'Napoleon Dynamite' Animated Series Premieres Sunday

(EndPlay Staff Reports) - Napoleon Dynamite fans rejoice. The cult classic from 2004 is set for an encore – this time on television in a new animated series debuting on FOX Sunday.

Seven years in the making, creators Jared and Jerusha Hess believed that developing "Napoleon Dynamite" into a cartoon was a logical choice after deciding against making a sequel, Deadline reported.

"For me the movie was kind of a live-action cartoon anyway. The transition made a lot of sense to us," Jerusha Hess said.

After deciding to make the animated series, the Hesses teamed up with Mike Scully, longtime executive producer of "The Simpsons."

"We'd always felt if we ever continued the adventures of Napoleon that we would do it in animated form just because it seemed like the film would translate well into animation. It was a way that we could get inside Napoleon's head as well, but we've just had a lot of fun re-exploring his world," Jared Hess said, according to a report from CNN .

The whole cast is back to voice the characters, including Napoleon Dynamite himself, Jon Heder, who said that he is excited to be taking on the character again in a new way.

He told New York Magazine that it was a "no brainer" to say yes to the new show. Heder loved being in the movie and has enjoyed revisiting the character.

The cast of the film, and now voices of the animated series, appeared at a Television Critics Association (TCA) event, and weighed in on the differences between the movie and cartoon.

Tina Majorino, who plays Deb, told the audience that in the cartoon, her character is "perkier" and not as monotone as she was in the movie. Heder said that Napoleon has more "emotional range," reported buzzsugar.com

One character that will be missing, at least for now, is Kip Dynamite's love interest Lafonda. But she is promised to show up later in the series after Kip explores his "online dating life."

Scully also said to expect the animated series to be a faster pace than the movie was. It will move more like "The Simpsons."

The premiere "Napoleon Dynamite" airs Sunday night on FOX right after "The Simpsons."