Of all the types of television genres out there one that has undergone the most changes over the years has to be animation. When we were kids in the fifties animation was seen mostly in the form of old cartoons from a decade or so prior to us watching them. They were usually harmless although originally not intended for children we never perceived anything deeper in them. Then in the seventies animated movies became popular with such things as ‘Fritz the Cat’. In the comics and the resultant film the animation was sexually explicit and showed a massive amount of drug use. Of course throughout all these years there was always the Disney animated movies now challenged by studios like Pixar for the best possible animation. These are mostly just advancements in the techniques and style. What really change the face of television animation was a little set of characters called the ‘Simpsons’. This was a breakthrough for series creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. He created a brand new type of animation and most importantly a new way of presenting a story with cartoons. After the success of ‘The Simpsons’ Groening was permitted to explore a stranger world that Springfield. He created ‘Futurama’ a show about a rag tag group of losers living the third millennium. The series was picked up by Fox to make a sort of Groening hour on Sunday evening but didn’t faire as well in the ratings as is older brother. Ratings are not always a realistic indication of how well received a series is and this one gathered a large group of loyal fans making it a certified cult classic. Fox has responded with a series of four planned made for television flicks. The first two; ‘Futurama: Bender's Big Score’ and ‘Futurama: Beast with a Billion Backs’ are already out and now joined by the third installment ‘Futurama: Bender's Game’. This is true to the series with its irreverent and often dark humor. This is a long way from the old cartoons as you possible could get. If you are not already a fan of the series or previous movies this will certain put you in that category.

The twisted universe or Futuram is a warped extension of our own world. The characters all live in ‘New New York; a vast metropolis of flying vehicles and pneumatic tubes carrying people around. Philip Fry (voiced by Billy West) was born in the twentieth century and used to work as a pizza delivery guy. He was frozen and reanimated in the 31^st century now working for the interstellar ‘Planet Express’. The owner of the operation, an I’m using that term in the loosest possible way, is Fry’s boss Professor Farnsworth (voiced by Billy West) and is a direct descendant of Fry’s. The professor is a mad scientist, one of the oldest men alive and is more than a little senile. The only thing you can be sure about his inventions is they will cause problems. The pilot of the Planet Express space ship is Leela (voiced by Katey Sagal). She is beautiful and robust and also a Cyclops. Fry’s best friend is the titular Bender (voiced by John DiMaggio). He is a robot who has many human characteristics; unfortunately all thee bad ones. Bender is selfish and always looking to scheme anyone around. All of his time is taken up with drinking to excess and selling out his friends. Also part of the team is a few other bizarre characters. There is Hermes Conrad (voiced by Phil LaMarr) the company’s account. Amy Wong (Lauren Tom) is a intern but doesn’t need money since her parents are the riches people on Mars. Last there is the crustacean Dr. Zoidberg (voiced by Billy West). He is a consummate coward and even though he is a doctor has trouble telling human males from females.

Like many of the stories for ‘Futurama’ this one takes a problem in our current society and applies the venerable literary technique of reductio de adsurbum. In this particular case the topic is fuel costs. In this world the prices of dark matter has risen dramatically. All interstellar transportation is dependent of this fuel and as always it is little businesses like Planet Express that gets hits the hardest. As the film opens Fry is playing ‘Dungeons and Dragons with the professor’s clone Cubert (voiced by Cubert Farnsworth) and some other friends. Bender tries to join in but since he doesn’t have the imagination option, sold separately, he cannot tell reality from the fantasy of the game. He is sent to the HAL Institute for Criminally Insane Robots. It turns out that the one source of dark matter is a mine owned by the sinister Mom Corporation. Mom (voiced by Tress MacNeille) looks like a sweet elderly lady but she is more cut throat than Tony Soprano. Relying on some back story from the television series and previous movies the professor was once the ex-employee and one of the ex-husbands of Mom. He had invented the crystal that turns dark matter into fuel but it was stolen by Mom. It also just happens that the crystal looks like a multisided D&D die. Unrealistic coincidences are common place in this universe. As the crew tries to get to the bottom of the dark matter problem Bender starts to see everyone as a character in a ‘Lord of the Rings’ type D&D game. Leela becomes a centaur, the professor a wizard named Greyfarn and Amy is the queen of the ‘waternymphos’. Bender bolts a visor to his face and sees himself as a knight in armor. This flick is a combination of fantasy, science fiction and satire that is incredibly well constructed.

Adding to the enjoyment of this flick are all the little pop cultural references that the writers include. Rosie the robot from ‘The Jetson’s’ makes an appearance at the HAL institute that will have you rolling on the floor. Fox certainly knows how to present a DVD. They technical specifications are great. There are also a lot of extras to keep the enjoyment in high gear. There is a cast and crew commentary track that is as funny as the feature. Also included are ‘Story Animatic’, ‘Futurama Genetics Lab’, ‘D&D&F (aka "Dungeons & Dragons & Futurama’, ‘How to Draw Futurama in 83 Easy Steps’’ bloopers and deleted scenes. Rounding things off is Bender giving an anti-piracy warning and a preview of the forth film in this series. It is great that this series has found a continued life in these ninety minute movies. The show was just too good to go into that dark good night. This installment is good as a stand alone movie but you will most likely want to invest in the other two and look forward to number four.