Entertainment
 

Bender's Game

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Bender's Game
Released November 4, 2008 (USA)
November 2008 (UK)
December 10, 2008 (Aus)
Directed By Dwayne Carey-Hill
Written By Eric Horsted
Guests Rich Little as Himself
George Takei as Himself
Preceded by The Beast with a Billion Backs
Followed by Into the Wild Green Yonder

Bender's Game is the third of the four Futurama straight-to-DVD films, and was released November 3, 2008.


Contents

[edit] Plot

Due to an apparent shortage of dark matter, which is used to power starships, fuel prices have begun to rise, prompting Professor Farnsworth to prohibit flying the Planet Express ship unless absolutely necessary. However, Leela has begun to develop anger issues and, upset about being insulted by Sal, enters the ship in a Space Demolition Derby, trashing the ship. As punishment, Leela is forced to wear a 50,000-volt shock collar that activates whenever she has a violent thought, uses profanity, has a sexual thought or lies.

Meanwhile, Bender feels left out when he sees Cubert Farnsworth and Dwight Conrad playing Dungeons & Dragons; he can't play because robots are not installed with imaginations. Trying as hard as he can, Bender manages to imagine himself as a medieval knight and joins the game, naming himself Titanius Anglesmith. However, since he was never meant to have an imagination, Bender gradually believes himself to be a real knight in the magical world of Cornwood and causes chaos everywhere. He is eventually apprehended and brought the Hal Institute for Criminally Insane Robots.

"Titanius Angelsmith"

The Professor reveals to the crew that when he worked for Mom for the third time after realizing she was evil twice before, he tried to make dark matter into a usable fuel source. Using a particle accelerator, he created a crystal that empowered dark matter. But when he presented this to Mom, she took the crystal for herself. Mom fired Farnsworth and left him for Ogden Wernstrom, her ex-husband. However, he also created an anti-backwards crystal, that, if brought within a six inch proximity to it's sister crystal, could render dark matter useless again. This would then compel scientists to create an alternative fuel. However, he had forgotten where he had put it, as Dwight and Cubert had found it in the downstairs walrus tank and made it into a twelve-sided die. The Professor managed to activate a smell on the crystal that he could detect with his smelling aid, but Mom learns that the crystal still exists and sends her sons, Walt, Larry and Ignar to take it back, disguised as owl exterminators. However, they foul up and the crystal ends up in Farnworth's hands.

Meanwhile, Dr. Perceptron at the Hal Asylum tries to put Bender through all sorts of therapies but nothing works. Therefore, the doctor has to give him a robotomy.

Farnsworth, Leela and Fry infiltrate Mom's dark matter mine, fooling the Killbots into thinking that they are flying the ship, which is actually on remote control. But they soon find that the mine is actually a farm, full of Nibblonians and Leela's beloved Nibbler, who was captured by Mom's sons. The Nibblonians are being force fed chickens and prune juice, which they can't help but to eat, so that they excrete dark matter. However, Nibbler is surprised that they aren't amazed that he can talk; Fry explains that he didn't erase their memories back then and they kept him as a pet because it was better as he was cuter that way. Nibbler explains that exactly 36 years ago, he was head of a Nibblonian outpost on Vergon 6. However, with all the dark matter they excreted into the planet, DOOP began to mine the planet, with the help of Mom. When the planet was sucked dry, Mom learned that Nibblonians produced dark matter and captured a ship full of them, except Nibbler, who was later kidnapped by Mom's sons.

Suddenly, Igner spots them, directing them up the "primary chicken valve" to Mom's office, having been compelled by the unexplained secret Mom told his brothers. They attempt to bring the two crystals together, but Mom brings up a gun. Farnsworth then swallows the anti-backwards crystal, forcing Mom to order her sons to inject prune juice into him. Suddenly, all dark matter begins to resonate, especially the stockpile Bender has in his chest cavity. Suddenly, Bender disappears, just as he was about undergo a robotomy and everyone at the mine feels the ice floor cave beneath their feet.

Fry and Leela then come out the ground somewhere, finding the anti-backwards crystal and discovering that Leela is now a centaur, Leegola. They meet Titanius Anglesmith and learn that they are in Cornwood. Titanius treats them to roasted munchkin and entertainmet by dancing dwarves at his castle until Calculon rides up to warn them of danger. The crew ride out and attack Waltazar, Larius, and Ignus. The brothers are banished when Frydo accidentally rolls the anti-backwards crystal, or the Die of Power as they call it in Cornwood. Frydo and company meet The Great Wizard Greyfarn, who tells them that Momon had created a set of dice from the living plastic in the Geysers of Gygax. Momon put too much of her power into the Die of Power and subsequently lost it. To defeat her, they must journey to her lands to destroy it in the lake of plastic.



Wipe Castle

As they begin their quest, they come upon a tribe of centaurs, led by the intersexual, pacifist Hermaphrodite. Leegola is excited that her people, as a group of well-trained archers, can defeat Momon's armies. However, the centaurs are opposed to fighting but have no choice but to let them pass. The group arrives at the Cave of Hopelessness, guarded by a huge ogre. Gynecaladriel , queen of the water nymphos, joins their quest, seducing the ogre and putting him to sleep. As they enter the cave, they meet a large, centepede-esque creature, Zoidberg, whom they presume to be the Tunneling Horror. Leegola brutally kills him, eating his two hearts. Unfortunately, they learn that he is not the Tunneling Horror. Horrified that she had killed an innocent monster, Leela runs off and joins the centaurs. Suddenly, the real Tunneling Horror arrives, but Frydo defeats it after rolling the die, causing him to grow. Greyfarn warns him not to be seduced by the die's power, but Frydo degenerates into a crawling Gollum-like creature, who is obsessed with the die and eventually runs off. The crew decides to seek help at Wipe Castle in getting past Momon's armies, but the king, Roberto, had sent his men out on a pointless suicide mission, forcing the crew to defend the castle themselves. Also, Momon had overheard them going to Wipe Castle before Frydo left them and sends Waltazar and Larius with all their armies to attack the castle, refusing to leave a small contingent behind.

A declaration of war is announced and Leegola takes control of the centaur herd after beating up Hermaphrodite, refusing to participate in a tedious debate. She leads her armies to Wipe Castle, slaughtering Momon's legions. Gynecaladriel "repays" Leegola by making out with her. Just then, they noticed two volcanoes erupting, meaning that Frydo is engaged in battle with Momon. However, Titanius suggests that they wait while watching Gynecaladriel and Leegola make out.

Frydo, accompanied by the still living head of Zoidberg, arrives in Momon's lair. But he is too compelled by the power of the die to destroy it, so Zoidberg bites him. Momon becomes a dragon to get the die, but it grants Frydo "Mirror Mania", allowing him to mimic her dragon form. While they battle, his friends arrive. Ignus, riding a giant spider, which he thinks is a bug, tells Greyfarn that he is in fact his son. However, Momon seizes the die after Greyfarn squished Zoidberg.

Suddenly, the crew and Mom and her sons end up back at the mine. The Professor explains that the dark matter in Bender's chest, coupled with his imagination, created Cornwood. However, they go through deja vu as they try to fill him with prune juice. Farnsworth asks for one last thing; a hug his son, Ignar. Ignar had swallowed Mom's crystal and their hug effectively destroys the two crystals, rendering all dark matter useless. Farnsworth quickly comes up with an alternative fuel, known as "nibbler power", which involves the pilot holding a carrot on a fishing pole just out of the Nibblonians reach, prompting them to move forward to get the carrot. This is how the professor gets them home.

[edit] Cast

[edit] DVD Extras/Special Features

The DVD extras contained:

  • Commentary by Matt Groening, David X Cohen, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Michael Rowe, Claudia Katz and Dwayne Carey-Hill
  • Storyboard Animatic
  • Futurama Genetics Lab
  • Dungeons and Dragons and Futurama Featurette
  • How to Draw Futurama in 83 easy steps
  • 3-D models with animator discussion
  • Deleted Scene
  • Blooperama 2 (Outtakes from Bender's Game)
  • Bender's Anti-piracy Warning
  • Into the Wild Green Yonder Sneak Peek (Trailer)

[edit] Trivia

  • The film is dedicated to Gary Gygax who passed away during production.
  • The title of the film is a reference to a famous science fiction novel Ender's Game, written by Orson Scott Card.
  • The sketch where Bender is in a video game type place, he pounds his chest like Donkey Kong.
  • The scene during which the Planet Express ship crashed into the billboard, the animation is based on the Beatles children's movie Yellow Submarine.
  • Reference to Star Trek: during the demolition derby, George Takei's Enterprise NCC-1701 pushes Scott Bakula's Enterprise NX-01 and says, "Way to kill the franchise, Bakula!".
  • Lord of the Rings references abound in Cornwood.
  • Fry is the only character not to be changed when he becomes Frydo.
  • When Leela goes to "Mighty Hermaphrodite" seeking to learn the ways of wimpiness, the Teletubbies can be seen.
  • "Mighty Hermaphrodite" is a punning reference to the film Mighty Aphrodite.
  • Nurse Rachet is a reference to Nurse Rached from 'One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'
  • Farnsworth mentions the god "Atheismo", presumably the god of Atheists.

[edit] Alienese

[edit] Goofs

  • Richard Nixon's jar reads "Rich Little".
  • When Treedledum is carrying the crew, Bender's horse is missing until they touch land.

[edit] Debut Appearances



Futurama DVD movies
Bender's Big Score | The Beast with a Billion Backs | Bender's Game | Into the Wild Green Yonder
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