Napoleon Dynamite
FOX | Release Date: January 15, 2012
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
9
Negative:
10
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf SmithJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: The TV series picks up perfectly where the movie left off, adding spice along the way. Read full review
75
New York PostLinda StasiJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: The animated version of Napoleon Dynamite is almost as funny as a cartoon version as it was in the flesh. Read full review
75
Uncle BarkyEd BarkJan 3, 2012
Season 1 Review: It's far funnier than Fox's two still relatively new animated series, Bob's Burgers and Allen Gregory. Mickey Mouse it's not, though. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: This Napoleon Dynamite is all go, go, go, racing, if nothing else, to keep pace with the host of other animated prime-time shows it joins. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: Whether Napoleon will work as a weekly animated series may depend on how well a teenager fits in with the other oddballs who populate Fox's Sunday-night animation bloc. Read full review
58
NewsdayVerne GayJan 11, 2012
Season 1 Review: In spots, it's been turned into an antic Saturday morning cartoon. A shame. Read full review
50
HitfixAlan SepinwallJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: The combination of the characters and the style made the whole shebang much easier for me to take than the movie. Still, I didn't feel any need to watch later episodes. Read full review
50
PopMattersRoss LangagerJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Napoleon Dynamite the series forms its comedic syntax in the vernacular of those established shows [The Simpsons, Family Guy] instead of retaining the singular phrasing of Napoleon Dynamite the movie, and suffers as a result. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian LowryJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: The mixture isn't dynamite but does have moments of quirky charm, and at least marks a step up in class from "Allen Gregory." Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyKeith StaskiewiczJan 9, 2012
Season 1 Review: While many from the original cast, including Jon Heder, lend their voices, the film's core of discomforting weirdness has been scrapped for cartoon zaniness. Read full review
40
Miami HeraldGlenn GarvinJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: If you were reduced to hysterical laughter by the concept of herbal breast-enlargement cream in the film, you will likely be so again by the superpower-conveying acne medicine in the TV show. If not, well, welcome to Normal Town. Read full review
40
The New York TimesMike HaleJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: Over all, though, Sunday night's episodes are neither here nor there, lacking the oddball singularity of the movie while not yet achieving the satirical bite that would make the TV show interesting. Read full review
38
People WeeklyTom GliattoJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: It's still not funny. [23 Jan 2012, p.42]
38
Chicago Sun-TimesLori RacklJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: At least with the movie, the actors relayed a vulnerability that sparked occasional empathy. That pathos got lost in the transition from live action to animation. Read full review
30
Washington PostHank StueverJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: While animation liberates Napoleon and his world from the usual physical restrictions, it somehow lessens the overall appeal of the character and setting. Read full review
30
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Other than re-living some of Napoleon's favorite catchphrases from the 2004 movie, there's not much enjoyment to be gleaned from this obvious, unfunny episode. Read full review
30
Zap2it (Inside the Box)Liz Kelly NelsonJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Taken together, the monotone voices and 2D characters end up falling flat. Read full review
30
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: With a look recalling the glories of King of the Hill, but no discernible point of view or comic fuse of its own, Dynamite is a dud. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanJan 11, 2012
Season 1 Review: Animating [the movie] doesn't actually make it better (or even funny), even if you bring back the original cast to do the voice work. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: The writing is a big problem. It's just not funny. Read full review
25
RedEyeCurt WagnerJan 12, 2012
Season 1 Review: Everything feels like a put-on; nothing seems plausible. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineMichael MurrayJan 11, 2012
Season 1 Review: The characters are readymade jokes unto themselves, and the plots unfolding around them seem like little more than scenes found on the film's cutting room floor. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 87 Hacks: Season 5
4 87 Industry: Season 4
5 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
6 85 The Beatles Anthology
7 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
8 85 Bait: Season 1
9 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
10 83 Lord of the Flies
11 83 Riot Women: Season 1
12 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
13 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
14 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
15 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
16 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
17 80 The Comeback: Season 3
18 80 The American Revolution
19 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
20 80 Dark Winds: Season 4
SEE ALL