Word from Variety.com is that 2004 comedy Napoleon Dynamite is being turned into a cartoon for a six episode run for Fox. All I can say is that I think too much time has gone by, I’m not knocking the idea but does anyone remember Clerks the animated series? How many years after the actual movie came out did that thing pop up on TV? Also, they didn’t even let them do what they should have done, in all honestly, a show like Clerks would have been better off on cable, like Comedy Central or Mtv where the View-Askew lingo could be heard and appreciated.
Napoleon Dynamite is completely different, there aren’t as many issues with this, but I just don’t think it is relavent in the world today. Maybe to the 2004 world, but is there a big enough following of one movie from six years ago to pull in ratings about a awkward high schooler and his friends and family? Perhaps if they were to actually make a live action series with the original actors or a sequel, I could see it doing well, but a cartoon? I don’t think it’ll do well.
But, I leave my final opinion for when the series actually does come out. From Variety.com:
Fox gets animated with ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ series
Fox is beefing up its roster of animated series, giving orders to two new series: A toon rendition of “Napoleon Dynamite” and a laffer co-written by Jonah Hill.
Fox has ordered six episodes of “Dynamite,” which will be voiced by Jon Heder and other thesps who starred in the original 2004 live-action comedy. Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess and “Simpsons” alum Mike Scully are the scribes and exec producers for 20th Century Fox TV.
The other series, “Allen Gregory,” comes from 20th and Chernin Entertainment and has a seven-episode order. Laffer revolves around the titular character, described as a famous seven-year-old who faces the greatest challenge of his life when he has to attend elementary school with regular kids.
Skein is written by Hill, Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul, who exec produce along with Chernin Entertainment’s Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope.
Contact Cynthia Littleton at cynthia.littleton@variety.com.
