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Napoleon Dynamite

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Napoleon Dynamite
File:NapoleondynamiteboxshotDVD.jpg
Directed byJared Hess
Written byJared Hess
Jerusha Hess
Produced byJeremy Coon
Sean Covel
Chris Wyatt
StarringJon Heder
Efren Ramirez
Tina Majorino
Aaron Ruell
Jon Gries
Music byJohn Swihart
Distributed byFox Searchlight Pictures
Release dates
June 11, 2004
Running time
92 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$400,000

Napoleon Dynamite is a film directed by Jared Hess. The movie is based on the short film, Peluca, which he directed at Brigham Young University with Jon Heder. After receiving enough personal funds to make a full length feature film, Napoleon was then filmed in the summer of 2003 in Jared's childhood hometown of Preston, Idaho.

It made its first debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2004. Napoleon debuted in June 2004, earning $116,666 in its limited release opening weekend, $2,083,493 in its wide release opening weekend, and over $44.5 million as of January 1, 2006. The film cost only $400,000 to make. The DVD was released on December 21, 2004.

In 2005, it won three MTV Movie Awards, for Breakthrough Male Performance, Best Musical Performance, and Best Movie.

Plot

Template:Spoiler The film follows the protagonist Napoleon Dynamite, an introverted, dorky high school student with a penchant for "tots", drawing fantasy creatures (poorly), fishing for bass, and telling implausible stories. The film showcases Napoleon's personality and circle of equally quirky friends, family, and associates in his predominantly Mormon hometown of Preston, Idaho. Though the film has been described as "quirky", it is not in the same vein as the Wes Anderson films, as the main character, his brother, and some of his friends' behaviors mirror a flatness and ennui characteristic often associated with his generation. The movie is semi-autobiographical. As the film-makers state in the DVD commentaries, much of their own social awkwardness growing up in Utah was the inspiration for the characters.

The movie has no strong plot, but the largest sub-plot of Napoleon Dynamite revolves around Pedro Sanchez's quest to become Class President of Preston Public School. The film follows Napoleon Dynamite's friends Pedro (Efren Ramirez) and Deb (Tina Majorino) as they become true and close friends, and as Deb and Napoleon "hook up". As Jon Heder jokingly said in an interview: "I think they might one day find it in their hearts to unite for eternity."

Napoleon lives with his 32-year-old computer-geek brother Kip and their grandmother, who sends the somewhat dim ex-high school jock, Uncle Rico, to look after them while she is hospitalized. Napoleon's nerdy, unemployed (and nearly unemployable) brother Kip spends most of his day "chattin' with hot babes" on the internet--with his surprising success serving as one of several sub-plots within the movie.

Characters

Main

File:Napoleon tetherball.jpg
Napoleon plays tetherball with Deb.
  • Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), the film's protagonist, is supposedly a stereotypical geek who loves to draw fantasy creatures. He has very poor social skills and an awkward appearance. He enjoys tater tots, and tetherball. He is active in the Future Farmers of America and his school's Happy Hands Club. His best friends are Pedro and Deb. He enjoys drinking milk. It would seem he was named after Elvis Costello's pseudonym, as seen on the back of the album Blood and Chocolate, but director Hess denies any such connotation.
  • Pedro Sanchez (Efren Ramirez) is a new student that the Principal of Preston High says is from Colonia Juárez, Mexico. He is occasionally the target of mild antagonism on the part of the school principal. His campaign for Class President becomes the main story halfway through the film. His cousins are portrayed as the "cousins with all the sweet hook-ups" and help him protect a boy from having his bike taken.
  • 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 selling glamour shots and boondoggle keychains. She often wears her hair in a single ponytail off to one side. Deb seems to be the most articulate character in the film. She drinks 1% milk.
  • Kipland "Kip" Ronald Dynamite (Aaron Ruell) is Napoleon's wimpy older brother ("like 32 years old") who enjoys online dating and claims to be training to become a cage fighter. He and Napoleon live with their grandmother. After a long time of chatting, he meets a girl, LaFawnduh Lucus, and they eventually wed. (Post-credit sequence)
  • Uncle (Kyle) Rico (Jon Gries) is the sleazy uncle of Napoleon and Kip. Rico lives in an old van in the middle of a field. He played football in his younger days ("back in '82"), and is constantly living in the past. He longs to go back in time and change his fortunes, certain he had the potential to join the NFL. Uncle Rico enjoys eating microwaved steak. He watches Kip and Napoleon while their Grandma is in the hospital due to a broken coccyx. During this time, he and Kip bumble through a variety of business engagements, such as selling imitation Tupperware and herbal breast augmentation.

Secondary

  • Summer Wheatley (Haylie Duff) is a stereotypical blonde cheerleader against whom Pedro runs for class president.
  • Don (Trevor Snarr) is Summer's cocky boyfriend. He helps Summer on her campaign for class president and occasionally teases Napoleon and Pedro.
  • Trisha Stevens (Emily Kennard) is one of Summer's good friends, and is forced into going with Napoleon to the school dance. She is a member of the school's "Happy Hands Club" along with Napoleon. Her mother is a "client" of Rico.
  • LaFawnduh Lucas (Shondrella Avery) is a woman Kip met over the Internet. She is tall, stylish, and African-American contrasting 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. 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 a large fee for his services ($300 for an 8-week program). He is a very confident man and is married to Starla (Carmen Brady), a female bodybuilder.
  • Grandma (Sandy Martin) is the divorced grandmother of Napoleon and Kip. She breaks her tail bone on a jump while driving a Trike (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 injures and robs Napoleon and other nerds.
  • Tina ("Dolly") is the stubborn llama that belongs to Napoleon's grandmother.
  • Ilene (Ellen Dubin)

Background information

Preston, Idaho is a real town located near the Utah border, and is predominantly Mormon. Since the release of Napoleon, it has become a tourist attraction of sorts, with the school, Preston High School, being a main feature. Preston held a Napoleon Dynamite Festival celebrating the film on June 24-25, 2005, and an estimated 6,000 people attended the two-day event. Napoleon T-shirts have also become somewhat hot commodities in 2005, selling at many stores that sell novelty shirts, such as Hot Topic. 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 [1].

The film also displays many quirky references to Mormon popular culture. Napoleon uses euphemisms like flip, gosh, and heck that are common in Mormon circles, as alternatives to swearing. (For Example: "What the flip was Grandma doing at the Sand Dunes?" or "Heck yes. I'd vote for you.") He wears a t-shirt that reads "Ricks College," the former junior college located in Rexburg, Idaho now known as BYU Idaho. 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 Mormon belief in "eternal marriage" or "sealing" performed in LDS temples. The principal's reference to "Juarez"—where he assumes Pedro is from—may be a reference to Colonia Juarez, a Mormon colony in Mexico founded to evade U.S. polygamy laws in the nineteenth century. Characters, even those intended to be the popular girls, do not wear shorts any shorter than knee-length. Fashions in Mormon culture tend to be more modest than those of popular culture. Napoleon goes to Deseret Industries, a thrift store operated by the LDS Church to buy his infamous suit. At the same time, the director seems to have taken care to not project an overt presence of Mormon culture. Catholic crosses and statue images are placed prominently in some scenes, particularly at Pedro's house.

While the film is set in the present day, it contains many anachronisms. For example, the music playing at the school dance is from the 1980s, featuring Alphaville and Cyndi Lauper. Other vestiges of earlier decades include fashion trends that reflect those of the 70s and 80s, and the top-loading VCR in the Dynamite residence that resembles those from the early 1980s. Throwbacks to the 1990s come from music by the Backstreet Boys when the two girls were dancing to Max Martin and Jay Orpin's "Larger than Life" and Jamiroquai used in the choreography of Summer and Pedro's skits. Also, the TV resembles what it looked like it was purchased in the early 1990s and some of the shows resemble 1999 pop culture, especially the exercise commercials. The type of tupperware Uncle Rico is seen selling door-to-door has not been available for purchase for many years. Kip uses the Internet for dating and purchasing a "time machine". However, the style of computer is arguably from the mid to late 1990s and he is using a dial up internet service that charges users by how long they have been on, a practice uncommon in the US since the late 1990s. Yet Uncle Rico (who appears to be in his late 30s to early 40s) frequently refers to his high school glory days of 1982 (the date on which he set the aforementioned "time machine"). The hydraulically equipped car in which Napoleon gets a lift to the dance - and the music playing therein - are fairly modern icons. Finally, Napoleon's school ID card, as shown in the opening credits, clearly reads "2004/2005," unambiguously setting the movie in the present-day, but many people do believe it's 1999.

The retro aspects of the movie have been suggested by some to be a depiction of cultural stagnation such as that seen in areas without immediate connection to culturally fast-paced areas like major cities (rural and midwestern America being an appropriate example), or an homage to similar genre films of the 1980s, such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off. One could argue that such anachronisms have become popular in hipster film culture. The films of Wes Anderson, for instance, have the same out-dated electronics/music/clothing while still taking place in the present. When asked when his movie was set, writer/director Jared Hess simply replied, "Idaho."

Themes

All the characters of Napoleon Dynamite experience a rite-of-passage. Virtually everyone in the movie is stuck either in the '80s era or a past state-of-mind. This is evident in Deb's fashion sense (her hair and wardrobe), Uncle Rico's appearance and wistfulness, Kip's fashion sense (a nerdy, retro wardrobe and excessively large glasses), and Pedro's bewilderment at being reprimanded for practicing a "Mexican tradition". Towards the end of the movie, however, everyone snaps out of the past and into the present. To that end, Kip ditches the Internet for LaFawnduh and subsequently a new style, Rico's ex returns to him, Deb dons a new hair style, Pedro wins over his new classmates, and the popular crowd becomes integrated with those previously considered unpopular.

Although presented subtly, diversity is a common theme in the film: Napoleon and Kip find victory and love, respectively, in African-American culture; Pedro, a Mexican, triumphs over the stereotypical blonde-haired American cheerleader. The uniting nature of diversity is more clearly expressed in a scene after the end credits in which Kip and LaFawnduh are married, where people of all backgrounds come together to celebrate within the predominantly white town.

The movie also focuses on Napoleon's loneliness and inability to fit in, even amongst his family. He is shown being put down by his grandmother, brother and uncle, and also shown being bullied by students at school. Kip and Napoleon had been shown to be almost close, but as soon as Uncle Rico moves in (which Napoleon is upset about, and Kip isn't), Kip and Rico bond and start raising money together, through a number of shady deals, and they don't talk when Napoleon is in the room. The film shows the "popular" characters all playing basketball and talking together, as Napoleon plays tether ball on his own, this shot is used numerous times. It is also worth noting that alone, Napoleon is shown running places, even if there is nowhere to go. Examples of this are shown when he runs the first few steps to go feed Tina, and as he decides to turn around before picking Trisha up for the school dance.

Cultural effect and criticism

Napoleon Dynamite has had a very noticeable impact on popular culture since its theatrical release in June 2004. Repeating memorable quotations from the movie, such as "Sweet!", "Your mom goes to college", "Heck yes", "Gosh", "Freakin' idiot", "Tina you fat lard, come get some dinner!", "My lips hurt real bad!" and "Vote for Pedro", has become a part of popular youth culture. Although the only official movie merchandise is the DVD, many retailers are selling unofficial clothing and other merchandise based on the film, particularly "Vote for Pedro" t-shirts designed to look like the amateurish shirts worn in the movie.

Critically, Napoleon Dynamite was very divisive. Some praised the movie for its unconventional humor, while others decried the film for much the same reason. Many other critics voiced that, while the film's humor was unique, the movie's target audience and apparent intentions met too ironically, forming an ultimately useless plot. Keith Phipps of The Onion A.V. Club states "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 ploy might even have worked."

Trivia

File:Movie date movie napoleon.jpg
Napoleon parodied in Date Movie.
  • Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez reprised their roles in the Adult Swim show Robot Chicken, which would involve Napoleon in the role his namesake was in.
  • Heder has recently appeared in a skit shown at a conference where Bill Gates was presenting Windows Vista. The skit is just 5 minutes of Napoleon Dynamite if he was going to become head of Microsoft. Bill Gates plays himself but it seems that he's the "Kip" of the skit. It was leaked online [2].
  • Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez also reprised their roles in a series of commercials advertising the 2005 Utah State Fair.
  • Napoleon is parodied in the February 2006 comedy Date Movie.
  • Howard Stern frequently plays soundbites from the movie when his line producer JD Harmeyer is on the air or simply being discussed.
  • The introduction to the MTV Movie Awards featured a skit with Jimmy Fallon being cut into scenes from Batman Begins; the skit ends with Batman revealing himself as Napoleon Dynamite. "Who the heck did you think was Batman? Superman?" The skit is available on the DVD of Batman Begins.
  • British film director Alex Cox has stated that Napoleon is a tribute to a scarily similar character in his 1984 cult classic Repo Man. There is also a character by the name of Napoleon.
  • The dishes shown in the opening credits are all eaten on at some point in the movie, and in the case of cast members, eaten by their respective characters.
  • The title sequence was designed by famed film designer Pablo Ferro.
  • Jon Gries (who plays Uncle Rico) is a vegetarian, and spat out nearly 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 became Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2001.
  • The music used in the scene where Napoleon showcases his dancing skills is "Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai.
  • Napoleon enjoys dancing, and belongs to the "Happy Hands" club, which practices sign singing. He joined this club because "all of the other sweet clubs were filled" (this is revealed in the deleted scene "Second Locker Room" on the Napoleon Dynamite DVD).
  • In the DVD version, Napoleon makes an obscure remark about pearls. This is an inside joke between Jon Heder and Jerusha Hess about a friend of Hess' who wanted to be a deep sea diver. The friend accidentally drove her Cobalt into the ocean, and Hess told her that was not the way to become a deep sea diver.
  • "Napoleon Dynamite" was a pseudonym used by Elvis Costello in the credits of his 1986 album Blood and Chocolate. Executive producer Jeremy Coon has stated that the similarity is a coincidence and that the producers were unaware of Costello's usage of the name until the film was in production.
  • Napoleon's favorite animal, the liger, is actually a real animal, and exists in zoos as a result of mating a male lion with a female tiger. They are not, however, "bred for their skills in magic".
  • The bus LaFawnduh Lucas arrives in is a Pocatello city bus.
  • Efren Ramirez liked the wig he wore for the majority of the movie so much he asked the producers if he could keep it; they agreed.
  • The movie was edited in producer Jeremy Coon's apartment using a $6,000 Macintosh with Final Cut Pro.
  • Jon Heder was paid just $1,000 to play Napoleon. The movie grossed over $40,000,000 in the United States.
  • The retail store Target removed all of their Napoleon Dynamite talking pens after complaints from disability advocates over Napoleon's phrase "You guys are retarded". [3]
  • 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. [4]
  • Both Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez have twin brothers.
  • 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. The song in the movie is not played on a harmonium either. The version in the movie, which is a guitar arrangement, appears to be from the album "The Celts Rise Again" [5]
  • Jon Heder's hair is not red.
  • Jon Heder had his hair permed for the "Napoleon" look.
  • 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.
  • After Uncle Rico throws a steak at Napoleon's face, he takes a piece of steak out of his mouth and quickly places it on his plate.
  • 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 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.
  • Several scenes in the movie are the results of improvisation, such as Kip's reaction to backing over the Tupperware bowl and Uncle Rico knocking his video camera off of his tripod with his football.
  • The Director had Jon Heder dance to three different songs for the ending Dance Sequence and they took out the various songs during editing, and left the Dance Moves in.
  • Towards the beginning of the film, Napoleon draws flatulence coming out of a Unicorn's rear-end.
  • The scene where Napoleon is riding on the school bus and holding an action figure out the window is a reference to a prank Jon Heder played on the way to third grade with a girl named Joanne who had recently moved to his town from Labrador City, Newfoundland. Joanne had a Barbie Doll and he grabbed it and tossed it out the window on a shoe lace.
  • 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 (Kip's) wife, Julia Ruell.
  • All 189 student extras in the film are individually listed in the closing credits. They are listed horizontally from left to right.
  • The "Happy Hands" Club was inspired by a real club at Preston High School called The "Good Hands" Club.
  • Preston High School, Napoleon's high school, has started an actual "Happy Hands Club" since the release of the film.
  • The extra scene at the end of the movie was actually included in the theatrical release of the film, not just on the DVD. It cost half as much to film the single extra scene than it did to film the rest of the movie. (Which is 200,000 dollars.)
  • Between scenes, Jon Heder helped to make the boondoggle keychains which are featured conspicuously in the film.

Soundtrack list

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