Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24
Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24 is the name of a 6-page comic published in the 6/1996 issue of the German Club Nintendo magazine. Besides "Donkey Kong Country", it is the only Club Nintendo comic to be based on the Donkey Kong series.
Plot Synopsis
The Kongs are sleeping on palms in the jungle, when the sun rises and Squawks the Parrot gets them up with his "automatic parrot wake-up service" (using a microphone and speakers). He starts to tell a joke, but the Kongs already leave their palms. Dixie and Donkey Kong claim that it's an ordinary day, but Diddy and Cranky explain that it's December 24th, Christmas Day. Dixie gets excited and suggests to prepare a Christmas party, but suddenly she starts to shiver. Cranky too discovers that snow is falling from the sky, a phenomenon the Kongs haven't had experienced yet. They hurry to turn on the TV in order to watch the news, and indeed the newscaster on the channel GTV explains that the temperature has dropped dramatically all over the world. He also reports that the President of the United States has invited for a summit to search for a solution to this problem. As even Donkey Kong starts to shiver, and expecting that the politicians are to be blamed for the sudden drop in temperature, the Kongs decide to travel to the United States in order to talk to the President. Riding their Animal Buddies, Donkey, Diddy, Dixie, Cranky and Kiddy Kong set off to the nearest airport. From there, they take the Jumbo Barrel to travel to Washington. The Kongs are not comfortable in the cramped Barrel, and it is mentioned that Funky Kong insisted on staying at home, and that the Kongs now understand why.
Meanwhile, in Washington, the White House is covered with snow, and inside, the President of the US and the Chancellor of Germany, Helmut Kohl are sitting in front of the fireplace but are still cold. Kohl explains his fear of getting in trouble with his wife Hannelore, since she is planning a vacation to the Caribbean and does not want to put on ski clothes. The President, however, knowing the true reason behind the sudden wintriness, fears that the people would call them crazy if they were informed of the truth. In this moment, the Kongs enter the room, and Donkey starts to talk to the politicians furiously. First, they hem and haw, but then decide to inform the Kongs about the phenomenon: A giant spaceship has the Earth in tow, pulling it away from the sun more and more, with the result that it's getting colder and colder on Earth. When hearing about this, Donkey is speechless, but Cranky chimes in, suggesting to carry on negotiations with the aliens and asking the politicians to provide them with a spaceship. The President is willing to give them one of their space shuttles from Cape Canaveral, and so they leave.
The space shuttle launches, and Donkey is enjoying the journey, since they have been provided with large amounts of bananas. Diddy and Dixie, however, do not feel comfortable and envy Funky who stayed at home. Cranky, who is navigating the space shuttle, spots a UFO, and when coming closer they notice that it is huge. It turns out to be the space shuttle that has the Earth in tow, using laser beams to intake the planet. Once again, Dixie demurs, but Donkey does not hesitate to talk to the aliens. With the help of Cranky, the three Kongs are beamed into the aliens' space shuttle. It turns out that the aliens look a lot like the Kongs, but are huge compared to them and have green and blue skin. They welcome the Kongs kindly, and after overcoming his first shock, Donkey starts to reproach the aliens. Diddy assumes that their plan is to make the earthlings their slaves, but it turns out that their real intention is of a much more trivial nature. The aliens admit that they have mistaken the Earth for a huge coconut, and that their people adores this type of fruit, so they were happy to find this "beauty". The Kongs can't believe how one can take a planet for a coconut, but soon Diddy finds a solution to satisfy both parties: The Kongs leave bananas to the aliens, claiming that they are much tastier than coconuts (and indeed the aliens are enthusiastic about the fruit), and in return the extraterrestrials consent to return the Earth to its original place. They set off to show the bananas to their friends, and the Kongs head back for Earth.
When arriving on their home planet, the Kongs are hailed by the people, and the President and Kohl use this chance to showcase themselves with the saviors of mankind. Diddy gets kissed by a girl, and Cranky does the same with another girl who is visibly disgusted. Back in their jungle, the Kongs finally throw their Christmas party, and Santa Claus is coming, relieved to see the Earth again. Diddy and Dixie are enjoying the starry sky, while Cranky and his wife Wrinkly are quarrelling due to Cranky's attempt at kissing the girl after their arrival.
Trivia
- In Germany, where the comic was published, Christmas Day is celebrated on December 24th, explaining why the Kongs too celebrate it on this day.
- When traveling to the airport, Donkey Kong is riding Rambi the Rhinoceros, Diddy and Dixie are both riding Expresso the Ostrich, and Kiddy and Cranky are riding Winky the Frog.
- While the Kongs are traveling with the Jumbo Barrel, a section of a world map can be seen. The arrows on the map, representing their route, imply that during the events of this comic the Kongs live in continental Africa rather than Donkey Kong Island.
- At the end of the comic, the narrator mentions that the Kongs' party is reminiscent of the closing scenes from the "funny comics from the faraway Gaul".
