 Napoleon Dynamite is a 2012 American animated sitcom television comedy series based on the 2004 indie film of the same name . Set in the small town of Preston , Idaho , it follows the adventures of the titular 16 @-@ year @-@ old boy , who thinks he is skilled at everything . The series was created by the film 's co @-@ writers and directors Jared and Jerusha Hess , who developed it with Mike Scully and proposed it to Fox . 
