Bender's Game

Bender's Game is the third of the four Direct-to-DVD films, to be released on 3 November, 2008 in Europe, 4 November, 2008 in the US and 10 December in Australia , the smallest difference between American and the Australian release yet, and the first time the European release is before the others.

For the first time, the Blu-Ray (HD) edition of the films will be released on the same date as the normal DVD, something may also suggest that we will see the release on Blu-Ray for the two first films soon.

As of 8 July, 2007 the voice acting for all the films (which includes the fifth season) is finished, according to Lauren Tom. Guest stars include George Takei and Rich Little as themselves.

Plot summary
A preview of Bender's Game was included with The Beast with a Billion Backs. The film begins with Cubert and Dwight playing a game of Dungeons & Dragons with their friends. Joining them is Bender, who immediately begins having trouble distinguishing what is real with what is not, goes insane and is sent to the HAL Institute.

Meanwhile, there is a shortage of Dark Matter and prices have skyrocketed. The Planet Express crew (excluding Bender) discovers that Mom owns a mine of Dark Matter deep within the Earth; when they arrive to thwart her plans, they discover that the mine is actually a battery farm for Nibblonians. It is also revealed that Professor Farnsworth created two crystals: one that turned Dark Matter into fuel (which Mom has control of), and an opposite, secret crystal shaped like a 12-sided D&D die that negates its effects, along with other drastic consequences should the two crystals meet. When that happens, the characters are propelled into an alternate fantasy realm known as Cornwood.

In this magical realm, containing many D&D and Lord of the Rings references, we see Bender as a knight (Titanius Anglesmith), Leela as a centaur (Leegola), the Professor as a wizard (The Great Wizard Greyfarn), Amy as queen of the "Water Nymphos" (Gynecaladriel), Hermes as another centaur with large breasts (Hermaphrodite), and Zoidberg as a squid-like blob. They, along with Fry, or "Frydo", must destroy the opposite crystal and defeat the evil Mom, or "Momon". However, things become complicated when the "dice of power" corrupts Frydo and he becomes a creature reminiscient of Gollum. Toward the end, the final battle appropriately comes down to, you guessed it, a dungeon and dragons.

Characters
Characters that can automatically confirmed, and characters that have been confirmed.
 * Amy Wong / Debut: Gynecaladriel
 * Bender Bending Rodríguez / Debut: Titanius Anglesmith
 * Cubert Farnsworth
 * Dr. John A. Zoidberg
 * Dwight Conrad
 * George Takei's Head
 * Hermes Conrad / Debut: Hermaphrodite
 * Hypnotoad
 * Mom / Debut: Momon
 * Nibbler
 * Nurse Ratchet
 * Dr. Ogden Wernstrom
 * Philip J. Fry / Debut: Frydo
 * Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth / Debut: The Great Wizard Greyfarn
 * Rich Little's Head
 * Sal
 * Turanga Leela / Debut: Leegola
 * Turanga Morris and Munda
 * Walt, Larry and Ignar

Cast

 * Billy West as Philip J. Fry/Frydo, Professor Hubert Farnsworth/The Great Wizard Greyfarn, Dr. Zoidberg, and Additional Voices
 * Katey Sagal as Turanga Leela/Leegola
 * John DiMaggio as Bender/Titanius Anglesmith, Ignar, and Additional Voices
 * Tress MacNeille as Mom/Momon, Nurse Ratchet and Additional Voices
 * Maurice LaMarche as Walt, and Additional Voices
 * Phil LaMarr as Hermes Conrad/Hermaphrodite, Dwight Conrad, and Additional Voices
 * Lauren Tom as Amy Wong/Gynecaladriel, and Additional Voices
 * David Herman as Larry, and Additional Voices
 * Kath Soucie as Cubert Farnsworth, and Additional Voices
 * Frank Welker as Nibbler, Trolls, and Additional Voices
 * Rich Little as Himself
 * George Takei as Himself

Trivia

 * At the time this was being made, E. Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons & Dragons and a one time guest star of Futurama, had passed away. Although this being made is merely a coincidence.
 * The plot of there being a dark matter shortage, resulting in higher prices, most likely is a parallel to our current oil crisis, with gas prices going over $4 a gallon.

Outside References

 * The title is a clear reference to the book Ender's Game.

The DVD
The DVD has been reported to include.
 * The film itself
 * Commentary by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Michael Rowe, Claudia Katz and Dwayne Carey-Hill.
 * Storyboard Animatic: Bender's Game, Part One
 * Futurama Genetics Lab - Cross-breed Your Favorite Characters!
 * Dungeons & Dragons & Futurama feaurette
 * How To Draw "Futurama" In 83 Easy Steps Featurette
 * 3D Models Featurette With Animator Discussion
 * Deleted Scene: "Cup or Nozzle?"
 * Blooperama 2: Outakes From Bender's Game
 * Bender's Anti-Piracy Warning
 * A Sneak Peek at the Next "Futurama" Epic, Into the Wild Green Yonder

For the Blu-Ray version :


 * The contents mentioned above, but with the following technical enhancements;
 * Picture-in-Picture capabilities.
 * Authored in BD-J with AVC (MPEG 4) compression. (For Region A)
 * 50 GB dual-layer disc
 * English 5.1 DTS HD Lossless Master Audio
 * English, French, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese subtitles.