Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite
File:Napoleondynamite.jpg
Directed by	Jared Hess
Written by	Jared Hess Jerusha Hess
Produced by	Jeremy Coon Sean Covel Chris Wyatt
Starring	Jon Heder Efren Ramirez Tina Majorino Aaron Ruell Jon Gries
Music by	John Swihart
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight Pictures (USA, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Brazil) Paramount Pictures (all other areas, through United International Pictures)
Release dates	June 11, 2004
Running time	92 min.
Language	English
Budget	$400,000

Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 comedy film co-written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film was Jared Hess' first full-length feature and was partially adapted from his earlier short film, Peluca.

Napoleon Dynamite was filmed in and around Preston, Idaho in the summer of 2003. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2004, and was released to theaters in June 2004.

Plot

After Napoleon and Kip's grandmother breaks her coccyx joy-riding at the sand dunes, Uncle Rico arrives to look after them while she is hospitalized. Uncle Rico proceeds to have an indirect chaotic effect on Napoleon's life: he succeeds in getting Napoleon a date for the dance by eliciting sympathy from the mother of the girl Napoleon asked; he makes Napoleon look foolish at school by asking two of Napoleon's schoolmates to hand out organic breast-enlargement flyers (which they later post on his locker as a prank); and he also nearly ruins Napoleon's relationship with Deb by giving her the same flyer, claiming that Napoleon suggested it. Uncle Rico also affects Kip's life by involving him in his business ventures, enabling Kip to raise enough money to pay for his internet girlfriend, LaFawnduh, to visit him. Napoleon is driven to anger, and attempts to kick Uncle Rico out of the house. This is obviated when Napoleon's grandmother comes home, and Uncle Rico returns to his orange camper van in an empty field. Rico also gets beaten up by Rex, who owns the "Rex Kwondo" dojo seen earlier in the movie, for using two pots to resemble his wife's breasts after using the herbal enhancer, "Bust Must +".

The final plot-point involves Napoleon and Pedro, with some help from Deb, attempting to get Pedro elected class president. Pedro opposes Summer, who is expected to win. Summer's campaign consists of handing out flyers and badges, while Napoleon and Pedro counter by posting flyers drawn by Napoleon; holding a piñata competition, with the piñata made in the image of Summer herself; handing out boondoggle keychains made by Deb; and offering protection from Pedro's two intimidating older cousins against school bullies. The final sequence involves the closing speeches made by each presidential candidate, and the candidate's skits that follow. Summer goes first, and attempts to bribe the audience with promises such as installing two soda machines in the cafeteria. She and the "Happy Hands Club" (without Napoleon, who is also a member,) perform a short dance for their skit. Pedro makes a short monotone speech, promising more worthwhile but less exciting things, and uses Napoleon's advice when he concludes with the statement, "If you vote for me, all your wildest dreams will come true". Pedro walks slowly off of the stage, and does not return for a skit as he did not realize one was required.

A couple of days earlier, while browsing a second-hand store, Napoleon had found a hip-hop dancing video and learned all the moves. When LaFawnduh meets Napoleon, she gives him an unlabeled tape (which contains Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat") that Napoleon listens to. After Pedro's speech, Napoleon gives the tape to the sound technician for the skit, and walks on stage, alone. Napoleon performs a dance routine, earning the student body's respect and a standing ovation.

The film ends with a montage of each character that ties up all narrative threads. Uncle Rico ends up living in the field in his van as he was first seen, and a woman, his ex-girlfriend referred to earlier in the movie, approaches on a bicycle. Kip and LaFawnduh are seen getting on a bus heading out of the town. Pedro is elected President and is seen at a congratulatory party with his family. Napoleon's grandmother returns healthy. The final shot is of Napoleon and Deb playing tether ball together. In the post-credits scene, Kip and LaFawnduh are married, and Napoleon rides up on a "wild honeymoon stallion" which he had just tamed. The couple gets onto the horse and rides away, and Napoleon exclaims "Lucky!"

Characters

Main

File:Napoleon tetherball.jpg

Napoleon plays tetherball with Deb

• Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), the film's protagonist, is a teenage geek who enjoys mundane diversions such as drawing, drinking milk, eating Tater Tots, and playing tetherball. As the film progresses, Napoleon develops an interest in hip-hop dancing, which proves valuable in securing his friend Pedro's eventual election as student body president. Napoleon has a flat, listless personality and poor social skills. His awkward appearance and behavior are the source of much of the film's comedy. He is active in the FFA and his school's sign language club (the "Happy Hands Club"). His best (and only) friends are Pedro and Deb.
• Pedro Sanchez (Efren Ramirez) is a new student to Preston High, originally from Mexico. He is occasionally the target of mild antagonism from the school principal. His campaign for Student Body President is one of the main plot-points in the film. His cousins (credited as Cholo #1 and Cholo #2) assist Pedro in earning the students' loyalty by protecting a boy from a bully. About halfway through the film, Pedro shaves his head, and henceforth wears a woman's wig. Pedro can be described at first as having no personality or emotions whatsoever (he wears a blank stare and speaks in monotone throughout the entire film), but is eventually cheerful when he wins the election.
• Deborah "Deb" (Tina Majorino) is a shy and awkward schoolmate, a friend of Napoleon and possible love interest. She is interested in photography, and spends her time trying to earn money for college by operating a Glamour Shots franchise and selling boondoggle keychains, "a must-have for this season's fashion". Deb seems to be the most articulate character in the film.
• Kipland "Kip" Dynamite (Aaron Ruell) is Napoleon's wimpy older brother (according to Napoleon, he is "like 32 years old") who enjoys chatting with women in chat rooms. He and Napoleon live with their grandmother. In one chat room he meets a woman, LaFawnDuh Lucas, and in a post-credits scene, they wed.
• Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) is the self-absorbed uncle of Napoleon and Kip. When first seen, Rico is living in a large orange van in the middle of a field. He played football in high school ("back in the '82"), and is constantly living in the past. He is often seen filming himself passing footballs for no apparent reason. He longs to go back in time and change his fortune, certain he had the potential to join the NFL, if only his coach had played him. He cares for Kip and Napoleon while their grandmother is in the hospital with a broken coccyx. Rico very nearly ruins Napoleon and Deb's fledgling relationship when he tries to sell her one of his breast enlargement supplements, telling her Napoleon recommended her for them. This leads to Napoleon's attempt to kick Rico out of the house. Later, Uncle Rico is severely beaten by Rex after he tries to sell the supplements to his wife, Starla. The last shot of Rico hints at his finding romance again.

Secondary

• Summer Wheatly (Haylie Duff) is a "stereotypical blonde" bimbo against whom Pedro runs for Student Body President. She is popular, preppy, and elitist.
• Don (Trevor Snarr) is Summer's stereotypical jock boyfriend. He helps Summer's campaign and shows disdain for Napoleon, especially when Napoleon claims to hunt wolverines in Alaska, having used "a freakin' twelve gauge".
• Trisha Stevens (Emily Kennard) is one of Summer's good friends who is forced by her mother to go with Napoleon to the school dance. She is a member of the "Happy Hands Club" along with Napoleon. Her mother is one of Uncle Rico's sales prospects.
• LaFawnDuh Lucas (Shondrella Avery) is a woman Kip met over the Internet, with the screen name "LaFawnDuh". She is tall, stylish, and African American, in contrast with Kip's short stature, awkward demeanor, and pale complexion. After spending time with her, Kip changes his clothes and demeanor to mimic African-American or white rapper stereotypes. She gives Napoleon a tape made by her cousin, with music that later becomes valuable in his dance skit that ultimately leads to Pedro winning the election. In the post-credit sequence, she and Kip wed.
• Rex (Diedrich Bader) is sensei of the "Rex Kwon Do" martial arts dojo. He is an ex-"ultimate fighter" and charges $300 for an 8-week program. He is a very confident man, has a distinctive outfit (his trademark "Stars and Stripes" pants), and is married to Starla (Carmen Brady), a female bodybuilder.
• Grandma (Sandy Martin) is Napoleon and Kip's single grandmother. She breaks her coccyx on a jump while driving a Quad (ATV) at the sand dunes while on a date. According to Rico, there is a lot Napoleon and Kip do not know about her.
• Randy (Bracken Johnson) is the school bully. He frequently hurts and steals from Napoleon and other students, although he usually starts off saying "Come on, I'll give you some chips," or "Come on, I'll pay you back". At one point, he kicks Napoleon's pocket, crushing the Tater Tots inside, because Napoleon refuses to share them.
• Tina ("Dolly") is the stubborn alpaca that belongs to Napoleon's grandmother.
• Lyle (Dale Critchlow) is a neighborhood farmer who regularly supplies Napoleon's family with steak. In one scene, he kills a cow with a shotgun in front of a school bus full of children. He is also the marriage celebrant at Kip and LaFawnDuh's wedding.
• Pedro's Cousins are two men, apparently twin brothers, who drive around in a Pontiac Grand Ville lowrider. They appear in three scenes: they drive Napoleon to the dance, appear when a nerdy kid under "Pedro's protection" is being robbed of his bicycle, and at the party after Pedro is elected president.

Background information

Preston, Idaho is a real town located near the Utah border, and is predominantly Mormon. Since the release of Napoleon Dynamite, it has become a tourist attraction of sorts, with Preston High School being a main feature. In April 2005, the Idaho state legislature approved a resolution commending the filmmakers for producing Napoleon Dynamite, specifically enumerating the benefits the movie has brought to Idaho, as well as for showcasing various aspects of Idaho's culture and economy. On June 24-25, 2005, Preston held a Napoleon Dynamite Festival celebrating the film. An estimated 6,000 people attended the two-day event. About one year later on July 8, 2006, Preston held another festival, but it was not as successful as the previous year. The film displays some quirky references to Mormon popular culture, such as Napoleon wearing a yellow Ricks College T-shirt (now known as BYU Idaho), and Napoleon's use of euphemisms in place of profanity (which is characteristic of, though hardly exclusive to, Latter-day Saint circles).

In the DVD extras, there is an interview with Jon Heder in which he jokes that perhaps Napoleon and Deb may be "sealed for time and all eternity" — a reference to the Latter-day Saint belief in "eternal marriage" or "sealing" performed in the Church’s temples. The principal's reference to "Juarez" (mispronouncing the word as "Warrez") — where he assumes Pedro is from — may be a reference to Ciudad Juárez, a city on the U.S.-Mexico border. Napoleon buys his suit at Deseret Industries, a thrift store operated by the LDS Church. At the same time, the director seems to have taken care to not project an overt presence of Mormon culture. Crosses and imagery pertaining to other Christian churches are placed prominently in some scenes, particularly at Pedro's house, which is full of Roman Catholic iconography.

While the film is set in the present day, it contains many parachronisms. For example, the music playing at the school dance is from the 1980s, featuring "Forever Young" by Alphaville and Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time". Other vestiges of earlier decades include fashion trends that reflect those of the 70s and 80s, such as Napoleon's moon boots and Deb's side ponytail. The top-loading VCR in the Dynamite residence resembles those from the early 1980s. Throwbacks to the 1990s include music by Backstreet Boys, the Summer's Happy Hands Club performing to Max Martin and Jay Orpin's "Larger than Life", and music by Jamiroquai used in the choreography of Pedro's skits (their song "Canned Heat" is used for the scene in which Napoleon dances). Also, the TV resembles a 1990s model, and some of the shows resemble 1999 pop culture, especially the exercise commercials. The type of imitation Tupperware Uncle Rico is seen selling door-to-door has not been available for purchase for many years. Kip does use the Internet for dating and Rico uses it to purchase a "time machine". However, the style of computer is arguably from the mid- to late- 1990s, and he uses a dial up internet service that charges users by the minute, a practice uncommon in the US in the late 1990s. The music playing in the Pontiac is roughly contemporary to the film's 2004 release. Finally, Napoleon's school ID card, as shown in the opening credits, clearly reads "2004/2005", unambiguously setting the movie in the present day, despite the film's abundance of elements suggesting otherwise.

Cultural effects and criticism

Critics were somewhat divided in their opinions of Napoleon Dynamite. Some praised the movie for its unconventional humor, while others decried the film for much the same reason. It garnered a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. Some also criticize it as being a mean-spirited copy of Rushmore. Prominent film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a scathing 1 1/2 stars. Keith Phipps of The Onion A.V. Club criticized

"a seemingly ill-considered run for class president that provides Napoleon Dynamite's only semblance of a plot. It also allows the film to score some unearned points by taking a stand against the inevitable, dull tyranny of the popular kids. If this didn't seem so much like a film made to make those same kids bust a gut laughing at nerds, the plot might even have worked."

Nevertheless, the cultural impact on American youth was extensive. T-shirts patterned after some of the odd clothing in the movie (such as the "Vote For Pedro" shirt) and other clothing with quotes and lines from the movie are numerous. The film has inspired a bevy of offbeat quotes and somewhat of a cult following.

References in other works

File:Movie date movie napoleon.jpg

Napoleon "parodied" in Date Movie

• Jon Heder reprised his role as Napoleon Dynamite for a special spoof video made exclusively for Microsoft, featuring Bill Gates. The video, titled "Bill Gates Goes To College" was shown at Microsoft's Professional Developer's Conference in 2005. It was also shown when Bill Gates visited the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada on October 13, 2005. The video can be found here on YouTube: [1]
• In Rogers, Minnesota, Budweiser beer has a billboard with icicles and upside-down beer cans. The billboard says, “It’s flippin’ cold!"
• In 2005, ice cream makers Ben & Jerry's unveiled a new flavor entitled "Neapolitan Dynamite", a pun on the film's title.
• The New York Mets used the phrase "Vote for Pedro" to encourage fans to fill out All-Star ballots in 2005 for Mets players such as pitcher Pedro Martinez. It should be noted that fans only vote for position players; pitchers are selected by the All-Star managers. The San Francisco Giants also staged a similar campaign for utility infielder-outfielder Pedro Feliz, who was not eligible for the ballot because he did not regularly play any one position.
• In the official expansion to World of Warcraft (called The Burning Crusade), male Blood Elves do the same dance as Napoleon did in the movie when the player types "/dance".
• In the MMO Guild Wars: Factions, male ritualists perform the Napoleon Dynamite dance as their dance emote.
• In the South Park episode Trapped in the Closet, Stan tells Tom Cruise that he isn't as good as that guy who played Napoleon Dynamite.
• In the 5th season of "American Idol", contestant Nick Pedro asked viewers to "Vote For Pedro".
• Sobe Green Tea quotes, "Do Lizards Have Large Talons?" under its screw-on cap. This is a reference to when Napoleon says, "Do the chickens have large talons?"
• Dominic Ranz Ebarle Errazo stated "do the chickens have large talons" to inspire him to spell the word "chinook" correctly during the National Spelling Bee Competition [2]
• Glasgow Pop Band 'The Hussy's' [3] have a song called Napoleon Dynamite which is wrtten about this film. You can watch this here [4]

Trivia

• It won Best Feature Film at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival the same year. The film's budget was only $400,000. When the film rights were sold to a major distributor, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox supplied additional funds for the post-credits scene.

• In 2005, it won three MTV Movie Awards, for Breakthrough Male Performance, Best Musical Performance, and Best Movie. This film is number 14 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".

• On May 16, 2006, Fox released a collector's edition of the film in collectible packaging in Region 1 (Paramount holds the rights in most countries outside of the US and Canada.)

• The name "Napoleon Dynamite" is a pseudonym used by Elvis Costello on the back of the album Blood and Chocolate (released 1986). Jared Hess has denied that this was his source for the name, once claiming that rather, the name came from an old Italian man he met in Chicago, and that the Elvis Costello connection is some sort of odd coincidence.

• Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez also reprised their roles in a series of television and radio commercials advertising the 2005 Utah State Fair.

• Heder had appeared as Napoleon on CBS's The Late Show With David Letterman to do the Top Ten List (which was "Top Ten Signs You're Not The Most Popular Kid in High School") at the time of the first DVD release of the film.

• British film director Alex Cox has stated that Napoleon is a tribute to a scarily similar character, Kevin in his 1984 cult classic Repo Man. The film also has a character by the name of Napoleon.

• The character of Kip (played by Aaron Ruell) was based on impersonations and ideas of Ruell's younger brother. The scene involving the time machine was a real story that occurred with Ruell's brothers and himself. Ruell was the one that plugged in his little brother and shocked him.

• According to members of the band Patrick Street, their recording of "Music for a Found Harmonium" was used in the movie without credit to or permission from them for the performance. As of 2006, the band says, lawyers are sorting out the ramifications. This song, originally written by Penguin Cafe Orchestra, does not appear on the soundtrack album. The version in the movie, which is a guitar arrangement, appears to be from the album "The Celts Rise Again"

• Jon Heder lied to the cast and crew and said he got his hair permed for Napoleon at the same place he got it done for the short film Peluca. When he arrived for the first day of shooting his hair "looked like Shirley Temple's hair", said director Jared Hess.

• 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 were inspired by *NSYNC and Michael Jackson. Heder mentioned in a post-production interview that he figured "almost half" of the dance moves came from watching John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Jon Heder danced to three different songs for the ending dance sequence which was later synced to Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat".

• Jon Gries and Efren Ramirez wore wigs for the role of Uncle Rico and Pedro. The wigs attracted flies throughout filming, as seen in the film. The sound designer put in many fly buzzing sounds throughout the film as the flies are shown.

• The P.E. shirts seen in the movie were heavily influenced by the Manhattan High School P.E. shirts. Jared Hess attended Manhattan High for 2 years before moving to Idaho.

• The lady on the bicycle who approaches Rico near the end of the film is his ex-girlfriend, who is mentioned earlier in the movie. She was played by Aaron Ruell's (Kip's) wife, Julia Ruell.

• The "Happy Hands" Club was inspired by a real club at Preston High School called the "Good Hands" Club. They have started an actual "Happy Hands Club" since.

• The Christian rapper KJ-52 wrote a song entitled "Napoleon Dynamite" The song uses quotes from the movie while KJ talks.

• The Hussy's wrote a song entitled "Napoleon Dynamite" The song uses quotes from the movie.

• Rapper Mos Def wrote a song entitled "Napoleon Dynamite" on his 2006 Album True Magic.

• Jon Gries, who portrays Uncle Rico, is a vegetarian. In the movie, he is seen eating steak quite frequently; for this he did not swallow the meat but spat it back out. He can be seen doing this in one scene. Update: In a radio interview on WRIF 101.1 in Detroit, Michigan, Jon Gries contradicts this as a myth saying he is not a vegetarian. He explains that he spit the steak out because it tasted awful.

• Every dish shown during the opening credits is eaten by a character later in the movie. The dishes presented in the opening credits were the work of the three people who present them.

• The moon boots that Napoleon wears throughout the film, were so worn out that in the dance sequence near the end of the film they are duct taped together.

• During the scene when the chicken farmers are hiring Napoleon and the other teenagers, a skunk walked right behind the farmers. It is barely noticeable in the scene.

• In Japan, Napoleon Dynamite was released as バス男(basu otoko), translating as Bus Boy.

• In the sequence where Napoleon and Pedro come to the school and cover Summer's election flyers with their own, the theme from "The A-Team" can be heard in the background.

• In the scene where Pedro is taking his bike off some 'sweet jumps' you can see a strand of spider web stuck to Naploleon's hair, waving around in the wind.

• In one scene, it looks as though Napoleon is throwing an 'orange' at his uncle Rico's van, this is not the case, it is actually a grapefruit.

Soundtrack

Main article: Napoleon Dynamite original soundtrack

An asterisk(*) denotes a song that is not in the soundtrack album.

• "We're Going to Be Friends" by The White Stripes*
• "A-Team Theme"
• "Forever Young" by Alphaville
• "Larger than Life" by Backstreet Boys*
• "Design" by Fiction Company
• "Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai
• "So Ruff, So Tuff" by Zapp and Roger*
• "Time after Time" by Cyndi Lauper* (covered by Sparklemotion on soundtrack)
• "The Rose" by Bette Midler*
• "Light In Your Eyes" by Sheryl Crow*
• "Music for a Found Harmonium" by Patrick Street*
• "The Promise" by When In Rome

See also

• Peluca
• Napoleon Dynamite Festival

External links

• Fox Searchlight: Napoleon Dynamite
• Napoleon Dynamite at IMDb
• Napoleon Dynamite at Rotten Tomatoes

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