Where Was Napoleon Dynamite Filmed? A Remarkable Comedy Flick!

Napoleon Dynamite is one of those classic comedy films that you can watch over and over again. No matter how many times you watch the movie, you won’t ever get bored of it. The 2004 comedy-drama eventually over a period of time became a cult classic as it gained a huge fan base around the world due to its nuanced storyline. However, many people are interested in finding out the movie’s filming locations. So, in this article, we’ll discuss the movie and tell you where was Napoleon Dynamite filmed. 

The American comedy, Napoleon Dynamite was first screened at Sundance Film Festival on 17th January 2004. Later, it was released in the United States on 11th June 2004. The movie was surprisingly a huge box office success as it earned over $40 million against its $400,000 budget. The movie was distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures in the US and international distribution was done by Paramount Pictures.

Now, to answer your question regarding where was Napoleon Dynamite filmed, the comedy movie was shot in the United States of America, particularly in Idaho and Minnesota.

Plot Of Napoleon Dynamite (2004) | A Hilarious Story Of A Socially Awkward Teenager!

The story of Napoleon Dynamite revolves around the character of Napoleon Dynamite played by Jon Heder, a 16-year-old teenager, who is socially awkward and is often bullied by other kids at his school. Napoleon always had a hard time fitting in and things get even worse when his grandmother gets injured in an accident. 

When his eccentric uncle, Rico, played by Jon Gries, comes over to take care of him and his grandma, things become more difficult for him. In time, Napoleon befriends a new student in school named Pedro played by Efren Ramirez, a Hispanic boy who is not so good when it comes to speaking in English. The situation becomes interesting when both of them start a campaign to run for class president.

Where Was Napoleon Dynamite Filmed?

Jared Hess’ comedy film, Napoleon Dynamite received several positive reviews from critics. The movie’s dry-wit humor and Jon Heder’s performance were highly praised. The film received a number of awards including three MTV Movie Awards and four Teen Choice Awards. It also got a generous score of 72% from Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 6.9 from IMDb.  Having said that, as you already know where was Napoleon Dynamite filmed, let’s move on and find out some more details about the filming locations.

Preston | Idaho, United States Of America

Principal photography of the comedy film, Napoleon Dynamite began in July 2003 and was wrapped up by August 2003. The majority of the movie’s filming took place in and around the city of Preston, which comes under Franklin County in the state of Idaho. As the story of the film is set in Preston, the director wanted to shoot in a real location due to budget constraints. The production team was also on a tight schedule as they had to complete the filming on time as they were working with a limited budget.

As we already mentioned, most portions of the movie were shot in Preston, which is situated on the southern border of Idaho, near Highway 91, just above the state of Utah. The house that we see in the movie where Napoleon lives with his grandma is situated at 1447 East 800 North Road, in the northern part of the city.

The Preston High School that Napoleon used to go to in the movie is located at 151 East 2nd South in Preston. Napoleon’s friend Pedro’s house in the movie is situated at 59 South 2nd East. The scene where we witness Pedro leaving a cake for his opponent for class president, Summer, is located at 3384 South Parkinson Road. 

In the scene where Napoleon visits his crush, Trisha, at her house to give her a portrait and ask her to go to prom with him, that house is located at 253 South 2600 East. The thrift store from where Napoleon buys his favorite suit is situated at 36 South State Street. Interestingly, most of the wardrobes used in the movie were ordered from this particular thrift shop to minimize the budget.

Remember the bowling alley that was shown at the end of the movie? That bowling alley is called Pop’n Pin Lanes which is situated at 411 South Highway 91. The post-credit scene where Kip marries his online girlfriend was filmed at Lamont Reservoir. It is situated on the east side of Preston. The chicken farm scene in the movie was shot in Ritewood Inc, an egg vendor in the area, located at 3643 South 4000 East in Franklin.

Saint Anthony Sand Dunes | Minnesota, United States Of America

The scene where we witness Napoleon’s grandma’s accident while off-roading was shot at Saint Anthony Sand Dunes, which is a vast dune with white quartz sand. The area is mainly reserved for wildlife study but it is also quite popular for off-road bikers. If you happen to be an off-terrain biker, then the place is a true paradise.

Final Word

So, these are the two filming locations of the comedy movie, Napoleon Dynamite. If you ever get a chance to visit Idaho and Minnesota then make sure to check out all the filming spots we mentioned. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you can stream it on Diney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. If you want to stream the movie for free then visit 123 Movies or FMovies. And also, if you wish to find out about more such interesting filming locations, then do check out where was Saving Private Ryan and Walking Tall filmed.