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{{short description|2007 film by Dwayne Carey-Hill}}
{{Plot|date=November 2007}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox Film
{{Infobox film
| name = Futurama: Bender's Big Score | name = Futurama: Bender's Big Score
| image = Dvdcoverbender.jpg | image = Dvdcoverbender.jpg

| image_size =
| caption = | caption = DVD cover
| director = ] | director = ]
| producer = ] | producer = Lee Supercinski<br />]
| writer = ]<br>]<br>(Story)<br>]<br> (Teleplay) | screenplay = ]
| story = Ken Keeler<br />]
| narrator =
| narrator =
| starring = ]<br/>]<br/>]<br/>]<br/>]
| starring = ]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br>]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]
| music = ] | music = ]
| cinematography = | cinematography =
| editing = Paul D. Calder | editing = Paul D. Calder
| distributor = ] | distributor = ]
| studio = ]<br/>]{{efn|Credited as "30th Century Fox Television".}}
| released = {{flagicon|USA}} ], ]<br/>{{flagicon|AUS}} ], ]<br/>{{flagicon|UK}} ],<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}}]/]
| released = {{Film date|2007|11|27|United States|2008|03|05|Australia|2008|04|07|United Kingdom}}
| runtime = 89 minutes
| country = {{USA}} | runtime = 89 minutes
| language = ] | country = United States
| budget = | language = English
| gross = | budget =
| preceded_by = | gross =
| followed_by = '']''
| website = http://ilovebender.com/
| amg_id = 1:413018
| imdb_id = 0471711
}} }}
'''''Futurama: Bender's Big Score''''' (or '''''Bender's Big Score''''') is a 2007 American animated ] ] based on the ] '']''. It was released in the ] on November 27, 2007. It was the first ''Futurama'' production since the original series finale "]". ''Bender's Big Score'', along with the three follow-up films, comprise ] <!-- Please do not change. Production order, not airing order, is used here. --> of ''Futurama'', with each film being separated into four episodes of the broadcast season. ''Bender's Big Score'' made its broadcast premiere on ] on March 23, 2008.<ref name="Futon Critic">{{cite web |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7549 |title=Comedy Central's "South Park", "Li'l Bush", More to Return in March |author=The Futon Critic Staff |date=February 7, 2008}}</ref> The film was written by ], based on a story by Keeler and ], and ] by ].
'''''Futurama: Bender's Big Score''''' is a ] film based on the animated series '']''. It was released in the ] on ], ]. The movie is written by ], based on a story by him and ], and directed by ]. The film features an extended version of the ''Futurama'' theme song, as well as introductions of all the main characters during the opening sequence.


Special appearances include ] as ]-bot, ] as himself, ] as ] Zombie, ] as Fry's older brother Yancy, and ] returning as Fry's ex-girlfriend Michelle (having previously voiced the role in "]").
The film features return appearances by many of the recurring and one-shot characters in the series. Several of the notable ones include: the ], Fry's dog ], ], ], the ], ], ] (played by himself), and ] as ]. It also introduces ] as the Chanukah Zombie, a character mentioned by Kwanzaa-bot in an earlier episode.

''Bender's Big Score'' and the three follow-up films will be turned into ] of ''Futurama'' on ], each film comprising four episodes of the broadcast season.


==Plot== ==Plot==
<!-- Please review ] before adding material. -->
Two years after Box Network executives canceled Planet Express's contract, the executives are fired and Planet Express is back "on the air." As the crew celebrates, ] is decapitated, causing his wife ] to leave him. His head is placed in a jar while his body is repaired. Lars, who performs the procedure, flirts with ], much to ]'s chagrin.


During a delivery to a nude beach planet, Leela discovers a tattoo of Bender on Fry's buttocks. Three alien scammers — Nudar, Fleb and Schlump — obtain the crew's personal information and infect Bender with an obedience virus, allowing them to seize control of Planet Express. The scammers discover that Fry's tattoo has a code that allows time travel into the past. ] warns the scammers against using the code but is ignored.
Two years ago the executives of the ] canceled Planet Express's contract. Now those executives have been fired and subsequently ground into ], and Planet Express is back "on the air." They throw a party to celebrate, during which ] is decapitated and his body crushed. His head is placed in a jar while his body is repaired. The man that performs the procedure, Lars Fillmore, takes an immediate liking to ], much to ]'s chagrin.


]
During a delivery to a nude beach planet, Leela points out a ] tattoo on Fry's ], of which Fry was unaware. While on the beach, a trio of scammer aliens use flimsy excuses to get the entire Planet Express crew to sign petitions and provide their e-mail addresses.
The scammers have Bender use the code to steal valuable objects from Earth's past and a doomsday device from ], storing them in a cave beneath the Planet Express building. Hermes has Bender retrieve an earlier version of his body so he can win back his wife. Leela and Lars date, further depressing Fry.


Once the scammers have history's treasures, they decide to eliminate the time code by killing Fry. Fry uses the code to escape to ]. The scammers send Bender after him. Bender arrives before Fry, creating a duplicate of himself when he has to use the bathroom. Another Bender from "way at the end" appears, opens Fry's cryogenic tube and puts the tattoo on his butt. When Fry arrives, the first Bender duplicate inadvertently initiates a self-destruct due to not going to the bathroom. Fry shoves that Bender into another tube, then escapes. The original Bender spends 12 years hunting Fry before seemingly killing him by blowing up his apartment.
Upon returning to Earth, the entire crew receives hundreds of spam messages. The crew responds to the offers and Bender is infected with a virus. The scammers fool ] into signing over his business to them, and they show up to take over. Bender's virus compels him to obey the scammers without question. The scammers are drawn to the tattoo on Fry's buttocks, which is revealed to contain the binary code for ]-correcting ]. ] explains that using the code could destroy the universe, but they ignore him.


Bender reports his success to the scammers, who erase the time code and the virus. The crew holds a memorial for Fry, but he suddenly appears. Fry says he created a duplicate of himself, which remained in the past while he accidentally fell into his cryo-tube alongside his original 2000 self. Awaking 1,000 years later, the present Fry froze himself until the current year. The Fry duplicate spent the years before Bender's attack working at Panucci's Pizzeria, then at an aquarium caring for Leelu, an orphaned narwhal. He also spent time with his family and tended to his beloved dog Seymour Asses. Nibbler removes the tattoo from Fry to prevent further abuse from the scammers. Leela and Lars decide to marry, but during the wedding, Hermes is again decapitated. Farnsworth says that Hermes' body would have died anyway; time paradox duplicates are doomed to die prematurely. Lars panics and leaves Leela.
]
The scammers have Bender use the code to steal every valuable object in human history. Meanwhile, Hermes asks Bender to travel back in time and kill an earlier version of himself for a replacement body, since repairs to his current body were delayed when the head museum was scammed. The Professor analyzes the time-travel code and discovers that all time-travel duplicates, including Hermes' new body, are doomed.


The scammers trick ] into giving Earth to them. Exiled to Neptune, the population assembles a fleet alongside their allies and enemies. Hermes has his brain wired into the ship's battle computer, allowing him to destroy the scammers' fleet and win back his wife. When the scammers threaten to destroy the Planet Express ship with the doomsday device unless the crew surrender; Bender reveals to the crew that he had stolen the device back from the scammers for his own use. Leela then fires the device, destroying the scammers' ship.
Once Bender has stolen everything of value from history, the scammers decide to destroy the time-travel code by killing Fry and blanking Bender's memory. Fry uses the time code to escape to ], ], the day he was frozen, and Bender is sent back to kill him. While waiting for Fry, Bender creates a duplicate of himself when he needs to use the bathroom. The duplicate Bender catches Fry as he appears in the past and attempts to kill him, only to have his feelings for Fry cause an overload. Fry shoves him in a cryo-tube before he can explode. Fry leaves by the time the original Bender walks out of the bathroom, and Bender spends the next twelve years hunting Fry, eventually blowing up Panucci's Pizza when Fry walks inside.


Fry arranges for Leela and Lars to reconcile at the cryogenic lab. Having survived the attack, Nudar ambushes them. Lars tricks Nudar into approaching the Bender duplicate on self-destruct and holds them down as the duplicate explodes, killing them. The explosion reveals the Bender tattoo on Lars, revealing him as the Fry duplicate who survived Bender's attack in 2012 and froze himself to return to the future and be with Leela; he ultimately canceled the wedding to spare Leela the pain of his death as a time paradox duplicate.
Once Bender returns to report his apparent success, the scammers wipe his memory (including 50 ] of ]) and the virus. When the crew holds a funeral, Fry is revealed to be alive and well, having created a time-travel duplicate of himself which remained in the twentieth century while he hid in another cryo-tube and came back to the future. Nibbler destroys the time travel tattoo to keep the scammers from abusing it further.


Bender removes Lars' tattoo and travels to 2000 to place it on Fry in the cryogenic tube so that the events that transpired "make any sense at all". Upon returning, Bender explains that he convinced all the duplicates of himself from his stealing sprees to stay with him, instead of leaving “when they were logically supposed to.” Nibbler urges everyone to evacuate the universe before swallowing himself. The Bender duplicates explode, causing a tear in the fabric of space, leading into the events of '']''.
Leela and Lars, having had several dates, decide to get married. At the wedding, Hermes's body is crushed by a chandelier. The Professor explains that he expected that, since all duplicates are doomed. Lars becomes agitated by Hermes' accident and calls off the wedding.
<!-- Please review ] before adding material. -->

The scammers eventually trick ] into selling Earth itself, forcing everyone to evacuate to other planets. On Neptune, Leela assembles an attack fleet with the help of Nixon and ]. ] is appointed commander of the forces; of course, his suicidal battle plan falls apart quickly. Despite the scammers having built a fleet of solid gold ]s around Earth, the attack is victorious thanks to Hermes' bureaucratic mind, ] into the battle computer. The scammers threaten the crew with a doomsday device Bender had stolen for them, but fail to realize that Bender stole it back after being released from their control. The crew fires the device at the scammers' ship, completely destroying it.

Fry sees that Leela is still unhappy that Lars left her at the altar, and tries to get her back together with Lars. The reunion is cut short by Nudar, the lead scammer, who survived the doomsday device thanks to his doom-proof vest. Nudar claims that the time-travel code still exists, and is on Lars. Lars tricks him into approaching the cryo-tube with the Bender on overload, and once that Bender is released the explosion kills them both. The explosion singes off some of Lars' clothing, revealing the time-travel tattoo. A flashback explains that Lars is actually Fry's duplicate, having survived Bender's attack in 2012, which burned off his hair and injured his larynx, changing his voice. Upon realizing that ''he'' was Lars, the duplicate froze himself (in Michelle's tube) to return to the future and be with Leela.

During the funeral, Bender removes the tattoo from Lars and travels into the past to place it on the Fry frozen in cryo-sleep. Upon returning from the cavern below the Planet Express building, Bender tells all of his copies to come up with him instead of emerging when they were logically supposed to. The sheer number of time-paradox Benders causes a giant tear in the universe. The film ends with Bender saying: "Well, we're boned."


==Cast== ==Cast==
*] as ], ], ], ], ], and Additional Voices *] as ], Lars Fillmore, ], ], ], Additional voices
*] as ] *] as ]
*] as ], ], Mr. Panucci, Barbados Slim, Elzar, and Additional Voices *] as ], ], ], Additional voices
*] as ], Ethan "Bubble Gum" Tate and Additional Voices *] as Additional voices
*] as ] and Additional Voices *] as Schlump, Additional voices
*] as ], Narrator and Additional Voices *] as ], ], Additional voices
*] as ] and Additional Voices *] as ], Additional voices
*] as Himself *] as Nudar, Additional voices
*] as ]
*] as Kwanzabot
*] as ]
*] as ]
*] as ], Fleb, Additional voices
*] as Chanukah Zombie
*] as ]
*] as Michelle
*] as ]
*] as Nudar, Scruffy, and Additional Voices
*] as ]
*] as Linda and Additional Voices
*] as Yancy Fry *] as ]
*] as ]


==Production== ==Production==
In February 2007, ''Futurama'' co-creator ] addressed speculation as to whether ''Futurama'' had been revived in episodic or feature film form, explaining that the crew is "writing them as movies and then we're going to chop them up, reconfigure them, write new material and try to make them work as separate episodes".<ref>{{cite web |author=Staff Writer |date=February 26, 2007 |title=Rhymes with Raining |publisher=Crave Online |url=http://www.craveonline.com/filmtv/articles/04647510/rhymes_with_raining.html |access-date=March 25, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318033030/http://www.craveonline.com/filmtv/articles/04647510/rhymes_with_raining.html |archive-date=March 18, 2007 |df=mdy}}</ref> A preview of the film was shown at ] 2007.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.tvblogger.org/2007/07/good-news-everyone-futurama-film.html | title = Good News Everyone! 'Futurama' Film Footage | publisher = tvblogger | access-date = July 29, 2007 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928013617/http://www.tvblogger.org/2007/07/good-news-everyone-futurama-film.html | archive-date = September 28, 2007 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> It was also reported at Comic-Con that once the movie is "chopped up" it will be reconfigured into four episodes that will be broadcast on ] on March 23, 2008. The same will be done with the succeeding three movies, creating a sixteen-episode fifth season.<ref name="Comic-con">{{cite web | url = http://www.tvblogger.org/2007/07/comic-con-futurama-is-clear.html | title = TV Blogger: Comic-Con: The 'Futurama' is Clear | publisher = tvblogger.org | access-date = July 29, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812143031/http://www.tvblogger.org/2007/07/comic-con-futurama-is-clear.html | archive-date= August 12, 2007 }}</ref> The voice recording finished on July 3, 2007.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/801/801261p1.html | title = Exclusive: Futurama Actress Gives Update | last = Goldman | first = Eric | date = July 3, 2007 | access-date = November 28, 2007 | publisher = ]}}</ref> An official trailer was released on October 10, 2007.
In February 2007, ''Futurama'' co-creator ] addressed speculation as to whether ''Futurama'' had been revived in episodic or feature-film form, explaining that the crew is "writing them as movies and then we're going to chop them up, reconfigure them, write new material and try to make them work as separate episodes."<ref>{{cite web
| author = Staff Writer
| date = ] ]
| title = Rhymes with Raining
| publisher = Crave Online
| url = http://www.craveonline.com/filmtv/articles/04647510/rhymes_with_raining.html
| accessdate = 2007-03-25
}}</ref> A preview of the film was shown at ] 2007.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.tvblogger.org/2007/07/good-news-everyone-futurama-film.html
| title = Good News Everyone! 'Futurama' Film Footage
| publisher = tvblogger
| accessdate = 2007-07-29
}}</ref> It was also reported at Comic-Con that once the movie is "chopped up" it will be reconfigured in to four episodes that will be broadcast on ] beginning in 2008. The same will be done with the succeeding three movies, creating a sixteen-episode fifth season.<ref name="Comic-con">{{cite web
| url = http://www.tvblogger.org/2007/07/comic-con-futurama-is-clear.html
| title = TV Blogger: Comic-Con: The 'Futurama' is Clear
| publisher = tvblogger.org
| accessdate = 2007-07-29
}}</ref> The voice recording finished on ] ].<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/801/801261p1.html
| title = Exclusive: Futurama Actress Gives Update
| last = Goldman
| first = Eric
| accessdate = 2007-11-28
| publisher = ]
}}</ref> An official trailer was released on ] ].


===Music===
''Futurama: Bender's Big Score'' is the first ] DVD to be released by 20th Century Fox.<ref>http://www.newscorp.com/energy/futurama.html</ref> The studio worked to reduce the carbon impact of DVD manufacture and distribution. It also features "A Terrifying Message From Al Gore", an animated short produced to promote guest star Al Gore's film '']'', a discussion on the use of mathematics in Futurama, full length audio commentary by cast and crew members as well as a full length episode of ''Everybody Loves ]''.<ref name="2Snaps">{{cite web
In addition to the background musical score, the movie contains two original "movie musical" style songs by ] that the characters perform in context. The song "I May As Well Jump" (also referred to as "Street Song") exposited the dissatisfaction of most of the characters with the ways their lives were progressing at that point in the plotline, except for Lars and Leela, who were contrastingly delighted to announce their happiness and their upcoming marriage. The song "This Trinity's Goin' to War" (also referred to as "This Toyshop's Goin' to War") exposited the plans of Robot Santa, Chanukah Zombie, and Kwanzaa-bot to provide military support to assist in the liberation of Earth. The movie also contains a cover of ]'s "30 Century Man" performed by The Jigsaw Seen.
| title = "Futurama" Feature Length Movie DVD Specs
| url = http://www.2snaps.tv/9812689
| last = Celaschi
| first = Molly
| date = ] ]
| accessdate = 2007-11-16
}}</ref>


==Torgo's Powder== ==Release==
''Bender's Big Score'' made its broadcast premiere on Comedy Central on March 23, 2008.<ref name="Futon Critic" /> The film was broken into four separate episodes which served as the first part of ''Futurama''{{'}}s fifth season, followed by '']'', '']'', and '']''. The TV movie was screened in the ] on ], which started airing ''Bender's Big Score'' on October 26, 2008. After being aired in four separate episodes, the next three movies were aired, with each of them being broken up into four episodes; creating a fifth season comprising 16 episodes overall. ''Bender's Big Score'' aired in Canada on October 12, 2008 on the ].
]'s Executive Powder is an elaborate ] throughout the film in retaliation against the ] for its mishandling and eventual cancellation of ''Futurama''.<ref name="TVSquadCohen">{{cite web
| title = David X. Cohen of Futurama: The TV Squad Interview
| last = Keller
| first = Joel
| date = ]
| accessdate = 2007-11-26
| publisher = tvsquad.com
| url = http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/11/26/david-x-cohen-of-futurama-the-tv-squad-interview/
}}</ref> The product consists of ground-up executives, including those of the film's thinly veiled Fox Network parody (the Box Network), and makes repeated appearances due to its miraculous utility in such diverse tasks as ], ], feeding heads in jars, cosmetics, ], ], and the care of ] patients. In the ''Everybody Loves Hypnotoad'' episode released with the film, Torgo's Powder is advertised as a parody of ], stating "Torgo's Powder: apply directly to the buttocks" three times in the same fashion.


In the broadcast premiere, the extended opening from the film is placed before the scene where Hermes is decapitated as opposed to after it. The first two scenes in the montage of Leela and Lars' dates were cut. The original opening subtitle "IT JUST WON'T STAY DEAD!" is kept as the opening subtitle of the first part. The three additional opening captions are: "Watch, Rinse, Repeat", "Apply directly to the foreclaw" (a reference to ]), and "Last Known Transmission of the ]." The billboard scene in all four is identical to the single scene in the film, a snippet from "]" where Fry gets frozen.
==Reception==
The movie received an "A" rating from a review at ] noting that its two musical numbers are "hilarious" and that the quality has not decreased from the show's original run.<ref name="UGO">{{cite web
| url = http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=18018&sectionId=25
| title = Futurama : Bender's Big Score Review
| last = Tarnoff
| first = Brooke
| accessdate = 2007-11-16
}}</ref> Dan Iverson of ] gave the movie an 8 out of 10, stating that "it is easy to recommend ''Bender's Big Score'' to fans of the series and those new to the show alike." They also gave the DVD a 7 out of 10, praising the extras but lamenting the quality of the video transfer.<ref name="IGN">{{cite web
| last = Iverson
| first = Dan
| date = ], ]
| title = Futurama: Bender's Big Score Review
| work = IGN
| url = http://dvd.ign.com/articles/836/836327p1.html
| accessdate = 2007-11-20
}}</ref>
It has been given a 9/10 by Movie Power magazine.{{fact}}


===Home media===
The ] gave the movie a "B".{{fact}}
''Futurama: Bender's Big Score'' is the first ] DVD to be released by 20th Century Fox.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treehugger.com/culture/a-carbon-neutral-futurama.html|title=A Carbon Neutral Futurama|first=Josh|last=Peterson|date=November 16, 2008|website=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://gei.newscorp.com/case-studies/futurama-into-the-wild-green-y.html |title=Case Studies: Futurama's DVDs Go Carbon Neutral |website=GEI.NewsCorp.com |access-date=2012-09-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519091502/http://gei.newscorp.com/case-studies/futurama-into-the-wild-green-y.html |archive-date=May 19, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The studio worked to reduce the carbon impact of DVD manufacture and distribution. It also features "A Terrifying Message From Al Gore", an animated short produced to promote guest star Al Gore's film '']'', a discussion on the use of mathematics in ''Futurama'', full length audio commentary by cast and crew members. There is also a 22-minute ] of "Everybody Loves ]".<ref name="2Snaps">{{cite web|title="Futurama" Feature Length Movie DVD Specs|url=http://www.2snaps.tv/9812689|last=Celaschi|first=Molly|date=November 14, 2007|access-date=November 16, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406004938/http://www.2snaps.tv/9812689|archive-date=April 6, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref> It was released in 16:9 widescreen format; the first 16:9 presentation of any Futurama media.


==Reception==
{{sect-stub}}
In its first week, the DVD sold 222,036 units, for a total of $3,994,428.<ref name="numbers">{{cite web |url=http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2007/0FTBB-DVD.php |title= Futurama - Bender's Big Score - DVD Sales }}</ref> As of July 24, 2008, ] reports DVD sales stand at 920,023, for a total of $16,662,212.<ref name="numbers"/>


The film holds a 100% rating on ], based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10.<ref>{{Rotten-tomatoes|id=futurama_the_movie_benders_big_score|title=Futurama: Bender's Big Score}}</ref> It won the 2007 Annie Award for Best Home Entertainment Production.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://annieawards.org/35thwinners.html |title=Legacy: 35th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2007) |publisher=International Animated Film Society |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815023042/http://annieawards.org/35thwinners.html |archive-date=August 15, 2010 |df=mdy }}</ref> The movie received an "A" rating in a review at ], calling its two musical numbers "hilarious", and the overall quality on par with that of the show's original run.<ref name="UGO">{{cite web |url=http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=18018&sectionId=25 |title=Futurama : Bender's Big Score Review |last=Tarnoff |first=Brooke |access-date=November 16, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118134752/http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=18018&sectionId=25 |archive-date=November 18, 2007 |df=mdy}}</ref> Dan Iverson of ] gave the movie an 8 out of 10, stating that "it is easy to recommend ''Bender's Big Score'' to fans of the series and those new to the show alike". They also gave the DVD a seven out of ten, praising the extras but lamenting the quality of the video transfer.<ref name="IGN">{{cite web | last = Iverson | first = Dan | date = November 19, 2007 | title = Futurama: Bender's Big Score Review | work = IGN | url = http://dvd.ign.com/articles/836/836327p1.html | access-date = November 20, 2007}}</ref>


==Torgo's Executive Powder==

Torgo's Executive Powder is an elaborate ] throughout the film in retaliation against the ] for its alleged mishandling and eventual cancellation of ''Futurama''.<ref name="TVSquadCohen">{{cite web | title = David X. Cohen of Futurama: The TV Squad Interview | last = Keller | first = Joel | date = November 26, 2007 | access-date = November 26, 2007 | publisher = tvsquad.com | url = http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/11/26/david-x-cohen-of-futurama-the-tv-squad-interview/| archive-url = http://web.archive.org/web/20080509140058/http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/11/26/david-x-cohen-of-futurama-the-tv-squad-interview/ | archive-date = May 9, 2008 }}</ref> The product is said to have "a million and one uses" and consists of ground-up executives, including those of the film's thinly veiled Fox Network parody (the Box Network), and makes repeated appearances due to its miraculous utility in such diverse tasks as ], ], ], feeding heads in jars, cosmetics, ], ], and the care of ] patients. In the "Everybody Loves Hypnotoad" episode released with the film, Torgo's Powder is advertised as a parody of ], stating "Torgo's Powder: apply directly to the buttocks" three times in the same fashion. When the film was aired on Comedy Central, a fake commercial was shown preceding the first break in which a woman dumps some of the powder in a toilet. It appears once in '']'' on Fry and Bender's kitchen counter, when Bender is washing a pot and is about to jump out of the window.<ref>Audio commentary for '']''.</ref>
==Contunity Changes==
* The movie signifigantly alters the meaning of the ending to the episode "Jurrasic Bark". Fry does return to his dog, so Seymore's "long wait" for Fry at the end of the episdoe is not a contiuious twelve years, nor does it end with his death. The very old Seymore seen at the end of the episode is simply going to sleep at some point in 2012 not finaly dieing from old age, since he is quite alive when he is Fast Fossilized.
* Parts of the episdoe "Luck of the Fryish" are also made errinious by the film as Philliph Fry Jr. now does get to know his Uncle and is not named for him as a memorial. Also since Fry is shown in the film with his 7 Leaf Clover it can be assumed he gave it to Yancy to give to Jr. rather than Yancy stumbleing across it.


==References== ==References==
{{reflist|2}} {{reflist|40em}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist|40em}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{wikiquote|Futurama#Bender's Big Score|Bender's Big Score}} {{wikiquote|Futurama: Bender's Big Score|Bender's Big Score}}
* {{imdb title|id=0471711|title=Futurama: Bender's Big Score}} *{{IMDb title|0471711}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|futurama_the_movie_benders_big_score}}
*
*
*'']'' at ''The Infosphere''.


{{Futurama episodes}} {{Futurama}}
{{Futurama episodes|5}}
{{Matt Groening}}
{{Rough Draft Studios}}
{{20th Century Fox Animation}}
{{Annie Award for Best Animated Home Entertainment Production}}


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Latest revision as of 22:01, 21 December 2024

2007 film by Dwayne Carey-Hill

Futurama: Bender's Big Score
DVD cover
Directed byDwayne Carey-Hill
Screenplay byKen Keeler
Story byKen Keeler
David X. Cohen
Produced byLee Supercinski
Claudia Katz
StarringBilly West
Katey Sagal
John DiMaggio
Tress MacNeille
Maurice LaMarche
Phil LaMarr
Lauren Tom
David Herman
Al Gore
Edited byPaul D. Calder
Music byChristopher Tyng
Production
companies		The Curiosity Company
20th Century Fox Television
Distributed by20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release dates
  • November 27, 2007 (2007-11-27) (United States)
  • March 5, 2008 (2008-03-05) (Australia)
  • April 7, 2008 (2008-04-07) (United Kingdom)
Running time89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Futurama: Bender's Big Score (or Bender's Big Score) is a 2007 American animated science fiction comedy film based on the animated series Futurama. It was released in the United States on November 27, 2007. It was the first Futurama production since the original series finale "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings". Bender's Big Score, along with the three follow-up films, comprise season five of Futurama, with each film being separated into four episodes of the broadcast season. Bender's Big Score made its broadcast premiere on Comedy Central on March 23, 2008. The film was written by Ken Keeler, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by Dwayne Carey-Hill.

Special appearances include Coolio as Kwanzaa-bot, Al Gore as himself, Mark Hamill as Chanukah Zombie, Tom Kenny as Fry's older brother Yancy, and Sarah Silverman returning as Fry's ex-girlfriend Michelle (having previously voiced the role in "The Cryonic Woman").

Plot

Two years after Box Network executives canceled Planet Express's contract, the executives are fired and Planet Express is back "on the air." As the crew celebrates, Hermes is decapitated, causing his wife LaBarbara to leave him. His head is placed in a jar while his body is repaired. Lars, who performs the procedure, flirts with Leela, much to Fry's chagrin.

During a delivery to a nude beach planet, Leela discovers a tattoo of Bender on Fry's buttocks. Three alien scammers — Nudar, Fleb and Schlump — obtain the crew's personal information and infect Bender with an obedience virus, allowing them to seize control of Planet Express. The scammers discover that Fry's tattoo has a code that allows time travel into the past. Nibbler warns the scammers against using the code but is ignored.

Bender destroys New York while being pursued by Swedish authorities in 2308, one of the many moments of continuity with previous episodes

The scammers have Bender use the code to steal valuable objects from Earth's past and a doomsday device from Professor Farnsworth, storing them in a cave beneath the Planet Express building. Hermes has Bender retrieve an earlier version of his body so he can win back his wife. Leela and Lars date, further depressing Fry.

Once the scammers have history's treasures, they decide to eliminate the time code by killing Fry. Fry uses the code to escape to January 1, 2000, just after he was frozen. The scammers send Bender after him. Bender arrives before Fry, creating a duplicate of himself when he has to use the bathroom. Another Bender from "way at the end" appears, opens Fry's cryogenic tube and puts the tattoo on his butt. When Fry arrives, the first Bender duplicate inadvertently initiates a self-destruct due to not going to the bathroom. Fry shoves that Bender into another tube, then escapes. The original Bender spends 12 years hunting Fry before seemingly killing him by blowing up his apartment.

Bender reports his success to the scammers, who erase the time code and the virus. The crew holds a memorial for Fry, but he suddenly appears. Fry says he created a duplicate of himself, which remained in the past while he accidentally fell into his cryo-tube alongside his original 2000 self. Awaking 1,000 years later, the present Fry froze himself until the current year. The Fry duplicate spent the years before Bender's attack working at Panucci's Pizzeria, then at an aquarium caring for Leelu, an orphaned narwhal. He also spent time with his family and tended to his beloved dog Seymour Asses. Nibbler removes the tattoo from Fry to prevent further abuse from the scammers. Leela and Lars decide to marry, but during the wedding, Hermes is again decapitated. Farnsworth says that Hermes' body would have died anyway; time paradox duplicates are doomed to die prematurely. Lars panics and leaves Leela.

The scammers trick Earth President Richard Nixon into giving Earth to them. Exiled to Neptune, the population assembles a fleet alongside their allies and enemies. Hermes has his brain wired into the ship's battle computer, allowing him to destroy the scammers' fleet and win back his wife. When the scammers threaten to destroy the Planet Express ship with the doomsday device unless the crew surrender; Bender reveals to the crew that he had stolen the device back from the scammers for his own use. Leela then fires the device, destroying the scammers' ship.

Fry arranges for Leela and Lars to reconcile at the cryogenic lab. Having survived the attack, Nudar ambushes them. Lars tricks Nudar into approaching the Bender duplicate on self-destruct and holds them down as the duplicate explodes, killing them. The explosion reveals the Bender tattoo on Lars, revealing him as the Fry duplicate who survived Bender's attack in 2012 and froze himself to return to the future and be with Leela; he ultimately canceled the wedding to spare Leela the pain of his death as a time paradox duplicate.

Bender removes Lars' tattoo and travels to 2000 to place it on Fry in the cryogenic tube so that the events that transpired "make any sense at all". Upon returning, Bender explains that he convinced all the duplicates of himself from his stealing sprees to stay with him, instead of leaving “when they were logically supposed to.” Nibbler urges everyone to evacuate the universe before swallowing himself. The Bender duplicates explode, causing a tear in the fabric of space, leading into the events of The Beast with a Billion Backs.

Cast

Production

In February 2007, Futurama co-creator Matt Groening addressed speculation as to whether Futurama had been revived in episodic or feature film form, explaining that the crew is "writing them as movies and then we're going to chop them up, reconfigure them, write new material and try to make them work as separate episodes". A preview of the film was shown at Comic-Con 2007. It was also reported at Comic-Con that once the movie is "chopped up" it will be reconfigured into four episodes that will be broadcast on Comedy Central on March 23, 2008. The same will be done with the succeeding three movies, creating a sixteen-episode fifth season. The voice recording finished on July 3, 2007. An official trailer was released on October 10, 2007.

Music

In addition to the background musical score, the movie contains two original "movie musical" style songs by Ken Keeler that the characters perform in context. The song "I May As Well Jump" (also referred to as "Street Song") exposited the dissatisfaction of most of the characters with the ways their lives were progressing at that point in the plotline, except for Lars and Leela, who were contrastingly delighted to announce their happiness and their upcoming marriage. The song "This Trinity's Goin' to War" (also referred to as "This Toyshop's Goin' to War") exposited the plans of Robot Santa, Chanukah Zombie, and Kwanzaa-bot to provide military support to assist in the liberation of Earth. The movie also contains a cover of Scott Walker's "30 Century Man" performed by The Jigsaw Seen.

Release

Bender's Big Score made its broadcast premiere on Comedy Central on March 23, 2008. The film was broken into four separate episodes which served as the first part of Futurama's fifth season, followed by The Beast with a Billion Backs, Bender's Game, and Into the Wild Green Yonder. The TV movie was screened in the United Kingdom on Sky1, which started airing Bender's Big Score on October 26, 2008. After being aired in four separate episodes, the next three movies were aired, with each of them being broken up into four episodes; creating a fifth season comprising 16 episodes overall. Bender's Big Score aired in Canada on October 12, 2008 on the Global Television Network.

In the broadcast premiere, the extended opening from the film is placed before the scene where Hermes is decapitated as opposed to after it. The first two scenes in the montage of Leela and Lars' dates were cut. The original opening subtitle "IT JUST WON'T STAY DEAD!" is kept as the opening subtitle of the first part. The three additional opening captions are: "Watch, Rinse, Repeat", "Apply directly to the foreclaw" (a reference to HeadOn), and "Last Known Transmission of the Hubble Telescope." The billboard scene in all four is identical to the single scene in the film, a snippet from "Space Pilot 3000" where Fry gets frozen.

Home media

Futurama: Bender's Big Score is the first carbon-neutral DVD to be released by 20th Century Fox. The studio worked to reduce the carbon impact of DVD manufacture and distribution. It also features "A Terrifying Message From Al Gore", an animated short produced to promote guest star Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth, a discussion on the use of mathematics in Futurama, full length audio commentary by cast and crew members. There is also a 22-minute full length episode of "Everybody Loves Hypnotoad". It was released in 16:9 widescreen format; the first 16:9 presentation of any Futurama media.

Reception

In its first week, the DVD sold 222,036 units, for a total of $3,994,428. As of July 24, 2008, The Numbers reports DVD sales stand at 920,023, for a total of $16,662,212.

The film holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. It won the 2007 Annie Award for Best Home Entertainment Production. The movie received an "A" rating in a review at UGO, calling its two musical numbers "hilarious", and the overall quality on par with that of the show's original run. Dan Iverson of IGN gave the movie an 8 out of 10, stating that "it is easy to recommend Bender's Big Score to fans of the series and those new to the show alike". They also gave the DVD a seven out of ten, praising the extras but lamenting the quality of the video transfer.

Torgo's Executive Powder

Torgo's Executive Powder is an elaborate running gag throughout the film in retaliation against the Fox Network for its alleged mishandling and eventual cancellation of Futurama. The product is said to have "a million and one uses" and consists of ground-up executives, including those of the film's thinly veiled Fox Network parody (the Box Network), and makes repeated appearances due to its miraculous utility in such diverse tasks as seasoning, surgery, delousing, feeding heads in jars, cosmetics, bomb disposal, artillery, and the care of head transplant patients. In the "Everybody Loves Hypnotoad" episode released with the film, Torgo's Powder is advertised as a parody of HeadOn, stating "Torgo's Powder: apply directly to the buttocks" three times in the same fashion. When the film was aired on Comedy Central, a fake commercial was shown preceding the first break in which a woman dumps some of the powder in a toilet. It appears once in Bender's Game on Fry and Bender's kitchen counter, when Bender is washing a pot and is about to jump out of the window.

References

  1. ^ The Futon Critic Staff (February 7, 2008). "Comedy Central's "South Park", "Li'l Bush", More to Return in March".
  2. Staff Writer (February 26, 2007). "Rhymes with Raining". Crave Online. Archived from the original on March 18, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
  3. "Good News Everyone! 'Futurama' Film Footage". tvblogger. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
  4. "TV Blogger: Comic-Con: The 'Futurama' is Clear". tvblogger.org. Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
  5. Goldman, Eric (July 3, 2007). "Exclusive: Futurama Actress Gives Update". IGN. Retrieved November 28, 2007.
  6. Peterson, Josh (November 16, 2008). "A Carbon Neutral Futurama". TreeHugger.
  7. "Case Studies: Futurama's DVDs Go Carbon Neutral". GEI.NewsCorp.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  8. Celaschi, Molly (November 14, 2007). ""Futurama" Feature Length Movie DVD Specs". Archived from the original on April 6, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
  9. ^ "Futurama - Bender's Big Score - DVD Sales".
  10. Futurama: Bender's Big Score at Rotten Tomatoes
  11. "Legacy: 35th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2007)". International Animated Film Society. Archived from the original on August 15, 2010.
  12. Tarnoff, Brooke. "Futurama : Bender's Big Score Review". Archived from the original on November 18, 2007. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
  13. Iverson, Dan (November 19, 2007). "Futurama: Bender's Big Score Review". IGN. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
  14. Keller, Joel (November 26, 2007). "David X. Cohen of Futurama: The TV Squad Interview". tvsquad.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2007.
  15. Audio commentary for Bender's Game.

Notes

  1. Credited as "30th Century Fox Television".

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