I Traveled to the Birthplace of ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ in Full Costume—Just 20 Years Late

“Bow to your sensei!” my partner shouted at the four strangers from North Carolina, lowering his voice a few decibels to sound more threatening. He was wearing billowing red, white, and blue pants, a black polo shirt, lime green shades, and a star-spangled bandana. There are only two locations I can think of where a get-up like this wouldn’t look out of place. One is anywhere across the US on July 4th. The second is a small town called Preston, Idaho—filming location of Napoleon Dynamite, the source of my partner’s Rex Kwon Do costume—on any day of the year.

Oh, and the four strangers from North Carolina? They were in Napoleon Dynamite costumes, too.

Filmmaker Jared Hess graduated from Preston High School in 1997 and returned to his hometown a few years later to shoot Napoleon Dynamite. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the 2004 movie focuses on the titular character (played by Jon Heder), an awkward, atypical high schooler with typical troubles. He has a quirky family, a romantic interest in part-time glamour photographer Deb, and a new bestie with lofty dreams of becoming class president. Oh, and he’s in charge of feeding Tina, an overweight llama living in his backyard.