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Parents' Guide to

Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs

By Erika Milvy, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

More risque, adult jokes in TV show spin-off movie.

Movie NR 2008 90 minutes
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

JamesRobertson
JamesRobertson Parent of 5, 9, 11 and 14-year-old
January 4, 2009
age 12+
1 person found this helpful.
Accurate P.
Accurate P. Parent of 15-year-old
August 16, 2022
age 14+
Rated M13

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Following directly after the events of the first in the DVD series, Bender's Big Score, a giant rift in space and timeallows an alien monster to invade Earth. The monster takes control of Fry (voiced by Billy West) making him Pope of a new religion or cult, that spreads among earthlings who are grasped by one of the giant tentacles of the alien. The tentacles are later revealed to be "gentacles" and, as it turns out, the alien (Yivo, played by David Cross) has been having his version of intercourse with all the humans. He convinces them that he really wants love and a meaningful relationship (with all of humanity). Only Leela (Katey Sagal) Fry's gutsy, competent one-eyed pal, is skeptical.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (9 ):

A straight-to-DVD movie, THE BEAST WITH A BILLION BACKS is a lesser and longer version of Futurama, which is itself a lesser version of the brilliant and enduring Simpsons TV show. Which basically means this is a stretched-out form of a water-downed copy of a TV classic. That said, it does have some elements of Matt Groening's zany wit, his absurdist humor, and quick-as-lightening visual gags.

These moments are partially eclipsed by an over-stimulating assault of goings on that go by much too fast. From an adult perspective, this is a case of more being less. The antics are nonstop, preposterous, and often silly enough for the young, but the actual storyline, which concerns dating, polygamy, sex, and in essence, going steady with and shacking up with God, is a tad complex and too sophisticated for younger viewers. Still, Futurama's vast creativity, out-of-the-box storytelling, and eye-catching animation makes this movie, like the series, terrifically unique.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what the future might look like in 100 years. What transportation will we have? What will science be capable of?

  • Would you want to be frozen (as Fry was in the original Futurama back-story)?

Movie Details

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