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
Jimmy Stevens
- Jock #2
- (as James Smooth)
Thomas Lefler
- 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
Napoleon Dynamite: [Feeding the llama scoops of casserole over the fence] Tina, you fat lard, come get some DINNER!... Tina, eat. Food. Eat the FOOD!
- 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
Featured review
Napoleon Dynamite mayn't be to everybody's tastes, but personally I liked it
Napoleon Dynamite by all means is not a five-star masterpiece, and it mayn't be to everybody's tastes but I was surprised at how much I liked it, even with its problems. I can also say I do think there are much worse movies out there- Disaster Movie, Epic Movie, Home Alone 4, Cat in the Hat and Superbabies:Baby Geniuses 2 are much worse than this film.
What I did like about Napoleon Dynamite was that it was unique, funny, quirky and original. Where it is not quite so good is in the episodic story structure and some of the supporting characters particularly comic-book-geek older brother and the ageing jock uncle were disappointingly one-dimensional and could have been further explored in terms of depth.
Napoleon Dynamite does have a refreshingly distinctive time-warp look that recalls the style-challenged 1980s though, and that was refreshing in itself. The soundtrack is nice and nostalgic, and there are some genuinely laugh-out-loud funny moments. Also the ending is suitably uplifting and the limited horizons of young people in small-town America is nicely conveyed. The script is good and the direction is pretty solid.
As are the performances. Jon Heder is delightfully eccentric in the title role, and he is really entertaining throughout, whether it is in the voice, the facial expressions or his character's actions. Napoleon is a blank-faced teen with carrot-coloured hair and seriously underdeveloped interpersonal skills, and here he tries to help his nerd of a best friend Pedro, amusingly played by Efren Ramirez. In terms of other supporting performances, Aaron Ruell also does a good job as Kip and while his role wasn't as well-sketched as it could have been, Jonathan Gries does nicely as Uncle Rico.
Overall, not perfect, but amusing, quirky and unique. 7/10 Bethany Cox
What I did like about Napoleon Dynamite was that it was unique, funny, quirky and original. Where it is not quite so good is in the episodic story structure and some of the supporting characters particularly comic-book-geek older brother and the ageing jock uncle were disappointingly one-dimensional and could have been further explored in terms of depth.
Napoleon Dynamite does have a refreshingly distinctive time-warp look that recalls the style-challenged 1980s though, and that was refreshing in itself. The soundtrack is nice and nostalgic, and there are some genuinely laugh-out-loud funny moments. Also the ending is suitably uplifting and the limited horizons of young people in small-town America is nicely conveyed. The script is good and the direction is pretty solid.
As are the performances. Jon Heder is delightfully eccentric in the title role, and he is really entertaining throughout, whether it is in the voice, the facial expressions or his character's actions. Napoleon is a blank-faced teen with carrot-coloured hair and seriously underdeveloped interpersonal skills, and here he tries to help his nerd of a best friend Pedro, amusingly played by Efren Ramirez. In terms of other supporting performances, Aaron Ruell also does a good job as Kip and while his role wasn't as well-sketched as it could have been, Jonathan Gries does nicely as Uncle Rico.
Overall, not perfect, but amusing, quirky and unique. 7/10 Bethany Cox
helpful•223
- TheLittleSongbird
- May 16, 2010
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Napoleon Dynamite: Cuộc Sống Mới
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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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