Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder | |
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Peter Avanzino | |
Screenplay by | Ken Keeler |
Story by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | |
Edited by | Paul D. Calder |
Music by | Christopher Tyng |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder is a 2009 American
The
Plot
This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (July 2020) |
The Planet Express crew visits Amy's parents, Leo and Inez, who are destroying the "old" Mars Vegas and constructing a more extravagant one. A group of eco-feminists led by Frida Waterfall protests the destruction of the environment, leading to an accident that leaves Frida's necklace lodged inside Fry's brain. The destruction upsets Leela, but Leo has bribed Professor Farnsworth to rubber-stamp the project. Leela saves a Martian muck leech, the last of its species, from the site.
In New Mars Vegas, Fry starts going mad when he cannot stop hearing the thoughts of everyone around him. He meets Hutch, a transient who advises Fry to wear a tinfoil hat to keep others' thoughts out of his head. Hutch warns Fry to beware the "Dark Ones".
Leo reveals plans to build the Universe's largest miniature golf course, destroying 12% of the Milky Way in the process. Farnsworth and the crew survey the site, finding an asteroid in a violet dwarf star system teeming with primordial life. Nevertheless, Farnsworth approves Leo's project. Disgusted, Leela joins the eco-feminists, who sabotage the project.
Hutch introduces Fry to the "Legion of Mad Fellows", a
To end the sabotage, Leo enlists Zapp Brannigan and Kif Kroker, who then hire Bender to locate the eco-feministas. Fry infiltrates Leo's empire as a security guard. Amy is angered by her father's sexist jokes and joins Leela, while Bender bugs Fry's phone in case he communicates with Leela. Fry runs into Frida and has her take a message of support to Leela, but an unseen Dark One murders Frida.
Farnsworth prepares to close Planet Express; with their delivery team missing they cannot continue. Leo Wong hires them to put up a fence around the construction site. Farnsworth cancels the closing and goes with Zoidberg and Hermes to do the job. They are captured by the eco-feminists, who commandeer the Planet Express ship. When the eco-feministas suspect Fry of murdering Frida, Fry and Leela arrange a rendezvous. They are ambushed by the Nimbus, tipped off by Bender. The eco-feministas are imprisoned.
At a Legion meeting, No. 9 explains that Fry must stop the implosion of the violet dwarf and thwart the Dark One who is sure to be present. Though no one knows the Dark One's form, its mind cannot be read, allowing Fry to identify it. No. 9 gives Fry the Omega Device, which can temporarily disable the Dark One at close range.
Bender frees the eco-feministas from prison to uphold his record for most crimes committed at once. Hermes, Zoidberg, Scruffy, and a repentant Farnsworth rescue them.
At the ceremony, Fry cannot locate an unreadable mind; he concludes that he himself (having an unreadable mind) must be the Dark One. The eco-feministas disrupt the ceremony, but Fry convinces Leela to let him proceed. Fry activates the Omega Device, which creates a small dome around the two that seemingly has no effect. Leela's leech falls to the ground, revealing itself as the final Dark One. The violet dwarf system forms a giant sperm and flies into the star, creating an Encyclopod embryo which quickly matures, taking the form of a giant manta ray-like creature. The Dark One kills Hutch, whose dying act is to pull Frida's necklace from Fry's forehead, causing Fry to lose his telepathy. The Encyclopod kills the Dark One. No. 9 convinces the Encyclopod to preserve the Dark One's DNA, but Zoidberg eats the remains before it can. The Encyclopod preserves Hutch's DNA before leaving.
Zapp attempts to apprehend the escaped prisoners, but the crew of the Planet Express ship and the Eco-feminists escape along with Kif. Fry and Leela profess their love as the Nimbus chases the Planet Express ship toward a
Ending
The ending refers to the uncertain future of the show. The makers were not sure if the show would return to TV, so if it did not, it is implied that the ship was in fact taken trillions of light years away.
The show was picked up by Comedy Central, and it is revealed in the next episode "Rebirth" that the wormhole sent the ship directly back to Earth.
Cast
- Leo Wong, Additional voices
- Katey Sagal as Leela
- Joey Mousepad, Additional voices
- Tress MacNeille as Mom, Fanny, Additional voices
- Calculon, Additional voices
- Hermes Conrad, Additional voices
- Inez Wong, Trixie
- David Herman as Number 9, Additional voices
- LaBarbara Conrad, Prison Warden
- Snoop Dogg as himself
- Phil Hendrie as Frida Waterfall, Hutch Waterfall, The Encyclopod
- Seth MacFarlane as Mars Vegas singer
- Penn & Teller as Themselves
Continuity
The film draws upon several major and minor running themes of the Futurama series. As in previous environmentally-minded episodes such as "The Problem with Popplers", "A Taste of Freedom" and "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz", the Waterfall family makes an appearance, with Frida Waterfall reappearing along with a new member, Hutch (identifying himself as Frida's brother by removing her jewelry from Fry's head as Hutch dies), and in keeping with tradition both Frida and Hutch Waterfall meet an untimely end.[2] The Encyclopod's decision to preserve Hutch's DNA defines it as Hutch's successor and serves as a warning about the fragility of the existence of the human species.[2] With dark matter now useless as fuel the Planet Express ship has been modified to run on whale oil, an alternative introduced in "Bendin' in the Wind".[2]
Fry was originally frozen and
The No. 9 man, a recurring background character throughout the series, is given a significant role in the film, though quite different from the role in the series for which he was originally conceived.[10]
As
In the final scene of the film, Amy and Kif are reunited after being estranged. After years of Fry trying to win her over, Leela finally returns Fry's love in full; Cohen notes that there was considerable debate among the Futurama writers about how to end the movie, and that Futurama creator Matt Groening himself pushed for the actual conclusion.[2]
The film was initially intended to end the series. After Futurama was renewed, its creators were unsure if the storylines in the film would be continued. Groening stated that he wanted to ignore the film's ending and move on with the show. Cohen felt differently, stating that the revelations at the end should be resolved, even if the resolutions were brief, which they were in the premiere episode of the new season.[11]
Production
The Futurama staff began working on the film in 2006, and at two different points labor issues affected the production process. According to producer Lee Supercinski, the studio realized that they were going to receive the
Aware that Into the Wild Green Yonder could have been the final Futurama episode at the time of writing, the writers inserted numerous references to that fact. The title screen displays the message "The Humans Shall Not Defeat Us" in Alien Language 1; according to Cohen, the message is a defiant statement regarding the possible end of the series.[13] Midway through the movie, a shot of the exterior of the Planet Express building draped with a banner reading "Going Out Of Business Forever! Again!" is shown, a reference to the original series' previous cancellation in 2003.[2] The scene where Professor Farnsworth removes Zoidberg's and Hermes's career chips and the countdown scene at the violet dwarf implosion ceremony both reference events from the pilot episode, "Space Pilot 3000" and also "The Cryonic Woman".[2] The cliffhanger nature of the final scene in the movie was devised so that it could conclude the series on an emotional note but also provide a point of departure for a series renewal, according to Cohen.[14]
The script contains several detailed scientific references, such as the
The opening musical theme is a Frank Sinatra-style number sung by Family Guy and American Dad! creator Seth MacFarlane as the Planet Express ship flies around the casinos of Mars Vegas while the opening cartoon is the 1929 Aesop's Sound Fables cartoon The Fly's Bride.[2]
Reception
Overall the film has received mixed reviews. Alynda Wheat of
According to The Numbers, the DVD sold approximately 83,000 units for a total of $1.6 million during its initial week of release, placing it 20th in sales across the US. As of April 19, 2009, estimated DVD sales in the US stand at approximately 159,000 units for a total of $3.03 million.[20] Comedy Central cited sales of the DVD as one reason it decided to renew the Futurama television series.[21]
References
- ^ Fritz, Steve (November 29, 2007). "Animated Shorts: David X. Cohen on Futurama, 2". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cohen, David X (2009). Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder commentary (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Seijas, Casey (February 6, 2009). "Live from New York Comic Con! Fans Treated to Futurama World Premiere". Ugo.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
- ^ Mitovich, Matt (June 10, 2009). "The Futurama Looks Bright as Comedy Central Revives 'Toon". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2009-06-13. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ^ "Rhymes with Raining". Craveonline.com. February 26, 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
- ^ "Pixar's 'Up' Wins the Annie for Best Feature" (Press release). PR Newswire. February 7, 2009. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (June 9, 2009). "'Futurama' Returns with New Episodes". Variety. Archived from the original on 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 9, 2009). "Comedy Central Resurrects 'Futurama'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
- ^ Cohen, David X (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "The Why of Fry" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Groening, Matt (2009). Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder commentary (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Iverson, Dan (July 25, 2009). "SDCC 09: The Future of Futurama". IGN. Archived from the original on 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
- ^ a b Supercinski, Lee (2009). Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder commentary (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- GamesRadar. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
- ^ Kolan, Patrick (March 3, 2009). "'Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder' Interview". IGN. Archived from the original on 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
- ^ Wheat, Alynda (February 18, 2009). "Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder DVD Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
- ^ Collura, Scott (February 8, 2009). "NYCC 09: Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
- ^ Liebman, Martin (February 25, 2009). "Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder Blu-Ray Review". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
- ^ Kirkland, Bruce (February 27, 2009). "MovieNews - Bender and Pals Deliver the Goods". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved 2009-03-05.[dead link]
- ^ Kauffman, Jeffrey (March 1, 2009). "Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (Blu-Ray)". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ "Futurama - Into the Wild Green Yonder - DVD Sales". The Numbers. April 10, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ViacomCBS. June 9, 2009. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
External links
- Into the Wild Green Yonder at the Infosphere, the Futurama wiki
- Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder at IMDb
- "Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder at SynopsiTV". Archived from the original on April 18, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2012.