Customer Reviews

Napoleon Dynamite

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I would have given this 5 stars, but there were some songs missing I had to go track down--freakin idiots! :)

1. So Tuff, So Ruff - Zapp & Rogers (Pedro's Cousins bump music going to the dance)
2. More Bounce to the Ounce - Zapp & Rogers (Pedro's Cousins music when kid's bike getting borrowed)
3. The Rose - Amanda McBroom (Helping Hands song)
4. Larger Than Life - Backstreet Boys (Summer's skit)
5. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper (different version than on CD)
6. Music For A Found Harmonium - Penguin Cafe Orchestra
7. We're Going to be Friends - The White Stripes

This CD is a "must have" item for any NAPOLEON DYNAMITE fan. It is the only place to get the fun, cheezy organ music that is played throughout the film. There are also plenty of little sound bites of dialogue from the film. Unfortunately, there are some major songs that did NOT make it onto this CD, so you will have to get those tunes separately.

I tried to gather them up, based on the end credits from the DVD listing. The missing songs are:

* "We're Going to be Friends" by the White Stripes, on their album "White Blood Cells." This song is played during the opening credits, written in food.

* "The Rose" by Bette Midler, I got from her Greatest Hits CD. It is also on the soundtrack for the old movie "The Rose," but that version has some audience applause in the background, at the very beginning of the song. In Napoleon, it is the song that the Happy Hands Club performs in class with Napoleon.

* "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper. I got it from "The Essential Cyndi Lauper." This is played while Napoleon and Deb dance together at the school dance. The Napoleon Soundtrack has this song on the CD, but it is performed by a different artist. The movie credits say it is the Cyndi Lauper version used in the film.

* "Larger Than Life" by the Backstreet Boys, I got from their "The Hits--Chapter One." This is played during Summer Wheatly's skit, onstage with the Happy Hands Club.

* "Music of a Found Harmonium" by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. This is played at the end of the film, as they show how everybody ends up, before Napoleon plays tetherball with Deb. CAUTION: This song appears on many different Penguin Cafe Orchestra CDs, in different versions. The closest version I found is on the CD "Preludes Airs and Yodels (A Penguin Cafe primer)," which contains two different versions. It is the Patrick Street version, track 11, that sounds the most like the Napoleon movie version used, in my opinion. I COULD BE WRONG, but this is my best pick of which version the movie used.

(...)

There may still be some other music to find, but I don't know the names; like the music from Pedro's cousins' car when they pick up Trish, and the heavy metal music during the Rex Kwon Do commercial...?

Even though the CD is incomplete, I still highly recommend this Napoleon Dynamite soundtack CD for anybody who liked the movie!

I saw at least two reviews that complained that the song Napoleon dances to is missing. Look at track 31 of the disc (make sure you click on the "See all 42 tracks" link). The songs that were in the movie but are not on the soundtrack are:

We're Going to Be Friends - The White Stripes
The Rose - Bette Midler
Larger Than Life - Backstreet Boys
Music for a Found Harmonium - James Galway & Phil Coulter

All (and I mean ALL) of the other songs from the movie are on the album. Basically, my opinion has already been said. The soundtrack is great because it flows, it's quirky and fun, it's complete, and (most importantly) it contains snippits of the best dialogue in the movie. That said, if you didn't like the movie (...)then you won't like the soundtrack either. For everyone else: Buy it.

This is a great soundtrack that goes great with the movie (which is probably my favorite movie). It has dialouge which is flippin sweet! The only bad thing is that they didnt have "We are Going to be Friends" by the White Stripes or "Music For a Found Harmonium" by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Other than that, A+ soundtrack! Get it now!

Like the film "Napoleon Dynamite," you can totally love this soundtrack from so many different angles. Not only does this movie contain music that will bring you visions of Napoleon bicycling into town with Kip in tow, it also contains soundbytes of the film's most memorable quotes.

The music here is such an enjoyable mix of tunes from the nostalgic pop groups like Bow Wow Wow and Alphaville to the musical score by John Swihart. When I first listened to Swihart's music on this CD, it hit me just how much he contributed to the atmosphere of the film. On top of that, over the past few years I unexpectedly discovered the joys of listening to The Moog Synthesizer music of the 1960s and 70s. Intentional or not, Swihart's music beautifully captures and salutes the spirit of great Moog pioneers like Stan Free, Jean-Jacques Perrey, Gershon Kingsley and, of course, Bob Moog. I am so glad the Moog fad has never faded! My favorite amongst Swihart's tunes arrives on track #29, a pretty & exotic piece called "Nap Store Video."

There are so many great sound bytes from the film, including a hysterical scene that did not make the theatrical cut but found new life on the DVD in the "deleted scenes" department. Amongst other classic lines on the soundtrack include Napoleon's current event report on Nessie, Kip talking about Internet babes and Cage Fighting, and Napoleon telling his classmates about hunting wolverines in Alaska!

At the end of track #42, don't be in a hurry to rip the CD from the player... there is the hidden track afterwards, which is Kip's awesome "technology wedding song!"

Not every tune in the film made it to the soundtrack. While the missing tunes are noticeable, I cannot honestly say the CD is any worse off for it. The combination of tunes & quotes makes this soundtrack sheer pleasure for even the most finicky Napoleon Dynamite fan. Napoleon Dynamite is my favorite film of 2004, and I am enjoying the soundtrack just as much as I did the film!

Am I the only person who gets annoyed with so-called soundtracks which leave out songs which were used during the movie? The Napolean Dynamite soundtrack includes songs that were NOT even used in the film (one example I Want Candy), but then it fails to include THE MAIN THEME by The White Stripes. I think if a CD is going to be called a soundtrack it should at least include all the music that was used in the film. And, how can a soundtrack not include the MAIN TITLE THEME SONG?! Granted, there is a lot of good music on this CD, but I still refuse to purchase this CD based on the principle that a soundtrack should, at the least, include music actually used and played in the film.

The first song is called "We Are Going to Be Friends" and it's by The White Stripes. I hope this helps you.

Best movie of the year; almost as good a soundtrack. The quotes from the film are still making me laugh, even though we have been quoting the movie since the day we saw it. The score tracks are amazing, truly capturing the feel of the movie. The artist tracks are awesome, nothing better then some good ol' 80s and some well selected eclectic tracks, but this is where I have my only criticism. The lack of The Penguin Cafe Orchestra's "Music for a Found Harmonium", which is the ending montage music from the film, is the only song that could have made this album better. I give it 5 stars and if you loved the movie, you'll love the soundtrack.

Because Napoleon's lines were what made this movie so great it seemed thatthe soundtrack should contain some of the phrases that Napoleon said. Since we have to wait another month for the movie to come out on DVD I think this is a great way to get our daily dose of Napoleon. The soundtrack is complete with every song from the movie including the short instrmentals that we heard during the movie. My favorite tracks are Forever Young, Time after Time, and Every Moment. I still laugh hearing Napoleon's phrases and I've heard them a million times and that shows just how great it it. If you loved the movie then I'm sure this soundtrack is perfect for you. This is one of the best soundtracks I have heard in awhile and it is worth every penny I paid for it.

As a huge fan of the film I was very excited to finally be able to get the soundtrack, although I was quite disappointed by the absence of some key songs. We're Going To Be Friends by The White Stripes, was a great opening for the movie & it is sorely missed on this album. I was also a little confused why the Alternate Ending Montage is used on here & not the Original Ending Montage. In every other aspect this soundtrack pretty sweet. I was thrilled the A-Team Theme was on here. They managed to include almost all my favorite sound bites (but all of Pedro's are conspicuously absent). All in all I do recommend this soundtrack. If you loved the movie you'll love this album.