A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.
- Awards
- 10 wins & 23 nominations
- Jock #2
- (as James Smooth)
- Principal Svadean
- (as Tom Lefler)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsWhen Napoleon is waiting in the van for Uncle Rico to take him to the dance, he looks at his watch. The time and date displayed is 5:40 p.m., Thursday 7/17. (They may have forgotten to change the date on the watch -- how many school dances are in July?) After he starts running down the road, he stops to look at his watch and the time and date says 5:54 p.m., Monday, 7/21.
- Quotes
Don: Hey, Napoleon. What did you do last summer again?
Napoleon Dynamite: I told you! I spent it with my uncle in Alaska hunting wolverines!
Don: Did you shoot any?
Napoleon Dynamite: Yes, like 50 of 'em! They kept trying to attack my cousins, what the heck would you do in a situation like that?
Don: What kind of gun did you use?
Napoleon Dynamite: A freakin' 12-gauge, what do you think?
- Crazy creditsThere is a 5 minute scene with Kip and LaFawnduh's wedding after the end credits.
- Alternate versionsFor wide releases and all showings after the limited one, a scene was filmed featuring an additional five-minutes after the credits.
- SoundtracksWe're Going to be Friends
Written by Jack White
Performed by The White Stripes
Courtesy of Third Man Records/V2 Records/XL Recordings
Set in a small town in rural Idaho, "Napoleon Dynamite" is a quirky regional comedy that achieved phenomenal mainstream success at the American box office. Its appeal is in its low-keyed, understated look at a group of people that more of us probably identify with than we would like to acknowledge. This is a movie for anyone who has ever felt unattractive or unpopular, who just never quite "fit in" with the people who really counted, especially in those dark ages known as the "teen years." One can't help liking and rooting for these bizarre and eccentric individuals who are really just looking for the same love and acceptance that we all are.
Director Jared Hess, along with co-writer Jerusha Hess, never feels the need to exaggerate or overstate the comedy. It would have been easy for them to have turned this into another "Revenge of the Nerds," placing their characters in over-the-top predicaments and situations to appease audience expectations. Instead, they let the story develop subtly and gradually, making the film feel more attuned to real life in the process. It may seem like a contradiction in terms, but the writers achieve their humor through a kind of understated hyperbole that allows us to laugh with the characters rather than at them. These nerds may be nerds to the core, but they reflect the longings and doubts common to all of us at one time or another. As a result, "Napoleon Dynamite" is warm and humanistic where it could easily have been cruel and condescending.
The filmmakers are helped immeasurably by a wonderfully talented cast, all of whom play their parts perfectly. Joe Heder as Napoleon, Aaron Ruell as his brother, Kip, Efren Ramirez as Pedro, and Tina Majorino as Deb all deliver their lines in a flat, emotionless, singsong monotone that perfectly captures the defense mechanism each of them has set up as a shield against a brutal, uncomprehending world. Yet, Napoleon and his fellow nerds never settle for victim status, as each finds a way to assert his individuality and carve out a little piece of happiness for himself. As an actor, only Jon Gries as Napoleon's Uncle Rico gets to break through the somnambulist haze and go for the fences in his delivery.
"Napoleon Dynamite" is clearly not the kind of movie that every audience will appreciate, but those movie watchers with a taste for the offbeat and quirky will have a fun time with it.
- Buddy-51
- Dec 30, 2005
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $400,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $44,540,956
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $116,666
- Jun 13, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $46,138,887
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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