Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
by Peter Avanzino
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DVD details
Actor: Billy West, Brittany Murphy, Dan Castellaneta, David Cross, Phil LaMarrDirector: Peter Avanzino
Brand: FUTURAMA: BEAST WITH A BILLION BACKS (DVD MOV
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-06-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
DVD Review: Beast verges on the heartless to make its point about mankind
Summary: 2 Stars
A viewer wrote "some Futurama is better than no Futurama." I dissent.
I own the entire series (after having been a faithful fan of the series). And a couple of episodes were genuine heartbreakers, but most were excellent. Some were just funny and that's the worst I intend to say about the series. But it _always_ had heart. That was the secret ingredient to Futurama's success: we "felt" for the characters, despite their obvious flaws--or perhaps because of them! Despite their dysfunction they never lost their humanity or their ability to acknowledge their flaws. And at episode's end they each had made some peace with those flaws. The characters _chose_ their outcomes and conclusions.
That said, "Beast" broke its boundaries! It does not equal "Bender's Big Score" which gave closure to a couple of the more unsettling (yes, the _heart-breaking_ ones; I'll never hear Connie Francis's "If it takes forever" the same way again; thank you, very much...) episodes.
Hey, guys, much as I love the series, "Beast" _destroys_ the spirit of the entire series. Be forewarned. "Beast's" plot is despicable and perverse; Bender evolves from his arrogant, dishonest self to a shallow, narcissistic and mean-spirited jealous sociopath who holds human choice in contempt.
Perhaps this film was meant to strike a blow for nihilists and cynics the universe over, but did it have to do it in such an angry manner (in a strange way, its ending reminded me of a humorous "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," the Jeff Goldblum/Donald Sutherland version)?
Can't say I admired the spirit behind "Beast." "Beast" is heartless. Futurama is a success. Has this success destroyed its writers' inner beauty and ability to have fun?
Conversely, I have to admit that "Beast" makes its point (in its warped way) about the _eternal_ conflict in the human soul between the human yearning for a loving, nurturing utopia (back to the womb?) and the endless struggle that life is. For we define ourselves as humans and individuals--and existence itself--by this struggle, by how we learn to deal with this daily struggle and, to a degree, how we "control" the outcome.
Life is, after all, a cosmic game. Do we "win" by cooperating with each other or by competing with each other to death? It's about human choice, whether you believe in "free will" or not. Bender, a robot--a man-made tool--I sensed, subverted the process-OR did he perpetuate it? Is the mean-spirited _destruction_ of the choices of others our _true human destiny_?
Rent this one. And be careful. It's point and viewpoint may make you cringe. 2 and half to 3 stars, max.
DVD Review: Beast with a Billion bad reviews
Summary: 3 Stars
the second futurama movie is quite a dissapointment. this was the worst reviwed futurama movie and after seeing it i was not suprised. the movie begins with kiff and amy getting married on kiffs home planet this scene was weird and unessary with very few jokes. after that the movie is pretty decent then the Beast emerges from the other universe and takes over everyones mind but leelas. meanwhile bender has joined the leuge of robots a story that is unessary and not very funny. leela find out the the tenticles the beast has are actully genticals and that it is mating with the human race and is in love with it. so the bottom line will futurama fans be dissapointed well mabye a because some of the humor is not really futurama like and the entire plot is a bit streched and could be put into one episode. so this is my least favorite of the futurama films but it still is a somewhat solid movie.DVD Review: The Age of the Tentacle
Summary: 5 Stars
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs brings back to the screen Fry and the gang along with the rest of Gamma Universe as they are faced with a one-of-a-kind dilemma: Accept or reject the opportunity to move to heaven! All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows (the animation does come alive)! Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few laughs.
The setting, the plot, the dialogues, the humor, and the music are all excellent!
Following the cancellation of the show (I wonder what "genius" came up with that idea???) life was pretty hard without these amazing characters. The comic books are good, but nothing beats the actual show, so it's so good to have everybody back.
Strongly recommended along with the other three Futurama films: Bender's Big Score, Bender's Game, and Into the Wild Green Yonder.
In short, KEEP'EM COMING!!!
DVD Review: Inferior but still solid second outing
Summary: 4 Stars
The euphoria has finally drained from my system. The ultimate high of seeing my favorite mutant, man and robot trio back on the screen subsides. In its place I feel this empty space, a knot of fear slowly binding into a tighter ball threatening to press against my heart and cause arrhythmia. Futurama: Bender's Big Score skated by on thin ice. Taking full advantage of the honeymoon stage, it slipped its foibles and ugly birthmarks under the sheets and distracted us with its bedroom eyes. But the honeymoon's over. The beautiful, delicate creature we thought we knew has given way to a rougher and notably odder monster threatening to crush our hearts amidst the faltering laughter.
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs doesn't benefit from the endorphin shield of its predecessor. My critical eye sees its flaws no matter how beautiful its very existence appears to be. While Bender's Big Score marked the tepidly triumphant return of the futuristic cartoon, The Beast with a Billion Backs makes us wonder if perhaps this is one grave that shouldn't have been robbed. Still chock full of parody and comedy, the next Futurama installment takes a turn for the incredibly weird.
With the mysterious rift in time and space reminding us of the events of BBS, the crew of the Planet Express ship find themselves at varying points along the spectrum of love. Amy and Kiff finally take the plunge and get married while Leela, at the polar extreme, has become even more disenchanted with romance after the confusing and tragic events of Lars. Fry, somewhere between the stages of acceptance and depression, gets involved with a polygamyistic woman (voiced by Brittany Murphy) who just can't seem to decide which man she loves. Unable to handle anymore heartbreak, Fry flees the world to seek refuge in the great rift. No sooner has he entered the rift that he returns to Earth as the ambassador for the Yivo, a gigantic creature whose tentacles begin a romantic crusade across the planet.
As with BBS, the full length feature run time of BwaBB drags it down at times. The jokes are there and for the diehard fans there's more self referential humor to the past series but the pacing required for a full length feature exhausts the Futurama formula. Despite its flaws it maintains the quality for which I most admire the series: plot and message.
The dynamics of love and relationships saturates the plot giving rise to a rather interesting take on what love really entails. Can "love" be sustained in a relationship with more than just the socially acceptable two people? If there exists the possibility to create an existence devoted to love could humanity accept it? Or would the Leela in us all force us to suspect and consequently reject such a concept? For a film with gigantic tentacles and a sport called "Deathball" the serious message imbued startles the viewer.
No, by comedic accounts it's not on par with the truly great Futurama episodes. But what it does have is a heaping helping of Zap Brannigan and Bender. Two elements guaranteed to make any episode or full length Futurama feature well worth watching. As always the music and animation are top notch taking full advantage of the mastery of Christopher Tyng and the fine folks at Rough Draft. The voice actors return in better form than they did in BBS as they've clearly gotten the nuances of their characters back to full swing. That may have been the biggest annoyance for me (besides the musical numbers) in BBS. It wouldn't have felt like such a long time between takes had the voice actors been able to get right back in the swing, but they weren't. They'd moved on. But with BBS as a warm up the entire crew is back and it sounds and looks great.
As mentioned, Brittany Murphy guest stars as Fry's polygamist girlfriend. David Cross stars as the beast Yivo. Considering Cross's tendency to orientate at either scathingly brutal sarcasm or na?ve innocence Yivo seems like an odd role floating somewhere in between. Finally we have the best possible guest voice: Stephen Hawking, the laser eyed, floating head physicist. Beyond these three you have your expected smattering of familiar Futurama characters.
The DVD extras include your average features: storyboard animatics, commentary audio track, character models, etc. The real "jewel" of the extras is a full "new episode". In saying this I'll now further clarify to reveal that in all actuality it's the cut scenes from the Futurama video game pasted together to showcase the plot as an episode. It kinda works...it kinda doesn't. Oddly enough this pseudosode also has an audio commentary track. The main point: besides all the traditional extras you'd expect there's a huge heaping more just to keep the curious fans happy until the next installment rolls out in another...uggh...6 months. Gosh darn it!
Go out there and buy or rent the DVD. Personally I say buy it because every purchase sends a strong "Bring it back!" message to those Fox Execs [read: bastards]. While not the best comedic representation of the Futurama universe, Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs provides a solid 90 minutes viewing experience. It might not be the Futurama you fell in love with all those years ago, but if you look beneath the surface you'll recognize all the things you love are still present.
DVD Review: Futurama fans will appreciate it, but it's not for everyone
Summary: 4 Stars
While it doesn't have quite the epic flare that bender's big score did, it's still a fun and enjoyable film for anyone that's familiar with the Futurama series. As for those that aren't avid Futurama fans, they might not be able to appreciate the humor as much and will think of it more like a 1.5 hour futuristic Simpson's, which can be a turnoff for some because Futurama's humor is a step above the slap stick humor of the Simpson's.
Description of Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
The thrilling conclusion to Futurama: Benders Big Score.Bender and the planet express crew must contend with a massive cosmic team that sends the world into panic.
In Futurama's latest and most tentacle-packed epic, space itself rips open, revealing a gateway to another universe. But what lies beyond? Horror? Love? Or maybe both, if it happens to contain a repulsive, planet-sized monster with romantic intentions! Nothing less than the fate of human and robot-kind is at stake as the Futurama crew takes on The Beast with a Billion Backs.
The Beast with a Billion Backs will be presented in widescreen format with English Dolby Surround 5.1, along with French and Spanish subtitles. Bonus features include:
The second of four direct-to-DVD adventures featuring the Futurama crew, The Beast with a Billion Backs picks up where its predecessor, Bender's Big Score, left off while balancing multiple love stories and the arrival of a sexually voracious alien from another universe. Unlike Bender, the various story lines converge well here--the tentacled, Lovecraftian creature Yivo (voiced by David Cross), which wants to mate with the entire population of the universe at once, makes Fry (Billy West) its de facto leader (Pope, actually), which in turn plays havoc with his relationship with new girlfriend Colleen (Brittany Murphy). And Yivo's scheme causes the people of Earth to evacuate the planet, leaving it in the hands of robots--which is, of course, excellent news for Futurama's resident mechanical malcontent, Bender (John DiMaggio). Beast is probably best understood and enjoyed by longtime fans of the series, who will recognize and appreciate the countless "surprise guests" (Robot Satan, the Harlem Globetrotters, Bender's hero Calculon, the head of Stephen Hawking), though the feature is certainly well-written and performed by its voice cast, and should provide plenty laughs for first-timers with flexible attention spans. Parents, however, should note that the humor can be fairly suggestive at times, and should exercise caution in regard to younger viewers.
Extras include a very funny commentary track with creators Matt Groening and David X Cohen, stars West, DiMaggio and Maurice LaMarche, and key members of the production team. Deleted scenes and a making-of featurette with the voice cast are entertaining, but the real features of value are Futurama: The Lost Adventure, which is culled from the Futurama game for Playstation 2, as well as a lengthy preview of the next direct-to-DVD movie, Bender's Game. Suffice it to say that the Lord of the Rings weighs heavily on the storyline. -- Paul Gaita
Beyond Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs on DVD
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