Jumbo Barrel
The Jumbo Barrel,[1] also known as the Funky Barrel,[2] is a special airplane-shaped Barrel that Funky Kong owns in Donkey Kong Country.
If Donkey and Diddy Kong pay a visit to one of the six Funky's Flights on Donkey Kong Island, Funky will let them ride in his Jumbo Barrel to any area of the island that they've already visited, free of charge. As a means to prevent level-skipping, the Jumbo Barrel is unable to travel to any unvisited areas. Regardless, the Jumbo Barrel serves as the safer alternative to fighting bosses for traveling between the various areas of the island.
In the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country, the Jumbo Barrel can be found at Funky's Fishing. Once the Kongs have been there at least once, they can call Funky at any point on the map and have him pick them up in the Jumbo Barrel.
In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, the Jumbo Barrel is replaced with the Biplane Barrel. Although it serves the same purpose as the Jumbo Barrel, rides are only free once at each Funky's Flights II location. Afterwards, Funky will charge two Banana Coins per ride.
The Kongs also use the Jumbo Barrel for their journey from their jungle to the United States of America in the Club Nintendo comic Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24. Donkey, Diddy, Dixie, Kiddy and Cranky all use it at the same time, so the Barrel is cramped and the Kongs are not enjoying their ride; only Donkey Kong stays calm and confident.
In issue 14 of Super Mario-Kun, Funky Kong lets Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Mario and Yoshi ride the plane. The plane's flight goes awry, however, turning the plane upside-down and dumping the four into the ocean.
It is unknown if the Jumbo Barrel is one-of-a-kind, or if there are multiples.
Trivia
- Its appearance and name are most likely taken from the real world Jumbo Jet.