Donkey Kong/Characters

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The titular character of Donkey Kong has amassed a respectable cast family, Rogues Gallery, and other supporting characters.

See also Mario's and Wario's casts, who both share a loosely defined universe with DK and company.


The Kongs

Tropes associated with the entire Kong family:

Donkey Kong

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 "Banana-slamma!"

Debut: Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong ("DK" for short) was Mario's original nemesis in the game that bore his name. He's a big hulking ape with a penchant for tossing barrels and eating bananas. He's since been pushed out of Mario's #1 spot by Bowser (and gotten his own video game series), but has since challenged the plucky plumber four times in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games. According to Donkey Kong Country, the original Arcade Donkey Kong was actually his father, now named "Cranky Kong", and while this is currently disputed, more recent games, Mario Super Sluggers in particular, seems to support this.

Tropes associated with Donkey Kong:

Donkey Kong Jr.

Have you seen this primate?

 "Monkey muscle!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Jr.

Junior is a mystery. He first appeared when Mario flew off the handle and locked up his father, the original Donkey Kong, rescuing DK and apparently setting Mario back on the straight-and-narrow. He popped up a handful of times after that, most notably in a kart race and tennis tournament, and then just fell off the map. If the story that Cranky Kong was the original DK is true, then Donkey Kong Jr. could be the modern DK's father--or even DK himself (except that they both appear in Mario Tennis...[1]).

Tropes associated with Donkey Kong Jr.:

Diddy Kong

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 "Pay no attention to the monkey behind the monkey!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong's little buddy, sidekick and wannabe nephew, Diddy is a teenage monkey in a red baseball cap and tank top. Diddy is more carefree than DK and loves to play rock music and eat peanuts. He spends most of his time hanging out or having adventures with DK or his girlfriend, Dixie Kong. Diddy was introduced in Donkey Kong Country, but was integrated into Mario's extended cast in the Mario Sports games.

Tropes associated with Diddy Kong:

Dixie Kong

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 Debut: Donkey Kong Country 2

Diddy Kong's girlfriend, Dixie, is a hero in her own right. She helped Diddy rescue Donkey when the big ape was kidnapped by the Kremlings, then rescued Diddy himself when he befell the same fate. Dixie has long blonde hair that she wears in a huge ponytail, which she can use to spin helicopter-like over long distances and, inexplicably, pick up large objects. She can act childish at times, but makes up for it with her courage. Tiny Kong is Dixie's (bigger) little sister.

Tropes associated with Dixie Kong:

  • Action Girl: Nintendo's first after Samus. She is never once a Damsel in Distress.
  • Babysitter From Hell: A hilarious and completely non-malevolent example. Her babysitting instincts are abysmal to the point of criminality, but it's alright because Kiddy Kong has been blessed by genetics with badassery right out of the cradle.
  • Badass Adorable
  • Bash Brothers: With Kiddy. They can send each other flying around all over a room, and sometimes have to in order to get by obstacles.
  • Breakout Character: She displaced Diddy as the main character in the third game.
  • Brains and Brawn: Brains to Kiddy Kong's brawn.
  • Distaff Counterpart: To Diddy.
  • Dream Team/Took a Level In Badass: From a gameplay perspective in DKC 3, Dixie got a lot of Diddy's speed while still retaining her own highly useful 'copter abilities. When paired with Kiddy, himself a slightly faster version of Donkey Kong, you have an optimal adventuring team of strength, speed, and precision, as well as a host of Combination Attacks.
  • Fragile Speedster
  • Green Eyes
  • Hair of Gold
  • The Hero: In the DKC 3. While she and Kiddy are equal contributors to their adventure, Kiddy has no stake in anything and little opinion on the matter. It's Dixie who moves the plot.
  • Helicopter Hair
  • The Kindnapper: In DKC 3, to Kiddy, technically. No one seems to mind, though.
  • Odd Couple: With Kiddy. With his being a baby and her being a babysitter, they nevertheless act as equal partners and Bash Brothers in adventuring.
  • Official Couple: Her and Diddy.
  • Pink Means Feminine
  • Prehensile Hair: Her ponytail is capable of picking up various objects, like barrels and cannonballs.
  • Product Placement: She used to have a pin of the Rare logo in her beret. For obvious reasons, she doesn't wear it anymore.
  • Refuge in Audacity: If presented with her baby cousin, right out of the cradle, what would Dixie Kong do? If you answered "abduct him onto her continent spanning journey, utilizing him as a meat shield, projectile, and pack mule against killer animals in dangerous and extreme climates in environments littered with health hazards" then you'd be correct.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kiddy. The character change animations make it very clear (Kiddy'll grab her by the scruff and set her aside, while Dixie would pop a bubblegum bubble against his back, startling him).

Kiddy Kong / Dinky Kong

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 Debut: Donkey Kong Country 3

Kiddy Kong is Chunky Kong's baby brother and Dixie and Tiny's cousin. Although he's only a toddler, he's absolutely massive, roughly the same size as Donkey Kong himself. Kiddy accompanied Dixie when Donkey and Diddy were kidnapped in the Northern Kremisphere. He cries and throws tantrums at times, but possesses the same natural courage as the rest of his family. His name in Japan is "Dinky Kong", continuing the Theme Naming of characters with the initials "DK".

Tropes associated with Kiddy Kong:

  • Badass Adorable
  • Bash Brothers: With Dixie. There will be many occasions where he and Dixie will have to throw each other at something to proceed.
  • Berserker Tears: After taking damage, he'll sit down, cry, and slam his fists into the ground.
  • Big Little Brother: Baby cousin, actually, but otherwise a dead ringer for Donkey Kong.
  • Brains and Brawn: Brawn to Dixie's brain, since, y'know, he can't talk yet. Or think very hard, for that matter.
  • Cheerful Child: Has absolutely no problem with Dixie shanghaiing him on their adventure. At least, right up until something so much as gently brushes up against him.
  • Crying Little Kid: Whenever he takes damage. Overlaps with Berserker Tears, since he seems to be throwing an epic fit.
  • Cute Bruiser: For a given value of "cute"...
    • He's a baby Gorilla.
  • Cute but Cacophonic: He's a crybaby, no doubt about it.
  • Dream Team: Gameplay-wise with Dixie in DKC 3. As a team, Kiddie and Dixie together make up for many of Donkey Kong's and Diddy's smaller weaknesses (mostly speed), and retain Dixie's high mobility.
  • Expy: Kiddy fills roughly the same niche as Donkey Kong in DKC 3.
  • Extreme Omnivore: He likes to chew on old tires.
  • Inelegant Blubbering: If he gets hurt, you get a shot of him crying his eyes out in either fear, painor anger.
  • In the Blood: Chunky Kong is also huge.
  • Kid Hero
  • Lightning Bruiser: He can skip across water while rolling and can somersault all over the place with Dixie's help.
  • The Load: Hilariously subverted. In DKC 3 Funky Kong palms him off on Dixie because he's tired of baby-sitting. While Kiddy Kong is barely even a toddler (he still prefers crawling to walking), it's also immediately apparent that he's also twice Dixie's size and as strong as Donkey Kong.
  • Odd Couple: A baby and his babysitter. They're nevertheless equal partners on their journey.
  • Refuge in Audacity: There's no real way to justify putting a baby in mortal danger. Repeatedly. His babysitter Dixie did it anyway.
    • Really his whole character. Rare needed to design a viable replacement for Donkey Kong. Their choice: A baby. That's built like a truck.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Dixie like to prank the hell out of each other.

Lanky Kong

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 Debut: Donkey Kong 64

"A twisted twig on a distant branch of the family tree", Lanky is an eccentric oddball orangutan who hangs out with the other Kongs. He marches (or handstand-walks...) to the beat of his own drum tune of his own trombone. Lanky's distinguishing characteristics are his goofy personality and ridiculously long arms. He joined up with Donkey and Diddy during one of King K. Rool's invasions of DK Isle.

Tiny Kong

Left: Donkey Kong 64 appearance. Right: appearance as of Diddy Kong Racing DS.

 Debut: Donkey Kong 64

Dixie Kong's little sister, Tiny Kong shares Dixie's speed, helicopter-like hair, and adventurous spirit. She's good friends with her cousin, Chunky Kong. After her first appearance, Tiny apparently hit puberty, as she is now much taller and more mature-looking than her big sister.

Chunky Kong

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 Debut: Donkey Kong 64

The biggest and strongest member of the Kong clan. Chunky is Dixie and Tiny's cousin and Kiddy's big (very big) brother. Chunky is big, strong, and tough, but has a very gentle personality and is very easily frightened. Like a true Kong, though, he always pulls through in the end.

Cranky Kong

GO HOME AND LET ME GET SOME SLEEP!

 "They can't keep this level of graphics up for much longer! We used to be lucky if we only got three shades of grey, let alone any real colors!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong's aptly named father (or grandfather; it isn't exactly clear). Cranky Kong spends his days sitting on his front porch, dispensing sarcastic advice to passersby, and bemoaning the loss of the good ol' days of 8-bit gaming. He was married to Wrinkly Kong before she gave up the ghost. According to Donkey Kong Country, Cranky was the original Donkey Kong who kidnapped Pauline and fought Mario.

Tropes associated with Cranky:

 Cranky: Back in my day, we used to have REAL gameplay...we didn't have any of this fancy 3D stuff!

Funky Kong

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 "When ya wanna be there like now, Funky's Flights is the way to go!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country

One of Donkey Kong's pals from DK Isle, Funky Kong hates leaving the safety of his garage, but gladly helps out Donkey from the sidelines. He's a first-class gearhead who's invented a wide variety of vehicles and artillery to aid his friends, and often shows up at the last minute to throw a monkey wrench (pun intended) into King K. Rool's plans. When not at work, Funky loves surfing, drumming, and kart racing.

Tropes associated with Funky:

Candy Kong

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 "How would you like a quick spin in my save barrel?"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong's girlfriend--along with Swanky, one of the only two Kongs never to be a playable character. Candy provides a variety of services around DK Isle, including running save points and minigames.

Tropes associated with Candy:

Wrinkly Kong

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 "Why, if it isn't Donkey -- or is it Funky? No -- Diddy!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country 2

Cranky Kong's wife and Donkey Kong's mother (grandmother?), Wrinkly used to run the Kong Kollege on Crocodile Isle, where she provided a haven and place of education for good Kremlings--as well as helpful tips for Diddy and Dixie on their quest to rescue Donkey. After the island sank, she retired to the Northern Kremisphere, where she spent her days enjoying her sunset years and caring for the local Banana Birds. Sadly, she died of old age not long after, but that didn't stop her from helping out the Kongs--she's now a ghost, and spends as much time with her family as ever.

Tropes associated with Wrinkly:

Swanky Kong

Would you buy a used car from this ape?

 "Give them a big hand folks!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country 2

A flashy show-ape with all kinds of expensive bling, a bad afro, and an unhealthy preoccupation with polyester, Swanky runs a variety of games and sideshows that give the other Kongs a chance to win some beaucoup cash and prizes. Like Candy--his occasional assistant--Swanky Kong has never been playable.

Tropes associated with Swanky:


Animal Buddies

Tropes associated with all Animal Buddies:

  • Assist Character / Powerup Mount: Most of the Animal Buddies are mounts that the Kongs ride on, with a handful of exceptions (most notably Squawks in the first DKC game) who simply help him navigate their levels.
  • Cool Pet
  • A Day in The Limelight: Collecting three tokens in each buddy's image will let you play a bonus game with them in the first DKC. In the two sequels, there are levels where you control a series of animal buddies all in one level (Toxic Tower, Animal Antics, and Pot Hole Panic, respectively), and in DKC2, Rambi, Squitter, Enguarde, Squawks and Rattly all get a level to themselves.

Ellie

Introduced in Donkey Kong Country 3, Ellie is an elephant with the ability to stomp on enemies, pick up and chuck barrels at enemies, and fill her trunk with water which she can then shoot at enemies.

Tropes associated with Ellie:

  • Eek a Mouse: Scared to death of Sneeks, a rat-like enemy. If she sees one, she'll panic and run away. In the level Stampede Sprint, nearly the entire level consists of dodging enemies while an out-of-control Ellie stampedes through the stage.
  • The Smurfette Principle: The only animal buddy whose gender is definitely established as female.

Enguarde

A cheerful-looking swordfish, Enguarde gives his rider improved speed and mobility underwater and the ability to spear enemies with his large bill.

Tropes associated with Enguarde:

Expresso

An ostrich with the abilities to jump far, run fast, and fly for a small period of time. Along with Winky, he is one of Cranky's favourite animal buddies. Also notable for being the only animal buddy apart from Rambi to appear in the first Donkey Kong Land game.

Tropes associated with Expresso:

  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
  • Nice Shoes
  • Replacement Goldfish: In the GBA port of DKC2, Cranky buys another ostrich and names him Expresso, after the one seen in the first game.
  • Spoony Bard: The reason for his absence after the first game. His fast-running isn't really that fast, his flying is pretty pathetic (it's more of a low-quality glide), and he gets hurt if you try to jump on enemies' heads. At times, he was more of a hindrance than a help.

Quawks

A purple parrot, appearing in DKC2 and DKC3. In the former, he could only fly downwards slowly like a "parrot-chute", but in the latter, he gained the abilities to fly in the same way as Squawks and to lift barrels. He made his grand return a decade later, in Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast, where his name was finally revealed.

Tropes associated with Quawks:

  • Ascended Extra: His new abilities in DKC3, along with getting two levels instead of just one.
  • Fan Nickname: Before Barrel Blast, he was believed by fans to be two parrots (Due to there being two of him onscreen at a time) named Squeaks and Flapper, after the two wrong answers players can give to Swanky Kong when asked Quawks' name.
    • It had more to do with the fact that "Quawks" in DKC2 was blue, but in DKC3 was purple, as seen in this sprite sheet -- and it has never been confirmed that the blue one is Quawks.
  • Palette Swap: Of Squawks (see below).

Rambi

A rhinoceros with attitude and a need for speed. The most iconic animal buddy, Rambi has appeared in almost all of the DKC games (with the noticeable exception of Donkey Kong Country 3). He grants his rider increased speed, near-invincibility to enemies (as long as they don't come from above or behind), the power to break through walls, and the ability to traverse some dangerous terrain.

Tropes associated with Rambi:

Rattly

A coiled-up, goofy looking green snake with the ability to jump high.

Tropes associated with Rattly:

Squawks

The most commonly recurring Animal Buddy, Squawks is a green parrot that lives with Cranky Kong. Unlike the other Animal Buddies, Squawks has had a different use in many of the games he's appeared in. In DKC, he carried a lantern to light up a dark cavern; in DKC2 and DKC3, he actually carried the Kongs and spat eggs at enemies; in DK64 he told the story, gave tutorials, found bananas for the Kongs, and carried a flashlight; and in DKCR, he helps the Kongs locate hidden items.

Tropes associated with Squawks:

Squitter

A giant, fuzzy spider with cool sneakers and the ability to fire webs, as either projectiles or platforms.

Tropes associated with Squitter:

Winky

A frog with the ability to jump high, appearing in the first game and the first game alone (although he makes a cameo in DKC2, in Cranky's shop). He also managed to somehow get a cameo in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts as a pre-made vehicle for Multiplayer. He and Expresso are Cranky's favourite animal buddies. (Coincidentally, Expresso got a cameo in a Banjo game as well.)

Tropes associated with Winky:

  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
  • Powerup Letdown/Spoony Bard: While being able to make high jumps was useful, Winky's hopping (as opposed to walking) movement made him very difficult to control. This problem was addressed with his replacement, Rattly. Also, the GBA port greatly fixed his movement.

Other Good Guys

Mario

"Mr. Video Game" himself, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom first earned his stripes rescuing his then-girlfriend Pauline from the rampaging Donkey Kong. Mario and DK have clashed several times since then, most notably when Mario flew off the handle in Donkey Kong Jr. and locked DK up, forcing his son to rescue him. Read more about Mario in his own character sheet.

Snide

 "This isn't a joke, Kong! I NEED those blueprints, and so do you!"

A weasel of questionable honor who appears in Donkey Kong 64. Snide was a former member of the Kremling Krew and their chief engineer, but K. Rool got paranoid and suspected Snide of working against him, so he kicked the weasel out. Snide created the Blast-O-Matic superweapon that the Kremlings intended to use to destroy DK Isle; as his revenge, he helped the Kongs by giving them back some of the Golden Bananas K. Rool stole from them, as well as by holding of the Blast-O-Matic's firing sequence so that the Kongs could disable it.

Stanley the Bugman

A human bug-exterminator. Stanley fought against Donkey Kong [2] in Donkey Kong 3, but the big ape had it coming--DK invaded a greenhouse and got the local bugs all riled up, so Stanley had to go in there and perform some pest control. Stanley originally appeared in the Game and Watch game Greenhouse before his brief trip to the NES, and had a handful more G&W appearances afterwards.

  • Cool Gun: A spray gun filled with insecticide.
  • Expy: Of Mario.

Timber the Tiger

An anthropomorphic preteen tiger who lives on a tropical island (presumably not far from DK Isle). When his parents went on vacation, Timber's island was invaded by the evil super-Jerkass sorcerer Wizpig, so he called on Diddy Kong and a bunch of other friends (including Banjo and Conker) to help rescue the island.

  • Standardized Leader: He was supposed to be the leader of the good guys.
  • What Could Have Been: Timber was supposed to have his own spinoff game, but it never materialized. (Some say that it later got redeveloped into a different game - Banjo-Kazooie is the most frequently suspected example.)

Tutorial Pig

An anthropomorphic pig introduced in Donkey Kong Country Returns, he assist Donkey and Diddy in their quest by dispensing advice, acting as a midway point, and by summoning Super Kong if they fail one too many times in a level.

Bad Guys

King K. Rool

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 "'Fatso', is it? I'd choose my last words more carefully if I were you."

Debut: Donkey Kong Country

An obscenely rich (and fat) crocodile who lords over the Kremlings, just as Bowser does for the Koopas. K. Rool is Donkey Kong's Arch Enemy in the Donkey Kong Country games, much as Bowser is to Mario. Prone to adopting new personas (Kaptain K. Rool, Baron K. Roolenstein, etc.) at the drop of a hat. Given how stupid and short-sighted he is, it's a wonder that he keeps coming back for more.

Tropes associated with K. Rool:

The Kremlings

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 Debut: Donkey Kong Country

The minions of King K. Rool, the Kremlings are a clan of nasty-tempered, dim-witted reptiles from Crocodile Isle. They have a seafaring culture with an emphasis on piracy. Despite their generally evil disposition, a few Kremlings have switched sides to help out the Kongs.

Tropes associated with the Kremlings:

KAOS

 Bzzzzt... Click... Kongs enemy. You must be... DESTROYED!!!

The apparent new leader of the Kremlings in Donkey Kong Country 3, and a killer robot intent on world conquest, it's found to be secretly under the control of K Rool in his latest guise and powered by the captured Donkey and Diddy Kong. Has multiple heads that appear when each is destroyed.

Tropes applying to KAOS:

Wizpig

An evil, racing-obsessed pig wizard from the planet Future Fun Land, he invades and conquers Timber's Island in Diddy Kong Racing, hypnotizing some of the inhabitants to act as his minions.

The Cactus King

A huge cross between a gorilla and a cactus, the evil Cactus King ruled the distant Fruit Kingdoms with an iron fist by controlling the minds of the four Kong kings and other powerful creatures. He was overthrown when Donkey Kong came to the kingdoms' aid.

Tiki Tak Tribe

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The villains of Donkey Kong Country Returns, replacing King K. Rool and the Kremling Krew. Led by the giant Tiki Tong and his instrument-shaped lieutenants, they hypnotize the animals of Donkey Kong Island into stealing DK's treasured Banana Hoard, which they use to bolster their forces (the bananas can bring inanimate Tiki masks to life... for some reason).


Canon Foreigners

Bluster Kong

 "I'm just one sneaky, peeping, two-bit step away from becoming an even richer richest ape on Kongo Bongo Island - and that's rich."

The boss of DK Island's barrel factory (owned by his mother), and Donkey Kong's rival for Candy's affections. Appeared in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon.

Tropes associated with Bluster:

Kaptain Skurvy

A pirate captain featured in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon. He believed that he was the rightful owner of the Crystal Coconut and would sometimes come to DK Island to take it, accompanied by his two mates, Green Kroc and Kutlass. Skurvy is actually Klump's twin brother, as revealed in the Christmas Festival of Lights Episode.

Tropes associated with Skurvy and his men:

  • Belated Backstory: Skurvy in "The Kongo-Bongo Festival of Lights".
  • Expy: Of Kannon from Donkey Kong Country 2, with a bit of Kaptain K. Rool.
  • Long Lost Sibling: Skurvy separated from Klump during their childhood when Klump accidentally burnt down their home in the swamp with fireworks and Skurvy took the blame for it.
  • Pirates

Eddie The Mean Old Yeti

A white-furred Kong living up in the snowcapped White Mountains of the Donkey Kong Country cartoon. Armed with a big club and the distinction of being even dumber than DK, Eddie is a wild force in Kongo-Bongo Island.

Tropes associated with Eddie:

Polly Roger

A sarcastic, talking parrot from the Donkey Kong Country cartoon. He sometimes helps K.Rool or Scurvy with their plots to take the Crystal Coconut, but seems content to sit on the sidelines and dispense snarky comments.

Tropes associated with Polly:

  • Heel Face Revolving Door: In Raiders of the Lost Banana, he claims he's turning good...only to turn back at the end of the episode.

 Polly: You want loyalty? Get a cockerspaniel!

  1. ↑ And so do Mario and Baby Mario. Don't look too deep into this. DK Jr. was in because, at the time, Nintendo wasn't sure they could use Diddy, as he was owned by Rare.
  2. ↑ Footnote:or maybe Cranky Kong, depending on how you interpret the timeline
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