Watching a lot of Futurama reruns recently, I was thinking about the geography of New New York and how it relates (if anything) to Old New York. A number of famous landmarks still exist in the future, only in different ways- the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building (referenced in a deleted scene from the first episode) are two I can think of, and there are two towers which remind me of a future World Trade Center. But, like many sitcoms and animated shows, the continuity is sometimes not 100% accurate (what the Statue of Liberty is holding in her hands changes from episode to episode as well as the opening credits).
But the question I have is: has it ever been pointed out, either verbally or graphically, where exactly the Planet Express building is in relation to Old New York? It appears to border the edge of Manhattan, since there’s a river. Is it on the west side facing New Jersey or the east side facing Queens or the Bronx? I would assume the east side, but you never know. Or has it never been stated?
Well, I went through a couple episodes real quick, knowing which ones showed a zoomed out NNY/Planet Express building, and came up with some success.
At the very end of the episode “When Aliens Attack,” the scene zooms out from the Planet Express Building, and we see the Statue of Liberty in the foreground, like so:
Although it’s of course just a TV show and has no real answer, and the show premiered in 1999 so the producers had no idea the WTC would be destroyed, I like the idea of Planet Express being built where the WTC was 1,000 years ago. So West Side it is. Thanks for the answer!
Actually I think that circled area is Battery Park and the Staten Island Ferry terminal.
Of course neither of those locations really work since Planet Express is along the river and we’ve seen water front go quite a ways in both directions from them. My theory is that it’s not the original Statue of Liberty (or they moved it).
I always assumed that Planet Express was located in Brooklyn, not Manhattan. That would make sense since it is a working-class schlub kind of outfit, and the area of Manhattan pointed out is dominated by investment banking outfits (Wall Street is in that area).
In fact, the waterfront section of Brooklyn facing the Statue of Liberty is dominated by large old warehouses and storage / shipping facilities like “Planet Express.” So, my guess is that Planet Express is located roughly where the modern day DUMBO neighborhood is situated.
Granted, this could change in 1000 years, but “Futurama” is as much a parody of modern times as it is the future.
Of course it isn’t- the original New York City was destroyed by multiple Benders in 2308 after he traveled through time and stole the Nobel Peace Prize. The remains of Old New York are underneath New New York.
But as I said, the continuity of Futurama is not 100% accurate- the Statue of Liberty usually holds a torch, but in the first episode it holds a pneumatic tube, and it holds a laser in the opening credits. And in said opening credits, the Planet Express building does not face the Statue.
ETA: That’s an interesting answer, The New And Improved Superman. My Manhattocentricism never thought of Planet Express being anywhere but Manhattan. And that explanation could explain why the building doesn’t face the Statue in the opening credits: we’re going towards Manhattan, so we don’t see the building on the Brooklyn side. (Alsos, thats would explains Sal’s’s Brooklyns accents.)
In the episode where the 80’s guy takes over Planet Express and goes up against Mom Corp, isn’t Mom’s building within a few blocks of Planet Express? And you wouldn’t expect Mom to be anywhere but Manhattan.
And as a result, the city’s geography regarding bodies of water could be different. We also see the Statue of Liberty get destroyed once during the show.
If you’re thinking of the bit where Fry moons MomCorp., I’m pretty sure that meeting takes place in the PlanEx ship, not the office building.
