In 2004, unknown actor Jon Heder took the world by storm as Napoleon Dynamite, a gangly, social awkward carrot-top with a penchant for tater tots. With a cast full of quirky characters and off-beat humor, Napoleon Dynamite is one of those movies that fans either love to pieces or hate with a passion. Despite the split in opinion, Fox decided that the fanbase was large enough to sustain a weekly, half-hour animated sitcom. Premiering tomorrow night at 8:30 EST, Napoleon Dynamite will get the chance to charm audiences once again.
All of the actors from the movie are on board for the animated series. Heder is back as Dynamite. Efren Ramierez returns as Pedro, Napoleon’s introverted, soft-spoken best friend. Even Haylie Duff and Jon Gries reprise their roles as Summer Wheatly and Uncle Rico, respectively.
The show is likely to have the same brand of eccentric humor as the film’s original writers, Jared and Jerusha Hess, are also attached to the series. But this time around, the Hess’s will be getting some help from Mike Scully, a television veteran with a long history of writing sit-coms. Scully’s work includes The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond, and the runaway hit Parks & Recreation, so he will definitely have some good things to add to Napoleon Dynamite.
As a die-hard fan of the film, I’m a little worried about weekly doses of Napoleon Dynamite. The film was magic, it’s unpredictable humor coming at a time when movie comedies were little more than gross-out gagfests. The movie world was inundated with the likes of American Pie and the Scary Movie series, so Napoleon Dynamite was a breath of fresh air. But with the show retain the movie’s originality eight years later, or will it be reduced to being a Family Guy knock-off? My love for the writers and the characters forces me to hold out hope, but I will certainly be approaching this one cautiously.
What do you think about Napoleon getting the animated treatment? Are you behind the series or do you deny all that it stands for and think it should have stopped at a movie? Let us know in the comments below, or you can head over to the forums to really vent and get your feelings out.
Tags: animated series, Animation, Fox, Jared Hess, Jon Heder, Michael Wirth, Mike Scully, Napoleon Dynamite, Television
About the Author
Written by Michael Wirth
Hailing from the armpit of America, New Jersey, Michael has been collecting comic books since the age of 10. Now, he deigns to keep his finger on the pulse of pop-culture, keeping up with every passing fad or iconic innovation, never losing sight of his comic book roots.
This might be interesting, hopefully it’s better than some of the other sitcoms that have been coming out, I mean it doesn’t have much to do to top Work It.
What are your thoughts on the new Napoleon Dynamite show? Love it? Hate it? Will you be watching tomorrow?
I’ll be watching, that’s for sure. But if it turns into another Simpsons, then the first episode may be the only one I see.
I don’t know..I really don’t..I didn’t see the appeal of the movie -at all-. I just want my new Daria….And Fox: You give me Napoleon Dynamite but you don’t give me more Firefly or Dollhouse? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.
I loved the movie, but I don’t watch much TV these days. I don’t think this show is likely to change that.
Jeez. A large enough cult fan base is all it takes? I don’t see A Clockwork Orange the Animated Series.
…A Clockwork Orange the Animated Series would be inappropriately hilarious.
I’d love for this show to succeed, but having the original cast and creators on board doesn’t guarantee success. NBC tried to go this route with Clerks the Animated Series, and it didn’t last more than two episodes. (Of course, NBC didn’t handle the show well AT ALL, so there’s that…)
We’ll see how many episodes they get in before it’s yanked from play. Here’s hoping history doesn’t repeat itself!
I think it looks hilarious. I think they chose the right way to re introduce us to the characters, another movie I don’t think it woudve worked. But as an animated show they can up the absurdity add to that all the cast returned to do the voices-it’s gonna be awesome!
It looks funny but I haven’t seen it yet…any good?