Donkey Kong (character)
Donkey Kong, also shortened to DK, is a fictional gorilla-like character in the Donkey Kong and Mario video game series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. The original Donkey Kong first appeared as the title character and antagonist of the eponymous 1981 game, a platformer by Nintendo, which would lead to the Donkey Kong series. The Donkey Kong Country series was launched in 1994 with a new Donkey Kong as the protagonist (although several installments focus on his friends Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong instead). This version of the character persists as the main one up to today. While the 1980s games' Donkey Kong and the modern Donkey Kong share the same name, the manual for Donkey Kong Country and subsequent games portray the former as Cranky Kong, the latter's grandfather, with the exception of Donkey Kong 64 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, in which Cranky is depicted as his father, alternatively portraying the modern Donkey Kong as the original Donkey Kong from the arcade games. Donkey Kong is considered one of the most popular and iconic characters in video game history.
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (1981)
Shigeru Miyamoto (1981–1994)
Kevin Bayliss (1994–present)
- Mark Betteridge (1994–1996)[1]
- Chris Sutherland (1994; when failing a Bonus Level)
- Grant Kirkhope (1999–2013)[2]
- Takashi Nagasako (2004–present)[2]
- Soupy Sales (1983–1984; Saturday Supercade)[2]
- Garry Chalk (1989–1991; Captain N: The Game Master)[3]
- Charles Martinet (1994)[4][5]
- Richard Yearwood (1997–2000; Donkey Kong Country animated series)
- Sterling Jarvis (1997–2000; Donkey Kong Country animated series, singing voice)
- Seth Rogen (The Super Mario Bros. Movie)[6]
- KÅichi Yamadera (Japanese dub of Donkey Kong Country animated series, 1999–2000)
- Koji Takeda (Japanese dub of The Super Mario Bros. Movie)
- Franck Capillery (French dub of Donkey Kong Country animated series, 1996–2000)[7]
- Christophe Albertini/Nicolas Bienvenu (1996–2001; The Planet of Donkey Kong)[8]
- Park Jo-ho (Korean dub of Donkey Kong Country animated series, 1999-2000)
- Choi Seok-pil (Korean dub of Donkey Kong Country Returns Commercial, 2013)[9]
DK
Ape
Mario, the protagonist of the original 1981 game, went on to become the central character of the Mario franchise; the modern Donkey Kong is regularly featured as a character in the Mario games. He has also been playable in every entry of the Super Smash Bros. crossover fighting series, and serves as the main antagonist of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series from 2004 to 2015.[10] The character is voiced by Richard Yearwood and Sterling Jarvis in the animated series Donkey Kong Country (1997–2000),[11] and by Seth Rogen in the Illumination Entertainment feature film The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).[6]
Characteristics[edit]
The Donkey Kong Country series introduced the setting of Donkey Kong Island and a backstory for the character. The series also introduced Diddy Kong as DK's sidekick and best friend, and K. Rool, King of the Kremlings, as his nemesis who steals his and Diddy Kong's banana hoard. While retaining the red necktie featured in the Game Boy game, Donkey Kong, he also donned a distinct physical appearance featuring heavy brows and a peaked lock of hair on top of his head. This would become the standard look for Donkey Kong still used over two decades later. The modern Donkey Kong is portrayed as a powerful yet laid-back ape, who is interested mainly in his banana hoard and his girlfriend, Candy Kong. He has pugilistic abilities that are often emphasized, featuring as a hidden boss in Punch-Out!!, uppercutting K. Rool out of his castle at the end of Donkey Kong Country 2, and having punch-based attacks as his special and final smash moves in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In a match against boxing champion "Krusha" K. Rool in Donkey Kong 64, DK's weight is given at 800 pounds.[21]
The new Donkey Kong introduced in Donkey Kong Country was initially characterized as the grandson of the original Donkey Kong[22] who appears in the game as an elderly ape named Cranky Kong.[23][24][25] This remained the most consistent storyline, with it also being directly stated in both Donkey Kong Land[26] and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, but Donkey Kong 64 portrays the modern Donkey Kong as Cranky Kong's son.[27][28] Leigh Loveday, the writer of Donkey Kong Country 2, prefacing his statement with "As far as I know", said that he is a grown-up version of Donkey Kong Jr.[29] Nintendo of Europe's website also states that the modern DK is DK Jr.[30]
However, the Game Boy Advance versions of Donkey Kong Country[31] and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest,[32] Super Smash Bros. Brawl,[33] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,[34] Donkey Kong Country Returns,[35] Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze,[36] Gregg Mayles of Rare,[37] and Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide[38] all explicitly state that the present-day Donkey Kong is Cranky's grandson.
Appearances[edit]
Early history[edit]
Donkey Kong first appeared as the titular antagonist of the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong (alongside protagonist Mario and damsel in distress, Pauline). As Mario, the player must reach Donkey Kong at the top of each stage, where he is holding Pauline captive. Donkey Kong attempts to hinder the player's progress by throwing barrels, springs, and other objects towards Mario. The ape reappeared the following year in the sequel Donkey Kong Jr., where Donkey Kong is taken captive and locked in a cage by Mario, while Donkey Kong Junior sets out to rescue him. Donkey Kong resumed his antagonistic role in Donkey Kong 3, this time the character Stanley the Bugman taking Mario's place as the protagonist. Stanley fights Donkey Kong's attempts to invade a greenhouse along with a horde of killer bees.
After Donkey Kong, Mario went on to become Nintendo's primary mascot, while Donkey Kong and his son were relegated to supporting roles and cameos. The 1994 Game Boy version of Donkey Kong marked his re-emergence as a major character. He was redesigned, appearing with a red necktie, which sometimes bears his initials, "DK".
Reception and legacy[edit]
Donkey Kong has been described as one of the most iconic mascots for Nintendo.[43][44] In their 250th issue in January 2010, Nintendo Power ranked him as their eighth-favorite Nintendo hero, stating that while he is a somewhat goofy hero, he is decently good overall and an entertaining one. They also ranked him as their eighth-favorite Nintendo villain, joking that one should avoid him if he is not wearing a tie.[45] IGN criticized his tie, stating that "DK needs a fashion makeover". They said that while he "used to be a working icon", "his status is starting to show signs of rust".[46] 1UP.com listed him as the most "Gracelessly Aging Character", citing the fact that the original Donkey Kong from the arcade game eventually became Cranky Kong.[47] IGN ranked him 5th in their "Top 100 Videogames Villains" list for his earlier appearances.[48] UGO.com listed Donkey Kong seventh on their list of "The 25 Awesomest Hidden Characters" for his cameo appearance in Punch-Out!!.[49] Empire also included him on their list of the 50 greatest video game characters, adding that he is "the worst named character in the history of gaming".[50] The 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition lists Donkey Kong as the 33rd-most popular video game character.[51] In 2012, GamesRadar ranked him as the 25th-best hero in video games.[52] Jeremy Parish of Polygon ranked 73 fighters from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate "from garbage to glorious", listing Donkey Kong as 22nd, stating that "we'd love to play as Donkey Kong. This guy, though? He's just the latter-day imposter version from Donkey Kong Country — the original DK's son".[53] Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek ranked Donkey Kong in 13th place of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters, stating that "DK is a blast to play as, especially when unleashing his ground-slap move in a match against seven opponents and everyone's bouncing around like ping-pong balls. His wind-up punch is perfect, too".[54] HobbyConsolas also included Donkey Kong on their "The 30 best heroes of the last 30 years".[55] According to Matt Reeves, the treacherous Koba-loyal apes in service of the Colonel in his 2017 film War for the Planet of the Apes are nicknamed "donkeys" in a reference both to Donkey Kong, and how they are used as "pack mules".[56]