20 Things You Somehow Missed In Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite is no longer an awkward teenager, as 2024 sees the beloved indie comedy turn 20.

The coming-of-age classic has claimed its spot on many best-of-all-time lists and is always a prime candidate for comedy fans' comfort movie rotation. It’s easy to see why the movie has retained its popularity after its teens. Endlessly quotable, inspired casting, unlike any other look into the awkwardness of growing up, Napoleon Dynamite deserves its lauded reputation, but there may be certain aspects of the film that you never knew about.

Director Jared Hess made the movie on a minimal budget of just $400,000, necessitating a lot of behind-the-scenes creativity. Much of Napoleon’s life was also inspired by their own teenage experiences.

No matter if Napoleon Dynamite is your comfort movie or if it just sparks ‘00s nostalgia, here are 20 facts before your anniversary rewatch that will guarantee to have you shouting out “Like anyone could even know that!”

Napoleon Dynamite began life as Peluca, a short movie that Jared Hess made while he was still a student at Brigham Young University in 2002. It was filmed entirely in black-and-white and shot on 16mm film. Peluca's budget was less than $500. It was filmed in just two days with all locations being in Hess' hometown of Preston, Idaho. Hess showed the near nine-minute short at the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival.

The short's title is the Spanish word for "wig", in reference to the plot point where the characters find a wig for Giel, a character who shaved his hair after catching a fever.

When Peluca was adapted into Napoleon Dynamite almost all of the plot points and locations remained. Crucially, Jon Heder was still the main character, albeit with his character name changing from Seth to the more memorable Napoleon Dynamite. The biggest change the adaption made was combining the characters Pedro and Giel into the one character, Pedro Sanchez (now portrayed by Efren Ramirez).

While Peluca has its charms, there is little doubt that Napoleon Dynamite allowed Hess to fulfill his creative vision for the story.