Napoleon Dynamite: Series Premiere

“Hey Kip, check out my killer writing skills. I’m writing a review for Napoleon Dynamite, and I’ll turn it in whenever I feel like, Gosh!”

I wasn’t sure that Napoleon Dynamite could make the jump from cult indie comedy to cartoon sitcom. As a fan of the 2004 film, Napoleon Dynamite was a tough show to review. No sequel or spin-off can ever live up to the original (Except Empire Strikes Back of course.) However, from a marketing point of view Fox had to give the show a more Universal appeal, and I think it made the transition well.

The show follows a teenage outcast and his quirky friends in their quiet Idaho town.  Creator’s Jared and Jerusha Hess’s unique writing cadence and deadpan wit made famous by their films Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre is right at home, sandwiched between The Simpsons and Family Guy on Fox’s Sunday lineup. Napoleon Dynamite felt like an Simpsons episode, most likely due to it’s show-runner being former Simpsons show-running alum Mike Scully. For Sunday night’s premiere, Napoleon Dynamite catapulted two full episodes at its audience. “Sweet!”

The first episode, “Thundercone,” had a traditional sitcom “A/B” story. The “A” storyline focuses on Napoleon (Jon Heder) treating a very aggressive patch of zits with some Acne cream banned by the FDA. (“Sick!”) A local underground fight club recruits Napoleon after the side effects of the acne cream trigger a violent rage.

PEDRO

Sounds like unbridled rage.

NAPOLEON

Sweet, my rage has never been unbridled.

In the “B” storyline Kip (Aaron Ruell) is going on a date with the ‘bad boy’ obsessed Misty (Amy Poehler). Kip wins her over with his sweet spray on abs.

By the end of the episode Misty is infatuated with Napoleon’s ‘bad boy’ violent side. In order to win Misty back, Kip resorts to thievery and steals Napoleon’s acne cream. He challenges Napoleon to fight in ‘Thundercone’ (A silo in the middle of a corn field which is a non so subtle rip off of Mad Max’s Beyond the Thunder Dome.) Hilariously, the acne cream wears off of both combatants, and the two engage in a classic nerd fight showdown.

The first installment was a solid introduction into the series. It followed a digestible traditional format, and each commercial break was preceded by a ‘raising of the stakes’ cliffhanger to keep the audience from turning the dial (although unnecessary in the DVR generation)

The second episode, “Scantronica Love”, was probably the stronger of the two in terms of character arc and show development. It was also very clearly more “Napoleon Dynamite-esque” than “Thundercone”.

“Scantronica Love” opens with Napoleon in science class confronted by a machine that selects one’s perfect mate. Pedro (Efren Ramirez) is paired up with his reluctant crush Summer (Haylie Duff).  Deb (Tina Majorino) hoping to be paired with Napoleon is instead paired with Summer’s ignoramus of a boyfriend Don. Napoleon doubts the validity of his Scantronica quiz when he is paired up with Tokiko, the foreign exchange student.

NAPOLEON

There's only two questions that matter for compatibility – what's your favorite kind of hawk? And how many do you own?

The “B” storyline once again follows Kip trying to become a street magician. Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) declares himself Kip’s manager in yet another Uncle Rico moneymaking scheme.

Without divulging to too much detail, the episode jumps around from couple to couple and culminates in Napoleon having to team up with the other disenfranchised matchee’s and save Deb from a commitment ceremony to Don. With a little help from Kip’s newfound magic skills, Napoleon is able to nab the girl and ride off into the sunset on a Jet Ski.

If you’re a die-hard fan of the 2004 film, the television series premiere of Napoleon Dynamite wasn’t quite a homerun. It was more like a ground rule double. If you’ve never seen the cult hit film, you were treated to a delightful ‘Simpson-like’ cartoon with quirky characters.  Napoleon Dynamite was a refreshing comedic hit in 2004. The Hess’s created a clean, character driven, quirky comedy in a sea of underdeveloped ‘dick and fart joke’ movies. If Napoleon Dynamite can survive the ‘ax’ on network T.V. and solidify its voice, it may be able to convey the Hess’s unique clean sense of humor to a worldwide audience. In an ever expanding genre of ‘potty mouthed’ cartoons, Napoleon Dynamite is inspirational.