Peluca (Spanish for Wig) was a short made by Jared Hess, the director of Napoleon Dynamite. It has many similarities to Napoleon Dynamite, and can be seen as a predecessor to it. It was produced for an assignment in University. It was shown at the 2003 Slamdance festival. Peluca can be found in the DVD version of Napoleon Dynamite.
Plot[]
Seth (Jon Heder), the main character, is seen waiting for the bus. He ties a rope around a wrestling action figure, and throws it out the window, to watch it skid across the ground.
During class, a kid named Randy is bugging Seth, saying his drawings are bad. He asks a kid named Pedro's opinion, but Pedro sticks up for Seth. Randy pulls Seth's shoulders back, but Pedro hits Randy in the head, causing pain to both of them.
At lunch, Seth notices a kid named Gail has his hood down. Pedro explains that he shaved his head, and doesn't want his girlfriend to see. They have Physical Education next class, but they decide to skip it and leave the school, and to find Gehl a wig.
To get enough money to buy a wig, they decided to buy a lottery ticket. Seth walks in a convenience store, and pretends that he is over 18, so he can buy a lottery ticket. The cashier finds through his lying, and does not sell him one. Seth leaves, and Gehl goes in to buy one. The cashier sees Gail's mustache, which convinces him that Gehl is an adult, and sells him a ticket. They scratch the ticket and win 10 dollars.
At the clothing store, they find a good wig for Gehl, that is $7.00. Seth however, sees a fanny pack that he likes, but it is also $7. Seth decides to buy the wig for Gail.
At the school, Seth remarks on the excellent day they had, and runs off. Gehl's girlfriend walks by, and compliments Seth's hair, not knowing it's a wig.
On the bus back home, Seth gives his wrestling action figure to a little boy. The short ends.
Similarities to the movie[]
Seth and Gehl are similar to Napoleon and Pedro. The Pedro in this movie is seemingly more outgoing and less shy and quiet. Randy is an exact copy from the movie version, with the same name, actor and character.
The bus scene, the lunchroom scene and the clothing store scene are very similar to scenes from Napoleon Dynamite.