Donkey Kong Jr.

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This article is about the character. For other uses of the name, see Donkey Kong Jr. (disambiguation). For Donkey Kong as a baby, see Baby DK.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Artwork of Donkey Kong Jr. from Mario Tennis
Artwork from Mario Tennis
Full name Donkey Kong Junior
Species Kong
First appearance Donkey Kong Jr. (1982)
Latest appearance WarioWare: Move It! (2023)
Portrayed by Frank Welker (Saturday Supercade)
“Monkey Muscle!”
Donkey Kong Jr., Saturday Supercade

Donkey Kong Jr. (shortened to DK Jr., DKJr., or just Junior) is a Kong character who debuted in Donkey Kong Jr. as the titular hero. In the events of the game, he has to rescue his father, Donkey Kong, from Mario. Donkey Kong Jr. has not made many appearances, but he is a playable character in some spinoff games of the Super Mario franchise.

While he is occasionally identified as a younger version of the modern Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. is most commonly referenced as his father and the son of Cranky Kong.[1]

History

Donkey Kong series

Donkey Kong Jr.

Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr. holding a key
A sprite of Donkey Kong Jr. from Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr. as he appears in various different versions of Donkey Kong Jr.

Donkey Kong Jr.'s premier appearance is in the eponymous Donkey Kong Jr. He is the star of the game and the only playable character. Following the events of the original Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr.'s father, Donkey Kong, has been locked up by Mario. Donkey Kong Jr. must travel through four stages by climbing up vines and navigating other obstacles, as well as avoiding the enemies Mario sends at him to impede his progress, such as Snapjaws and Nitpickers. However, if he drops fruit on the enemies, they are defeated. Once Donkey Kong Jr. reaches the top of each stage, he attempts to insert a key into his father's cage, but appears confused as Mario hauls his father away to the next stage. In the NES version, all characters simply remain idle at the end of each stage before the next one begins.

When Donkey Kong Jr. defeats Mario at last by inserting all of the keys into their keyholes in the Chain Scene, Donkey Kong and Mario both fall, but Donkey Kong Jr. catches his father and then walks off-screen with him as Mario chases them. In the NES version, this scene only has Donkey Kong Jr. catch his father, with the rest of the scene being omitted.

In the original arcade game, he also appears during the transition scene between the Jump Board Scene and Mario's Hideout, where he pursues Mario's chopper by floating with a parasol.

In the Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong Jr. appears as the playable character. He must dodge birds and Snapjaws and grab a key swinging from a tree to unlock his father's cage.

Donkey Kong II

In Donkey Kong II, Donkey Kong Jr. appears in the same capacity as the previous Game & Watch title. In this game, he must dodge Snapjaw, Sparks, and birds and use keys to open the locks on his father's restraints.

Donkey Kong Jr. Math

Donkey Kong Jr. makes another playable appearance in Donkey Kong Jr. Math. In Calculate A and B, his father stands at the top of the stage, holding a sign with a random number placed on it. Donkey Kong Jr. must climb among multiple vines to gather the correct numbers and mathematical signs to create the number on his father's sign. In +-×÷ Exercise, Donkey Kong Jr. has to solve equations by climbing multiple chains to input the digits of the answer. In the instruction booklet, he is dubbed Junior (I).[2]

Junior (II)

This game also features a pink-colored palette swap of Donkey Kong Jr. named Junior (II),[2] who is playable in a Calculate A and B. He and Donkey Kong Jr. compete to calculate Donkey Kong's number until one of them does so five times.

Donkey Kong (Game Boy)

Donkey Kong Jr. pulling a switch, Game Boy Donkey Kong official artwork
Artwork of Donkey Kong Jr. pushing a switch

In Donkey Kong on the Game Boy, Donkey Kong Jr. teams up with his father to kidnap Pauline, and Mario must defeat both of them before rescuing her. For most of the game, Donkey Kong Jr. usually stays in areas inaccessible by Mario, activating and deactivating switches in ways that can either help or harm Mario. Sometimes, Donkey Kong Jr. appears out in the open and throws Poison Mushrooms. It is shown in Stage 4-11 and Stage 8-9 that Donkey Kong Jr. can cause Mario to lose a life if Mario touches him. In Stage 9-4, Donkey Kong Jr. gets locked in a cage by Mario in a fashion similar to the Vine Scene of the original Donkey Kong Jr. In the ending, Donkey Kong Jr. manages to free himself and lays in wait as Pauline gives Mario a Super Mushroom to catch Donkey Kong, and acts as soon as his father calls for help. In the end, the group take a photo together.

Saturday Supercade

Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr. in Saturday Supercade
Bones in the Donkey Kong Junior segment of the Saturday Supercade
Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones on Saturday Supercade

Donkey Kong Jr., voiced by Frank Welker, is featured as the main protagonist of the cartoon short Donkey Kong Junior from the animated series Saturday Supercade. Here, Donkey Kong Jr., after discovering his father is missing from the circus, decides to track him down with the help of a clumsy biker named Bones.

Nintendo Adventure Books

Donkey Kong Jr. makes an appearance in the sixth Nintendo Adventure Book, Doors to Doom; in the book, Mario and Luigi find themselves in Donkey Kong Jr.'s jungle after entering one of the doorways created by Dr. Sporis von Fungenstein. Upon seeing Mario and Luigi, Donkey Kong Jr. attacks them, forcing the two to flee. Eventually, after a vine-climbing chase, the Mario Bros. escape Donkey Kong Jr.

Mario Kart series

Super Mario Kart

Artwork of Donkey Kong Jr. (formatted Donkey Kong JR. in the manual) for Super Mario Kart
Donkey Kong Jr. in Super Mario Kart

Donkey Kong Jr. appears as a playable character in Super Mario Kart. He is classified as a heavyweight character alongside Bowser. His preferred item is the Banana, with which he litters the racecourses as a CPU. His kart has maximum top speeds; however, if he drifts away from the main course, its speed decreases greatly.

Official artwork of Super Mario Kart shows a red "J" on Donkey Kong Jr.'s shirt, but his sprite during his victory animation shows a yellow "V" on his shirt instead. This was likely an intentional design choice to make Donkey Kong Jr.'s sprite entirely symmetrical. This means only half of the sprite is required to be stored in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System's limited graphics memory as tiles of 8x8 pixels each, with the same tiles being flipped to display the other half of the sprite. During gameplay, the letter on Donkey Kong Jr.'s shirt is obscured by his kart's steering wheel.

In the next title of the series, Mario Kart 64 onward, Donkey Kong Jr. was replaced by the modern Donkey Kong since Donkey Kong Country.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

File:MKDD Audience Sprite.png
DK Jr. in a crowd with other characters in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Donkey Kong Jr. makes a cameo in the background audience of Waluigi Stadium in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Interestingly, as the image for the audience is repeated, multiple, countless versions of him can be seen at one time. In this game, his head is redesigned to be more reminiscent of the modern Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong Jr. was planned to appear in the game as a playable character, but was ultimately replaced with Diddy Kong,[3] following the latter character's frequent entry into spinoff games of the Super Mario franchise since Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.

Mario Kart Tour

Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES) tricking in the DK Maximum in Mario Kart Tour
Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES) in Mario Kart Tour

A 2D sprite variant of Donkey Kong Jr. debuts in Mario Kart Tour as a playable character in his 16-bit Super Mario Kart appearance under the name Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES), debuting in the Super Mario Kart Tour. His special item is the Triple Bananas. This is the first game since Super Mario Kart to feature Donkey Kong Jr. as a playable character in the Mario Kart series. As the game treats Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES) as a variant in his name, this also makes him the only character in the game without a base driver.

Super Mario-kun

Donkey Kong Jr. appears as a participating racer and an opponent to Mario in the Super Mario Kart adaption in one of the volumes of Super Mario-kun.

Super Mario series

Super Mario All-Stars / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

King of Big Island, transformed into Donkey Kong Jr.

In the Super Mario Bros. 3 remake in Super Mario All-Stars, the king of Big Island is transformed into Donkey Kong Jr. This change is retained in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3.

Super Mario Maker

Donkey Kong Jr. costume

In Super Mario Maker, Donkey Kong Jr. appears as one of the costumes that Costume Mario can wear.

Mario's Time Machine (NES)

Donkey Kong Jr. makes a cameo in Mario's Time Machine for the NES, appearing on several paintings in the background of Bowser's Museum.

Mario Tennis series

Donkey Kong Jr. in Mario Tennis, seen on Donkey Kong's court

Donkey Kong Jr. is a playable character in two games of the Mario Tennis series. In Mario's Tennis, Donkey Kong Jr. is the largest amongst the playable characters, and this is also the only game where he wears shoes and socks. The game's menu lists him as Donkey Jr. and the scoreboard lists him as just Donkey. In the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Tennis, Donkey Kong Jr. is classified as a Power character, who can be unlocked by winning the Star Cup in Doubles. Unlocking Donkey Kong Jr. makes him Donkey Kong's partner in doubles; otherwise, Yoshi takes his place. In the Game Boy Color version, Donkey Kong Jr. cameos as one of the Nintendo 64 status icons.

Mario Clash

In Mario Clash, Donkey Kong Jr. appears alongside Donkey Kong, and the two congratulate the player for scoring over 800,000 points.

Game & Watch Gallery series

Donkey Kong Jr. is a recurring character in the Game & Watch Gallery series, often having to be rescued.

Game & Watch Gallery

In Game & Watch Gallery, Donkey Kong Jr. appears in the Modern versions of three games: Manhole, Fire, and Oil Panic. In Manhole, Donkey Kong Jr. is one of the pedestrians whom Yoshi must keep from falling into the water. In Fire, Donkey Kong Jr. is one of the characters whom the Mario Bros. must rescue from a fire at Princess Peach's Castle. If the Mario Bros. do not catch Donkey Kong Jr., he runs away with a sore bottom, earning the player a miss. In Oil Panic, Donkey Kong Jr. fiddles with a stick while sitting on the ground on the left side of the castle from the top of which Bowser dumps oil. If any oil is spilled on Donkey Kong Jr., he gets mad, earning the player a miss.

Game & Watch Gallery 2

In Game & Watch Gallery 2, Donkey Kong Jr. is one of the characters that Mario must catch in Parachute. Donkey Kong Jr. opens his parachute at the last minute.

Game & Watch Gallery 3

In Game & Watch Gallery 3, Donkey Kong Jr. is the star of his own minigame, which is a small remake of the original Donkey Kong Jr. Game & Watch game. He is also the star of another minigame: Donkey Kong II.

Game & Watch Gallery 4

In Game & Watch Gallery 4, Donkey Kong Jr. reprises his roles in Fire and Donkey Kong Jr. He also appears as one of the characters that Mario must protect from Bowser's water balloons in Rain Shower, hanging from the rope beside the swing on the lower left. If a water balloon hits Donkey Kong Jr., he releases the rope and get mad, giving Mario a miss.

He also appears in a scene that plays for Donkey Kong Jr. if the player selects the game yet doesn't actually start the game. Specifically, Donkey Kong Jr. attempts to jump to get a hanging piece of fruit, to no avail. Mario then jumps to grab it himself, knocking Donkey Kong Jr. out of the way in the process. This results in Donkey Kong emerging, with Mario fleeing as Donkey Kong walks towards him only to crash into something offscreen and then return with Mario trapped in a cage as Donkey Kong Jr. watches.

Super Smash Bros. series

Donkey Kong Jr. has made a few cameo appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, there is a trophy of Donkey Kong Jr. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, there are two stickers of Donkey Kong Jr.: one shows him holding a key over his head, and it raises launch resistance by twenty-one in The Subspace Emissary, while Donkey Kong Jr.'s other sticker shows him holding a tennis racket from Mario Tennis. Additionally, DKJR is one of the names that appears when the "Random Name" button is pressed during the naming of a custom stage. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Donkey Kong Jr. appears as a spirit.

Donkey Kong Jr. did not return as a collectible trophy, though unused data shows that he would have appeared as one.

WarioWare series

Donkey Kong Jr. appears as the playable character in the Donkey Kong Jr. microgame in WarioWare: Twisted! and WarioWare Gold, as well as the WarioWare: Move It! microgame of the same name.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

3D render of the Donkey Kong statue found in Aqueduct Assault, a level in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Notice Donkey Kong Jr. inside the Wii U GamePad above DK's head.
An 8-bit-looking Donkey Kong Jr., inside the Wii U GamePad held by DK

Donkey Kong Jr. appears as a cameo at the end of the Aqueduct Assault level in the background in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze inside a Wii U GamePad held high by Cranky Kong, the original Donkey Kong.

Other appearances

Donkey Kong Jr. makes a few cameo appearances in the Punch-Out!! series. In the first game in the Punch-Out!! series, Donkey Kong Jr. can be found watching the fight in the audience along with Mario, Luigi, and Donkey Kong. In the second arcade game, Donkey Kong Jr. can be found in the audience again, along with Mario, Luigi, and Donkey Kong, this time with a different color scheme.

In the Family Computer Disk System port of Konami's Ping Pong, Smash Ping Pong, Donkey Kong Jr. appears in the audience and replaces Pentarou from Antarctic Adventure.

Donkey Kong Jr. has made some appearances in Kodansha's Super Mario manga.

Donkey Kong Jr. was featured in Fleetway Publication's pitch for a Nintendo comic, looking much bigger and monstrous than his usual depictions.

Donkey Kong Jr. appears in an e-Reader commercial, where he is on an assembly line and undergoes a personal hygiene makeover, only to be compressed into an e-Reader card.

In Tetris DS, Donkey Kong Jr. appears on the title screen. He distracts Mario long enough for him to get hit by a Tetrimino block thrown by Donkey Kong.

In NES Remix and Ultimate NES Remix, Donkey Kong Jr. appears in the stages derived from the Donkey Kong Jr. game.

Unused appearances

Unused sprites of Donkey Kong Jr. can be found in the code of Donkey Kong 3, but he does not appear in the final game.[4]

General information

Physical description

Donkey Kong Jr. bears a resemblance to his father, Cranky Kong, himself the original Donkey Kong. He has brown fur and wears a leotard with the letter J on it. His size varies between games, but is usually smaller or about the same size as the current Donkey Kong.

Personality

Donkey Kong Jr. is portrayed as the hero of his own game and a villain of Mario in Donkey Kong for the Game Boy. He always sides with Donkey Kong, and is shown to be athletic and mischievous.

Profiles and statistics

Main article: List of Donkey Kong Jr. profiles and statistics

Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten

Template:PEGMCE profile

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Trophy
Donkey Kong Junior
Donkey Kong Jr.
Game/move:
Donkey Kong Junior
Arcade 1982
How to unlock: Collect every playable character's first trophy either by playing 100 VS matches or by completing Classic Mode with all characters
Donkey Kong Jr. came to the rescue when Mario imprisoned his father. DK Jr.'s challenge was to collect the keys to Donkey Kong's cage, all the while dropping fruit on the enemies from high above. He was able to climb faster by using two ivy vines at once. This ape is also quite skilled at kart racing, tennis, and mathematics.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Spirit
#138 Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr. spirit from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Series/game Donkey Kong Series
Type Primary
Slots 1
Class Ace
Strength / effect(s) Grab
Throw Power ↑
How to obtain World of Light (The Light Realm); Spirit Board
Spirit battle Opponent(s) Tiny Donkey Kong, Giant Donkey Kong
Conditions

  • Defeat the main fighter to win
  • The enemy's throws have increased power
  • Reinforcements will appear during the battle
Stage Kongo Jungle
Song Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley

List of appearances

# Title Role Release date Format

1 Donkey Kong Jr. Playable character 1982 Arcade
2 Donkey Kong Jr. Playable character 1982 Game & Watch
3 Donkey Kong II Playable character 1983 Game & Watch
4 Donkey Kong Jr. + Jr. Sansū Lesson Playable character 1983 Family Computer
5 Donkey Kong Jr. Math Playable character 1983 Family Computer, Nintendo Entertainment System
6 Punch-Out!! Cameo 1984 Arcade
7 Super Punch-Out!! Cameo 1984 Arcade
8 Donkey Kong Classics Playable character in port of Donkey Kong Jr. 1988 Nintendo Entertainment System
9 Super Mario Kart Playable character 1992
10 Super Mario All-Stars Cameo 1993 Super Famicom / Super Nintendo Entertainment System
11 Donkey Kong Enemy in certain stages 1994 Game Boy
12 Mario's Time Machine Cameo 1994 Nintendo Entertainment System
13 Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World Cameo 1994 Super Nintendo Entertainment System
14 Mario's Tennis Playable character 1995 Virtual Boy
15 Mario Clash Cameo at 800,000 points 1995 Virtual Boy
16 Game & Watch Gallery Non-playable character (Modern Manhole, Fire, and Oil Panic) 1997 Game Boy
17 Game & Watch Gallery 2 Non-playable character (Modern Parachute) 1997 Game Boy
18 Game & Watch Gallery 3 Playable character (Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong II) 1999 Game Boy Color
19 Mario Tennis Unlockable playable character 2000 Nintendo 64
20 Mario Tennis Cameo 2001 Game Boy Color
21 Super Smash Bros. Melee Cameo 2001 Nintendo GameCube
22 Doubutsu no Mori Playable character in emulation of Donkey Kong Jr. Math 2001 Nintendo 64
23 Animal Crossing Playable character in emulation of Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong Jr. Math 2001 Nintendo GameCube
24 Game & Watch Gallery 4 Playable character (Donkey Kong Jr.), non-playable character (Modern Rain Shower and Fire) 2002 Game Boy Advance
25 Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 Cameo as the transformation of the World 4 King 2003 Game Boy Advance
26 Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Cameo 2003 Nintendo GameCube
27 Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Jr./Mario Bros. Playable character in Donkey Kong Jr. 2004 Arcade
28 WarioWare: Twisted! Cameo 2004 Game Boy Advance
29 Tetris DS Cameo 2006 Nintendo DS
30 Super Smash Bros. Brawl Cameo 2008 Wii
31 Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition Cameo 2010 Wii
32 NES Remix Playable character on the Donkey Kong Jr. stages 2013 Wii U
33 NES Remix Pack Playable character on the Donkey Kong Jr. stages 2014 Wii U
34 Ultimate NES Remix Playable character on the Donkey Kong Jr. stages 2014 Nintendo 3DS
35 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Cameo 2014 Wii U
36 Super Mario Maker Costume Mario outfit 2015 Wii U
37 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Cameo 2018 Nintendo Switch
38 WarioWare Gold Cameo 2018 Nintendo 3DS
39 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Cameo 2018 Nintendo Switch
40 Mario Kart Tour Unlockable playable character 2020 (Super Mario Kart Tour) iOS, Android
41 WarioWare: Move It! Cameo 2023 Nintendo Switch

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Donkey Kong Jr.

Names in other languages

Donkey Kong Jr.

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese ジュニア[?]
Junia
Junior
ドンキーコングJr.ジュニア[5]
Donkī Kongu Junia
Donkey Kong Jr.
ドンキーJr.[?]
Donkī Junia
Donkey Jr. Mario Tennis
Chinese (simplified) 森乐刚 (Donkey Kong Jr. (Game & Watch))[?]
Sēnlègāng
Reference to Donkey Kong's Chinese name "森喜刚" (Sēnxǐgāng), while "乐" (, "happy") is have same meaning as "喜".
森喜刚Jr. (since Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)[?]
Sēnxǐ Gāng Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Chinese (traditional) 森喜剛Jr.[?]
Sēnxǐ Gāng Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr.
French Donkey Kong Jr.[?] -
German Donkey Kong Jr.[?] -
Italian Donkey Kong Jr.[?] -
Korean 동키콩주니어[?]
Dongki Kong Junieo
Donkey Kong Junior
Portuguese Donkey Kong Jr.[?] -
Russian Донки Конг — младший[?]
Donki Kong - Mladshiy
Donkey Kong Jr.
Spanish Donkey Kong Jr.[?] -

Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese ドンキーコングJr. (SFC)[?]
Donkī Kongu Junia (SFC)
Donkey Kong Jr. (SFC)
Chinese (simplified) 森喜刚Jr. (SFC)[?]
Sēnxǐ Gāng Jr. (SFC)
Donkey Kong Jr. (SFC)
Chinese (traditional) 森喜剛Jr. (SFC)[?]
Sēnxǐ Gāng Jr. (SFC)
Donkey Kong Jr. (SFC)
French (NOE) Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)[?] -
German Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)[?] -
Italian Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)[?] -
Korean 동키콩주니어(SFC)[?]
Dongki Kong Junieo (SFC)
Donkey Kong Jr. (SFC)
Portuguese (NOA) Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)[?] -
Spanish Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)[?] -

Trivia

References

  1. ^ "Super Mario Kart is the only Mario Kart game to feature Donkey Kong Jr. Due to the success of Donkey Kong Country, all future Mario Kart entries featured Donkey Kong, who is actually Donkey Kong Jr.’s son, with Cranky Kong, aka Donkey Kong Sr., canonically being the character featured in the original Donkey Kong game. Makes sense, right?" – Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide, Super Mario Kart 16 Bits Tab.
  2. ^ a b 1985. Donkey Kong Jr. Math instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 5.
  3. ^ TCRF. Proto:Mario Kart: Double Dash!!/Multi-Game Demo Disc Demo/Unused Scenes § record_entry.arc. The Cutting Room Floor (English). Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. ^ TCRF. Donkey Kong 3 (Arcade). The Cutting Room Floor (English). Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  5. ^ 1992. スーパーマリオカート (Sūpā Mario Kāto) instruction booklet. Nintendo. Page 22.
  6. ^ As revealed in Retro Gamer magazine.[better source needed]