Into The Wild Green Yonder
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''Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder'' is a 2009 American
direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...
adult animated An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and ...
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
-
adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...
based on the animated series ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...
'', and the fourth and final of the
direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strateg ...
films that make up the show's fifth season. The film was written by
Ken Keeler Ken Keeler (born December 2, 1961) is an American television producer and writer. He has written for numerous television series, most notably ''The Simpsons'' and '' Futurama''. According to an interview with David X. Cohen, he proved a theorem ...
, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by
Peter Avanzino Peter Avanzino (born May 26, 1962) is an American animation director. He has directed several episodes of '' Futurama'', and served as supervising director on the 6th and 7th seasons of the series. Avanzino works for Rough Draft Studios in Gl ...
. Guest stars include
Phil Hendrie Philip Stephen Hendrie is an American radio personality and actor. He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry. He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting '' The Phil Hendrie Show'', a radio talk show where h ...
,
Penn Jillette Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American Magic (illusion), magician, actor, comedian, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller (magician), Teller as half of the t ...
(credited with Teller),
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
, and
Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...
, who sings the theme song. In the movie, Leela becomes an outlaw when she and a group of ecologically-minded feminists attempt to save an asteroid of primitive life forms and the Violet Dwarf star from being destroyed, while Fry joins a secret society and attempts to stop a mysterious species known as the "Dark Ones" from destroying all life in the universe. The title itself is a reference to the U.S. Air Force Song, the main chorus of which describes reaching "Into the wild blue yonder". The
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
were released by
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
on February 23, 2009, while the film itself premiered on February 6, 2009, at
New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, Film, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,00 ...
. It made its broadcast premiere on
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
on August 30, 2009. The film and its predecessors together comprise
season five A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...
of ''Futurama'', with each film being separated into four episodes of the broadcast season. It won the 2009
Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...
for Best Home Entertainment Production, and 20th Century Fox and Comedy Central cited sales of ''Into the Wild Green Yonder'' and the other ''Futurama'' direct-to-DVD movies as one reason Comedy Central decided to renew the ''Futurama'' television series in 2009.


Plot

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 panicking when he cannot stop hearing the thoughts of everyone around him. He meets Hutch, a transient who gives Fry a tinfoil hat to keep others' thoughts out of his head. Leo reveals plans to build the Universe's largest
miniature golf Miniature golf (also known as minigolf, putt-putt, crazy golf, and by #Nomenclature, several other names) is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest ...
course, destroying 12% of the
Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...
in the process. Farnsworth and the crew survey the site, finding an asteroid in a violet
dwarf star A dwarf star is a star of relatively small size and low luminosity. Most main sequence stars are dwarf stars. The meaning of the word "dwarf" was later extended to some star-sized objects that are not stars, and compact stellar remnants that are ...
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
secret society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...
of
tinfoil hat A tin foil hat is a hat made from one or more sheets of tin foil or aluminium foil, or a piece of conventional headgear lined with foil, often worn in the belief or hope that it shields the Human brain, brain from threats such as electromagnetic ...
-wearing telepaths led by the Number 9 man. No. 9 tells Fry of two species in an
evolutionary arms race In evolutionary biology, an evolutionary arms race is an ongoing struggle between competing sets of co-evolving genes, phenotypic and behavioral traits that develop escalating adaptations and counter-adaptations against each other, resembling the ...
: the nearly-extinct "Encyclopods", who evolved to preserve the
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
of
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
so they could be restored, and the "Dark Ones", who want to destroy all life. The violet dwarf is the only surviving egg of the Encyclopods. Due to a resurgence in the life-giving force "
Chi __NOTOC__ Chi may refer to: __NOTOC__ Greek *Chi (letter) (Χ or χ), the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon * Chi (surname) ...
", the Encyclopod will soon be reborn. As Fry is immune to the Dark Ones' psionic powers, he alone can save it from Leo Wong's plans to turn it into a golf course. 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 Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive Cell (biology), cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm ...
and flies into the star, creating an Encyclopod embryo which quickly matures, taking the form of a giant
manta ray Manta rays are large Batoidea, rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, ''Giant oceanic manta ray, M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, ''Reef manta ray, M. alfredi'', reac ...
-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
wormhole A wormhole is a hypothetical structure that connects disparate points in spacetime. It can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate points in spacetime (i.e., different locations, different points in time, or both). Wormholes are base ...
, which the Professor warns could take them trillions of
light years A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by the International Astro ...
away. Everyone agrees to go for it. Fry and Leela share a kiss as the ship enters the wormhole.


Cast

*
Billy West William Richard Werstine (born 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor, comedian, radio personality, impressionist and musician. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'', the title characte ...
as Philip J. Fry,
Professor Farnsworth Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, commonly referred to in-show as either Professor Farnsworth or simply Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''Futurama''. The mad scientist proprietor of the Planet Express ...
,
Doctor Zoidberg Dr. Johnathan Alfred Zoidberg, often referred to as John A. Zoidberg, or simply Zoidberg is a fictional character from the American animated series ''Futurama''. He is a Decapodian, a crustacean-like species of alien, who works as the staff doct ...
,
Zapp Brannigan This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American Cartoon series, animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the ad ...
, Leo Wong, Additional voices *
Katey Sagal Catherine Louise Sagal (born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on '' Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023–present), Cate He ...
as Leela *
John DiMaggio John William DiMaggio ( ; born September 4, 1968) is an American actor. His various voice roles include Bender on ''Futurama'', Jake the Dog on ''Adventure Time'', Marcus Fenix in the ''Gears of War'' series, Dr. Drakken on '' Kim Possible'', ...
as Bender, Joey Mousepad, Additional voices *
Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire "Tress" MacNeille (; born June 20, 1951) >https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macneille-tress-1951 is an American voice actress, who has contributed to voice-over work with credits including vo ...
as Mom, Fanny, Additional voices *
Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor. Across a career spanning more than four decades he has voiced Chief Quimby on Inspector Gadget, Egon Spengler on ''The Real Ghostbusters'', The Brain on ''Animaniacs'' and its spi ...
as
Kif Kroker This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a l ...
, Donbot,
Clamps Clamp may refer to: Tools and devices *Brick clamp, an early method of baking bricks *Clamp (tool), a device or tool used to hold objects in a fixed relative position (many types listed) **C-clamp **C-clamp (stagecraft) **Riser clamp, a device u ...
,
Calculon This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a l ...
, Additional voices *
Phil LaMarr Phil LaMarr is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV'', where he stayed for five seasons. His voice acting roles in animated series include the Sam B of ' ...
as
Hermes Conrad This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a l ...
, Additional voices *
Lauren Tom Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on stage, winning an Obie Award, and gained recognition for her role in '' The Joy Luck Club'' (1993). On television, she is known for her roles in the NBC sitcom ''Fri ...
as
Amy Wong This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a ...
, Inez Wong, Trixie *
David Herman David Herman (born February 20, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. He was an original cast member on ''MADtv'' from 1995 to 1997, and played Michael Bolton in ''Office Space''. He has done voice acting work in hundreds of episodes of '' ...
as Number 9, Additional voices *
Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...
as
LaBarbara Conrad This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a l ...
, Prison Warden *
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
as himself *
Phil Hendrie Philip Stephen Hendrie is an American radio personality and actor. He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry. He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting '' The Phil Hendrie Show'', a radio talk show where h ...
as Frida Waterfall, Hutch Waterfall, The Encyclopod *
Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...
as Mars Vegas singer *
Penn & Teller Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since 1975. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. The duo has bee ...
as Themselves


Continuity

The film draws upon several major and minor running themes of the ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...
'' series. As in previous environmentally-minded episodes such as "
The Problem with Popplers "The Problem with Popplers" is the fifteenth episode in the second season of the American animated television series ''Futurama'', and the 28th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May ...
", "
A Taste of Freedom "A Taste of Freedom" is the fifth episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series ''Futurama'', and the 59th episode of the series overall. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 22, 2002. The ...
" and "
The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" is the fifth episode in the third season of the American animated television series ''Futurama'', and the 37th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 4, 20 ...
", 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. 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. With dark matter now useless as fuel the Planet Express ship has been modified to run on
whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train-oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tear drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil used in the cavities of sperm whales, ...
, an alternative introduced in " Bendin' in the Wind". Fry was originally frozen and brought to the future by
Nibbler A nibbler (or pair of nibblers) is a tool for cutting sheet metal with minimal distortion. It may be used for " nibbling": cutting a contour by producing a series of overlapping slits or notches. One type of nibbler operates much like a punch a ...
, because a Nibblonian prophecy foresaw that he and his (unique) Delta-wave-deficient mind (a consequence of him being his own grandfather) would be required to save the universe. In ''Yonder'' Fry is once again appointed for such a task (though by the Legion of Mad Fellows instead of the Nibblonians), due to his immunity from the Dark Ones' psionic attacks. 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. As
fan service , fanservice or Example: A frame (numbered "25") from the English opening sequence of '' New Cutie Honey'', in which character Danbei Hayami fires a Rocket Punch as main character Honey Kisaragi lies topless and prone in the background, i ...
, the climactic scene of the film features a scene with up to 200 characters on screen at once; most minor characters from ''Futurama'''s history can be seen (Unit 2013 appearing twice) with the exception of the children (like Dwight and Cubert), who were removed when the production team realized that Morbo mentions that there are no children present. In the DVD commentary, producer David X. Cohen notes that
Rough Draft Korea Rough Draft Studios, Inc. is an American animation production studio based in Glendale, California, with a sister studio Rough Draft Korea located in Seoul, South Korea. The studio was founded in Van Nuys, Los Angeles by Gregg Vanzo in 1991. Rou ...
, ''Futuramas overseas animation studio, charged a significant premium because of the difficulty of animating this scene. 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 Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...
himself pushed for the actual conclusion. 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.


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
animatic A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proces ...
of the film from
Rough Draft Studios Rough Draft Studios, Inc. is an American animation production studio based in Glendale, California, with a sister studio Rough Draft Korea located in Seoul, South Korea. The studio was founded in Van Nuys, Los Angeles by Gregg Vanzo in 1991. Rou ...
two weeks before the deadline for the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. As a result, the writers were forced to make revisions to the script without having completely reviewed the animatic; no writing was done during the strike. The ''Futurama'' studio then received the colored film in June 2008, weeks before a proposed
Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
strike deadline, again forcing the writers to revise the script without completely reviewing the picture. 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. 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. 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 "Space Pilot 3000" is the pilot episode and series premiere of the American animated television series ''Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 28, 1999. The episode focuses on the cryogenic freezing ...
" and also "
The Cryonic Woman "The Cryonic Woman" is the nineteenth and final episode in the second season of the American animated television series ''Futurama'', and the 32nd episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on Dec ...
". 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. The script contains several detailed scientific references, such as the
Keeler Gap Saturn has the most extensive and complex ring system of any planet in the Solar System. The rings consist of particles in orbit around the planet made almost entirely of water ice, with a trace component of rocky material. Particles range from ...
in the rings of Saturn, the asteroid
2261 Keeler 61 may refer to: * 61 (number) * one of the years 61 BC, AD 61, 1961, 2061 * In some countries, a slang name for the Cyrillic letter Ы * ''61*'', a 2001 American sports drama film * "Sixty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Mountain Cz ...
, and the Keeler crater on Mars, all named after astronomer
James Edward Keeler James Edward Keeler (September 10, 1857 – August 12, 1900) was an American astronomer. He was an early observer of galaxies using photography, as well as the first to show observationally that the rings of Saturn do not rotate as a solid body. ...
. In the movie, the violet dwarf star is located at "
galactic coordinates The galactic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system in spherical coordinates, with the Sun as its center, the primary direction aligned with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the fundamental plane parallel to an ap ...
167.84, -58.03, Mark 948", and Cohen mentions in the DVD commentary that the first two coordinates refer to another astronomical object. In addition, the Martian muck leech is given the
scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
''Cyprinodon martius''. Writer Ken Keeler adapted the name from '' Cyprinodon salinus'', the scientific name of the
Death Valley pupfish The Death Valley pupfish (''Cyprinodon salinus''), also known as Salt Creek pupfish, is a small species of fish in the family Cyprinodontidae found only in Death Valley National Park, California, United States. There are two recognized subspecie ...
, which like the Martian muck leech lives in the desert and is nearly extinct. The opening musical theme is a
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
-style number, sung by ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' and ''
American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...
'' creator
Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...
, as the Planet Express ship flies around the casinos of Mars Vegas. The opening cartoon is the 1929 '' Aesop's Sound Fables'' cartoon ''The Fly's Bride''.


Reception

Overall the film has received mixed reviews. Alynda Wheat of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave the film a grade of B, saying that it catered to established fans. Scott Collura of ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' rated the film itself 5/10, praising the use of both major and minor characters from the series, and the science fiction content, but criticizing the film for being disjointed and for its "underwhelming climax" and concluding that it "never fully captures the greatness of the original series." Collura rated the DVD 7/10, noting the high quality of the video transfer, the image detail and depth, and the use of
surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to ...
and low-frequency effects. Martin Liebman of Blu-ray.com rated the movie 2.5/5 and the Blu-ray release 3.5/5 overall. Liebman praised the film for its development of the primary characters in a way that would appeal to longtime fans and new viewers, but criticized the messy plot and haphazard pacing of the movie. Liebman lauded the Blu-ray release for its crisp images, resolution of detail in the animation,
lossless Lossless compression is a class of data compression that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data with no loss of information. Lossless compression is possible because most real-world data exhibits statisti ...
soundtrack, and use of surround sound. Bruce Kirkland of
Sun Media Corporation Sun Media Corporation was the owner of several tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49% owner of the now defunct Sun News Network. It was a subsidiary of Quebecor Media. On October 6, 2014, Quebecor Media announced the sale of ...
wrote that the movie was "just as good as ''
Bender's Big Score ''Futurama: Bender's Big Score'' (or ''Bender's Big Score'') is a 2007 American animated Science fiction film, science fiction comedy film based on the list of animated television series, animated series ''Futurama''. It was released in the Unit ...
''", praising its send-ups of Las Vegas and science fiction themes and writing that it "nicely handles its environmental message with trenchant wit". Jeffrey Kauffman of ''
DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
'' rated the film four stars out of five, calling it "a fun and frenetic windup to a perhaps undervalued television gem". 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. Comedy Central cited sales of the DVD as one reason it decided to renew the ''Futurama'' television series.


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* ''
Into the Wild Green Yonder ''Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder'' is a 2009 American direct-to-video adult animated science fiction comedy-adventure film based on the animated series ''Futurama'', and the fourth and final of the direct-to-DVD films that make up the sh ...
'' at the Infosphere, the ''Futurama'' wiki * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Futurama: Into The Wild Green Yonder 2009 direct-to-video films 2009 animated films 2009 films American direct-to-video films Environmental films 2000s science fiction comedy films American science fiction comedy films American animated comedy films 20th Century Fox animated films 20th Century Fox Television films American adult animated films Fox Television Animation films American animated science fiction films Direct-to-video animated films Eco-terrorism in fiction 2000s feminist films Films directed by Peter Avanzino Films produced by Claudia Katz Films set in the 31st century Futurama films Mars in film Animated films based on animated series Golf animation Futurama season 5 episodes 20th Century Fox direct-to-video films 2000s American animated films The ULULU Company films Rough Draft Studios films 2009 American television episodes Works by Ken Keeler Works by David X. Cohen 2009 comedy films 2000s English-language films American golf films English-language science fiction comedy films