Into the Wild Green Yonder

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Direct-to-DVD film
Into the Wild Green Yonder
ItWGY.png
Directed byPeter Avanzino
Produced byClaudia Katz
Lee Supercinski
Written byTeleplay:
Ken Keeler
Story:
Ken Keeler
David X. Cohen
(Parts One and Four)
Production number5ACV13, 5ACV14,
5ACV15, 5ACV16
Title Caption[in AL1] The humans shall not defeat us
Title referenceThe U.S. Air Force's song.
Regular DVD release date(s)(EU) 23 February, 2009
(USA) 24 February, 2009
(AU) 4 March, 2009
Blu-ray (HD) release date(s)(EU) 23 February, 2009
(USA) 24 February, 2009
(AU) 4 March, 2009
Running time89 minutes
Additional
IMDb profile
CommentaryTranscript[[:Category:{{{pictures}}} pictures|Pictures]]
The films
  1. Bender's Big Score
  2. The Beast with a Billion Backs
  3. Bender's Game
  4. Into the Wild Green Yonder

Into the Wild Green Yonder, sometimes incorrectly known as The Wild Green Yonder, is the fourth Direct-to-DVD film. It was released on 23 February, 2009 in Europe, 24 February, 2009 in the USA and on 4 March, 2009 in Australia on DVD and Blu-ray.

Guest stars include Penn & Teller, Snoop Dogg, Seth MacFarlane and Phil Hendrie.

Plot outline

Act I: 5ACV13

Main article: Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 1

In the Black Dwarf System, in the deepest part of space, a mystic green wave of light begins to spread. The wave passes through a violet dwarf system in slightly deep space, triggering the beginning of life on an asteroid there.

Cut to the old Mars Vegas, where the Planet Express crew is partying. But the party is soon to come to an end, because Leo Wong is demolishing the city in front of a crowd. Leo explains that they are going to build a new Mars Vegas, bigger and better, out further in the desert.

At the construction site, a group of environmentalist feminists, the Feministas, lead by Frida Waterfall, shows up to protest the construction. To show his appreciation, Leo blows them up, and Frida's female symbol pendant becomes lodged in Fry's brain.

Leela is disturbed by Leo's lack of respect for nature. He defends himself, explaining that he has hired Professor Farnsworth to perform an environmental survey of the construction, but Farnsworth is clearly being bribed by Leo.

A small scum puddle on the construction site is the only breeding habitat of the Desert Muck Leech (Cyprinodon martius). Leo lays a car park over the puddle, but Leela has saved a single specimen.

Due to potential legal issues because of what happened to Fry, Leo gives him a free entry to the Poker tournament. When Leo needs the rest as witnesses, Bender scores them a deal for free suites and free dinner when the new Mars Vegas opens.

At the new casinos, Fry begins to hear other people's thoughts. Out on the street, Fry's condition worsens, as more and more people's voices enter his head, and so he flees into an alley where he meets Hutch. Hutch can also read minds, and gives Fry a tinfoil hat like his own to shut out the voices. Hutch finds to his surprise that he cannot hear Fry's thoughts. Hutch warns Fry about the Dark Ones, and tells him never to speak of his ability.

Act II

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Meanwhile, the Robot Mafia and Bender are enjoying a theatre of the pornographic art. Bender becomes especially interested in the main act: Fanny. When he meets her at her dressing room, Fanny immediately becomes interested in Bender, but there is a slight hitch: Fanny is Donbot's wife. Despite this, they make out immediately behind Donbot's back.

Elsewhere, Fry wants to try out his new "superpower", and after mistaking it for invisibility, he decides to enter the poker tournament. At Elzar's restaurant in Mars Vegas, Bender reveals the affair with Fanny to the crew. Despite the obvious display to Joey Mousepad and Clamps, Donbot is still not sure that the affair is real. Bender also decides to enter the Universal Poker Championship to please Fanny. Fanny warns him that he isn't lucky enough, but Bender explains he is 40% lucky, due to some of his metal coming from a truckload of horseshoes. Fanny supplies Bender with Donbot's foot which would grant him 70% more luck. In addition to those two kinds of luck, he also stepped on a Leprechaun, which brings him up to 3 kinds of luck, with which he cannot lose.

Donbot is unwilling to jump to the conclusion that Fanny cut off his lucky foot and gave it to Bender, but explains to the gang that he'll be convinced if Bender wins the poker tournament.

Act III

At the 3009 Universal Poker Championship, hosted by Penn & Teller, Bender and Fry meet up, discovering that they both have entered. With the other contestants eliminated, it is down to Bender and Fry, but in their final hand, Bender refuses to look at his cards, leaving Fry unable to use his mind reading skills to know what to do. Fry calls Bender's all in. 3 kings and 2 aces are laid out by the dealer, Fry's hand is two aces, giving him a hand of four. Bender, however, has two kings, one being a coaster labelled "King of Beers", giving him a hand of five kings and he wins the championship.

However, Bender's win also means that Donbot has decided to deal with Bender and Fanny. Out in the desert, the Robot Mafia forces them to dig their own graves, after which they bury and shoot them a few times as a warning.

Act IV: 5ACV14

Main article: Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 2

The distraught staff of Planet Express arrive in the desert to begin searching for Bender's remains. They quickly find them as Bender and Fanny aren't dead, because the whole ordeal was purely a warning.

At Wongminster, Leo's miniature golf club, Leo is playing a round with Fry, Amy and Leela. Leela complains about the club's no-girl policy, and about Leo's treatment of nature and animals. Meanwhile Leo is tired of one aspect of miniature golf: that it is so damn miniature. Therefore, he has begun constructing the universe's biggest miniature golf course. He shows them the first tee, where a cannon launches a giant ball from Mars to Pluto's moon, Hydra. Leo plans to destroy 12% of the galaxy to build the course, and has hired Farnsworth to perform a environmental survey of the affected spiral arm.

With the survey in progress, Farnsworth explains why a regular sized miniature golf course simply isn't enough for men, because all men do is take other stuff and make it bigger; he illustrates the point by showing off his 301 inch Megaphallix TV but, to his discontent, a 302 Megaphallix inch model is advertised. As the Planet Express Ship arrives in the violet dwarf system, the machine discovers life on an asteroid — the intended site for the 18th hole, as well as the golf pants museum. Despite the clear signs of life, Farnsworth decides to approve for demolition, clearly keen on receiving his bribe.

At the golf course, Earth president Nixon and his vice-president, the Headless body of Agnew, are playing with Leo. They are interrupted by the Feministas (now joined by Leela), who have arrived to protest the construction of the golf course. As Agnew attempts to capture the protesters, a run-away golf cart runs him over and he is pronounced dead.

Act V

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In a speech to the planet, Nixon is not pleased with the death of his vice-president; he declares the Feministas outlaws. In their hideout, the Feministas decide to move up from simple protesting to actual sabotage. Wong has sent a ship to sweep up the rings of Saturn, but the Feministas easily sabotage it by pouring sugar in the fuel tank and shoving an organic potato in the tailpipe. To increase their public image, Leela decides to use her muck leech as their mascot.

As Fry wanders New New York's streets after Leela's departure, he runs into Hutch again. Hutch whacks him on the head and they enter a mysterious glowing dumpster.

Act VI

Hutch reveals that he is a member of the Legion of Mad Fellows. Their leader, the Number 9 Man, explains to Fry how life originally started with the Chi spreading across the universe, but for reasons unknown, the Chi began to recede. Which meant the diversity of lifeforms across the universe began to decrease. However, the knowledge of these former species was retained by the Legion of Mad Fellows, who passed the knowledge on through the ages.

However, recently, the Chi has begun to reform, and the asteroid in the violet dwarf system holds the key to the enlightenment of a new green age, and Fry's purpose is to become a shepherd and protector of it, because he lacks the Delta Brain Wave. His task is to stop Leo Wong in his goal to construct his miniature golf course. So Fry gets himself hired as a security guard at Wongminster.

Meanwhile, the Feministas are sabotaging the King Kong hole by ripping the green off its asteroid, destroying the course. On Channel √2 News, this is the top story. Linda is not pleased that Morbo always gets the top stories. In a breaking story, the Feministas have sent a tape out with a warning to Leo Wong and a call for support from the public. After the broadcast, Linda joins them.

Leo asks Nixon for help with the threat presented by the group, and Nixon sends Zapp Brannigan on the mission to stop the group. Bender joins Zapp's mission.

Act VII: 5ACV15

Main article: Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 3

In order to receive a large payment, Bender has supplied Zapp with information about the identities of the Feministas. Bender has a plan to capture their leader, Leela, by wire-tapping Fry's mobile phone.

At the construction site, Bender obtains Fry's phone, while Fry is debating with Leo and Amy. Amy is confused how Fry can be friends with Leela, yet work with Leo, and Leo cannot stop making quips about Amy's physical appearance. In disgust, Amy leaves to join the Feministas. Later, while closing up the golf course, Fry runs into Frida. Fry asks her to tell Leela that he is really on their side.

At Planet Express, Farnsworth announces that, having lost their delivery crew and with sales of Tickle Me Bender dolls declining, he is forced to close the business forever - again. He removes Hermes's and Dr. Zoidberg's career chips. However, a phone call from Leo Wong puts them back in business again. Leo has hired them to set up a fence to keep out the Feministas while he is destroys the violet dwarf star. However, before they can set up the fence, they are boarded by the Feministas, who take over the ship and paint it pink. Using the fence, the women capture Leo and Inez Wong.

Back at their hideout, Frida is writing up new slogans, while thinking about what Fry told her to say. But one of the Dark Ones is nearby and reads her thoughts. Since Frida does not know who Fry is, the Dark One kills her.

Act VIII

Itwgypart3.jpg

Near Wongminster, Fry runs into Hutch again, who brings him back to the Legion in a different hideout, which is the former city of the Native Martians. Number 9 Man tells him about two ancient species, one snakelike and one froglike, which at one time co-operated to get food, but later began an Arms Race of Evolution. One of them later became the Dark Ones, a species which preys on other lifeforms, and destroyed one entire species after another. The other species became the Encyclopods, defenders of all other lifeforms, who collect DNA from endangered species which they could then use to recreate extinct species.

The Feministas return to their hideout, keeping Farnsworth, Hermes and Zoidberg locked up. To their horror, they find Frida is dead. Leela calls Fry to prove to Amy that he is not helping Leo Wong destroy the violet dwarf.

Fry learns that the Encyclopods have died out after the Chi declined, but have left an egg behind – the violet dwarf star – which the Legion hope to hatch. However, a Dark One is on its way to the egg to ensure its destruction and the Legion does not know what they look like. Despite this, the Dark One's thoughts would be unreadable, allowing the Legion to discover the Dark One via their absence of thought. The members of the Legion cannot look for the Dark One, however, because their tin foil hats do not work at close range to the Dark Ones (which would thus reveal their plan once in close proximity to them); since Fry's brain cannot be read by anyone, he is the only one with a chance.

Interrupting, Fry's phone rings. Leela and Fry decide to meet. However, the wire-tapping of Fry's phone pays off, because Zapp and Bender are listening in on the conversation. Zapp tells Kif to set co-ordinates for Leela (apparently, which is her measurements, 36-24-36).

Act IX

At the Keeler Crater, the Nimbus infiltrates the meeting, but the Planet Express ship piloted by the Feministas arrives to save them.

The chase between the Nimbus and Feministas begins. Amy plans to lose them through the giant miniature golf course. At the windmill hole, Zapp's carelessness gets the Nimbus sliced in half by the wings of the mill, causing the loss of all his men. Despite the crippled Nimbus, the chase continues to the King Kong hole. The Nimbus is further damaged as a result of a bad shot through the gorilla. Zapp orders the ship repaired and thus cancels the chase.

The hole for the tee, however, is a wormhole, and the Planet Express ship emerges from the other side of the hole near the Nimbus, and they have moved forward enough in time that Nimbus is already repaired and so the chase is back on. While slowing down near the violet dwarf star without fuel, the Nimbus finally catches up with and arrests them.

Act X: 5ACV16

Main article: Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 4

At the Earth Supreme Court, the Feministas stand trial by the court lead by Snoop Dogg's head. The Feministas are charged for several crimes, including protecting the environment. Nixon, Bender, Fry and Leo Wong are witnesses at the trial. The vote by the judges is 5-4 to acquit. However, the female judges' votes only count half, and so it is 4-2.5 to convict.

The Feministas are sentenced to Maxi-Padlock, a high security women's prison. And with the group gone, Leo schedules the demolition for the next day. Fry is unsure what to do, so he seeks out the Legion again. The Number 9 Man explains that Fry has to stop the Dark One from stopping him stopping Leo Wong, and in order to do that, he needs the Omega Device. The device, when activated, will momentarily disable the Dark One, giving Fry a chance to stop it. However, to recognize the Dark One, Fry has to come up with a plan himself, Hutch explains that its thoughts are unreadable, which gives Fry an idea.

Act XI

At Maxi-Padlock, the group is planning an escape, Leela attempts to get the muck leech to crave its way through the walls. Back at Planet Express, Zoidberg and Scruffy have finished repainting the ship back to its original green colour, while Farnsworth and Hermes have been watching the news about the arrest on the new MagnaPhallix 304". Farnsworth has still not been convinced to do something about getting the crew back.

The muck leech has failed, but Bender breaks the Feministas out instead. Bender explains that this allows him to commit 50 felonies at once by breaking them out, putting his score way above theirs.

Act XII

At the violet dwarf star, Leo has gathered a large crowd to overlook the demolition. Meanwhile, the escape from the prison is successful with the Planet Express ship arriving just in the nick of time. The rest of the staff has decided to help the group. Farnsworth explains his discontent with living with the thought that he got bribed and misused his position as a scientist.

At the gathering, Fry searches unsuccessfully for a person whose thoughts he cannot read, who must be the Dark One. Fry remembers that his own thoughts cannot be read, and concludes that he must be the Dark One himself. The Planet Express ship arrives to interrupt the countdown. Despite their efforts, Leela gives back the detonator to Fry, and he uses it straight away.

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Fry had secretly connected the wire to the Omega Device. The device has no effect on Fry; the muck leech is revealed as the last of the Dark Ones. While he is disabled, the asteroids in the star system form into the shape of a sperm, with the life-filled asteroid as its head; they float into the star, which begins dividing like an embryo, ultimately developing into an Encyclopod.

As the Encyclopod speaks, Leela asks what's going on, and as Hutch begins to tell her, he is attacked by the Dark One. As he dies he sees Frida's necklace stuck in Fry's brain, and removes it. The Encyclopod destroys the Dark One and preserves the DNA of Homo sapiens. Fry is confused, because he thought it only saved the DNA of endangered species. The Encyclopod flies off without explanation.

Zapp resumes his pursuit of Leela and the Feministas. As the crew approaches a worm hole, Leela finally admits to loving Fry. With little time, the crew agrees the only way to go now is in to the worm hole. Into The Wild Green Yonder.

Production

The choice of Ken Keeler as the main writer for Into the Wild Green Yonder was no coincidence, he also wrote the episode "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings", which back then was considered the final episode of Futurama, but later turned out simply to be the final episode of the original run.[1][2] Given how Into the Wild Green Yonder was perceived as possibly the last ever film/episode the writers got to do with Futurama, they also wanted to make this a memorable one, and the choice of Ken Keeler was finalised.[1]

Originally, the Mars Vegas segment was supposed to last as long as it did (that equal of an episode length), but since they liked the setting so much, the writers extended the setting for one fourth of the film, where some of the plot, which originally intended to develop on Earth, simply occurred on Mars.[3] The subplot with Bender and Fanny was also extended because of this change. Ken Keeler had originally written a lot more lines between Bender and Donbot, in the awkward shots between him, Donbot and Fanny.[3]

Into the Wild Green Yonder was supposed to be the "classic science-fiction story" of the four films, with Bender's Big Score being the "time travel epic", The Beast with a Billion Backs being the "monster film" and Bender's Game being the "fantasy film".[4] As a classic science-fiction story, Into the Wild Green Yonder focuses on an ancient war between two equally ancient species, which subsequently gains new weight as our own main characters enter the ordeal.

Additional Info

Miscellany

See Miscellany of Into the Wild Green Yonder for trivia, goofs, etc.

Characters

(In alphabetic order)
For a list of people appearing at the audience scene at the end of the film, see Miscellany of Into the Wild Green Yonder#Characters in the Audience Scene

Cast

The DVD

The DVD includes the following:

  • The film itself.
    • Audio Commentary by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Michael Rowe, Lee Supercinski, Patric M. Verrone and Peter Avanzino
  • Storyboard Animatic: Into the Wild Green Yonder, Part 1
  • Featurette: Matt Groening and David X. Cohen in Space!
  • Docudramarama: "How We Make Futurama So Good"
  • "Louder! Louder!": The Acting Technique of Penn Jillette
  • Golden Stinkers: A Treasury of Deleted Scenes
  • How To Draw Futurama In 10 Very Difficult Steps
  • 3D Models with Animator Discussion
  • Bender's Movie Theater Etiquette
  • Zapp Brannigan's Guide to Making Love at a Woman
  • An unnamed easter egg of an animation on toilet paper of Bender drinking a pint of beer, repeated many times
  • An unnamed easter egg that shows what Zapp Braniggan was saying in his speech during the scene where Fry is trying to discover the dark one.

Blu-Ray feature:

  • Picture-in-picture commentary.
  • The Region B version of this disc has a slightly different cover design.

References