Bender's tunneling skills. Dialogue, which dominates the film, is consistently clear and intelligible.
Special Features: 4/5
As with the previous release, there's a mix of the informational and nonsensical. Video is in high definition unless noted otherwise.
Commentary by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Patric M. Verrone, Michael Rowe, Lee Supercinski, and Peter Avanzino: The jovial crew have an obvious camaraderie and rapport, which tends to get in the way of providing an informative track. If you're a fan of goofing off and joking (some of it quite funny, mind you) by the creators and voices of the show, you won't be disappointed.
Video Commentary Picture-In-Picture: Those with "Bonus View" capable players (Profile 1.1) have the option of seeing the faces behind the commentary. Unfortunately it mostly proves to be a distraction as the video footage is simply of the headphone-clad commentary crew doing the commentary. The overlaid video is sized well, but as it provides nothing of visual value it mostly becomes an obstruction to viewing the feature.
Storyboard Animatic: "Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 1" (22m26s): Rough animation using storyboard panels with sound effects and dialogue make for an interesting look at the animation process, though having it picture-in-picture alongside the feature may have been more instructive.
"Docudramarama: How We Make Futurama So Good" (5m09s): A tongue-in-cheek, behind-the-scenes tour of the animation offices, featuring actress Lauren Tom.
"'Louder, Louder!': The Acting Technique of Penn Jillette" (2m08s): Behind-the-scenes of Jillette's recording session. In standard definition.
"Golden Stinkers: A Treasury of Deleted Scenes" (2m52s): Five deleted scenes, some still in storyboard form.
"Matt Groening and David X. Cohen In Space!" (4m23s): Groening and Cohen talk about their Zero G zero gravity flight, with photos and video footage from their trip. In standard definition.
"How to Draw Futurama in 10 Very Difficult Steps" (11m10s): Animators demonstrate how to draw Professor Farnsworth, Nibbler, Hypnotoad and Fry.
3D Models with Animator Discussion (4m19s): 3D animators show-and-tell several of their creations, including the life-supporting asteroid, the Feminista Ecovan, giant gorilla golf hole, the Nimbus split in two, and the asteroidal wormhole.
"Bender's Movie Theater Etiquette" (1m16s): Some pre-movie viewing rules, courtesty of Bender. In standard definition.
"Zapp Brannigan's Guide to Making Love At A Woman" (2m49s): Ten of Zapp's tested tips for meeting and attracting women.
Postcards: Four postcard reproductions of "Futurama" giclee prints. Details for purchasing the prints is provided on the cards.
Recap
The Feature: 3.5/5
Video Quality: 4.5/5
Audio Quality: 4/5
Special Features: 4/5
Overall Score (not an average): 4/5
A direct-to-video feature closing out (maybe for now) the "Futurama" TV show gets very good treatment across the board. Expressly made for fans of the show, those mildly interested are better off looking to the season sets to enter the "Futurama" universe.
