Media Coursework

Napoleon Dynamite is a comedy about a socially-awkward 16-year old teen from Preston, Idaho, and his journey to helping his friend Pedro win the role of Class President, as he deals with his bizarre family life back home. Originally, Jon Heder (who plays the protagonist) acted for a contract of only $1000, and re-negotiated after the film's unsuspected box office success. Having a budget of only $400,000 the film raked in a Box Office grossing of $46.2 million. Below is one of the most famous scenes from the film, of Napoleon himself dancing to bring in votes for Pedro:
The film starts off with the usual opening company logos; FOX Searchlight, MTV Films, and then a rating screen stating that the movie is PG.



The title sequence itself is what many people love about Napoleon Dynamite, and is what many consider to be one of the most iconic film opening credits which inspired many of the same genre after. The names and credits are all written on food plates - yes, they're written on meals using sauces and garnish for the actual text.


This simple yet effective technique keeps the audience awake with varying uses of colour between the straight-cut shots of the meals, and the simple overhead camera angle which remains the same throughout, allowing the effect of smooth transitions even though it's far more simple in reality.


The meals soon turn into ordinary school lunches and objects one may find in a typical high school, such as library cards and ID. This in turn sets the scene for the movie which is based around an ordinary teen's life and angst of school.