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Napoleon Dynamite

2004 · 96 min · movie
⭐ 7.0 (257,082 votes)

Socially awkward 16-year-old Napoleon Dynamite lives in Preston, Idaho, United States, with his grandmother, Carlinda, and his technology-addicted older brother, Kip. Napoleon's school days are spent doodling mythical creatures, dealing with bullies, and playing tetherball by himself.

Carlinda breaks her tailbone in a quad bike accident and asks Napoleon and Kip's Uncle Rico to look after the boys while she recovers. Flirtatious, middle-aged Rico arrives in the camper van he lives in, and teams up with Kip to sell items door-to-door in a get-rich-quick scheme. Kip wants to pay for his internet girlfriend, LaFawnduh, to visit from Detroit. Former high-school athlete Rico dwells on his past and dreams of going back in time. He believes wealth will help him get over his breakup with his girlfriend and failed dreams of NFL stardom. Meanwhile, Napoleon takes a job on a chicken farm, but barely makes anything close to what Rico and Kip made.

Napoleon becomes friends with Deb, a shy girl who sells headshots and knick-knacks to raise money for college, and Pedro, a bold transfer student from Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Pedro is rebuffed when he asks the popular and snobby Summer Wheatly to accompany him to the high school dance; Deb gladly accepts. Pedro encourages Napoleon to find a date and he picks popular classmate Trisha. As a gift, he draws an (unintentionally bad) picture of her and delivers it to Trisha's mother, one of Rico's customers. Rico tells Trisha's mother embarrassing stories about Napoleon to evoke sympathy. She buys his wares and forces Trisha to accept Napoleon's invitation. Trisha goes to the dance with Napoleon but abandons him to hang out with Summer and her boyfriend, Don Moser. Pedro allows Napoleon to dance with Deb.

Pedro runs against Summer for class president. The two factions put up flyers and hand out trinkets to attract voters. To demonstrate their "skills" and increase their respect around the school, Napoleon and Pedro enter a Future Farmers of America competition, grading milk and cow udders. They win medals, but it does little for their popularity. Pedro becomes stressed to the point where he inadvertently shaves his head bald, and is given a wig by Deb. He later makes a piñata of Summer for fellow students to whack, but is reprimanded by the principal and forced to remove all his campaign flyers. To deal with the bullying, Pedro and Napoleon enlist Pedro's cousins to chase off the bullies.

Napoleon buys an instructional dance videotape, D-Qwon's Dance Grooves. Kip's girlfriend, LaFawnduh, arrives and gives him an urban makeover, outfitting him in hip-hop regalia. Seeing that Napoleon is learning to dance, LaFawnduh gives him a mixtape.

Rico continues to spread embarrassing rumors about Napoleon to prospective customers. He tries to sell Deb a breast-enhancement product, claiming it was Napoleon's suggestion, causing her to break off their friendship. Napoleon confronts Rico and tells him to leave, but Rico refuses. His sales scheme ends when martial arts instructor Rex walks in on Rico demonstrating the breast-enhancement product on his wife, and assaults him.

On Election Day, Summer gives a speech before the student body, and presents a dance skit to " Larger than Life " by the Backstreet Boys with the Happy Hands club as her backup dancers. Pedro gives a despondent speech after discovering he is also required to perform a skit. Napoleon gives the sound engineer LaFawnduh's mixtape and spontaneously performs a dance routine to " Canned Heat " by Jamiroquai as Pedro's skit. Napoleon's routine receives a standing ovation, stunning Summer and Don.

Pedro becomes class president, Grandma returns from the hospital, Rico reunites with his girlfriend, Kip and LaFawnduh leave on a bus for Michigan, and Napoleon and Deb reconcile and play tetherball together.

Two months later, Kip and LaFawnduh get married, and Napoleon arrives late at the wedding on a stallion which he tamed for Kip and LaFawnduh to ride out on.

Directed by

Jared Hess

Starring

Sandy Martin
Diedrich Bader
Tina Majorino
Jon Gries
Jon Heder
Efren Ramirez
Aaron Ruell
Haylie Duff
Ratings provided by IMDB. Information courtesy of IMDb. Used with permission. Wikidata Licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0