Napoleon Dynamite (TV series)

Napoleon Dynamite
File:Napoleon Dynamite promo.png
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Jared Hess Jerusha Hess
Developed by	Jared Hess Jerusha Hess Mike Scully
Voices of	Jon Heder Aaron Ruell Efren Ramirez Tina Majorino Sandy Martin Jon Gries Diedrich Bader Haylie Duff Jared Hess
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	4 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Jared Hess Jerusha Hess Mike Scully Jeremy Coon
Producers	Tim Long Claudia Katz J. Michael Mendel
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Hess Films Scully Productions 20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	January 15, 2012 (2012-01-15) – present
Related
Napoleon Dynamite (film)

Napoleon Dynamite is an American animated television sitcom based on the 2004 cult film of the same name. It premiered on Fox on January 15, 2012 as a midseason replacement for the now-cancelled animated sitcom Allen Gregory. The show is overseen by the film's director Jared Hess, his wife Jerusha, and veteran television writer/producer Mike Scully (The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond). Fox placed an order of six episodes in October 2010, and then ordered 7 additional scripts in July 2011.

Background

The series takes place following the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite. It follows the adventures of Napoleon Dynamite, and his family and friends, as they navigate small-town life in rural Preston, Idaho. The original cast from the film, Jon Heder, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Sandy Martin, Jon Gries and Diedrich Bader, voice their characters in the series, in addition to the series introducing several new characters.

Napoleon Dynamite is a 16-year-old boy convinced that he is blessed with unlimited "sweet skills." His hobbies include practicing his ninja moves, dancing, drawing, and bragging about his "girlfriend in Oklahoma." Napoleon's brother, Kip, is an unemployed 32-year-old who lives at home, and continually attempts to meet girls online. The two live with their grandmother, who is often found four-wheeling with her friends at the local sand dunes. Napoleon's friends include Pedro, who has recently been elected class president, and Deb, a girl who sees the good in Napoleon and dreams of someday becoming his girlfriend. Napoleon's uncle, Rico, lives in an orange van, where he obsesses over his failed high school football career and dreams up ways to become rich and famous.

Guest voices in the debut season include Amy Poehler, Jennifer Coolidge, Sam Rockwell, and Jemaine Clement.

Episodes

Main article: List of Napoleon Dynamite episodes

Cast

The entire original cast returns to reprise their roles.

• Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite, an awkward teenager who enjoys mundane diversions such as drawing, playing tetherball and hip-hop dancing. He regularly boasts about his “skills” with weapons such as nunchucks (which he calls "numchucks") and bostaffs, knowing all the "illegal ninja moves from the government," and his summer "in Alaska hunting wolverines". He sometimes calls people "fricking idiots" and he thinks computers ruin peoples' lives. Napoleon is the main protagonist of the series and he doesn't really notice that Deb really likes him. Napoleon is interested in martial arts, as he likes samurai swords. Napoleon hates Kip and thinks he is always trying to ruin his life.
• Aaron Ruell as Kipland "Kip" Dynamite, Napoleon's wimpy unemployed 32-year-old brother who usually spends his time on the computer. He has a fear of spiders. Though in the film Kip meets and marries a much taller woman from Detroit named LaFawnduh Lucas (Shondrella Avery), LaFawnduh is thus far not a character in the series, though Avery looks forward to reprising the role.
• Efren Ramirez as Pedro Sánchez, a new student to Preston High, originally from Juárez, Mexico. He tends to be a very shy and quiet person and has little dialogue. He becomes Napoleon's best friend. He has a crush on Summer.
• Tina Majorino as Deb, a door-to-door vendor selling "Glamour Shots by Deb" and homemade boondoggle key chains. She has a crush on Napoleon.
• Sandy Martin as Grandma Carlinda Dynamite, Napoleon and Kip's grandmother.
• Jon Gries as Uncle Rico, Napoleon and Kip's uncle, who lives in a field in his camper van. He played football in high school ("back in '82"), and desires to live in the past and usually just throws footballs in the field where he keeps his van.
• Diedrich Bader as Rex, a local martial arts instructor and founder of the "Rex Kwon Do" center.
• Haylie Duff as Summer Wheatley, the popular girl at Napoleon's school.
• Jared Hess as Don Moser, Summer's wealthy boyfriend.

Main cast members
Jon Heder	Aaron Ruell	Efren Ramirez	Tina Majorino	Sandy Martin	Jon Gries	Diedrich Bader	Haylie Duff
Napoleon Dynamite	Kip Dynamite	Pedro Sánchez	Deb	Grandma Dynamite	Uncle Rico	Rex	Summer Wheatley

Reception

Reviews for the show's premiere episode have been mixed, garnering negative reviews from San Francisco Chronicle and the Staten Island Advance, as well as neutral reviews from Variety and USA Today. Mary McNamara of The Los Angeles Times wrote that while the cast of the movie did reunite for the show, "the slow pace is gone for the family-friendly Fox cartoon." Napoleon Dynamite received a positive review from Linda Stasi of the New York Post, who praised the show's humor. Lori Rackl, writing for The Chicago Sun-Times said that she wasn't a fan of the movie or the animated series.

International broadcasting

Country	Network	Premiere date
Australia	Eleven	TBA
Brazil	FX Brazil	2012
Canada	Global	Mid-season
Philippines	Jack TV	January 28, 2012
United Kingdom	E4	2012
United States	Fox	Mid-season

External links

• Official website on Fox.com
• Napoleon Dynamite at IMDb