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Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs

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Director: Peter Avanzino
Actors: Brittany Murphy, Dan Castellaneta, David Cross, Phil Lamarr, Billy West
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD

List Price: ~~$29.99~~
Buy New: $17.96
You Save: $12.03 (40%)

New (52) Used (19) from $11.41

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

156 reviews
Sales Rank: 1652

Format: Ac-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 90
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5

MPN: FOXD2252093D
UPC: 024543520931
EAN: 0024543520931
ASIN: B00158K0V0

Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW. Authentic US release Edition (not a bootleg or import). Factory sealed. Ships much faster than Amazon super saver shipping. Ships by First Class Mail with free delivery confirmation.

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 06/24/2008 Run time: 90 minutes Rating: Nr

Amazon.com
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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Customer Reviews: Read 151 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

"Good news everyone! We've made another movie..." December 3, 2008
I was already unhappy with the first Futurama movie, so I didn't have much hope for the second. I was surprised to see that this installment of Futurama is actually two awkward subplots mashed together: Lovecraftian horror for the first half, and a meditation on religion on the second half.

On the Lovecraftian side, throw in tentacle attacks, slimy ancient gods from beyond time and space, and the nihilistic view that Heaven is a fabrication and you've got a pretty depressing, semi-creepy, not really all that funny first half. Bender finally makes good on his threat to destroy all humans, Fry conveniently forgets his entire relationship with Leela, the Robot Devil shows up for a one-note gag ... I could go on but I'll stop there.

Judging by the reviews so far, the second half went over a lot of peoples' heads. Yivo is a parody of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which is itself a parody of religion. Basically, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is a mental construct posed to challenge the notion of a divine being; if you can disprove that the Spaghetti Monster was responsible you win the argument. "Win" being a pretty subjective word, as anyone knows who has argued about religion or politics.

As one big joke about relationships and religion, Beast With a Billion Backs works pretty well. But for reasons known only to the writers, the plot shambles forward well beyond the Big Revelation by Leela about Yivo, the aforementioned Spaghetti Monster. It's like the drunk guy at a party who tells a joke, discovers no one thinks it's funny, then tells it in a slightly different way that STILL doesn't make it funny. We get it: relationships with people can be just as ridiculous as relationships with God. But this is Futurama, and while I appreciate the depth of meaning the show strives for with this movie, it feels forced. A multitude of guest appearances doesn't make up for it.

Still, I can't be too harsh on Futurama. You won't find many animated shows that are willing to take on topics like relationships and religion at the same time, so Futurama gets points for trying. I just wish it didn't try so hard.

5 out of 5 stars

Much better than the first movie November 26, 2008
Ok, I have been a big fan of Futurama and own all of the DVD's, but was very disappointed with the first movie. I thought the story was way too convoluted and simply not funny. I wasn't looking forward to this movie after I read some bad reviews. DON'T BELIEVE THEM! This movie brings it all back home.

Unlike the first movie where it was almost impossible to follow the complex story line, this movie is just like the original series. Its funny and has a great story. Bender is hilarious! You won't be disappointed. Buy it!

5 out of 5 stars

Barely a 5 star rating. Still excellent. November 20, 2008
I debated with myself as to if I should give this a 5 or 4 star rating. However, my deep appreciation that they are releasing movies after such a long drought makes me recommend it. My complaint is that it as not as funny as the TV episodes or even the first movie. Still, it is funny and I do love the characters.

4 out of 5 stars

All three movies November 12, 2008
I have casually watched the series in the past. Recently, I casually watched a few reruns and started really getting into Futurama. I saw some of Bender's Big Score on TV and then watched the whole movie on DVD.

Of the three, I loved BBS the best. There were a lot of funny jokes and I love how they complexly interwove time travel into the movie. When you watch with the commentary on, you learn of all the thought that went behind this movie (e.g. numbers in the background, how they came up with equations, etc.) which they didn't do in the subsequent two movies. Couldn't watch the whole Hypnotoad episode. Zzzzzz. 5 stars.

The Beast of a Billion Backs was an interesting story but I personally didn't think it was that funny. 3 and half stars = 4 for the story, 3 for the (lack of) laughs.

Bender's Game was funnier than BBB but I'm not crazy about parodies because if you've missed the parodied movie.... In this case, it was the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy. 4 stars.

Still, I am great fan and will purchase the 4 season episodes.

3 out of 5 stars

Not Great, But Not Awful... October 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I'm a Futurama fan of a few years... watching the series got me more interested in learning about quirky quantum physics, and other oddities that made the show a gem in the world of animation.
Loved Bender's Big Score... it hearkened back in a small way to season 4, with the exploration of the Fry/Leela relationship. And I like a little drama combined with satire and comedy (and insane characters). Adds depth to the characters, and the show, in my opinion.
That said, I didn't like BWAMB nearly as much as BBBS. It destroyed all the emotional buildup of the end of the original series and the first movie. That threw me off my game in a big way. Also, I would have liked more of the witty zingers and quotables I grew accustomed to with the show.
And I know a lot of people complain about the giant tentacled Yivo. If any of you ever watched a few genuine 1950's B movies, you'd understand why Yivo is there. The DVD cover also makes more sense when you connect BWAMB to movies like The Crawling Eye, and other wacked out sci fi movies of the late 50's. I do admire the Futurama crew for what they attempted here, in lampooning the B movie genre. Sadly, it doesn't measure up to their standards established by the show. Nor does it go far enough in its satire of b movies.
I hope Bender's Game will be an improvement. I REALLY hope Into The Wild Green Yonder surpasses even that. I've grown rather attached to all the characters, and hope Fry and Leela end up together, and end the movie series (and possibly the entire series) on a happy note. Is real closure too much to ask for?

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