Napoleon Dynamiteis a 2004 comedy film co-written and directed by Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess and stars Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite. The film was Jared Hess' first full-length feature and is partially adapted from his earlier short film,Peluca.

Napoleon Dynamitewas produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures , and Paramount Pictures as MTV Films and was filmed in and near Franklin County, Idaho , in the summer of 2003. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2004. In June 2004 it was given a limited release. Its wide release followed in August. The film's total worldwide gross revenue was $46,140,956.The film has since developed a cult following .

Napoleon Dynamite ( Jon Heder ) is an eccentric high school student from Preston, Idaho who lives with his grandmother ( Sandy Martin ), his older brother Kip ( Aaron Ruell ) and their pet llama, Tina. Kip, 32, is not currently employed and boasts of spending hours in internet chat rooms with "babes" and training to be a cage fighter . Napoleon daydreams his way through school, doodling ligers and other fantastically weird creatures, while reluctantly dealing with the assorted bullies and elitists who frequently torment him. Later on, Kip sees a commercial for Rex Kwan Do. After Kip finds out they are having a demonstration for free, he asks Napoleon to bike him to the demonstration, where he finds that Rex's program is way too expensive, and that he would be picked on.

Napoleon's grandmother breaks her coccyx in a quad bike accident and believing her grandsons cannot be trusted to look after themselves, asks Uncle Rico ( Jon Gries ) to stay with them while she recovers. Uncle Rico, 46, is a former high-school quarterback who lives in an orange 1975 Dodge Santana campervan. He spends his time video-taping himself throwing footballs. His presence, although increasingly irksome to Napoleon, is a boon to Kip as he and Uncle Rico embark on a joint project to become door-to-door salesmen. Kip reveals that he would like to earn some money to enable him to meet his new internet girlfriend from Detroit, LaFawnduh Lucas ( Shondrella Avery ). Uncle Rico is not averse to using Napoleon's name to gain credibility in his attempts to sell herbal breast-enhancement products to Napoleon's school mates, causing increasing friction between Uncle Rico, Napoleon and his friend Deb ( Tina Majorino ). Later on, Uncle Rico gets into trouble with the local martial arts instructor. He is attempting to sell the herbal breast enhancers to the martial artist's wife when the martial artist comes home.

Napoleon makes two new friends at school, Deb and Pedro. Deb is a shy and sensitive girl. The two have a falling out when Uncle Rico attempts to sell her breast-enhancement herbs and implies that Napoleon suggested it. Pedro ( Efren Ramirez ) is a transfer student from Juárez, Mexico, who decides to run for class President against popular girl Summer Wheatley ( Haylie Duff ). Despite a couple of hiccups, the campaign goes well until the time Pedro is about to deliver his final speech, when he discovers that each candidate must perform a skit afterward. Having not prepared a routine, a despondent Pedro gives a lackluster speech, believing that his candidacy is over. Napoleon gives a music tape he had received from the visiting LaFawndah to the sound engineer and performs a dance routine to " Canned Heat " by Jamiroquai , which wins a standing ovation from the school audience.

The film closes out with a montage of scenes showing a happy ending for all concerned. Pedro wins the class Presidency. LaFawnduh, smitten with Kip right from the start, transforms his fashion and they leave town together to meet her family in Detroit. A fully recovered Grandma returns and has clearly missed Tina, the llama, more than her grandchildren. Uncle Rico, with his arm in a sling after the run-in with the martial artist, meets an attractive woman (possibly his estranged wife). Napoleon is playing tetherball by himself, Deb shows up and starts playing with him, having forgiven her friend.

A post-credits scene, added after the festival release, reveals Kip and LaFawnduh getting married. Napoleon is noticed as missing by Pedro and Uncle Rico, but as Kip sings for LaFawnduh, Napoleon rides up to them on a brown horse and says that he has tamed a wild honeymoon stallion for them. After having Deb take a picture of him, Kip and LaFawnduh get on the horse and ride off into the sunset.