Where Would I Be Without Napoleon Dynamite?

Back to School

September 27, 2025

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Every movie creates a story. Sometimes, that story is as short as, "I went to Splitsville and I hated it." Other times, the story created is greater than the movie itself. When watched and rewatched, a movie's life can go beyond that of its 96-minute runtime. For me, Napoleon Dynamite was more than just a story of a lovable loser trying to get his friend elected as class president — it was my identity.

It was the summer before seventh grade. My mom's friend from her university days was in town. Soft-spoken, funny, and kind, he was the antithesis of all old guys I'd met up to that point. On a late-August afternoon, we were having lunch at White Spot when he asked if we'd ever seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite. When we said no, he took it as a personal affront. He said it was the funniest movie he'd seen all year. My brother and I, a couple of self-proclaimed comedy-movie aficionados, were naturally intrigued. We left the restaurant, crossed the parking lot to Rogers Video and rented a copy of this new, mysterious comedy.

The movie was a revelation. Was it because there was nothing that this gentleman could recommend that I would hate? Maybe, at the time. But, considering that I still love Napoleon Dynamite, I now think it was just a great recommendation.

A few weeks later, I received a package in the mail from this grown-ass man I called my friend. It was a Napoleon Dynamite DVD accompanied with a "Vote for Pedro" t-shirt. My fate was sealed; this movie became my entire personality.

Upon pressing play, Napoleon Dynamite's charm is immediately evident. The gentle guitar and vocals of Jack White accompany one of the greatest opening-credits sequences ever. If you're the type of person who cares about unique opening credits, then how have you never seen Napoleon Dynamite?

We are first introduced to Napoleon (Jon Heder) as he gets on the school bus. He sits at the very back and pulls out his binder. When it comes to specifically winning me over as a fan, the movie made no better decision than the binder choice — the very same one that my brother had. The one I used to look at and think, "dang, that's a cool binder." Velcro sealed. A space-like design on the front. It made my manila duotangs look like a disgrace. And there it was, on the TV screen, in Napoleon's hands.

Napoleon rips open the velcro and what's waiting for him in the binder? A wrestling action figure attached to a string. If you have followed me on Peliplat this year, you may have read one of my rarer articles regarding my love for wrestling. So, yes, growing up, I had a gang of these wrestling action figures. I'd never attached them to a string and thrown them out the window of a bus to watch them drag and bounce along concrete, but this movie was making me ask questions.

Back then (and in a lot of ways still today), movie quotes were a form of social currency. If you could quote the latest, coolest movie, those that understood your reference would consider you one of their own. With Napoleon Dynamite, I may have taken this concept too far. But it's not my fault. This movie is a quotable juggernaut.

Still, I didn't just quote it. I could recite the whole thing, line by line, on command. It was a point of pride for me. I can only imagine how peeved my parents were with me, running around the house all day acting out scenes from this dumbass movie (I say that with love... This movie actually has a lot of heart).

Even now. I haven't watched this movie in years. Yet, my mind can still rattle off a number of my favourite lines.

"What're you gonna do today, Napoleon?" "Whatever I feel like I wanna do, gosh!"
"Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day."
"Look at what I'm wearing people. You think anyone wants a roundhouse kick to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys?! Forget about it."
"How much you wanna bet I could throw a football over them mountains?"

Other small moments were engrained into my brother and I's lexicon. Whether that be Kip's (Aaron Ruell) pitiful, "jeez," or Rex-kwon-do's (Diedrich Bader) aforementioned, "forget about it." These are words and inflections we used for years, and they still get dusted off today on the rarest of occasions when we're looking to pop the other with a nostalgic laugh.

Thinking back, I must've been annoying af at the start of the seventh grade. Waltzing into class with all these new movie quotes rattling off in my head. Sighing like Napoleon. Saying "yes" like Kip. Doing football moves in PE that I'd learned from Uncle Rico (Jon Gries). But, the thing was, everyone else had watched it over the summer too.

It really wasn't just me. That September, everybody was quoting Napoleon Dynamite. This silly movie made on a shoestring budget became a cultural phenomenon. Everyone was talking about ligers, tots, and Tina the "fat lard" llama.

Halloween rolled around and you already know. I had the shirt, I just needed the rest of it. The night before costume day, I prepared. My mom, being the slay queen that she is, used to use hair curlers to curl her hair. Not a curling iron. I'm talking those old-school, stick-to-your-shirt curlers. She helped me put a bunch of those in my flat-as-Idaho hair. I left them in overnight and, by morning, I had a pretty decent blonde afro going. Half a canister of hairspray ensured that my mop wasn't going anywhere until at least 3 pm.

It was one of my best Halloween costumes ever. Hair on fleek. Vote for Pedro shirt on. Hollowed-out glasses (this was before I had to start wearing glasses for real). The pants and boots to match. I've never been more proud of a costume. What a joy it was to live as my favourite character, if only for a day. I've got a photo of it somewhere. I tried to find it for this article but I came up empty handed. You'll just have to take my word.

All this was a long time ago, now. I've talked to my younger coworkers. Some of them don't know what Napoleon Dynamite is. Some have heard of it but haven't seen it. After rewatching it last night, I can confidently recommend this movie to anybody and everybody. Napoleon Dynamite is an absolute must watch. All these years later and it still made me laugh till it hurt. Outside of the jokes, the movie has tons of charm and surprisingly strong story development. And the movie is as quotable today as it was back in '04.

So, fellow youths, if you're looking for something to watch that makes going back to school more tolerable, I can't recommend Napoleon Dynamite enough. Who knows, maybe you'll be like me and it will become your entire personality.

If you've seen it before, I'd love to know your thoughts. Is this movie a product of its time or a timeless classic? And, if you do decide to watch it for the first time in 2025, I'd love to know how it holds up through the modern lens. My lens is too tinted with rose-coloured nostalgia to ever be reliable. Let me know in the comments all your thoughts and feelings. Until next time, peace out.