Napoleon Dynamite is not a movie for everyone, but I enjoyed it. It was offbeat and funny, with a mix of slapstick and dry wit in a well written script. It had some ridiculously hilarious dialogue that was quoted ad nauseam by every college and university student after its release, It was indie and different, a unique film that left its mark on the cultural landscape of my youth.
Watching it recently, years after people stopped saying "your mom goes to college" and "but my lips hurt real bad!" almost daily, I sat back and enjoyed the absurdity of it all. The film is filled with those little moments that leave you shaking your head and laughing to yourself. Without that motivation to join friends in a quote-a-thon, it was like I was watching it the first time all over again. It was fun.
But turning it into a Fox cartoon series? When I heard that was happening it made me cringe. Although it could work out in the end, it feels an awful lot like exploiting popularity years after the fact for a payday.
Now the show could turn out to be like the animated version of Clerks, which was actually pretty funny but simply did not receive the support it deserved and was, as a result, cut short. There is a chance that, with the original cast in place, Napoleon's animated form will succeed since it only has to be better than The Cleveland Show - which means that the bar has been set very low. I'm just not sure how long the show will sustain itself once the liger becomes a regular, reoccurring character (as you know it will at some point.) Or it could bomb. Big time.
This move just feels so forced, which does fit the general idea behind FOX and their whole 'Animation Domination' Sunday nights. This is, however, another show introduced that was not created by the original content challenged Seth MacFarlane, so maybe it's a sign that actually funny shows like Bob's Burger's stand a chance, and the painfully predictable and formulaic The Cleveland Show will finally be shown the door (no, The Cleveland Show fully deserved a second shot levelled in its direction - have you ever actually watched an episode?? If not, don't!)
Is this venture a mistake? Potentially, but time will tell. Many films have sequels made that ruin the greatness of the original, but at times it works. In this case it could be a hilarious or a poorly executed television series that seals Napoleon's fate. It could work out in the end, however for a movie that was based so closely around outlandish comments seeing those jokes come to life may surpass the funny into the realm of cheesy and lame.
I fear for what could happen, but maybe I'm being too pessimistic. Sometimes anyways sequels do work. But many times, it is best to leave well enough alone.
Napoleon Dynamite debuts on FOX on Sunday, Jan 14 at 7:30pm, with a second episode airing the same night at 8:30
