Released in 2004, Napoleon Dynamite stars Jon Heder as Napoleon, the central character in one of the quirkiest and most beloved comedies ever made. The plot revolves around nerdy teen Napoleon trying to navigate high school life in Idaho while living with his older brother and Grandma. He has a creepy uncle named Rico who lives in a van and looks after them when Grandma is away. Napoleon makes two new friends, Pedro and Deb, who help him find some real human connection.
If one watches Napoleon Dynamite just once all the way through there are a lot of subtle nuances one may overlook. This movie didn’t become a cult classic by accident. People who love this film watch it over and over and quote it often. Here are 10 life lessons we can learn from this movie.
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10 Don’t Live In The Past
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“Back in ‘82 I used to be able to throw a pigskin a quarter mile.” Uncle Rico was still living in the past, thinking about the good ol’ days and what could have been. And he couldn’t wait to tell you about it. That’s the worst! No one wants to hear about how great you could have been. What are you doing now to better the situation? Rico is selling Tupperware door-to-door and dreaming about all that he never achieved.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
9 Online Dating Can Work
“Napoleon, don’t be jealous that I’ve been chatting online with babes all day.” Not every babe online is a catfish and that’s a fact. Some great tales of love have started through online dating, just look at Kip and LaFawnduh. Could there be a sweeter couple? LawFanduh gives Kip a makeover, they take a bus ride to Detroit, get married and ride off into the sunset on a horse! Forget about it! That’s love baby!
8 Give Compliments
“I see you’re drinking one-percent (milk), is it because you think you’re fat? Cause you’re not, you could be drinking whole if you wanted to.” Napoleon saw Deb (played by Tina Majorino) sitting alone at the lunch table and went over to sit with her. He noticed what Deb was drinking and let her know right away that she wasn’t fat and that if she was worried about drinking whole milk she shouldn’t be. As awkward as it was, it was a genuinely nice gesture from Napoleon. Be like Napoleon.
7 Be Thrifty
“Napoleon, you know we can’t afford the fun pack.” Uncle Rico was older and knew better about the value of money than did Napoleon and Kip who still lived with their Grandma. At the store Napoleon wanted the fun pack assortment of chips but Uncle Rico knew that was out of the budget. Rico knew how to stretch a dollar and that’s why he was living in his van trying to hustle with that multilevel marketing. Either that or he just made continuous bad life choices since high school. Either way, the man was holding it together somehow.
6 Be Prepared
“Napoleon, give me some of your tots.” It’s the boy scout motto. Be Prepared. Napoleon was teaching us to be prepared when he put those extra tots that Pedro gave him from lunch in his pocket. He knew during science class he would want a little snack to tide him over until he got home. Sure the class bully kicked his leg and smashed them up real good, but at least he still had nourishment when needed. You never know in life when you might need that extra stash of food or cash. Your grandmother might have called it saving for a rainy day.
5 Get Some Sweet Skills
“Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.” You gotta have the skills if you wanna pay the bills. That’s what they say. Napoleon knew his good looks and charm weren’t enough and he was going to need some sweet skills if he was ever going to get a girl to go to the dance with him. Find something to get good at. Build a skill. These are life lessons anyone could benefit from. Not only can a sweet skill help pay the bills, it might just get you a date to the dance as well.
4 Keep on Dancing
“I’ve been practicing… some dance moves.” Napoleon was living with Grandma. His uncle was a creep. He got ditched by his date at the dance. He was the victim of being bullied. But the guy kept on dancing, and once he got that mixtape from LaFawnduh, it was on. Napoleon practiced and got together some sweet dance skills. He performed in front of the whole student body, danced his heart out and got a standing ovation. Napoleon is the man because he kept dancing even though his circumstances were less than favorable.
3 Never Stop Playing
“Dang, you got shocks, pegs. Lucky! You ever take it off any sweet jumps?” Not only Napoleon, but his grandma too seemed to know the secret to a long happy life. Although he was in high school, Napoleon had no hesitation in tying a string to his action figure toy and hanging it out the school bus window during the ride. He also enjoyed tetherball and riding his bike with Pedro. Grandma liked riding four-wheeler ATVs and going on dates. You only get old when you stop playing.
2 Surround Yourself With Good People
“Vote for Pedro.” Napoleon was bullied in school and his home life wasn’t ideal but he found a couple good friends in Deb and Pedro (played by Efren Ramirez). Together they were able to handle the awkward teenage high school life. They didn’t withdraw, they were involved with school politics, with the dances, and together they made it through. Napoleon was a true friend and went to great lengths to try and get Pedro elected class president. A big part of where one ends up in life is who they choose to surround themselves with.
1 Be Yourself
“It’s pretty much my favorite animal. It’s like a lion and a tiger mixed.” Napoleon was unapologetically himself. He drew ligers for God’s sake. He was teased at school, he was teased by his uncle, and he was bullied by the jocks. But Napoleon wasn’t afraid to be himself. He might stand up in class with a group of girls and perform the Happy Hands Sign Language Dance. He might wear a suit he bought at the thrift store to the high school dance. He might play with action figures and play tetherball solo. Napoleon didn’t conform to the crowd. He was himself and he was beautiful for it exactly as he was.
