Synopsis

Napoleon Dynamite is an American animated sitcom based on the 2004 cult film of the same name. The series was created by Jared and Jerusha Hess and developed by the Hesses and Mike Scully. The series follows the adventures of Napoleon Dynamite in the small town of Preston, Idaho. The Hesses came up with the idea for the series after filming Napoleon Dynamite. It originally ran on Fox from January… 15, 2012, to March 4, 2012, before being cancelled.

The film was theatrically released in the United States on June 11, 2004.

The term "The Napoleon Dynamite Problem" has been used to describe the phenomenon where "quirky" films such as Napoleon Dynamite, Lost in Translation (2003) and I Heart Huckabees (2004) prove difficult for researchers to create algorithms that are able to predict whether or not a particular viewer will like the film based on their ratings of previously viewed films.

Some films compared to Napoleon Dynamite include Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and Sincerely Saul (2024).

The success of Napoleon Dynamite led to other films set in small towns, such as Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and Juno (2007), which would have similar critical, popular, and financial success.

Napoleon Dynamite premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2004, where it was picked up by Fox Searchlight Pictures.