Robotic Dinosaur

A towering mechanical dinosaur turns up as a set-piece attraction, all snapping jaws and lumbering menace dressed up as entertainment. It postures and roars for the crowd, playing the part of prehistoric terror with the exaggerated theatrics of a theme-park animatronic rather than any real threat — until, of course, something goes wrong.

Maurice LaMarche gives the machine a bellowing, over-the-top grandiosity that turns a background gag into a small comic set piece. It is exactly the kind of throwaway Futurama invention that earns a laugh purely from commitment: a robot dinosaur played completely straight, with a voice big enough to make the absurdity land.