Are we all ready to go ahead and admit that despite all the backlash, Napoleon Dynamite was pretty damn funny?
We are? FANTASTIC, because frankly, we're all good and ready for more non-jokes
about ligers, what skills a man should have and shockingly competent dancing in
an indeterminate time period.
Dyna-Heads (that's what we agreed to call ourselves at Napole-Con 2007) will
have to wait until 2012 to see the new animated series based on the cult film,
but we attended the Napoleon Dynamite panel
at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 to hear from the film's stars Jon Heder, Tina
Majorino, Efren Ramirez and more. Here's what we learned:
- Ramirez opened the panel by speaking in his Pedro-voice to copious amounts of applause.
- The panel also featured Mike Scully (The Simpsons), who is the producer of the new show.
- Scully tried to play a voicemail from Jared and Jerusha Hess, who are in England, where Jerusha is directing a film called Austenland.
- Scully's first exposure to the Napoleon Dynamite film was when his kids picked it out, and claims it "changed the way [his] family talked."
- Two years ago, Scully had a meeting with Hess, who had been asked by the studio to provide a sequel, but thought an animated show might be a better way to go.
- Scully pointed out that some movies, like Schindler's List, can't make the leap to animation, but because Napoleon Dynamite was so special, fun and unique, it could work.
- Napoleon Dynamite will debut with a prime spot between The Simpsons and Family Guy.
- Tina Majorino claims that everyone told her not to do the movie, but she thought he script was so amazing and funny. She said that the scene that made her want to do the movie is when Napoleon gets a button from Dawn and chucks it down the hallway.
- Scully told a crying baby to shut the f*ck up.
- Napoleon Dynamite was Majorino's first real comedic work.
- Majorino was very nervous about voicing the animated series, as it was her first time going into a booth for voiceover work.
- Seemingly everyone's agent told them not to work on Napoleon Dynamite.
- Aaron Ruell, who played Kip in the movie, claims that his actual persona disappears entirely when he takes on the character.
- Ruell claims that Kip is funniest when he's not trying to be funny, and it's mostly his voice that sells the character.
- Jon Gries, who played Uncle Rico, said something that he really enjoyed about the film was that everyone approached it like they were doing Schindler's List, and played things so straight, without winking at the camera.
- Sandy Martin, who played Grandma, had previously voiced characters on Astro-Boy.
- Efren Ramirez (Pedro) said that while he's from Los Angeles, Pedro is actually from Juarez, Mexico.
- Ramirez had another movie booked at the same time, but chose Napoleon Dynamite.
- Jon Heder was in college classes with Jared Hess, which led to him being cast in the role.
- He had been in an acting class and a few student projects before the short film which later became the feature.
- Aaron Ruell was also a friend of Hess'.
- Interestingly, Heder was studying animation in college while doing acting on the side.
- Next, they showed off some clips from the series:
- Grandma trying to pop Napoleon's zits.
- Kip taking a bath.
- Napoleon talking a guidance counselor about job opportunities.
- Napoleon's Liger-heavy dream sequence
- An early black and white animatic of Napoleon being haunted by various objects in his bedroom.
- The show features beautiful animation, done by the same team that works on Futurama. The style is completely different from anything else on Fox's Animation Domination block.
- Jermaine Clement, Amy Poehler, Sam Rockwell and others will be appearing in the first six episodes.
- Clement plays a teacher on the show that brings in an experimental computer to pick their mates.
- Jon Heder speaks fluent Japanese and can do it as Napoleon. Weird.
- Heder busted out some of the Japanese for us.
- Q&A time!
- Someone asked about "sweet new characters" in a Kip voice. New characters will include a young Japanese girl, school jerk Don who says "Yeah-ha" every time he does something lousy and more.
- The show will also show things you couldn't do in the movie, such as a Liger rampage.
- There are currently no plans for any live action segments on the television series.
- An unrepentant Waterworld fan asked Tina Majorino about the movie's llama being named Tina also. She thought it was interesting, kind of.
- John Gries says there have been rumblings of a Real Genius sequel, and just finished up working on another movie with Val Kilmer.
- Heder claims that he just winged his dance performance - it wasn't choreographed. He did a number of takes which they then cut together into the final edit.
- Unfortunately, the show takes place pre-Lafonda, but according to Heder, Kip will have a number of ladies in his life.
- Heder would be ok with owning a liger, aside from it tearing his family apart.
- The "eggs" in the movie during the lunch scene were actually just orange juice.
- The Happy Hands club will definitely appearing on the show.
- Rex, of Rex Kwon Do, will also have a number of appearances on the show.
- Jon Heder didn't wash his hair for the entire production because of fears that the perm would fall out of it.
