Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite
Theatrical release poster
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 Emily Tyndall
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	95 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$400,000
Box office	US$46,118,097

Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 independent film co-written and directed by Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess and stars Jon Heder as the main character, Napoleon Dynamite. The film was Jared Hess's first full-length feature and is partially adapted from his earlier short film, Peluca.

Napoleon Dynamite was filmed in and near Preston, Idaho, in the summer of 2003. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2004. In June 2004 it was given a limited release. Its wide release followed in August. The film's total domestic gross was US $44.5 million. Considering its budget of US $400,000, Napoleon Dynamite was a huge success, grossing over one hundred times its production cost. The film is rated PG by the MPAA and by the television content rating system in the United States.

Cast

• Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite: The film's protagonist, is a rather clumsy teenager who enjoys mundane diversions such as drawing, playing tetherball and hip-hop dancing and is apparently bad at all of them. He regularly boasts about his 'skills' with weapons such as "nunchucks" (which he calls "numchucks") and bostaffs plus knowing all the "illegal ninja moves from the government." John Heder claims to have worked in a chicken coop for two months to prepare for his role in the film. He wears vintage t-shirts tucked into waist-high beltless jeans, black moon boots and dorky steel-rimmed glasses. He is active in the FFA and his school's sign language club (the "Happy Hands Club").

• Efren Ramirez as Pedro Sanchez: A new student to Preston High, originally from Juarez, Mexico. His campaign for class president is one of the main plot points in the film.

• Tina Majorino as Deborah "Deb": Napoleon's schoolfriend and love interest. She goes door-to-door selling "Deb's Glamor Shots" and homemade boondoggle keychains, "a must-have for this season's fashion". Deb seems to be the most articulate character among the three friends in the film.

• Aaron Ruell as Kip Dynamite: Napoleon's wimpy cousin. His full name is revealed at the wedding as "Kipland Ronald Dynamite."

• Jon Gries as Uncle Rico: The film's main antagonist and The self-absorbed uncle of Napoleon and Kip who lives in a field in his camper van. He played football in high school ("back in 1982"), and desires to live in the past. He is often seen filming himself passing footballs to nobody for no apparent reason. Rico longs to go back in time and change his fortune, even buying a "time machine" from the Internet in an attempt to return to 1982. He fervently believes he had the potential to be a star quarterback in the National Football League, if only his coach had played him in the 4th quarter of the championship game, which he is sure he could have won for his team. Despite acting like a jock and adopting a condescending attitude, in reality he is just as geeky as Napoleon and Kip. His intention is to make money using unorthodox methods and placing the blame on Napoleon. However, toward the end, he eventually learned his lesson after getting beat up by the local martial arts teacher for selling herbal breast enhancers to his body-building wife.

Setting

Preston, Idaho, is a real town located near the Utah border. Since the release of Napoleon Dynamite, it has become a tourist attraction of sorts, with Preston High School being a main feature. Also with its premiere in 2004, Preston has held a Napoleon Dynamite Festival every summer to celebrate the filming of Napoleon Dynamite in Preston and nearby towns. 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. Part of the film is filmed in Calhan, Colorado, a small town that is about 40 miles (64 km) east of Colorado Springs.

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 and minced oaths in place of profanity (which is characteristic of, though not 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" — where he assumes Pedro is from — may be a reference to Ciudad Juárez, a city on the United States–Mexico border. Napoleon buys his suit at Deseret Industries, a thrift store operated by the LDS Church. At the same time, Roman Catholic iconography is used for scenes where Pedro's house can be seen due to the strong religious influence in Mexican culture.

While the film is set in the present day, it contains many anachronisms, all of which highlight the town's awkward, behind-the-times quality. 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 mid to late 1980s and early 1990s, such as Napoleon's moon boots, Deb's side ponytail and Dons Girbaud jeans. Another example of 1980s fashion includes the bolo ties that Pedro and Lyle wear. The top-loading VCR in the Dynamite residence resembles those from the early 1980s. Throwbacks to the 1990s include music by Backstreet Boys (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 skit (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. The grandmother's house phone, a slim-line wall-mounted telephone with 25-foot (7.6 m) extension cord, was first available in the early 1970s. 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. The music playing in the Pontiac is the 1980s funk song "So Ruff, So Tuff" by Zapp & Roger. 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. (When asked when it takes place, the director simply stated, "Idaho.") Director Hess said in another interview that the anachronisms could be explained simply by how long it took for trends to make their way over the mountains to Preston.

Reaction

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 currently garners a 70% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but prominent film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a scathing 1½ stars, while his site users gave the movie 3 stars. Some reasons he cited for this low assessment was "the movie makes no attempt to make [Napoleon] likable", and what he felt was "a kind of studied stupidity that sometimes passes as humor".

Michael Atkinson of The Village Voice praised the film as "an epic, magisterially observed pastiche on all-American nerdhood, flooring the competition with a petulant shove."

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.

References in other works

• 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. Heder also reprised his role on Late Show with David Letterman to read the Top Ten list of "Signs You're Not the Most Popular Guy in Your High School" the day of the DVD release.
• 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 Martínez. 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.
• Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez reprised their roles in a Robot Chicken sketch entitled "Napoleon Bonamite", in which Napoleon acts in a similar manner Napoleon I of France.
• In The Burning Crusade, the official expansion to World of Warcraft, 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 an actor as "that guy who played Napoleon Dynamite."
• An episode of That's So Raven, entitled "The Way They Were", features a ticket salesman who acts and behaves like Napoleon, yet his appearance resembles Kip Dynamite.
• Sobe Green Tea quotes, "Do Lizards Have Large Talons?" under its screw-on cap. This is a reference to the scene at the chicken farm when Napoleon asks, "Do the chickens have large talons?"
• Dominic Ranz Ebarle Errazo stated "do the chickens have large talons" inspired him to spell the word "chinook" correctly during the National Spelling Bee Competition.
• Brie Larson parodies Napoleon Dynamite in her video for the song "She Said". He is seen saying "God!" although Napoleon uses the word "Gosh!" many times in the movie.
• Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez reprised their roles in a series of commercials for the 150th Utah State Fair in 2005.
• Angry Alien Productions parody the film in their 30 second "bunnified" sketch.
• Several musicians have songs named after the movie, including KJ-52, The Hussy's, and Mos Def.
• This movie was spoofed in the opening scene of Date Movie. Josh Meyers played the Napoleon role, but his dress and speaking style were so accurate many fans were convinced Jon Heder had reprised his role.
• On the Canadian animated show Total Drama Island, one of the contestants, Harold, seems to be designed after Napoleon Dynamite, even going so far as to use his catchphrase "Gosh!". He is also similar to Kip because he is in love with a character Leshawna which is similar to Lafawnda.
• As noted elsewhere, the origin of the title of the film is uncertain, and had been regarded as questionable. The pseudonymous reference in 1986 as "Napoleon Dynamite" on Elvis Costello's album Blood And Chocolate (Costello's name being a pseudonym itself) is echoed in a 10/86 California concert of Costello's, which exists in an audience audio recording. During the final encore, while naming the musicians (which included guest Huey Lewis, whose band Clover played on the first Costello LP), the singer thanks "Mr. Napoleon Dynamite". Unless another, earlier reference to the singular name surfaces, the alleged separate origin of the name (as claimed by Jared Hess) remains questionable.
• Independent Professional wrestling manager and presidential candidate Vinnie Ferrari had a promotional T-shirt that said "To hell with Pedro" on the front and "Vote for Vinnie" on the back in the same red typeface as the shirt in the movie.
• In the KidsWB cartoon Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get A Clue!, two scientists for the villain "Phidious Phives" strongly resemble Napoleon and Kip in appearance, voice, and nerdy style.
• In the Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends' episode Cheese A Go-Go, a scientist at the end of the episode talks much like Napoleon with the same voice, and looks a lot like Napoleon.
• Efren Ramirez reprises his character in an episode of George Lopez. George's daughter Carmen runs for student body treasurer of her high school, and is ultimately defeated by Efren's character (who was nameless). In the episode, Efren's shirt read "Don't Vote For Carmen", rather than "Vote for Pedro".
• In the episode "The Fifth and a Half Sense" of Canadian cartoon Being Ian a cartoon version of Napoleon is seen playing tether ball.
• Sections of the plot are described to the main character Alex in Gus Van Sant's 2008 film Paranoid Park.
• Napoleon appears in the background in Ultimate Spider Man Annual #1 in a panel showing the cafeteria at Peter Parker's high school.

Awards

• 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".
• It won the 2005 Golden Trailer Awards for Best Comedy.
• It won the 2005 Golden Satellite Award for Best Original Score (John Swihart).
• Four awards at the Teen Choice Awards. Best Movie Breakout Performance - Female for Haylie Duff, Best Movie Dance Scene, Best Movie Hissy Fit for Jon Heder, and Best Comedy.
• The 2004 Film Discovery Jury Award for Best Feature.

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*
• "The 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 Sparkle motion 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
• Napoleon Dynamite: The Game

External links

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