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Donkey Kong (character)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the character. For the franchise, see Donkey Kong. For the 1981 game, see Donkey Kong (1981 video game). For other uses, see Donkey Kong (disambiguation).
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong and Mario character
Promotional art by Shigehisa Nakaue (2019)
First gameDonkey Kong (1981)
Created byShigeru Miyamoto
Designed by
  • Shigeru Miyamoto
  • Kevin Bayliss
Voiced bySee section
In-universe information
NicknameDK
SpeciesGorilla
FamilyKong family

Donkey Kong,[a] often shortened to DK, is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. One of the flagship characters of the Japanese video game company Nintendo, he is the star of the Donkey Kong franchise and also features in the Mario franchise. Donkey Kong is a large, powerful gorilla who leads the Kongs, a family of various primates. He is generally depicted with a large muzzle, brown fur, and a red necktie with his initials, and is usually accompanied by his sidekick, Diddy Kong.

Donkey Kong debuted as the antagonist of Donkey Kong, a 1981 platform game. Miyamoto created him to replace the Popeye character Bluto after Nintendo was unable to obtain the license. Miyamoto designed him as a dumb, humorous antagonist, named donkey to convey stubborn and kong to imply gorilla. The Rare developer Kevin Bayliss redesigned Donkey Kong for Donkey Kong Country (1994), which recast Donkey Kong as the player character. Nintendo has used the Bayliss design since.

Donkey Kong is a pop culture icon and is frequently listed among the greatest video game characters. He features in merchandise and in media including comics and animation. He has been voiced by Takashi Nagasako in games since 2004, and was voiced by Richard Yearwood in the television series Donkey Kong Country (1997–2000) and by Seth Rogen in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).

Character

[edit]

Donkey Kong is the star of Donkey Kong, a video game series and media franchise owned by the Japanese video game company Nintendo.[1] He is also a recurring character in the Mario franchise, appearing as a playable character in most Mario Kart and Mario Party games, and is playable in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games.[2] He makes cameo appearances in other Nintendo franchises,[3] such as Punch-Out!!.[4][5]

Donkey Kong first appeared as the antagonist of Donkey Kong, a 1981 arcade game; he is Mario's rebellious pet gorilla who kidnaps his girlfriend Pauline and climbs a construction site.[6] He appeared as a captive in the sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. (1982), in which he must be rescued by his son Donkey Kong Jr.,[7] and returned as the antagonist in Donkey Kong 3 (1983) and Donkey Kong (1994).[8] From 1994, Donkey Kong games were developed by the British studio Rare until its acquisition by the Nintendo competitor Microsoft in 2002.[1][9] Rare's 1994 Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Donkey Kong Country recast Donkey Kong as the protagonist.[1] He has largely been portrayed as heroic since, though he occasionally appears as a villain, such as in Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2004).[10]

Donkey Kong is a large and powerful gorilla who leads the Kongs, a family of various primates. He resides in a city in early Donkey Kong games, but the Rare games moved his residence to Donkey Kong Island,[11] an idyllic isle.[12] Donkey Kong weighs 800 pounds,[13] and since 1994, has been depicted wearing a red necktie bearing his initials.[8] Although Donkey Kong was introduced as an antagonist, he is not evil. Nintendo World Report noted that, unlike the Mario villains Bowser and Wario, Donkey Kong's villainous acts are the result of jealous temper tantrums rather than malice.[2] He is stubborn, buffoonish,[14] and innocent, and strives to help others and be accepted.[2] He protects his stash of bananas from enemies such as the Kremlings, a crocodile army led by his archenemy King K. Rool,[15] and the Tiki Tak Tribe, a race of floating masks.[16] Donkey Kong is frequently accompanied by his nephew and sidekick Diddy Kong, and his girlfriend, Candy Kong.[7]

In his playable appearances, Donkey Kong is a heavyweight.[17][18][19] He throws barrels to impede the player's progress in the 1981 game.[20] This trait is retained in his playable appearances, whereby he uses barrels as weapons or to uncover power-ups.[21] Donkey Kong's other abilities include slapping the ground,[22] rolling,[18] clinging onto and climbing surfaces,[23] and swinging on vines.[24] He rides vehicles such as minecarts and barrel-shaped rockets,[24][25] and animals such as Rambi the Rhino and Enguarde the Swordfish.[15] In Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong has slow but powerful attacks such as a chargeable punch and a headbutt, with IGN likening him to Street Fighter's Zangief.[17]

In other media

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A Donkey Kong cartoon produced by Ruby-Spears aired as part of CBS's hour-long Saturday Supercade programming block in 1983.[26] It follows Mario and Pauline as they attempt to capture Donkey Kong after he escapes from a circus.[27] Donkey Kong also featured in Captain N: The Game Master, a DIC Entertainment series that ran on NBC for 34 episodes between 1989 and 1991. He interacts with other Nintendo Entertainment System characters such as Castlevania's Simon Belmont.[28][29] The computer-animated Donkey Kong Country (1997–2000), a sitcom, follows Donkey Kong as he attempts to protect a magical artifact, the Crystal Coconut, from King K. Rool.[30][31]

Donkey Kong is a major character in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023),[32] an animated film produced by Nintendo, Illumination, and Universal Pictures.[33] Mario and Princess Peach seek the Kongs' help to stop Bowser from invading the Mushroom Kingdom. The Kongs agree to help after Mario defeats Donkey Kong in an arena fight.[34][35] Mario and Donkey Kong begin as foes, but learn they both want the respect of their fathers, and Donkey Kong participates in the final battle against Bowser.[34]

Appearances in printed media include Blip, a short-lived American comic book published by Marvel Comics in 1983,[36] a Donkey Kong Country comic published by the British comics publisher Fleetway Publications in 1995,[37] and children's book adaptations of the Country games by Michael Teitelbaum.[38] Donkey Kong appears on Nintendo merchandise, including clothing,[39] toys such as plushes and Amiibo figures,[40][41] and trading cards.[42] The Lego Group introduced a Donkey Kong Lego figure in a series of Country Lego Super Mario sets in 2023.[43][44] Donkey Kong also features in the Country-themed area at Universal Studios' Super Nintendo World, which opened in 2024.[45]

Cranky Kong

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Artwork of Cranky Kong, the elderly incarnation of Donkey Kong from the arcade games, from Donkey Konga (2003)

Donkey Kong Country establishes that "Donkey Kong" is a hereditary title and that the Donkey Kong introduced in the Rare games is separate from the arcade games.[11] The original Donkey Kong appears as Cranky Kong,[b] a grumpy, elderly gorilla.[2] Cranky Kong provides scathing, fourth wall-breaking humor, unfavorably comparing games to older ones such as the original Donkey Kong.[46][47] His wife, Wrinkly Kong, was introduced in Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995) and is killed off as a joke in Donkey Kong 64 (1999), appearing in subsequent games as a ghost.[2]

In most games, Cranky appears as a non-player character who provides hints or sells items.[2][48] He is playable in Tropical Freeze, in which he can use his cane to bounce on enemies and obstacles.[49] Cranky also appears in spin-offs such as the Donkey Konga games and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (2007),[50][51] and as a supporting character in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.[35] On February 20, 2014, to promote Tropical Freeze, Nintendo pretended to have Cranky take over its Twitter account, tweeting wisecracks and image macros.[52]

The Rare Donkey Kong games referred to Cranky Kong as both Donkey Kong's father and grandfather,[1] which the developer Gregg Mayles suggested was due to his senility.[53] While Nintendo often referred to Cranky as Donkey Kong's grandfather after Rare's acquisition by Microsoft,[1] The Super Mario Bros. Movie identifies him as Donkey Kong's father.[54] Journalists have noted that the inconsistency makes it unclear if the modern Donkey Kong is intended to be an adult Donkey Kong Jr., who does not appear in the Country games.[1][11]

Development

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Conception

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See also: Development of Donkey Kong (1981 video game)
Shigeru Miyamoto, a Japanese man wearing a black coat and white shirt with red, yellow, and blue Pikmin characters
Donkey Kong's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, in 2013

In 1980, the commercial failure of Nintendo's arcade game Radar Scope put the newly established subsidiary Nintendo of America in a financial crisis. Its founder, Minoru Arakawa, asked his father in-law, the Nintendo CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi, to provide a game that could repurpose the unsold Radar Scope cabinets.[55] Most of Nintendo's top developers were preoccupied, so the task went to Shigeru Miyamoto, a first-time game designer.[56][57] Miyamoto found most arcade games of the time dull and wanted to make one that told a story, drawing from his favorite media such as the Shakespeare play Macbeth, the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast", and the 1933 film King Kong.[58]

Miyamoto devised a love triangle with the characters Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Bluto from the Popeye franchise, but a licensing deal between Nintendo and King Features fell through.[57][58] Miyamoto created original characters to replace the Popeye ones; Mario and Pauline replaced Popeye and Olive Oyl, and Donkey Kong replaced Bluto.[57] Like Bluto, Donkey Kong was a hairy, brutish character.[59] Miyamoto chose a gorilla—an animal he found "nothing too evil or repulsive"[58]—because he felt it made the scenario more interesting and humorous, and because gorillas are built similarly to humans.[60] "Beauty and the Beast" and King Kong influenced the choice.[58]

Nintendo considered around 20 names for the character before settling on Donkey Kong,[61][62] a name suggested by the export manager Shinichi Todori according to court documents.[63] It is a common misconception that "Donkey Kong" is a mistranslation of "Monkey Kong".[1] Donkey was meant to convey stubborn,[62] while kong is a generic term for gorilla in Japan.[64] Miyamoto called him "King Kong" during development, as, in Japan, it was commonly used to refer to any large ape.[65] One name, "Funky Kong", was later used for a separate character in Donkey Kong Country.[64] Other names considered included "Kong Dong" and "Kong Holiday".[61][64] Nintendo of America objected to the name "Donkey Kong" because it did not believe that donkey could be used to describe an idiot, but Miyamoto liked how it sounded.[66]

Donkey Kong's popularity quickly led to the production of a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. Miyamoto wanted to make Donkey Kong the player character, but the sprite graphic was too big to easily maneuver, so he created Donkey Kong Jr. The developers made Donkey Kong Mario's captive so they could still feature him at the top of the screen.[67] Donkey Kong first appeared as a protagonist in Donkey Kong Country.[1]

Design

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Miyamoto designed Donkey Kong to appear dumb,[5] as he saw him as a humorous rather than evil antagonist. In his mind, Donkey Kong's motivation was not to hurt Pauline, but to retaliate against Mario, who mistreated him.[58] With the exception of Donkey Kong 3, Donkey Kong's character artwork during the 1980s generally portrayed him as likable, even as a villain. The 1994 Game Boy game was the first to depict Donkey Kong wearing a red tie with his initials.[8]

Donkey Kong's design evolution during the development of Donkey Kong Country (1994): Miyamoto's design, Bayliss's concept art, and the final render

For Donkey Kong Country, Rare's Kevin Bayliss redesigned Donkey Kong.[68] Bayliss was asked only to make him look more modern;[69] he had no problems with the existing design, but was nonetheless excited to reinterpret him.[68] Alongside the red tie from the Game Boy game, Bayliss gave Donkey Kong what GamesRadar+ described as "menacing, sunken eyes and [a] beak-like muzzle".[8] Bayliss wanted a character that looked believable and could perform animations such as pounding his chest.[21] His initial design was blocky and muscular to make Donkey Kong easy to animate, but became more cartoonish when Nintendo faxed reference material.[68] Bayliss recycled the eye design from those of the Battletoads, characters he had previously designed for Rare. In retrospect, Bayliss felt this made it difficult for Donkey Kong to express emotions besides annoyance.[70]

Miyamoto provided some suggestions,[71][5] but otherwise left the specifics to Bayliss.[21] Donkey Kong Country marked Donkey Kong's first appearance as a 3D model,[72] and the limitations of technology at the time influenced the redesign. Miyamoto asked that Donkey Kong have eyebrows and tangible fur, but both were infeasible. For the eyebrows, Rare compromised by making the area around Donkey Kong's eyes black. Miyamoto suggested the tie to better convey Donkey Kong's stubbornness. He felt Rare "breathed new life into" Donkey Kong and made him "really cool", but also childish.[5] Because real gorillas move slowly, Rare based Donkey Kong's running animation on a horse's gallop.[71]

Nintendo used the Bayliss design for decades in both Donkey Kong and Mario games. While Paon reintroduced elements of the arcade-era design for Donkey Kong's appearance in DK: King of Swing (2004), subsequent games, including the sequel Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber (2007), did not.[8] Donkey Kong underwent his first major redesign since Donkey Kong Country in 2022 for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.[72] The design, which combines elements of the Bayliss design with the original arcade-era one, features larger eyes, a less angular brow, lighter fur, and more realistic proportions.[72][73][74] Another redesign, similar to the film design and artwork by Nintendo's Shigehisa Nakaue,[75] was revealed in 2025 and is set to debut in a future Mario Kart game.[72]

Voice

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Grant Kirkhope (left) voiced Donkey Kong in many games, starting with Donkey Kong 64 (1999), while Seth Rogen (right) voiced him in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).

In his early animated appearances, Donkey Kong was voiced by the comedian Soupy Sales and the actor Garry Chalk.[76] Richard Yearwood voiced Donkey Kong in the Donkey Kong Country animated series, while Sterling Jarvis performed his singing voice.[77] Yearwood reprised the role for a fan-made short film in 2023.[78] Charles Martinet, who voiced Mario and other Mario characters until 2023, also voiced Donkey Kong for Nintendo's "Mario in Real Time" trade show attraction.[79]

Donkey Kong does not have a consistent voice across games,[80] and generally makes gorilla noises instead of speaking in full sentences.[81] When developing Donkey Kong Country, Rare planned to use real gorilla noises and visited the Twycross Zoo to record them. The composer David Wise described the visit as "a complete waste of time".[82] Outside of feeding times, the gorillas were too quiet, so a Rare staffer, Mark Betteridge, provided Donkey Kong's voice.[82] Grant Kirkhope provided the voice while composing music for Donkey Kong 64.[83][76] Kirkhope's voice appeared in games such as Mario Kart: Double Dash (2003), the Game Boy Advance port of Donkey Kong Country, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong.[84][85] Takashi Nagasako is the most prolific Donkey Kong voice actor, having voiced him in 36 games as of 2025. He first provided it in Mario Power Tennis (2004).[77]

The actor and comedian Seth Rogen voiced Donkey Kong in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Rogen, a fan of Donkey Kong since childhood,[86] used his regular speaking voice, as he felt the role did not require an unusual one.[81] He said that, during casting, "I was very clear that I don't do voices. If you want me to be in this movie, then it's going to sound like me and that's it... I think in the film and in the game, all you seem to know about Donkey Kong is that he throws barrels and does not like Mario very much. And that's what I ran with."[87] The directors gave Rogen freedom to approach the role, and most of his directions were to yell and sound angry.[88] Rogen enjoyed the role and expressed interest in reprising it.[86]

Themes and analysis

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Donkey Kong has been described as a parody of King Kong; their similarities sparked the 1983 Universal v. Nintendo lawsuit.

Donkey Kong has been described as a parody of King Kong,[14][64] with Nintendo World Report writing that the 1981 game's scenario "was almost a mockery of the premise of the [1933 King Kong] film".[59] Whereas King Kong is fearsome, Donkey Kong is silly and foolish.[14][59] Donkey Kong's similarities to King Kong sparked the 1983 Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. lawsuit, in which Universal alleged that Donkey Kong violated its trademark of King Kong. Robert W. Sweet ruled it was unlikely that anyone would confuse the two, as Donkey Kong was "farcical, childlike and nonsexual" compared to King Kong, "a ferocious gorilla in quest of a beautiful woman".[64] He noted stark contrasts between King Kong, who goes on bloody rampages and viciously attacks foes, and Donkey Kong, who bounces and struts to taunt the player and uses humorous obstacles such as cement tubs and pies.[64]

The 1981 game features a simple damsel in distress narrative with traditional conceptions of gender that Miyamoto would recycle in his Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda games.[89][90] Donkey Kong, hypermasculine and brutish, kidnaps the passive Pauline, who must be rescued by the reasonably masculine Mario. However, due to the cyclical nature of the gameplay, the masculine Mario is unsuccessful in defeating the hypermasculine Donkey Kong, who always recaptures Pauline.[90] The Western New England University professor Edward Wesp found this makes Donkey Kong similar to the Looney Tunes character Road Runner, with Mario akin to the perpetually failing Wile E. Coyote. Wesp writes that Mario's "determination and skill... will, in the end fail to covercome [Donkey Kong]'s brutish power".[90]

Games featuring Donkey Kong as a protagonist depict melodramatic adventures that emphasize action over characterization.[91] In his initial appearance, Donkey Kong is similar to other Nintendo villains, such as Mario's Bowser, Zelda's Ganon, and Metroid's Ridley, in that he is animalistic, unclothed, and unrelatable, much like the literary villains Caliban and Gollum. PopMatters observed that, in turning Donkey Kong into a protagonist, Donkey Kong Country "domesticated" him, adding the tie to clothe him and supporting Kongs to provide a family.[92] The tie—as well as Donkey Kong's contrast with the crocodilian King K. Rool, a more primitive animal—suggests Donkey Kong possesses sophistication and nobility and does not merely act upon impulse. The Kong family highlights that Donkey Kong cares for others and is past kidnapping. The player thus perceives him as a selfless, admirable character.[92]

Reception and legacy

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Donkey Kong has been described as one of the most iconic Nintendo mascots.[93][94] In its 250th issue in January 2010, Nintendo Power named him their eighth-favorite Nintendo hero, describing him as goofy and entertaining. They also named him their eighth-favorite Nintendo villain, joking that one should avoid him if he is not wearing a tie.[95] IGN criticized the tie, writing that "DK needs a fashion makeover ... This guy used to be a working icon. Now his status is starting to show signs of rust."[96] 1UP.com named him the most "Gracelessly Aging Character", citing the fact that the original Donkey Kong from the arcade game eventually became Cranky Kong.[97] IGN ranked him 5th in their "Top 100 Videogames Villains" list for his earlier appearances.[98] UGO.com listed Donkey Kong seventh on their list of "The 25 Awesomest Hidden Characters" for his cameo appearance in Punch-Out!!.[99] 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".[100] The 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition lists Donkey Kong as the 33rd-most popular video game character.[101] In 2012, GamesRadar ranked him as the 25th-best hero in video games.[102] 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."[103] 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".[104] HobbyConsolas also included Donkey Kong on their "The 30 best heroes of the last 30 years".[105] 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".[106]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: ドンキーコング, Hepburn: Donkī Kongu, [doŋ.kiː koŋ.ɡɯ]
  2. ^ Japanese: クランキーコング, Hepburn: Kurankī Kongu

References

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Citations

[edit]
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Works cited

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