Jared Hess is expecting big things from the Napoleon Dynamite animated series, especially from the fan base created when the movie he wrote and directed with his wife became a hit across the country.
In a telephone interview Hess said he thought the cartoon version of the 2004 cult classic filmed in Franklin County is going to be hilarious. He and his wife Jerusha are producers for the Fox animated series.
"The show is super funny. I think everyone in Preston is going to get a
good laugh from the show," Hess said.
Hess said he and his wife have a subscription to The Preston Citizen, Preston's weekly newspaper, for the show's writers
to get ideas from. They have it to get them inspired by the world of
Preston, so they can get a feel for rural communities.
"(They) read about the bed races, so our final episode we will
have the bed races. The bed races are different in the cartoon, but it
helped provide some good moments," Hess said.
The Preston High School graduate said he thought the promos were super
funny and they just scratch the surface of what the series is really
like.
The Draper, Utah, resident splits his time between Los Angeles, Calif.,
and his Utah residence. There is nothing upscale about his West Coast
digs; he stays with family.
"It is surreal to see places in and around Preston in the animated form.
I ran onto Lyle Porter's son in Salt Lake. I told him to watch the
cartoon and see how his dad's place looks animated. It's really fun to
see what they've done," he said.
Hess said he is expecting more people to come to visit Preston and get a
feel for the town after the cartoon comes out.
"After seeing an animated Preston, people will want to go there and
experience what is there."
The father of two said it is has never been his intention to poke fun at
life or the people of Franklin County.
"The people in that cartoon aren't meant to represent anyone in Preston.
We shot it in Preston; it's cartoon, it's not real. It takes place in
Preston, but all of the characters are fictional characters, it just
happens to be made in Preston. Again, the stories are based on the
characters that have been in the movie, they are fictional, the people
aren't meant to resemble anyone there," he said.
"It's all about having fun. If you can't find a reason to laugh, you're
missing out. You've got to have a sense of humor," Hess said.
The hit movie producer said he is proud of the way the series turned out
and way the writing staff has handled everything.
"The cool thing is we have managed to keep it clean, there is no foul
language," he said.
Although Hess has some ideas for future movies, the animation series is
so intense and time consuming it is putting the movies on hold.
Animation is a lot faster paced and higher energy than the film. People
that didn't respond to the film will probably respond to the cartoon.
"This has really consumed our whole life right now, so we are keeping our
fingers crossed. The FOX people seem to be really excited about it," Hess
said.
"That's about all of the buzz we have until the shows actually play.
We're really excited to finally share these episodes with an audience and
anyone who liked the movie is going to love the show," said Koon.