There were two things I was concerned about with the reintroduction of Futurama, four years after the show was cancelled. One, I was concerned that the voices would sound different and the show would look different. And two, I was concerned that they would completely ignore the significant romantic developments between Fry and Leela from the last aired episode, "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings". So, how did they do?
Let me say up front that the movie was a lot of fun. The story was a bit episodic, since they do intend to chop it into four separate episodes to air on Comedy Central, but held together well. The story mixed various Futurama styles with a heavy dose of the more touching, character-driven episodes like "Jurassic Bark" and my favorite, "Luck of the Fryrish". (On a side note, due to some very clever and funny time-travel plot points, they may have completely invalidated the emotion behind BOTH episodes.)
Visually and aurally, my number one concern, they hit a home run. The voices sound as they should and the show looks better than it ever did. Lush settings, beautiful vistas, wonderfully presented. There's a ton going on in the background of many scenes. My concerns here were completely unfounded.
As for the second concern, the show didn't fair as well. The plot plays out as if the final episode never aired. At the end of the series, it was a foregone conclusion that Fry and Leela would be together. That they're not dating at the start of the movie and Leela is uninterested in Fry pretty much negates the whole point of "The Devil's Hands . . ." Sigh.
Other than that, this was a great relaunching of one of my favorite shows of all time. I can't wait for the next three movies.
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