Review: Futurama “Cuteness Overload”

Overview

Amy sets out to collect the cutest toys in the universe – but they are not as harmless as they appear.

Our Take

Viral collectable trends happen all of the time. I don’t even know what the trends are now but I do recall the Stanley Cups going crazy not too long ago and now nobody even talks about them anymore. Perceived value, it’s the underlying DNA of these behaviours and they’ve applied to every facet of pop culture whether it’s toys, trading cards, crypto, and even fandoms and this is where Futurama is playing this week in the episode “Cuteness Overload”.

Cuteness Overload is the side effect of an adorable Beanie Baby-esque toy that doubles as an invasive alien species that soon turn homicidal. The irony is that the episode comes from Kristin Gore of whom did a whole biopic about the Beanie Baby craze for Apple TV+ called The Beanie Bubble so I guess we just kinda got the Futurama take on the craze? In any event, the episode sees Amy take on a lot of the heavy lifting which is always a delight and comes with it, quality time with her kids all of whom are, admittedly, very cute and funny.

The lack of original plot notwithstanding, this week’s episode of Futurama is a fun romp on a rather tired premise. From a pure comedic standpoint, Billy West’s cast of characters keeps this one running afloat but Bender’s one-liners hit really well, too. Look out for a fun cameo from one of Matt Groening’s other animated series, and put your toys away.