 Development of the series began in 2009 when Jared Hess met with writer @-@ producer Mike Scully to propose an animated version of the film to him . Scully stated that " Napoleon Dynamite as an animated series made " perfect sense " to him , and the two presented a nine @-@ minute pilot episode to Fox in 2010 . That May , Fox officially confirmed that an animated series with the original cast was in development with close involvement from the Hesses . Fox placed an order for six episodes as a trial run , and in July 2011 ordered seven additional scripts to be put into production if the series was renewed for a second season . The show was overseen by the Hesses and Scully . 
