As election day draws nigh, one candidate — last seen in 2004 — might be resurrecting his campaign for 2012. It is time, once more, to vote for Pedro.
“Napoleon Dynamite,” the new animated series, premieres on Fox in a two-episode premiere, airing at 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Creator and director, Jared Hess, has been thinking of ways to bring back the awkward teenager and his band of quirky friends with the original cast, including Jon Heder as Napoleon.
Hess, along with his brother, Jerusha Hess, co-writers of “Dynamite,” both the live action and cartoon versions, have worked with Fox Broadcasting Company to bring the characters back to life.
The brothers’ idea to bring Dynamite back in animated form dates back to the creation of the eccentric adolescent.
“We always knew if we continued on with ‘Napoleon,’ it would be in animation,” Jared Hess said.
Jared Hess said there were many reasons for animating the original cast, one being the time lapse between the new series and original film and how the cast has aged.
“Everyone gets old and fat,” Jared Hess said.
But the key initiative to draw out the series is to explore the world and its characters in more depth.
The creators were able to explore new areas and the back stories of the secondary characters from the film, such as Grandma and Uncle Rico.
There is a sweet family aspect in the animated series that wasn’t in the film, Jared Hess said.
“We’re having a lot of fun with that,” he said.
The series will also delve more deeply into Napoleon’s psyche.
The audience can get inside Napoleon’s mind and see his creative thought and fantasy, Jared Hess said.
“Audiences are more ready to accept stranger things in cartoons than live action,” he said.
The transition from film to cartoon has been a seamless one for both writers and cast, even though no one has been together since its debut in the Sundance Film Festival, Jared Hess said.
Jared Hess told the actors to watch the film to be reminded of certain traits the characters portrayed and the ways they did the voices.
For the Hess brothers, the launch of the animated series has been about timing.
It has been eight years since “Napoleon Dynamite” hit screens. In that time the brothers have been working on other projects, such as “Nacho Libre,” starring Jack Black, and “Gentlemen Broncos.”
Even though the timing is right for the brothers, it might not be right for some of their original audience.
Andy Haviland, a fifth-year in engineering, said he is surprised by the release of a new series.
“I liked the movie, but that was so long ago,” Haviland said. “It’s already run its course.”
Some students don’t feel that Fox has promoted it enough.
Carley Pugh, a second-year in zoology, said she wasn’t aware of the series.
“I thought I would hear more about it since it was such a popular movie,” Pugh said.
The season will have six episodes, and Fox is already requesting scripts for a second season, but no official plans will be made until after ratings come in for the first season, Jared Hess said.
