Welcome back to Behind The Scenes Saturday!! Today, I pay tribute to one of my comfort films, Napoleon Dynamite! With its quirkiness, random plot, and unforgettable lines, Napoleon Dynamite has left its mark on the world and will always be remembered. So, don’t forget to feed Tina, watch out for flying steaks, and enjoy these fun pictures and bits of trivia!!

(Trivia provided by IMDb.com)

(Pictures provided by google.com, facebook.com, and IMDb.com)

(SPOILER ALERT!!!)

• Jon Heder (Napoleon) actually drew all of the drawings in the film, except for the unicorn.
• Jon Heder was only paid $1,000 to be in the film. The film ended up grossing over $40,000,000 in the United States.
• The scene where Lyle (Dale Critchlow) shoots the cow in front of a bus full of children was based on a true incident. The film’s director, Jared Hess experienced the same thing when he was a kid and he put it into this film.
• For Napoleon’s final dance sequence, Jared Hess had Jon Heder improvise a bunch of dance moves to three different songs. Hess then took the best moves and compiled them all into one complete routine for the finished product we all know and love.

• All 181 names of the student extras were included in the film’s closing credits, making this one of the longest credited cast lists in movie history.
• The film only took 22 days to shoot.
• Coincidentally, Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez (Pedro) both have identical twin brothers.
• Tina the llama’s real name is Dolly and she belongs to Jared Hess’s mother.

• Every dish that was shown in the opening credits was later eaten by a character in the film. The dishes were created by the three people who presented them in the credits.
• Aaron Ruell (Kip) had actual braces put on his teeth for the film. The two orthodontists who applied them were thanked in the credits.
• Jon Heder stated that Tina Majorino (Deb) helped him with the choreography for his final dance scene. Some of his moves were inspired by John Travolta, Michael Jackson, Backstreet Boys, and Soul Train.
• While they played high schoolers in this film, Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez were actually 26 and 31 at the time.

• The woman who rides her bicycle up to Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) at the end of the film was played by Aaron Ruell’s wife, Yuka Ruell.
• Jon Heder permed his hair for the film.
• The film was based on a 2002 short film that Jon Heder and Jared Hess made together. Almost everything in the short film was reshot and put into the feature.
• When Kip is at the computer in the beginning of the film, Aaron Ruell improvised all of his dialogue as he was typing. He even started singing a little bit as Grandma (Sandy Martin) entered the kitchen.

• In between scenes, Jon Heder helped make the boondoggle keychains that were featured in the film.
• Deb’s photo studio was actually shot in the basement of the interior version of Napoleon’s house.
• Jack Black was almost cast as Rex, but the role went to Diedrich Bader instead.
• The scene where Uncle Rico hits Napoleon with the steak took 4 takes.

• Jon Gries was on the verge of retiring from acting when he was offered the part of Uncle Rico. He ended up reading the script, and by page 15, he was convinced to take the part.
• There were claims that Jon Gries was a vegetarian in real life, but that was debunked. Whenever Uncle Rico was wiping his mouth, Gries spit out his steak because he doesn’t eat red meat.
• It was actually Aaron Ruell’s idea for the food plates to spell out the names in the opening credits.
• Two houses were used for Napoleon’s house. One was used for the exterior shots, the other was used for interior shots.

• Brad Garrett auditioned for the role of Rex, but he decided not to commit and backed out.
• In the film, Kip and Napoleon have a 16 year age gap. In real life, Aaron Ruell is only 1 year older than Jon Heder.
• Tina Majorino has a life-threatening peanut allergy, so the sandwich she eats in the film is just a jelly sandwich.
• At the film’s 20th anniversary event, Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, and Jon Gries were asked what their characters would be up to in 2024. Heder stated that Napoleon would be working 2 part-time jobs to pay for alimony and child support for two illegitimate children and that he would not be as charming as an adult. Ramirez stated that he would be married to Summer Wheatley (Haylie Duff) and they would have 5 kids, and he would own a bakery and work as a local politician on the side. Gries stated that Uncle Rico would still be an entrepreneur and he would’ve started a Youtube channel that featured illegal teenage backyard wrestling.

• There was a point where Jake Gyllenhaal was considered for the role of Napoleon.
• Napoleon’s “Vote For Pedro” shirts was one of the things that Jon Heder kept after filming. He later traded the shirt for one of the original Golden Snitch props from Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone.
• Jason Lee was offered the role of Uncle Rico.
• Due to the film’s success at festivals and in its limited release, the film was re-edited to include the wedding epilogue.