"Napoleon Dynamite" is one of those films that one does either hate or love.
I liked that film, but I never considered the possibility of it having a sequel, even less an animated series based on it, mostly because the original film has a satisfying conclusion and there wasn't very much that could be added to the story.
However, the first time I heard about this series, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, even when I didn't like very much the character's designs or the animation style.
After seeing it, I have to say that I'm very disappointed. The main reason of why this series doesn't work for me is that it doesn't feel at all as the movie in which it was inspired: Here, all the slice of life aspects from the film are replaced with some unconvincing "wacky" humor that just feels forced and dull. The personalities from all the characters are noticeably changed, so they are either meaner (With Napoleon being the main example of this, lacking of almost all the likable traits that he had in the movie) or dumber (Uncle Rico and Kip receive this treatment)
I admit that there are a few amusing or clever moments in this series, and the voice acting is pretty good (Mostly because the original cast from the movie is providing the voices of the characters) but that's the best that can be said about this cartoon, which basically turns the original "Napoleon Dynamite" story into some sort of "Family Guy"(Albeit way more tamed) wannabe.
This is just not good enough.
I liked that film, but I never considered the possibility of it having a sequel, even less an animated series based on it, mostly because the original film has a satisfying conclusion and there wasn't very much that could be added to the story.
However, the first time I heard about this series, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, even when I didn't like very much the character's designs or the animation style.
After seeing it, I have to say that I'm very disappointed. The main reason of why this series doesn't work for me is that it doesn't feel at all as the movie in which it was inspired: Here, all the slice of life aspects from the film are replaced with some unconvincing "wacky" humor that just feels forced and dull. The personalities from all the characters are noticeably changed, so they are either meaner (With Napoleon being the main example of this, lacking of almost all the likable traits that he had in the movie) or dumber (Uncle Rico and Kip receive this treatment)
I admit that there are a few amusing or clever moments in this series, and the voice acting is pretty good (Mostly because the original cast from the movie is providing the voices of the characters) but that's the best that can be said about this cartoon, which basically turns the original "Napoleon Dynamite" story into some sort of "Family Guy"(Albeit way more tamed) wannabe.
This is just not good enough.