Beast is substantially more linear than Big Score, which is probably inevitable considering that the first Futurama movie was a time-travel story featuring multiple duplicated of the lead characters and a whopper of a paradox. (Where did the Bender tattoo come from, anyway? This haunts me.) But just because time moves in a straight line here, that doesn’t mean the plot suffers. The story is stuffed full of action and hilarious digression, with almost nothing going to waste. The ongoing rivalry between Professor Farnsworth and Wernstrom reached its peak in a game of DeathBall. Bender contemplates suicide. There is a duel, a funeral, a break-up, the birth of a new religion, and our first look at the Harlem Globetrotters’ home planet. Heck, Zapp Brannigan gets to score, and that’s always a momentous occasion. Bender does the single meanest thing he’s ever done, Leela kicks serious tentacle ass, Zoidberg gets a good meal, and Fry becomes Pope. I don’t know how it would be possible to have more things happen in 90 minutes. Oh, did I mention the pirate attack?
