First Look At Fox's <i>Napoleon Dynamite</i> Animated Series

CBR

First Look At Fox's Napoleon Dynamite Animated Series

By Kevin Melrose

Published May 17, 2011

Fox has released the trailer and details for the animated series, which reunites the original cast from the hit 2004 film. The show will air Sundays as part of the network's "Animation Domination" programming block.

In the seven months since the project was officially announced, I'd forgotten about the planned animated series based on the 2004 hit movie Napoleon Dynamite. But here we are in the middle of network upfront presentations, and there the cartoon is in Fox's newly announced fall lineup.

As promised, the movie's entire original cast -- Jon Heder, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Sandy Martin, Jon Gries and Diedrich Bader -- is back, with Jennifer Coolidge, Sam Rockwell and Jemaine Clement also lending their voices to the premiere episode.

Napoleon Dynamite will join Fox's "Animation Domination" Sunday night block, airing at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT between The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Based on the hit film, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE is an animated series that follows the continuing adventures of America’s most awesome awkward teenager and his quirky family and friends as they struggle to navigate small-town life in rural Idaho.

The original cast from the film – Jon Heder, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Sandy Martin, Jon Gries and Diedrich Bader – will voice their characters in the series, and many new characters will be added along the way.

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (Heder) is a 16-year-old boy convinced – for no apparent reason – that he is destined for greatness and blessed with unlimited “sweet abilities.” He spends his days practicing ninja moves, drawing ligers, soul dancing and bragging about his “girlfriend in Oklahoma” whom nobody has ever seen. Napoleon’s brother, KIP (Ruell), is an unemployed 32-year-old who lives at home and believes he would be an amazing catch for any girl who would respond to his online come-ons. The Dynamite brothers live with GRANDMA (Martin), a crusty woman who can often be found four-wheeling with her lady friends at the local sand dunes.

Napoleon’s allies include PEDRO (Ramirez), his unflappable best friend who has recently been elected class president; and DEB (Majorino), an incredibly sweet girl who sees the good in Napoleon and dreams of someday being his wife. Napoleon’s UNCLE RICO (Gries) lives out of an orange custom van, where he obsesses over his botched high school football career and dreams up ways to become rich and famous. Then there’s REX KWON DO (Bader), a self-proclaimed martial-arts master who runs the local dojo.

Guest voices in the debut season include Jennifer Coolidge (“American Pie,” “Legally Blonde”), Sam Rockwell (“Choke”) and Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords”).

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE is a 20th Century Fox Television production. The series is created and executive-produced by Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite,” “Nacho Libre”), along with Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Mike Scully (THE SIMPSONS, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Parks & Recreation”). The animation house is Rough Draft Studios (“Futurama,” “The Simpsons Movie”).