Funky Kong
- “You wanna fly again? Well, fasten your seat belts... Wait, I don't have those!”
- —Funky Kong, DK Jungle Climber
Funky Kong is a Kong inhabitant of Donkey Kong Island and member of the Kong Family; one of the hero Donkey Kong's best friends and allies, Funky Kong first appears in the game Donkey Kong Country and has made various subsequent appearances since, often selling or offering some service to his friends, but he occasionally appears as a playable character in spin-off games.
Appearances
Donkey Kong Country
Funky Kong first appears in Donkey Kong Country as the proprietor of Funky's Flights, an airplane service. Found in every area of Donkey Kong Island, Funky would allow both Donkey and Diddy Kong to utilize his Jumbo Barrel to travel to areas of the island they have previously cleared of King K. Rool's operatives.
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Funky Kong returns in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, where his role is relatively the same as his debut appearance. Found in Funky's Flights II, which is located in every area of Crocodile Isle except the Lost World, Funky will allow Diddy and Dixie Kong to use his Funky Barrel to fly to areas of Crocodile Isle that they have previously visited; although, unlike in Donkey Kong Country, the Kongs will need to pay a certain number of Banana Coins to use the Funky Barrel, with only the first trip on it being free.
Funky Kong's role is expanded upon in the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Here, Funky, instead of owning the Funky Barrel, has a Gyrocopter, which he will allow Diddy and Dixie to borrow for their adventure if they succeed in beating a mini-game with it. Additionally, at the various Funky's Flights II on Crocodile Isle, Funky will give Diddy and Dixie DK Coins if they beat his mini-games. Funky also appears at the ending of the game, planting a bomb on Kaptain K. Rool’s Flying Krock and rescuing Diddy, Dixie, Donkey and Cranky Kong from it before his bomb detonates.
Donkey Kong Land 2
In Donkey Kong Land 2 for the Game Boy, Funky Kong’s role is exactly the same as in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, with him allowing Diddy and Dixie to use his Funky Barrel to travel to areas they've previously been to, for a price.
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Funky Kong runs Funky's Rentals in the Northern Kremisphere, near Bazaar's General Store; at the beginning of the game, Dixie Kong must visit Funky in order to pick-up her cousin and partner throughout the game, Kiddy Kong, as well as the Motor Boat. As Dixie and Kiddy progress through the game, they can gain various items and give them to Funky, who will use them to create new, more powerful vehicles for them to use and reach new locations.
Throughout Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, references to Funky working on a "secret project" are made by the Brothers Bear; if Dixie and Kiddy confront Funky about this, he will acknowledge that he is working on something, also saying that for a down payment of every DK Coin in the game, he will let the Kongs see what it is and let them use it. If the Kongs do bring Funky all the DK Coins obtainable, he will give them his Gyrocopter, which they can use to locate the Banana Bird Queen and her last three children.
In the Game Boy Advance port of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Funky Kong's role is essentially the same as in the original, with the only difference being that he will allow Dixie and Kiddy to play various mini-games in his shop; if the Kongs beat all these mini-games, Funky will reward them with a Banana Bird.
Donkey Kong 64
In Donkey Kong 64, Funky runs Funky's Armory, which, as it's name implies, is a weapons shop which the Kongs can buy weapons and accessories for them, from. Funky Kong will also give away free ammunition if the Kongs visit him and he has nothing available for sale. In this game, Funky is located in every world, except Hideout Helm.
During the ending cut scene of Donkey Kong 64, it is Funky who delivers the final blow to King Krusha K. Rool; as the Kremling King is distracted by Candy Kong, Funky, equipped with a rocket launcher, fires a boot at him, which knocks King Krusha K. Rool through the ceiling of his arena and on to K. Lumsy Island.
DK: King of Swing
Funky Kong’s role in DK: King of Swing is largely minimal, with him appearing only in the opening cut scene, after King K. Rool steals all the Jungle Jam Medals. Though he does make his first playable appearance in the game’s Jungle Jam mode, where his partner is Dixie Kong.
DK Jungle Climber
In DK: Jungle Climber, Funky, along with the bulk of the Kong Family, go on vacation to Sun Sun Island; when Donkey, Diddy, Cranky meet the banana alien Xananab and decide to help in his quest to reclaim his Crystal Bananas, which were stolen by the Kremling Gang, Funky will reopen Funky's Flights. If the Kongs and Xananab collect a certain amount of Oil Barrels, they can give them to Funky to power his Barrel Plane, which can fly them to a smaller version of the island they’re on. Funky Kong is also playable in the game’s VS. Mode.
Other Appearances
Funky Kong appears as a playable character in the Japan-exclusive game Donkey Konga 3; he also appears as an unlockable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, where he is one the most physically powerful characters in the game, but so-so in other stats; his main rival in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is the Kremling Kludge.
Other Information
Physical Appearance
Funky Kong has the same general build as fellow Kongs such as Donkey and Kiddy Kong, being both large and fairly muscular; Funky's fur is brown in color, though the shade of it varies in his appearances and artwork, being either light or dark. In all of his appearances, Funky wears a pair of sunglasses which conceal what his true eyes look like; Funky's sunglasses were originally black in color in Donkey Kong Country, but virtually all subsequent appearances depict as being purple tinted.
In Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2, Funky Kong's attire is essentially the same, with him wearing a red, white polka-dotted bandanna, a medal around his neck ("bling") and sandals.
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! radically alters Funky's appearance, having him discard his medals and replace them with tools slung from a tool belt; Funky also wears a white muscle shirt, blue shorts and black boots in this game. Donkey Kong 64 has Funky changing clothes again, with him wearing blue and black commando gear in this game. More recently, Funky's appearance has remained consistent, being virtually identical to his attire from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, with his tool belt being replaced by a regular one.
Personality
Unlike most of his relatives, Funky Kong actually loathes adventuring, preferring to aid his friends through other means, such as through his shops and flight services. Some of Funky's hobbies include such things as surfing and tinkering with and building such machinery as vehicles and weapons.
Appearances in Other Media
Television
In the Donkey Kong Country television series, Funky Kong appears as a major character, with his character being relatively the same as in the games - the adventure loathing owner of Funky's Flights and one of Donkey Kong's best friends. As well as enjoying surfing and dancing, Funky is portrayed as exceptionally spiritual in the show, known to talk about subjects such as karma quite often. On the show, Funky is portrayed as having golden colored fur instead of brown, wore more goggle-like glasses and spoke with a Jamaican accent, provided by voice actor Damon D’Oliveira.
Literature
In the novel Donkey Kong: Rumble in the Jungle, Funky Kong takes Diddy Kong for a flight. While above the jungle, Diddy points out that the deserted Big Ape City is strangly active again. After dropping Diddy Kong off, Funky investigates, but is captured by the Kremlings. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong go into the city to save him.
In the German edition Club Nintendo, Funky Kong appears in a somewhat minor role in the comic "Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24", where he appears as the narrator of a portion of the comic, and also appears at the celebration the Kong Family has at it's end. In Club Nintendo's comic book length adaptation of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Funky makes a brief appearance in the scene where Cranky explains Banana Coins and Kremkoins to Diddy and Dixie.
In the Donkey Kong comic "Bumm-Badabumm im Urwald", Funky (being called "Funky-Kong", with a hyphen in his name) despite not actually appearing in the story, does play a crucial role in it. In the comic, Funky is the one who alerts Donkey, Diddy and Dixie Kong, through drumming, that the Kremling Krew has plundered all the bananas on Donkey Kong Island.
Other
A large amount of merchandise of Funky Kong, most of it based off his appearance in Donkey Kong Country or the television series, has been released; this includes objects such as statuettes, plush dolls, mini figures and keychains.
Gallery
- FunkyDKC.jpg
Donkey Kong Country - FunkyDKC3.jpg
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! - FunkyDK64.jpg
Donkey Kong 64 - Funkya.jpg
DK: King of Swing - 004.jpg
Donkey Konga 3
