Missing imageNapoleondynamiteboxshotDVD.jpg Napoleon Dynamite was released on
DVD in 2004.
Napoleon Dynamite is an American independent film written and directed by Jared Hess. The movie is based on the short film he directed at BYU with Jon Heder, Peluca. It debuted in 2004, earning $116,666 in its opening weekend and over $44 million as of December 20, 2004. The DVD was released on December 21, 2004. Since its release, it has gained somewhat of a cult film status among Generation Xers and younger, who seem to identify the most with the film.
Introduction
The film follows the protagonist Napoleon Dynamite, a dorky high school student with a penchant for funk music, milk tasting, drawing and telling implausible stories. The film showcases Napoleon's personality and circle of friends, family, and associates.
Plot
Missing imageNapoleon_tetherball.jpg Deb plays tetherball with Napoleon.
There is no strongly focused plot, but the movie follows the growth of the friendship between Napoleon and Pedro, Pedro's venture to become school president, and their relationship with Deb. The characters are all very extreme, which may represent the extremes in a common society or common "high school life".
Main characters
- Napoleon Dynamite, the film's protagonist, is a nerd who loves to draw fantasy creatures.
- Pedro Sanchez is a new student from Mexico who speaks limited English. He runs for class president.
- Deb is a shy and awkward schoolmate who is trying to earn money for college. She often wears her hair with a single ponytail off to one side. She goes with Pedro to the dance.
- Kipland "Kip" Ronald Dynamite is Napoleon's wimpy older brother who enjoys online dating and claims to be training to become a cage fighter. He is 32 years old and lives at home with his family.
- Uncle Rico is the uncle of Napoleon and Kip. He played football in his younger days ("Back in '82") and longs to go back in time and change his fortunes. He and Kip venture into a variety of business engagements, selling Tupperware and herbal breast enhancers.
Secondary characters
- Summer Wheatly is a stereotypical blonde who runs for school president against Pedro.
- Don is Summer's cocky boyfriend. He helps Summer on her campaign for class president and occasionally teases Napoleon and Pedro.
- LaFawnduh Lucas is a woman Kip met over the Internet. She is tall, stylish and black, contrasting with Kip's short, pale awkward demeanor.
- Rex is sensei of the Rex Kwon Do dojo. He is an ex-fighter and charges a large fee for his services. He is a very confident man and is married to Starla, a female bodybuilder.
- Grandma is grandmother of Napoleon and Kip. She breaks her coccyx on a jump in her four wheeler at the sand dunes while on a date. According to Rico, there is a lot Napoleon and Kip do not know about her.
- Randy, the school bully. He frequently injures and robs Napoleon and other nerds.
Background information
Napoleon Dynamite is set in the town of Preston, Idaho, a real town located near the Utah border. Since the release of Napoleon, it has become a tourist attraction of sorts, with the school being a main feature. Napoleon T-shirts have also become somewhat hot commodities in 2005, selling at many stores that vend novelty shirts, such as Hot Topic.
Cast
Trivia
- The dishes shown in the opening credits are all eaten at some point in the movie.
- Jon Gries is a vegetarian, and spit out every bite of red meat he chewed during filming.
- During some scenes of the movie, Napoleon is seen wearing a Ricks College T-shirt. Ricks was a junior college in Idaho that was made an official satellite of BYU in 2000.
- Jon Heder freestyled most of his dance routine with the help of Tina Majorino (Deb), who is a hip-hop instructor. Some of the moves included drew inspiration from Nsync and Michael Jackson.
- Jon Gries wore a wig for the role of Uncle Rico. The wig attracted flies throughout filming, as seen in the film.
- Several scenes in the movie are the results of improvisation, such as Kip's reaction to backing over the Tupperware bowl.
- Jon Heder has his hair permed for the "Napoleon" look.
- The boy sitting with Napoleon in the back of the bus was a local who came in for audition.
- The music used in the scene where Napoleon showcases his dancing skills is "Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai.
- The music used in the campaign poster montage is the A-Team theme song.
- The lady on the bicycle who approaches Rico near the end of the film is his ex, who is mentioned earlier in the movie. She was played by Aaron Ruell's wife, Julia.
- All 181 student extras in the film are individually credited in the closing credits.
- Napoleon enjoys dancing, and belongs to the "Happy Hands" club, practicing sign singing. A club that he joined because all of the other sweet clubs were taken (this is revealed in the deleted scene "Second Locker Room" on the Napoleon Dynamite DVD).
- Pedro's hometown is Juárez, Mexico.
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
"Napoleon Dynamite" was a pseudonym used by Elvis Costello in the credits of his 1986 album Blood and Chocolate.
