Donkey Kong Country (TV series)

Donkey Kong Country
Created by Shigeru Miyamoto
Developed by Jacques Goldstein
Philippe Percebois
Directed by Mike Fallows
Voices of Richard Yearwood
Andrew Sabiston
Joy Tanner
Aron Tager
Ben Campbell
Adrian Truss
Louise Vallance
Donald Burda
Len Carlson
Damon D'Oliveira
Lawrence Bayne
Rick Jones
Ron Rubin
Theme music composer Pure West
Opening theme "Donkey Kong Country"
Ending theme "Donkey Kong Country" (Instrumental)
Composer(s) Pure West
Country of origin Canada
France
Original language(s) English
French
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 40 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Dale A. Andrews
Patrick Loubert
Michael Hirsh
Clive Smith
Gérard Mital (Season 1 only)
Jacques Peyrache (Season 1 only)
Producer(s) Maia Tubiana (Season 1)
Stephen Hodgins (Season 1; supervising producer, Season 2)
Patricia R. Burns (Season 1; supervising producer, Season 2)
Pam Lehn (Season 2)
Editor(s) Samuel Lajus
Running time 30 minutes (per episode)
Production company(s) Nelvana Limited
Medialab (season 1)
WIC Entertainment
France 2
Canal +
TV Asahi (season 1)
Ellipsanime (season 2)
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (season 2)
Medianet (season 2)
Distributor Alliance Communications
Release
Original network Teletoon (Canada)
France 2 (France)
USA: Fox Kids (two episodes only)
Fox Family
Original release France: September 4, 1996
United States: August 15, 1997 – July 7, 2000

Donkey Kong Country is a French/Canadian computer-animated television series. It is based on the Nintendo franchise Donkey Kong as portrayed in the Donkey Kong Country video game series by Nintendo and Rare. Donkey Kong Country first aired in France on September 4, 1996; it premiered late in the United States on the Fox Kids block on Fox on August 15, 1997, which aired only the first two episodes. The series was later broadcast on Fox Family. In Japan, Donkey Kong Country took over the TV Tokyo 6:30 P.M. timeslot from Gokudo and was later replaced with Hamtaro.

Donkey Kong Country was one of the earliest television series to be entirely computer-animated with motion capture, matching the artistic style of the video games. However, many fans of the games did not enjoy the cartoon, due to its large amount of differences from the games; in spite of the negative criticism, it had quite a line of merchandise in Japan. Several elements of the series, such as the crystal coconut, appeared in later Donkey Kong Country video games like Donkey Kong 64, which was released a year after the show began airing on Fox.

Characters

Main from the games

These characters all came from Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (mostly the former). However, some of them went through some design changes.

Exclusives to the show

These characters appeared only in the show and have not appeared in any games to date.

Plot

Donkey Kong is an ape who happens to find a magic coconut called the Crystal Coconut, which grants wishes and is capable of answering questions asked of it. Donkey Kong is the protector of the Crystal Coconut, which is housed in Cranky Kong's Cabin. King K. Rool and his minions want to steal the Crystal Coconut from Donkey Kong and company in order to rule Kongo Bongo Island, the setting of the show. Try as they may, King K. Rool and his minions never succeed in stealing the Crystal Coconut. Each episode features two songs performed by the show's characters, and the series spanned a total of 40 episodes in two seasons.

Voice cast

Character Role France French Original Quebec Quebec French Re-Dub Canada English Dubbing
Donkey Kong Nicolas Bienvenu ???? Richard Yearwood
Diddy Kong Véronique Alicia ???? Andrew Sabiston
Dixie Kong Marie Montoya Annie Barclay Louise Vallance [1]
Funky Kong Philippe Sax ???? Damon D'Oliveira
Cranky Kong ???? Yves Massicotte Aaron Tager
Candy Kong Véronique Alicia Camille Cyr-Desmarais Joy Tanner
Bluster Kong ???? Daniel Lesourd Donald Burda
King K. Rool Michel Tugot-Doris Éric Gaudry Benedict Campbell
General Klump Yves Barsacq Jean Brousseau Len Carlson
Krusha Philippe Sax ???? Len Carlson
Eddie the Mean Old Yeti ???? ???? Damon D'Oliveira
Inka Dinka Doo ???? ???? Lawrence Bayne
Kaptain Skurvy ???? ???? Len Carlson
Kutlass ???? ???? John Stocker
Green Kroc ???? ???? Dan Hennessy
Kritters ???? ???? Lawrence Bayne
Polly Roger ???? Luba Goy Rick Jones
Junior the Giant Klaptrap ???? ???? Rick Jones
Baby Kong ???? ???? Joy Tanner
Kong Fu ???? ???? Len Carlson

Episode list

# Season Episode Title Original airdate (France 2) Original airdate (Teletoon)[2] Description Notes Region 1 DVD Release
1 1 1 Bad Hair Day He Came, He Saw, He Kong-quered / The Complete First Season
2 1 2 Ape Foo Young Tired of being picked on by the Kremlings, Cranky makes a rejuvenation potion that makes him 40 years younger, and heads to fight them. But he ends up getting jailed by King K. Rool. Meanwhile, while preparing for a date with Candy, Donkey Kong drinks the potion and reverts into a baby, forcing Diddy to protect him. He Came, He Saw, He Kong-quered / The Complete First Season
3 1 3 Booty and the Beast He Came, He Saw, He Kong-quered / The Complete First Season
4 1 4 Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel Wanting to impress Candy, Bluster swipes the Crystal Coconut from Cranky while he's asleep. But when Donkey Kong and Diddy try to get back from him, a few mishaps lead to the Coconut being sealed in a barrel labeled "007", sending them on a wild goose chase against Bluster, the Kremlings and Eddie the Mean Old Yeti across the island to get it back. He Came, He Saw, He Kong-quered / The Complete First Season
5 1 5 Kong for a Day Raiders of the Lost Banana / The Complete First Season
6 1 6 Raiders of the Lost Banana Raiders of the Lost Banana / The Complete First Season
7 1 7 From Zero to Hero Raiders of the Lost Banana / The Complete First Season
8 1 8 Buried Treasure Donkey Kong, Diddy and Funky stumble upon a treasure map leading to a treasure in the mines, and head off to find it. Bluster follows them in hopes of using the riches to buy the island, and Candy and Dixie tag along wanting to buy his factory. And when they hear about it, King K. Rool and Krusha search for it, believing that the treasure contains a doomsday device. Raiders of the Lost Banana / The Complete First Season
9 1 9 Cranky's Tickle Tonic Kong Fu / The Complete First Season
10 1 10 Get a Life, Don't Save One Kong Fu / The Complete First Season
11 1 11 Orangutango Kong Fu / The Complete First Season
12 1 12 Double Date Trouble Donkey Kong tries to appease both his best friend, Diddy, and his girlfriend, Candy, who demand his exclusive attention. But Cranky wants him to head for Bluster's factory to get two new Trigger Barrels for his hut, and when Donkey Kong tries to tell Candy and Diddy about it, they don't give him time to speak. So he tries to switch around between making the Trigger Barrels for Cranky, watching movies with Diddy, and having lunch with Candy. But he winds up getting trapped in a barrel while his three friends are forced to defend the Crystal Coconut from King K. Rool and his troops. The Complete First Season
13 1 13 The Curse of Kongo Bongo Bluebeard Baboon, a ruthless pirate ghost, sends letters containing "The Curse of the Double Dabloon" as he does every 100 years since his ship sank 1,000 years ago, which if read by two individuals, will cause the island to sink, and Donkey Kong ends up being the first one to read it, causing the Crystal Coconut to lose most of its power. Now he and Diddy have to get the letters from everyone else before the island sinks. Meanwhile, King K. Rool and Polly Roger steal Cranky's book of spells, causing magical chaos for Klump and Krusha. The Complete First Season
14 1 14 Speed The normally dim-witted Krusha suffers a blow to the head and gains a boost in intelligence, becoming a better villain than K. Rool. With this newfound intelligence, he lures Diddy and Dixie onto a minecart rigged with a bomb, which will explode if the cart stops. The Legend of the Crystal Coconut / The Complete First Season
15 1 15 Klump's Lumps General Klump is fired from K. Rool's ranks. He is then befriended by Dixie Kong and tries to fit in with the good guys, with predictable results. The Legend of the Crystal Coconut / The Complete First Season
16 1 16 Bluster's Sale Ape-Stravaganza When Bluster starts making commercials for his barrel factory, Candy arranges for Cranky to star in one of them. But Donkey Kong accidentally knocks him out cold with a sleep tonic, and when he and Diddy try to hide the sleeping Cranky from Candy, they accidentally launch him off with one of his Trigger Barrels, forcing them to chase him across the island. Meanwhile, Dixie is tasked with guarding the Crystal Coconut when King K. Rool tries to steal it on live TV. The Legend of the Crystal Coconut / The Complete First Season
17 1 17 Legend of the Crystal Coconut Donkey Kong seeks to understand the mysteries of the Crystal Coconut and why it chose him to rule, but must also protect it from the claws of Kaptain Skurvy. The Legend of the Crystal Coconut / The Complete First Season
18 1 18 Kong Fu K. Rool enlists the help of an ape-jutsu master to best Donkey Kong in a contest of strength and skill for the Crystal Coconut. Kong Fu / The Complete First Season
19 1 19 I Spy with My Hairy Eye While guarding the Crystal Coconut with Donkey Kong, Diddy wishes that he was invisible, and the Coconut grants his wish. He is able to pull all kinds of mischief, much to Donkey Kong's annoyance, but soon, Diddy's chances of becoming visible again are put at risk when Candy Kong's robot double steals the Crystal Coconut for King K. Rool. The Complete First Season
20 1 20 Bug a Boogie The Complete First Season
21 1 21 Watch the Skies The Complete First Season
22 1 22 Baby Kong Blues The Complete First Season
23 1 23 Ape-Nesia An accident in his treehouse home causes Donkey Kong to develop amnesia. Kaptain Skurvy takes advantage of this situation by telling him that he's "Donkey Croc", a pirate who works for him, then King K. Rool tells him that he's his servant "Donkey Rool". The Complete First Season
24 1 24 The Big Chill Out As Kongo Bongo Island is hit by a massive heat wave, Donkey Kong comes up with an idea to impress Candy. He and Diddy make and sell "Coconut Chill" shakes for two bananas, and Bluster, wanting to get rich from the idea, convinces the two to share 50% of the business. Meanwhile, after taking a bunch of Coconut Chills from his Kritters, King K. Rool plans to steal a bunch of them to avoid a mutiny. The Complete First Season
25 1 25 To the Moon Baboon The Complete First Season
26 1 26 A Thin Line Between Love & Ape Crazed to get Candy's affection, Bluster asks the Crystal Coconut for advice, and obtains the recipe for a love potion. But King K. Rool steals the potion and ends up getting Candy's love himself. The Complete First Season
27 2 1 Hooray for Holly-Kongo Bongo April 5, 2000 After hearing that Hollywood directors make tons of money, Bluster decides to direct his own film. Donkey Kong tries his best, but he ends up getting the role of the film's bad guy, while King K. Rool gets the lead role.
28 2 2 The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights April 9, 2000
29 2 3 Speak No Evil, Dude April 16, 2000 When a disease nicknamed "Kongo Bongo Gone Wrongo", which causes sudden coldness in the body, a stuffy nose, and lyrangitis, starts spreading around the island, Cranky creates a vaccine using the nectar of a special banana called the Purple Bananatu. While everyone else gets their vaccine shot, Diddy, afraid of the needle, tricks Cranky into injecting the vaccine into two coconuts instead of him. On the way out, Diddy gets bitten by Polly Roger, who carries the disease, and ends up getting infected by it, and ends up spreading it to Krusha and King K. Rool. When he finds out Diddy's been infected, Donkey Kong has to find another Purple Bananatu to cure him.
30 2 4 The Day the Island Stood Still April 23, 2000 Feeling tired while guarding the Crystal Coconut, Donkey Kong wishes that he could sleep forever, and the Coconut grants his wish, putting him in a deep sleep and causing all inanimate objects on the island to freeze in time. While Diddy, Cranky and Candy try to wake DK up, King K. Rool sees this as the perfect opportunity to steal the Crystal Coconut.
31 2 5 Monkey Seer, Monkey Do April 30, 2000 Funky displays a talent for predicting the future with a mystic lava lamp, and everyone tries to get their hands on it and change their fate.
32 2 6 Four Weddings and a Coconut May 7, 2000 Candy strong-arms Donkey Kong into a marriage agreement, and he has trouble deciding if he should make it to the altar or not. Meanwhile, K. Rool plans revenge for not being invited to the wedding.
33 2 7 Follow That Coconut May 14, 2000
34 2 8 Vote of Kong-Fidence May 21, 2000
35 2 9 The Big Switch-A-Roo May 28, 2000 While guarding the Crystal Coconut for Cranky, Donkey Kong plays around with a special mind-switch helmet, and accidentally switches bodies with a robot that Cranky built for Bluster. Things get crazier when the Kremlings steal the helmet and Klump switches bodies with Candy Kong.
36 2 10 Hunka Hunka Burnin' Bluster June 4, 2000 Using a potent hair tonic mixture accidentally turns Bluster Kong into the swinging ladies' man Leo Luster, who can win any girls' heart with a glance and hypnotize any foe into fulfilling any order, making Donkey Kong immensely aggravated.
37 2 11 Best of Enemies June 11, 2000
38 2 12 It's a Wonderful Life June 18, 2000 After trying to run away, Donkey Kong dreams himself into an alternate world where he never existed, and as a result of that, Diddy is an evil tyrant with Cranky and Funky as his minions, Bluster has easily won Candy's heart, and King K. Rool is destined to rule the island with a paper-mache lilypad.
39 2 13 Just Kidding June 25, 2000 On All Fools Day, a holiday extremely similar to April Fools Day, Cranky pulls lots of pranks on Donkey Kong, Diddy and Candy, and the three of them try to get him back by having DK wear a King K. Rool suit and pretend to give the Crystal Coconut to K. Rool. But a series of misunderstandings lead to Diddy and Candy mistaking the real King K. Rool for the suited DK, which allows him to pull the ultimate prank of all four of them.
40 2 14 Message in a Bottle Show Unaired A clip show centered around Donkey Kong's imminent departure from the island and the farewell party in his honor.

Home video releases

Over thirty Donkey Kong Country DVDs have been released with only five being in English. Over thirteen VHS tapes of the cartoon were released in Japan.

Four episodes of Donkey Kong Country were released in North America on a single VHS cassette titled Donkey Kong Country: The Legend of the Crystal Coconut and was marketed as a feature-length anthology film. However, these episodes are not in chronological order, as a flashback shown in the third episode actually occurs in the fourth episode of the tape. The North American version of the tape was distributed by: Paramount Pictures, Nintendo, and Nelvana.

In the PAL regions, Donkey Kong Country Vol.1 (released in Australia) and Donkey Kong Country - Bad Hair Day (released in the United Kingdom) were released on DVD. The other two DVDs, Donkey Kong Country: Hooray for Holly Kongo Bongo and Donkey Kong Country: The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights (both released in Australia) only held one episode. After over three years of no new English DVD, I Spy With My Hairy Eye was released in the UK in 2008.

Phase 4 Films, a small Canadian low-budget film company, officially purchased the rights to the series in Region 1, and began releasing episodes starting off with the He Came, He Saw, He Kong-quered DVD that was released on August 20, 2013.

The episodes of the show are all available on iTunes.

NameRelease DateEpisodesRegionAdditional Information
The Legend of the Crystal CoconutNovember 9, 19994VHSIncludes Legend of the Crystal Coconut, Bug a Boogie, Ape-nesia, and Booty and the Beast edited together in a feature-length format.
Vol. 1TBA44Includes Hooray For Holly-Kongo Bongo, The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights, Speak No Evil, Dude and The Day The Island Stood Still.
Bad Hair DayJune 6, 200542Includes Bad Hair Day, Ape Foo Young, Booty and the Beast and Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel.
The Kongo Bongo Festival of LightsTBA24Includes The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights and Hooray for Holly-Kongo Bongo.
Speak No Evil, DudeTBA24Includes Speak No Evil, Dude and The Day the Island Stood Still.
Monkey Seer, Monkey DoTBA24Includes Monkey Seer, Monkey Do and Four Weddings and a Coconut.
I Spy with My Hairy EyeJune 9, 200832Includes TBA episodes.
Raiders of the Lost BananaAugust 3, 200952Includes Raiders of the Lost Banana, Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel, Kong for a Day, From Zero to Hero and Buried Treasure.
He Came, He Saw, He Kong-queredAugust 20, 201341Includes Bad Hair Day, Ape Foo Young, Booty and the Beast and Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel.
Raiders of the Lost BananaOctober 1, 201341Includes Raiders of the Lost Banana, Kong for a Day, From Zero to Hero and Buried Treasure.
Kong FuJanuary 21, 201441Includes Kong Fu, Get a Life, Don't Save One, Cranky's Tickle Tonic and Orangutango.
The Legend of the Crystal CoconutMarch 11, 201441Includes Legend of the Crystal Coconut, Bluster's Sale Ape-Stravaganza, Klump's Lumps and Speed.
The Complete First SeasonMay 12, 2015261Includes all 26 episodes from season 1.

Merchandise

The show had a large line of merchandise in Japan including a collectible card game featuring drawings of characters, some of which never appeared in the series. The card game was later adapted to be based on Donkey Kong 64.

Channel details

Country Channel
France France France 2, Fox Kids, Game One and Gulli
Netherlands Netherlands RTL 4
Belgium Belgium Club RTL (French) and VT4 (Dutch)
Canada Canada Teletoon/Télétoon
United States United States Fox Kids and Fox Family
United Kingdom United Kingdom Fox Kids
Australia Australia Network Ten, Fox Kids, FOX8, KidsCo
Japan Japan TV Tokyo
South Korea South Korea MBC
Finland Finland MTV3 and Canal+
Denmark Denmark Canal+
Sweden Sweden Canal+
Norway Norway Canal+
Italy Italy Fox Kids Italy and Italia 1
Germany Germany Super RTL and Das Vierte as Donkey Kongs Abenteuer
Spain Spain Fox Kids Spain and Canal Sur
Brazil Brazil Fox Kids Brazil and Rede Record
Portugal Portugal SIC and KidsCo
Malaysia Malaysia Disney Channel Asia
Singapore Singapore TCS Channel 5 (1997-2000), Kids Central (2000-01) and KidsCo (reruns)
Mexico Mexico ZAZ and Disney XD (Latin America)
Iceland Iceland Stöð 2
Greece Greece KidsCo and Alter Channel
India India Disney Channel India
Chile Chile MEGA
Poland Poland RTL 7

References

External links

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