Moving Pictures: Futurama: Into The Wild Green Yonder (20th Century Fox)

For some reason Matt Groening’s ‘Futurama’ concept never attained the standing of The Simpsons. Maybe that’s partly because it’s aimed fairly and squarely at adult sensibilities, and its storylines tend to be just that little bit left-field. Not that The Simpsons at its prime could ever have been described as a typically mainstream show – quite the opposite, in fact – but Futurama comes across more as a snigger-fest for those in the know.

That’s not a bad thing, by any means, and ‘Into The Wild Green Yonder’, a feature-length episode of the show, while it won’t make many new converts, makes for a diverting ad-free hour-and-a-half of alien-inhabited animation.

This film has a green message, which sounds pretty odd for a show set in outer space, but its story revolves around evil real estate developers destroying planets in the name of entertainment, and his adversaries are a bunch of feminists who don’t seem to have a hope in hell of winning.

It’s funny in a secret chuckle kind of way rather than a loud guffaw, but never fails to keep your attention with its excellent parade of odd alien creations and a script that’s full of wit and detail.

Robot Bender is, as always, the funniest character.

Extras include audio commentary, deleted scenes, a few comedic interludes, and a bunch of featurettes. All good, then. GARY STEEL

3.5 Stars