50 Fun Facts About Napoleon Dynamite

In which state is Napoleon Dynamite set and filmed?

Preston, near the Utah border, is the director's hometown; locals fed and housed the crew during the July 2003 shoot.

Who directed Napoleon Dynamite?

It was his first feature; he co-wrote it with his wife Jerusha, who says she really was like Deb growing up.

What was the film's budget?

It went on to gross more than a hundred times its budget worldwide.

Roughly how much did the film gross worldwide?

Not bad for a movie that opened in a handful of theatres and paid its star $1,000.

What was the title of the short film the movie grew out of?

The nine-minute black-and-white BYU class project starred Heder as a nerd named Seth and screened at Slamdance in 2003.

Heder and Hess met as film students where?

Producer Jeremy Coon talked Hess into dropping out to make the feature.

How much was Jon Heder originally paid for playing Napoleon?

He renegotiated after the film became a runaway hit; a casting director had wanted Jake Gyllenhaal instead.

Which studio picked the film up at its January 2004 festival premiere?

Paramount and MTV Films handled the international release; Fox even paid for the post-credits wedding scene.

What is the name of Napoleon's older brother?

Kipland Ronald Dynamite chats online with babes all day and dreams of fighting professionally.

Kip's internet girlfriend LaFawnduh travels from which city?

She gives Kip an urban makeover and Napoleon a mixtape, and the two ride off on a bus to Michigan.

Pedro is a transfer student from which city?

He runs for class president against Summer Wheatly and, stressed out, shaves his own head.

How does Grandma Carlinda injure herself?

Her broken tailbone is what brings Uncle Rico and his camper van to town.

What does Uncle Rico drive?

He lives in it, and much of the film's tech is similarly frozen in time: top-loader VCR, Walkman, dial-up.

Which song does Napoleon dance to at the school assembly?

Heder danced to three songs because they weren't sure they could afford the rights; the Jamiroquai licence ate about half the budget.

Summer Wheatly performs her election skit to which song?

The Happy Hands club are her backup dancers.

Who helped choreograph Heder's famous dance?

Heder says he improvised, borrowing moves from Saturday Night Fever, Michael Jackson and Soul Train, and they cut together the best of three takes.

What competition do Napoleon and Pedro enter to show off their 'skills'?

They grade milk and cow udders, which is exactly as glamorous as it sounds.

What is the name of the instructional videotape Napoleon buys?

His verdict while practising: 'This is pretty much the worst video ever made.'

Which musician had used the name 'Napoleon Dynamite' as a pseudonym years before the film?

Hess says he took it from a man he met in Cicero, Illinois while on a Mormon mission, and only heard about Costello two days before shooting ended.

Who was almost cast as Uncle Rico?

Jason Lee was also offered the part; Brad Garrett auditioned for Rex but declined.

Which comedy veteran shot all his scenes as martial arts instructor Rex in a single day?

Rex Kwon Do's motto: 'Bow to your sensei.'

Whose idea was the film's opening titles written on plates of food and a tube of ChapStick?

The film had originally been made without opening titles at all.

How many MTV Movie Awards did the film win in 2005?

Breakthrough Male Performance, Best Musical Performance and Best Movie, for a film MTV Films itself co-released.

Where did Napoleon Dynamite land on Bravo's list of the 100 funniest films?

Entertainment Weekly separately ranked Napoleon #88 among the 100 greatest characters of the previous 20 years.

Napoleon's big assembly routine came about because the Hesses knew what about Jon Heder?

Jerusha had seen him boogie and thought it was pretty sweet; Heder allowed that he liked to dabble.

What does Napoleon ride to arrive late at Kip's wedding?

He tamed it as a wedding gift so the couple could ride off on it; Fox paid extra for the post-credits scene.

Who plays Deb, the shy girl who sells glamour shots and knick-knacks for college?

Haylie Duff plays her rival Summer Wheatly.

Who plays Uncle Rico?

Gries had spent the 90s as the white producer Shawn on the sitcom Martin.

Napoleon describes which animal as 'pretty much my favorite animal ... bred for its skills in magic'?

It's like a lion and a tiger mixed, and he draws one in class.

Which bully demands 'Give me some of your tots'?

Napoleon had stashed the tater tots in his cargo pocket; Randy kicks them.

Which three talents does Napoleon insist girls want in a boyfriend?

'Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills!'

What does Uncle Rico bet he can throw over 'them mountains'?

He is convinced Coach would have put him in during the fourth quarter back in '82 and they'd have been state champions.

What is Kip training to become?

'I'm training to become a cage fighter', he says, between chats with babes online.

Tina, whom Napoleon calls a 'fat lard' at dinnertime, is what kind of animal?

She refuses the casserole he flings at her.

What does Napoleon claim to have caught Deb?

It is offered as an apology gift at the door.

What does Napoleon ask about the chickens at the farm job?

The farmer, Lyle, pays the boys in quarters and raw egg drinks.

Kip's retort to Napoleon at the dinner table is what?

It became one of the film's most quoted lines.

What does Deb try to sell door-to-door alongside glamour shots?

The breast-enhancement product is Uncle Rico's line, and his sales pitch to Deb wrecks Napoleon's friendship with her.

The animated Napoleon Dynamite series aired on which network in 2012?

The original cast voiced it and 9.5 million watched the premiere, but it was cancelled after six episodes.

How many episodes did the animated series last?

Mike Scully of The Simpsons helped develop it; Olive Films put the whole run on DVD in 2014.

Which fast-food chain hired Heder and Ramirez for a 2016 tots commercial?

The Cheesy Tots ad reunited Napoleon and Pedro twelve years on.

Jon Heder has an identical twin brother named what?

Heder was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, one of six children.

In which 2007 comedy did Heder play a figure skater alongside Will Ferrell?

He also voiced Chicken Joe in Surf's Up the same year.

Which 1980 Bette Midler song do students perform in sign language early in the film?

The version heard is by session singer Darci Monet, who was never credited or paid residuals.

Where was the film's 20th-anniversary 4K restoration screened in 2024?

Efren Ramirez reprised part of Pedro's speech on stage: 'I really don't have much to say. Have a happy Sundance.'

Who does Trisha ditch Napoleon for at the school dance?

Pedro kindly lets Napoleon dance with Deb instead.

How much was the production company awarded in its 2011 royalties lawsuit against the film's distributor?

It had sued for $10 million over underreported royalties.

What footwear does Napoleon wear as a nod to 1980s fashion?

Deb's side ponytail is the same joke; the school dance plays only 80s music like Alphaville's 'Forever Young'.

Director Jared Hess grew up in Preston, Idaho in a family of how many boys?

Hess called the film 'so autobiographical', with Napoleon a hybrid of the nerdiest parts of himself and his brothers.

For the film's tenth anniversary in 2014, a bronze statue of Napoleon with a tetherball was placed where?

The anniversary also brought a screening at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles.