'Napoleon Dynamite' sparks merchandising phenomenon

Once, long ago, "Napoleon Dynamite" was a classic indie long shot, filmed in the director's Idaho hometown for a piddling $400,000, cast partly with college pals and the family llama. But at some point between the screening at Sundance and the launch of the official "Napoleon Dynamite" energy drink, larger forces started taking over.

In part, it's the language: The love song to nerds with the Casio score has 14-year-olds across the country saying "Dang" and "Gosh" and has added, like, infinity new catch phrases to the vernacular. A contestant in the recent National Spelling Bee took his turn at the mike to muse, as Napoleon did, "Do the chickens have large talons?" — and the audience went wild.

But in part, it's the loot: Moviedom's biggest inside joke has also become its most marketable one. Hot Topic, the mall store that had exclusive claim on the "Napoleon" license from January through June, sells "Napoleon Dynamite" pillow-and-comforter sets, CD holders, buttons, lunchboxes, trading cards, sweat pants, underpants (bikini and thong), shoelaces, magnet sets, lip balm, hats and T-shirts that say everything from "Nessie, Our Underwater Ally" to "I Heart Tater Tots." (The "Vote for Pedro" shirt was the chain's best-selling T-shirt ever.)

School supplies and Halloween costumes are coming this fall; a line of 6-inch action figures is due out in November.

Already, the flood of merchandise has sparked a tiny backlash. At Hot Topic in the South Shore Plaza last week, 14-year-old John Haslam of Weymouth gazed with contempt at a wall of "Napoleon" shirts. "I refuse to see it," he said of the film, frowning around his braces. "I don't like Tater Tots."

But the "Napoleon" goods have stemmed from a groundswell of demand, said Elie Dekel, executive vice president of licensing and merchandising at 20th Century Fox, whose Fox Searchlight Pictures distributes the film. And in a retail world shaped by "Star Wars" action figures and Disney tie-ins, Dekel said, "Napoleon Dynamite" represents something different. It's not a kids' movie. It's not science fiction. "There's no violence. There's no action adventure, with the exception of a tetherball game."

Its appeal, instead, is built on a few solid principles of 2005 culture. Geeks are suddenly hip (See: "The O.C."). An oddball movie stands out amid a glut of sequels and cookie-cutter action flicks. And, perhaps most important, a collective experience is worth paying for. The cult of "Napoleon" demonstrates one of those sweet ironies of youth: that the best way to celebrate nonconformity is to buy the T-shirt.