In the early 2000s, an independent comedy set in middle-of-nowhere Idaho swept the world by storm. Written by husband and wife filmmakersJared and Jerusha Hessand directed by the former,Napoleon Dynamitedebuted at Sundance Film Festival in 2004. The film was loosely based on a short that Jared Hess made while attending college andquickly became a cult classic, grossing over $40 million on a $400,000 budget. Preston, Idaho, the famedNapoleon Dynamitetown,is still a regular pilgrimagefor fans of the feature film, which inspired a wave of quirky comedies during the early 2000s, though there was never a sequel. At least, not in the traditional sense.
Rather than produce a live-action continuation ofNapoleon Dynamite, the Hesses partnered with longtimeTheSimpsonswriter and showrunnerMike Scullyin 2010 to develop an animated series based on the feature film. “It’s not easy transitioning from live action film to animation,“Scully told Flickering Myth in 2012, “butNapoleon Dynamitefelt like the kind of movie that could do it.” Hoping to capitalize on the resurgence of the new wave of adult animated content being produced at the time (such asBob’s Burgers), the series aired as part of Fox’s “Animation Domination” lineup during the 2011-12 winter season alongside shows likeFamily Guy,The Cleveland Show, andAmerican Dad!
RELATED:Creators Jared and Jerusha Hess Talk NAPOLEON DYNAMITE Animated Series and AUSTENLAND
But what made theNapoleon Dynamitecartoon especially notable is that almost the entire original cast returned to reprise their roles from the film.Jon Heder,Tina Majorino,Efren Ramirez,Aaron Ruell, andJon Griesdelight as always, acting as if they’d never stepped away from their characters in the first place. Their character interactions and chemistry flows as it always has, giving this series an edge early on. Additionally,Sandy Martinreturned as Grandma Carlinda Dynamite, who is now a much bigger part of the story, andDiedrich Baderreprises his role as Rex, Preston’s beloved “Rex-Kwan-Do” instructor.
‘Napoleon Dynamite’ Continues Where The Movie Left Off (Sort Of)
Though the series aired nearlya decade after the film was released, it actually takes place sometime between the ending and the after-credits scene where Kip and LaFawnduh (Shondrella Avery) get married (if you haven’t seen it, it’s a trip). Set in a reality adjacent to the film, theNapoleon Dynamitecartoon continues Napoleon’s everyday life, balancing stories between his home life with Kip, Grandma, and Uncle Rico, and his time at Preston Senior High with Pedro and Deb. In many ways, the animated series isn’t much different from the movie. Well, except for the extra outlandish moments that remind you that you’re watching a cartoon.
But, for the most part, the series stays true to the world of the feature film. Napoleon is still committed to the FFA, Kip still dates online, Rico continues to live in his van, and Pedro remains student body president. Additionally, characters like Don (now voiced byJared Hess) and Summer (still played byHaylie Duff) fill out the world, now populated by a host of both new and familiar characters. But beyond just characters, the series continues to expand on elements set up during or introduced in the original film.
Between the existence of ligers (the magical lion/tiger hybrid that Napoleon is obsessed with) and the obvious difference between social classes, the animated series, in many respects, feels like a real extension of the movie. It builds the world ofNapoleon Dynamiteinto something bigger, stranger, and a little more outlandish. Cartoonish additions include the annual bed races (which is actually a part of Preston living), the underground “rage cage” Thundercone, and the match-making Scantronica 3000. These additions feel more like expansions to the world rather than gross exaggerations, even if they feel more at home here in the cartoon than they might’ve in the film. No doubt, animation was certainly the right medium forNapoleon Dynamite.
The Series Began To Take On A Life Of Its Own
Though the animated series often fell into the trap of elaborating on the same jokes made in the movie (be it Napoleon’s dancing skills, recurring catchphrases, or general over-reliance on familiar material), it didn’t take long forNapoleon Dynamiteto start developing into something noteworthy on its own. In fact,some criticseven deemed the series “far funnier” than its contemporaries, such asBob’s Burgers, which was still just crawling back then (and a long way fromthe long-running series it is today).
As audiences got reacquainted with the cast, the cartoon sitcom messed around with all the familiar dynamics. “Pedro vs. Deb” forced the two former friends to work through their differences (and for Napoleon to take some agency and do something about it), while “Scantronica Love” pushed our titular hero into admitting that he has some sort of romantic interest in Deb. Other episodes such as “Thundercone” test the brotherly bond between Napoleon and Kip, while “FFA” does the same thing for Napoleon’s friendship with Pedro.
The animated sitcom wasn’t a stranger to notable guest stars either.Amy Poehlertook a turn as Kip’s new love interest Misty during “Thundercone,” which caused some conflict between the Dynamite brothers. Another foil, former FFA champion Filson, was voiced by none other thanSam Rockwell, a master actor in every medium. Others such asJennifer Coolidge,Lauren Tom,Tara Strong, andJemaine Clementall lent their vocal talents to the series, but even a variety of guest stars wasn’t enough to keep Napoleon and his friendson the air.
‘Napoleon Dynamite’Was Canceled After Six Episodes
Unfortunately, the reunion between theNapoleon Dynamitecast was extremely short-lived. After only airing six episodes (all of which were aired out of production order),Fox unceremoniously axed the revival seriesthat May, only two months after the final episode aired in March. As it turns out, there were to be no more adventures for Napoleon, Pedro, Kip, Deb, and the crew, and any further plans to continue the story were brought to an abrupt close. Not even Uncle Rico could weasel his way out of this one. Admittedly, the series received fairly mixed reviews upon its release, and while some enjoyed the animated continuation, others considered it a vast departure from what made the movie great.
Despite this, Fox boasted that the seriesranked sixth in entertainment programs among teenagers(likely those who grew up watching the original flick), which made it all the stranger that they canceled it after half a season, opting to focus on making another season ofBob’s Burgersinstead. It makes sense though as the network had already produced a season of the animated sitcom, and given how it turned out (The Bob’s Burgers Moviewas released in 2022, to high acclaim), it was clearly the right call. Alongside Napoleon’s animated misadventures, Fox also canceledJonah Hill’sAllen Gregory, which only ran for seven episodes itself.
ThoughNapoleon Dynamitepremiered with decent ratings, it gradually lost its audience as the weeks passed by, justifying its ultimate cancelation. Maybe the world just wasn’t ready for more Napoleon Dynamite, or maybe the original movie was more than enough. Nevertheless, Fox’s massive restructuring of their adult animation at the time had something to do with it, it’s just too bad that the Dynamite family were the ones to get axed.
The Death and Return of Animation Domination
Fox’s popular Animation Domination block only ran two more seasons before being canceled itself. Though many of the shows such asThe Simpsons,Bob’s Burgers, andFamily Guyremained on air, Fox opted to restructure their comedy routine to include live-action shows as well, namelyBrooklyn Nine-Nine,The Last Man on Earth, andJohn Mulaney’s short-lived self-titled sitcomMulaney. From 2014 to 2017, this new Sunday night block, called “Sunday Funday,” aired a mix of adult animated content with live-action sitcoms.
But by 2018, Sunday Funday was reworked into “Fox Sunday Night,” this time without live-action shows likeBrooklyn Nine-Nine(which had returned to its usual weekday slot) andThe Last Man On Earth(which had been canceled). As it turns out, like Napoleon’s extra two hours of adventures, Fox’s latest programming block wasn’t meant to last. Not even reruns ofTim Allen’sLast Man Standingcould save Fox Sunday Night, and the block was soon dropped, only to be replaced by a resurrected Animation Domination.
This newly restored Animation Domination saw long-running shows, such asThe SimpsonsandBob’s Burgersreturn alongside newcomers likeThe Great North,HouseBroken, and the short-livedBless the Harts. Sadly,Napoleon Dynamitedid not return with its former slot-mates, and not even a rerun can be found on television. Though, the series is still available for streaming in its entirety on Hulu, where Napoleon’s 2012 adventures are presented in release date order.
The Possible (Dark) Future of ‘Napoleon Dynamite’
Though Napoleon hasn’t shown his expressionless face again since his brief stint on television in 2012, Jon Heder and his co-stars have still been around. Back in 2020,Efren Ramirez theorized that aNapoleon Dynamite 2might take place over 20 years later(in keeping with real time as the first film is set in 2004) where his character Pedro ended up married to Summer Wheatley, parenting five kids, and running a bakery. While nothing official has been confirmed on that front, it doesn’t sound like Pedro would be doing too bad. Of course, Summer would have to get over Don (played byTrevor Snarrin the original), but 20 years is a long time.
More recently,Heder revealed at Pittsburgh’s Steel City Con 2023that he thinks, given Disney’s ownership of Fox (and thereforeNapoleon Dynamite), a sequel is inevitable. But, if they do make another one, he wants it to be a bit darker. “Part of the charm ofNapoleonis the innocence of youth,” Heder told fans. “They’re in high school, they don’t have any real responsibility or accountability too much, it’s all coming of age. Napoleon today would be: he’s entered the workforce, he’s got responsibility, he’s paying for maybe one or two alimonies, child support for one of them.”
Heder continued to theorize that this might make a good jumping point for our titular hero, forcing him to take responsibility for his actions, win back Deb, and team up with a “roided-out” Kip in the process (who has succeeded now as a cage fighter). Admittedly, this is all speculation since the Hesses haven’t confirmed or denied the development of a sequel, but given that it’s still being talked about after all these years (nearly 20 since the film premiered and over 10 since the animated series was canceled), there’s still a chance we’ll see Napoleon’s sick moves again in the future.
Napoleon Dynamitecan be streamed on Max, while the animated series, alsoNapoleon Dynamite, can be found on Hulu.
