This may be the last Futurama we ever have. After four seasons on Fox and a five year hiatus/cancellation, the series came back for a one-and-a-half-year return with four direct-to-DVDs acting as the fifth season, and with the fourth of those DVDs, the series comes to an end. There are two ways to assess a film like this: evaluating it simply as a film and evaluating it as a final episode. I am going to do both, asking the following questions: (1) Does it succeed on its own merit? and (2) Does it provide a conclusion that rewards and satisfies those who have remained devoted fans throughout the years? My answer to both of these is Yes. Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder provides not a universe-shattering finale but more of the funny lines and ironies we expect from the franchise, in a story that says Goodbye with no tears or misgivings, only thank-yous and the hope that it will one day be back.

Through a series of events beginning with a strange head injury received by Fry, we come to learn that the cosmic force that originally spawned all life in the galaxy has once again pulsed after untold eons, and a being known as an Encyclopod is soon to be born and reintroduce all the world's extinct species back into the universe. However, there is a "dark one" out to stop this from happening. Fry's head injury places him in the position as the only one who can stop this dark one, so he sets out to do so, to protect the universe's chance at revitalization. At the same time, there are two primary subplots. The first of these is Amy Wong's father destroying all life on Mars so he can build a Vegas-style casino town, complete with an enormous miniature golf course. The second deals with a group of feminist-conservationists who oppose Mr. Wong, a group that Leela eventually joins. In true Futurama fashion, these plot threads are woven together with astonishing deftness, resulting in a smooth story with plenty of opportunities for fun.

To try to pull a real message out of the plot would be fairly preposterous. We would have to assume either that the film is presenting some romantic hope that all the world's extinct species will some day come back into existence or that it's trying to say something as elementary as, "It's bad when things become extinct." What it does do, though, (along with giving us that Futurama trademark absurdity on a galactic scale, which should be enough on its own) is provide some hope that maybe, just maybe, Futurama will be back someday. Fortunately, however, the movie avoids becoming a self-serving plea for viewers to think about what they'll soon be missing out on. It does this by placing very little emphasis on the overarching Encyclopod plot. While the film obviously contains some rather large concerns for the Futurama universe, it spends the vast majority of its time in the subplots which, though they eventually tie in to the larger plot, do not dwell on the series' impending end while they play out. In other words, the massive events are never included at the expense of humor.

Even during the most crucial exposition of the film, the antics the characters partake in draw attention away from the "serious" concerns, as can be seen in the odd sequence of foot-gestures. As always, the script is the film's strong point. There are some of those wonderfully over-the-top lines, like when Bender says, "I'm so full o' luck it's shootin' out like luck-diarrhea." There are also plenty of little jokes that play with language, such as Mr. Wong's oxymoronic construction of the world's biggest miniature golf course, as well as the line, "It's better than good. It's better!" Then there's my favorite gag: a megahuge television line called MagnaPhallix. In the Futurama universe, the thrill of universal life forces and the extinction of species have never been able to compete with a good laugh, and in the final episode that has not changed.

There are also a few treats for long-time fans of the franchise, be they casual or hardcore. There is a line from Fry that even the most casual of fans will appreciate: "Bite my shiny metal hat." There is also a quick bit featuring the oft-ignored "career chips." Perhaps the most esoteric of them all is the revelation of the mystery behind the "number nine guy." There is also one very hidden easter egg involving the supposed absence of Nibbler, who, to those familiar with the franchise, would seem an odd character to leave out of an installment with as epic events as those that are present here. Into the Wild Green Yonder does aim to please everyone as a funny movie, but it also has plenty of material specifically for the fans. They are like little thank-yous to those who have supported the franchise throughout its highs and lows.

I won't tell how the film ends, but, as I said earlier, it is not big, especially considering the magnitude of the main plot points. And that is okay. It is perhaps more than anything, in executive producer David X. Cohen's own words, "sweet"¹. It's not here to blow us away with a monumental event or revelation. Instead, it's here to be just another good Futurama installment, with a few extra surprises for fans.

In a final analysis, Futurama is admitting defeat, with the hope that that defeat is not final. The Futurama team is, by including the subject matter of evolution and the dying off of species, almost explicitly acknowledging the fact that, for some ludicrous reason, the evolutionary forces of our popular culture have deemed the series not fit to survive. But perhaps the show will return, even if it takes something as contrived as an Encyclopod to bring it back. After all, Futurama has died and been resurrected once before. For now, we have a satisfactory ending to a beloved series. While there are several loose ends tied up just for the fans, and while this particular story does indeed end, the characters' fates are left open. I hope that several years from now something or someone (or somebody!) will pulse life back into the Futurama universe. In fact, I'm counting on it. Just remember the words of the number nine guy: "Imagine: all the animals that failed evolution's test ... ALIVE AGAIN!"