I’ve had the movie on DVD for a very long time but never got around to watching it. When the animated series was announced, that prompted me to finally give it a shot but I downloaded a 720p version to watch instead. As it begins, you wonder what the hell is going on because, really, nothing happens of significance. It’s a small cast of characters based in a small town. The story revolves around Napoleon, culminating in Pedro running for class president. The cast of main characters are unique in their own way.
You have Uncle Rico who’s all about get rich quick schemes and living in his football past. Kip Dynamite hooks up with girls in chat rooms. Deb is a glamour photographer. And Napoleon and Pedro don’t have much of anything going on. They just do whatever. The title character may get all the attention but I think Aaron Ruell’s portrayal of Kip is highly underrated. The guy really owns that character and it’s truly a unique one. Not only in the way he talks but in how he looks. Napoleon’s dialogue is incredibly funny and his nuances and appearance are what make him popular but Kip, overall, is a better character; no offense to Jon Heder.
Every character is just weird and this is a character-based movie. The plot is pretty weak. Not much to it. Uncle Rico throwing footballs past a camera pointed at him, it just doesn’t make any sense to the point of it being stupid funny. Kip using chat rooms to find girls, I can relate to that. Back in the day before Facebook, MySpace, and dating sites, Yahoo and AOL chat rooms were the place to go to hook up. I speak from experience. The fact that someone like Kip actually did find a dime-piece adds to the humor. Stick around after the credits for an example of what I mean about Ruell owning the character. I don’t know how the cast kept a straight face during that scene. Tina Majorino’s character was just a weirdo like everyone else but she was rockin’ that side ponytail, I’ll give her that much. The ‘Vote for Pedro’ shirts were popular back in the day. I’m surprised chicks weren’t stylin’ with Deb’s ponytail. Maybe they were and I just didn’t see any of them.
Pedro and Napoleon’s destinies were intertwined. Napoleon, and others, were being bullied and those scenes were funny. Pedro, as part of his bid for class president, could stop the bullying. They were both chickless and helped each other score a date for the prom. Pedro was about to give up his bid for president. Napoleon, in all of his weirdness, helped Pedro win in a dance scene sure to make you laugh when you see it. The funniest scene is the revealing of the Trisha drawing. There’s no way you won’t almost die laughing when you see it. There are other weird characters but just those 5 make up the main cast of freaks.
I did watch the animated series’ first episode but wasn’t impressed. It didn’t have the same feel as the movie. The cartoon has to create plots to keep it going. It’s more situational. The movie didn’t have to do much of anything to keep it going. It was the characters that made it good. I did skip through the second episode to get to that scene where Napoleon’s robe blew open and he said, “Dangit!” That will always be a classic. In the movie, it’s Kip who says it first and that surprised me based on the cartoon trailer. Napoleon’s was better. He talks like that a lot in the movie and just him speaking is funny. That applies to Kip too. Don’t discount Kip’s scenes. His character is right on par with Napoleon, if not better in some places.
The cartoon doesn’t explain how or why Kip got divorced. I thought that’d be immediate since they showed him trolling chat rooms. The beginning of the movie is just as weird as everything else. Tetherball was the prominent sport on display in the movie and brought back some memories. I haven’t played or even seen a tetherball setup since I was a kid. I’d love to play again. The bike ramp and so many other small scenes keep the humor flowing. The way everyone dresses, it feels like an 80’s movie. One of the biggest things I noticed that no one else may have mentioned is how much Napoleon is similar to Kif from Futurama. They both sigh a lot when they either don’t get their way or when someone says something stupid. Makes you wonder if Kif was a partial inspiration for the Napoleon character. Some of the deleted scenes could have easily made it into the movie. The funniest ones were the locker room and lotto ticket scenes. The end of the kickball scene was funny too. They all display how Napoleon puts emphasis on certain words.
The movie is slow to start because it’s almost aimless. As it continues, you’re introduced to a lot of people and situations but the weirdos stand out the most. Can’t stress that enough and it’s the most appropriate word to use to describe them. You also have the llama, Rex (his wife’s intro is funny), and Sandy Martin from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia but they have small parts. The chicken farmers’ scene was funny. More weirdos. That’s about what this movie consists of is weirdness but good weird, not bad. It’s character-based and doesn’t have any clear direction but that’s what makes it good and different. It’s a different style of comedy and I give it 6 out of 10 stars. Worth watching. You’ll like Kip and don’t forget about that Trisha scene. You’d better not be eating or drinking during that scene. Your personal belongings and anyone around you will appreciate it. As for the cartoon, I didn’t like it enough to continue watching it. Stick with the movie. In this case, less is more.
