Donkey Kong Country (television series)

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Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country Title Screen (TV Show).PNG
General information
Developer(s) Jacques Goldstein
Philippe Percebois
Director(s) Mike Fallows
Seasons 3
Episodes 40
Production
Production company Nelvana
Medialab (season 1-2)
Hong Guang Animation (season 3)
Western International Communications
Runtime 30 minutes
Broadcast
First aired Template:Release
Last aired Template:Release

Donkey Kong Country is a computer-animated musical television series based upon the video game trilogy of the same name. The program first debuted in France on September 4, 1996, on France 2, and then premiered in Canada on Télétoon on September 8, 1997 as a launch programme. The English version made its worldwide debut in Canada on Télétoon's English counterpart Teletoon on October 17, 1997, once again as a launch programme. The show then aired in United States on the Fox Family Channel on August 15, 1998 (occasionally airing on Fox Kids), and the original run finished on July 7, 2000. In Japan, the series aired with a Japanese dub on TV Tokyo on October 1, 1999, and finished its run on June 30, 2000.[citation needed]

Donkey Kong Country ran for three seasons with forty episodes total. Like the Mario-based television series before it, this show generally followed an episodic format. During the run, however, there were some episodes aired out of order from the original airing, such as "Bad Hair Day" being aired as the third episode in its run in the United States despite airing first in France. The third season was produced by Chinese company Hong Gaung instead of Medialab, and so switched to a newer, sleeker style of computer animation and dropping the use of title cards for the intro to each episode. Also similar to the earlier Mario cartoons, each episode (excluding "Message in a Bottle Show") also features one or two original songs based around events in the episode performed by the cast.

Donkey Kong Country was one of the earliest television series to be entirely computer-animated, matching the artistic style of the video games. The CG animation style of the series was met with critical acclaim in France and Japan, but with mixed reception elsewhere. Despite this, the show has managed to gain a cult following, and even Nintendo itself has acknowledged its existence.

Some elements of the series appeared in later Donkey Kong video games such as Donkey Kong 64, which was released a year after the show had started airing on ABC Family (Fox Family). There was even a commercial for the Game Boy Color remake of the original Donkey Kong Country video game that featured Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Rambi the Rhino (despite the fact that no Animal Friends actually appear in the show) fighting General Klump and Krusha over a giant version of the portable gaming system, all depicted with retooled versions of their designs from the show's third season.

Synopsis

The show portrays Donkey Kong, an anthropomorphic ape living in the jungle who happens to stumble upon a magic orb called the Crystal Coconut in the temple of Inka Dinka Doo. After finding the coconut, Donkey Kong is named the future ruler of Kongo Bongo Island. As he and his friends wait for the day when the Crystal Coconut will proclaim him the ruler of the island, they have to keep the relic safe from the clutches of King K. Rool and his minions, who desire the coconut so that their leader may rule the island using its power instead.

Cast

The Kong family in the "To the Moon Baboon" episode of the Donkey Kong Country television series.
The cast of the main Kongs. Clockwise from the top left: Funky Kong, Donkey Kong, Bluster Kong, Candy Kong, Cranky Kong, Diddy Kong, and Dixie Kong.

The series features almost all of the Kongs from Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, the exceptions being Swanky Kong and Wrinkly Kong. However, the show also features several characters exclusive to the TV series, such as Eddie the Mean Old Yeti, Kaptain Skurvy and his crew, and Bluster Kong.

English

Japanese

Episodes

Two conflicting season numbering schemes exist for the show; Nelvana considers the show to have three "cycles" (13x13x14)[2], and this the numbering used for the show's release on services such as iTunes[3] and Tubi. The show's official DVDs, however, identify two seasons, the first being made up of the 26 Medialab-produced episodes and the second being made up of the 14 Hong Guang-produced episodes. The Super Mario Wiki follows the former scheme.

Note that the episodes are listed in production order,[4] which differs from that of the original North American air dates.[5]

Season 1
  1. "Bad Hair Day"
  2. "Ape Foo Young"
  3. "Booty and the Beast"
  4. "Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel"
  5. "Kong for a Day"
  6. "Raiders of the Lost Banana"
  7. "From Zero to Hero"
  8. "Buried Treasure"
  9. "Cranky's Tickle Tonic"
  10. "Get a Life, Don't Save One"
  11. "Orangutango"
  12. "Double Date Trouble"
  13. "The Curse of Kongo Bongo"
Season 2
  1. "Speed"
  2. "Klump's Lumps"
  3. "Bluster's Sale Ape-Stravaganza"
  4. "Legend of the Crystal Coconut"
  5. "Kong Fu"
  6. "I Spy With My Hairy Eye"
  7. "Bug a Boogie"
  8. "Watch the Skies"
  9. "Baby Kong Blues"
  10. "Ape-Nesia"
  11. "The Big Chill Out"
  12. "To the Moon Baboon"
  13. "A Thin Line Between Love & Ape"
Season 3
  1. "Hooray for Holly-Kongo Bongo"
  2. "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights"
  3. "Speak No Evil, Dude"
  4. "The Day the Island Stood Still"
  5. "Monkey Seer, Monkey Do"
  6. "Four Weddings and a Coconut"
  7. "Follow That Coconut"
  8. "Vote of Kong-Fidence"
  9. "The Big Switch-a-Roo"
  10. "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Bluster"
  11. "Best of Enemies"
  12. "It's a Wonderful Life"
  13. "Just Kidding"
  14. "Message in a Bottle Show"

Donkey Kong Planet

Main article: Donkey Kong Planet

In addition to the animated series, Donkey Kong hosted on France 2 Donkey Kong Planet (also known as La planète de Donkey Kong, DKTV and DKTV.cool), which was a mix of children programming and original content featuring part of the Donkey Kong Country TV cast. The original segments featured Donkey, Diddy, Funky, and Candy doing musical numbers, parodies of current movies and television shows, and comedic sketches. It debuted on September 4, 1996, the same day the Donkey Kong Country TV series premiered, and the block continued its run on the channel until September 1, 2001.

Production

Template:Quote2

Donkey Kong Country was the first full-length television series to be entirely primarily using motion capture[6], using Medialab's proprietary technology which allowed the animators to see the performance play out in real time[7]. Due to this attribute, the company prefered to use the term "Performance Animation" to refer to the animation style of the show[8]. This caused controversy when the show was rejected for an Emmy Award nomination, the reasoning being that the TV academy did not consider the then-new motion capture technique to be a form of animation[9].

After writers finalized the character's roles and personalities, artist Phil Mendez worked on the concept sketches, taking care to keep the character's appearance simple and geometric to make them easy to convert into three-dimensional models. [10]. The 3D modellers grouped characters with similar bodies into "families" and used the Alias/Wavefront modeling software to build the digital skeletons, using the "families" as a base to create the individual model.[11]. Character's head were modeled in clay and then digitzed. [12]

Though groundbreaking, the use of motion capture, came with many challenges. As the models had to work for both live motion capture and traditional keyframe-based animation, Medialab had to optimize the models to keep the polygon count low [13]. Writer Simon Racioppa explained that due to the format's limitation, the series bible heavily discouraged new locations and characters, and characters could not be animated picking up objects (although them holding objects was possible). Animating water was also considered "next to impossible"[14]. Speaking of the differences between Donkey Kong Country and ReBoot, a 3D animated series that did not employ motion capture, producer Maia Tubiana explained that making the models required "experimentation, discipline, and the ability to live with a few compromises", an example being having to shorten King K. Rool's cape to not interfere with the animation[15]

According to a post on a fan page by Nelvana writer Erika Strobel, Medialab had originally obtained the rights to create an animated series from Nintendo. After thirteen episodes were written, Medialab asked Nelvana for assistance after firing the original writers (who, according to Strobel, had produced scripts "with racist/sexist jokes and just sooo bad for a kiddie show")[16]. As storyboards had already been produced for ten of the original scripts, Nelvana decided to write new stories around these storyboards to save money.[16] The songs, however, were included at the request of Medialab; all of the show's songs, as well as the title theme, were written by Pure West Music.[16][17] Nelvana purchased the rights to the show after Medialab's license lapsed.[16]

Songs

Main article: List of Donkey Kong Country (television series) songs

Alongside the opening theme, most episodes in the series feature two unique songs each, performed by one or more characters to illustrate certain points in the story.

Theme song lyrics

Hoo! Hah!
Hoo, hah!
Donkey Kong!

Heeeeyyyyyy, oh! Look out down below!
Here he comes, banana slamma'!
Donkey Kong!
Hoo! Hah!
Hoo, hah!
Donkey Kong!
Hoo! Hah!
Hoo, hah!
Donkey Kong!
Heeeeyyyyyy, oh! Look out down below!
Here he comes, banana slamma'!
Kongo Bongo's hero!

Heeeeyyyyyy, oh! Donkey Kong, let's go, let's go!
Here he comes, banana slamma'!
Hooooo, HAH!

Background music

It has been requested that this section be rewritten and expanded to include more information. Reason: include which songs each track plays in

The background music used for the songs in the show was taken from a variety of albums.

Tracks Composer(s) Albums
Guava Nectar Paul Koffman
Timothy Foy 		NLV 115 - Sunny Day Sounds Vol. 2
Madcap Monday NLV 126 - Music for Silly Moments
Edsel
Paisley Man NLV 127 - Funkytown
Marching Orders NLV 131 - Clash of the Titans Vol.2
Tiny Czar NLV 141 - Just For Laughs Vol. 4
Three Piece Suit NLV 148 - Peaceful Jazzy Feeling Vol. 2
Haunted Funhouse NLV 151 - Big Top Adventure
House Of Frights
Meditation Fire NLV 155 - Global Bazaar
Jump In NLV 165 - Techno Town
Techno Cowboy NLV 166 - Cowboy Camp
Quick Con NLV 169 - Spy vs Spy
Hover Car
Helicopter Heist
Sneakers
The Line Up
Ragtag Chase

Staff

Main article: List of Donkey Kong Country (television series) staff

Donkey Kong Country was produced by Nelvana, and co-produced with Medialab for the first season, and Hong Guang Animation for the second season. The first season was animated by Medialab and the second by an uncredited CGCG Inc.[18]. The soundtrack of the series was composed by the music production company Pure West.

Releases and other merchandise

Four episodes were released in North America on a single VHS cassette titled, Donkey Kong Country: The Legend of the Crystal Coconut. Said episodes were edited together to make them seem like one continuous storyline. However, these episodes were not put together in the proper order; for example, a flashback shown in the third episode actually happened in the fourth episode of the tape. The American version of the tape was distributed by Paramount Pictures, Nintendo, and Nelvana. Advertisements and even the videotape's packaging neglected to mention the actual TV series the episodes originated from, and was instead marketed as a standalone film (leading to some confusion among newer viewers of certain content, such as Eddie the Mean Old Yeti's brief appearance in Ape-Nesia).

The show is also available on iTunes.

The DVDs Donkey Kong Country Vol.1 (Released in Australia) and Donkey Kong Country - Bad Hair Day (Released in the United Kingdom) feature several episodes. The other two Australian DVDs, Donkey Kong Country: Hooray for Holly Kongo Bongo and Donkey Kong Country: The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights, however, only feature one episode. Three years after the release of the previous DVDs, a new DVD titled I Spy With My Hairy Eye was released in England. There have been over 30 Donkey Kong Country DVD releases. Starting in 2013, Phase 4 Films began releasing the show on DVD in North America. On May 12, 2015, the company released the first season of 26 episodes in a 3-disc set. Nelvana once had the entire series available for free streaming on its official YouTube channel, until it was turned into the official Wayside channel.

The show had a large line of merchandise in Japan, including a collectible card game by Nintendo and Ahomaro Games. A subsequent release of the card series featured characters and gimmicks based on Donkey Kong 64. The television series took over the TV Tokyo Friday 6:30 P.M. timeslot from Gokudo, and was later replaced with Hamtaro. As with most programs in Japan, the show has received home releases through rental tapes.

  • Japanese Rental Volume 2

    Japanese Rental Volume 2

  • Japanese Rental Volume 5

    Japanese Rental Volume 5

  • Japanese Rental Volume 6

    Japanese Rental Volume 6

  • Japanese Rental Volume 7

    Japanese Rental Volume 7

  • Japanese Rental Volume 8

    Japanese Rental Volume 8

  • Japanese Rental Volume 9

    Japanese Rental Volume 9

  • Japanese Rental Volume 10

    Japanese Rental Volume 10

  • Japanese Rental Volume 13

    Japanese Rental Volume 13

The television series also received a dedicated two-part manga. The two editions were seen in the Japanese CoroCoro Comics, published by Shogakukan in 2000 and 2001 respectively.

  • Cover of part #1

    Cover of part #1

  • DKC CGI - CoroCoro Manga 1 Art.jpg

    Artwork used for the back cover of part #1

  • Cover of part #2

    Cover of part #2

  • DKC CGI - CoroCoro Manga 2 Art.jpg

    Artwork used for the back cover of part #2

DVDs and one VHS were also released:

  • DKC Legend of the Crystal Coconut VHS.jpg
  • DKC Complete First Season DVD.jpg
  • DKC Raiders of the Lost Banana DVD.jpg
  • DKC He Came, He Saw, He Kong-quered DVD.jpg

References in later media

Trivia

  • A running gag throughout the show involves Donkey Kong (sometimes with Diddy Kong) constantly crashing into trees.
  • The villains in the show are never referred to as Kremlings, only as "lizards," "gators," and similar terms. However, enemies like Kritters and Klaptraps are still referred to by their video game names.
  • All non-Kremling enemies from the first game (Zingers, Gnawties, Manky Kongs, etc.) are omitted, and the Kremling Krew's military force is mostly simplified to the aforementioned Kritters and Klaptraps (the latter of which is considered ammunition for weapons instead of proper troops). Rock Krocs additionally do not appear, nor do any of the Animal Friends. In fact, the only character to neither be a Kong nor a Kremling to have a model in the show is Polly Roger, while Inka Dinka Doo is part of the scenery.
  • In multiple episodes, Donkey Kong admits to being a fan of King Kong; this is ironic, considering that Universal Studios attempted to sue Nintendo for a copyright dispute over the two Kongs in the past.
  • It is the most recent Mario franchise television series, not counting Donkey Kong Planet.

References

  1. ^ https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/3fdfac_72b9d6c25c3940f8b3244bdea8528dd5.pdf
  2. ^ "Episodes : Donkey Kong Country" on Nelvana's official website circa 2006. Retrieved Sunday, June 26, 2021
  3. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/ca/tv-season/donkey-kong-country-vol-1/id760744886
  4. ^ Donkey Kong Country on Amazon Video
  5. ^ http://epguides.com/DonkeyKongCountry/
  6. ^ Ron Fischer, The History and Current State of motion capture. Motion Capture Society. Retrieved October 8, 2015
  7. ^ Legrand, Fabienne (November 11, 2011). L'aventure Donkey Kong chez Medialab. Youtube. Retrieved January 25, 2016
  8. ^ Computer Animation: A Whole New World (1998, Rockport Publishers). "Medialab Donkey Kong Country". p. 88
  9. ^ Solomon, Charles (June 1, 1999). An Emmy Awards Debate: What Makes 'Donkey Kong' Run?. L.A. Times. Retrieved January 25, 2015
  10. ^ Computer Animation: A Whole New World (1998, Rockport Publishers). "Medialab Donkey Kong Country". p. 89
  11. ^ Computer Animation: A Whole New World (1998, Rockport Publishers). "Medialab Donkey Kong Country". p. 91
  12. ^ Computer Animation: A Whole New World (1998, Rockport Publishers). "Medialab Donkey Kong Country". p. 92
  13. ^ Computer Animation: A Whole New World (1998, Rockport Publishers). "Medialab Donkey Kong Country". p. 93`
  14. ^ Matt Paprocki (June 5, 2020) Inside Nintendo’s weird attempts at making movies and TV shows. Polygon. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  15. ^ Computer Animation: A Whole New World (1998, Rockport Publishers). "Medialab Donkey Kong Country". p. 89
  16. ^ a b c d Retrojunk page for Donkey Kong Country (August 5, 2008). Erika Strobel's comment is under the username "canuckgirl1966" (Retrieved April 24, 2016)
  17. ^ Pure West Music's website (information is under the "Credits" tab). Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  18. ^ CGCG Production History. CGCG Inc.. Retrieved July 01, 2016.
  19. ^ Nintendo Life (April 25, 2018). Weird Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Switch TV Show Easter Egg. YouTube. Retrieved April 25, 2018.

External links

[Edit]
Donkey Kong Country TV series
Characters Baby Kong • Bluster Kong (Leo Luster) • Candy Clone • Candy Kong • Cranky Kong (Young) • Diddy Kong • Dixie Kong • Donkey Kong (Robot) • Eddie the Mean Old Yeti • Funky Kong • General Klump • Green Kroc • Inka Dinka Doo • Jr. Klap Trap • Kaptain Skurvy • King K. Rool • Kong Fu • Krusha • Kutlass • Polly Roger
Locations Bluster Barrelworks • Cranky's Cabin • DK's Tree House • Forbidden Forest • Funky's Flights • Inka Dinka Doo's Temple • Kongo Bongo Island • Kongo Jungle • White Mountains
Episodes Season 1 Episode 1: "Bad Hair Day" • Episode 2: "Ape Foo Young" • Episode 3: "Booty and the Beast" • Episode 4: "Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel" • Episode 5: "Kong for a Day" • Episode 6: "Raiders of the Lost Banana" • Episode 7: "From Zero to Hero" • Episode 8: "Buried Treasure" • Episode 9: "Cranky's Tickle Tonic" • Episode 10: "Get a Life, Don't Save One" • Episode 11: "Orangutango" • Episode 12: "Double Date Trouble" • Episode 13: "The Curse of Kongo Bongo"
Season 2 Episode 1: "Speed" • Episode 2: "Klump's Lumps" • Episode 3: "Bluster's Sale Ape-Stravaganza" • Episode 4: "Legend of the Crystal Coconut" • Episode 5: "Kong Fu" • Episode 6: "I Spy With My Hairy Eye" • Episode 7: "Bug a Boogie" • Episode 8: "Watch the Skies" • Episode 9: "Baby Kong Blues" • Episode 10: "Ape-Nesia" • Episode 11: "The Big Chill Out" • Episode 12: "To the Moon Baboon" • Episode 13: "A Thin Line Between Love & Ape"
Season 3 Episode 1: "Hooray for Holly-Kongo Bongo" • Episode 2: "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights" • Episode 3: "Speak No Evil, Dude" • Episode 4: "The Day the Island Stood Still" • Episode 5: "Monkey Seer, Monkey Do" • Episode 6: "Four Weddings and a Coconut" • Episode 7: "Follow That Coconut" • Episode 8: "Vote of Kong-Fidence" • Episode 9: "The Big Switch-a-Roo" • Episode 10: "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Bluster" • Episode 11: "Best of Enemies" • Episode 12: "It's a Wonderful Life" • Episode 13: "Just Kidding" • Episode 14: "Message in a Bottle Show"
Items and objects Banana • Banana Flip • Barrel • Barrelcopter • Coconut Chill • Curse of the Double Doubloon • Crystal Coconut • Funky Kong's plane • Golden Banana • Kaptain Skurvy's ship • Klap-Blaster • Kongo Bongo Gone Wrongo • Tin Banana Tu
Miscellaneous Annual Donkey Kong Challenge • Gallery • Quotes • Songs • Staff • Trading card gallery • Uho'uho Daishizen Gag: Donkey Kong
[Edit]
Television series, films, and videos
Animated TV series Saturday Supercade (1983) • Les Trésors de Super Mario (1989) • Captain N: The Game Master (1989) • The Legend of Zelda (1989) • The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990) • Super Mario World (1991) • Captain N & The Video Game Masters (1993) • Mario All Stars (1994) • Donkey Kong Country (1996)
Televised live action / mixed format The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (1989) • Mario Ice Capades (1989) • King Koopa's Kool Kartoons (1989) • Club Mario (1990) • The Super Mario Challenge (1990) • Super Mario Stadium (1993) • 64 Mario Stadium (1996) • Donkey Kong Planet (1996) • Mario School (2000)
Films Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen! (1986) • The Wizard (1989) • Super Mario Bros. (1993) • Pixels (2015) • The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) • Untitled The Super Mario Bros. Movie follow-up (2026)
OVAs / Straight-to-video Mario no Daibōken (1986) • Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros. (1989) • Super Mario no Kōtsū Anzen (1989) • Super Mario no Shōbōtai (1989) • Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land (1991) • Mario Kirby Meisaku Video (1993)
Web videos "Finding Luigi - Legend of Parkour" (2013) • "Five Games With Spooky Levels to Play in the Dark" (2014) • The Cat Mario Show (2014) • Mario Kart 8 From the Pit (2014) • "Nintendo - Winter Wonderland Levels" (2014) • "DIY With Nintendo: Boo Cookie Pops" • "Nintendo eShop - Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars Level Creation" (2015) • "Mario Myths with Mr Miyamoto" (2015) • Yoshi's Woolly World: Adventure Guide (2015) • "Celebrate Mar. 10 - Mario Day!" (2016) • "Luigi Runs the Nintendo 2DS Factory for a Day" (2016) • Mario Reads Your Letters (2017) • "Nintendo Switch Parental Controls - Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 Trailer" (2017) • Frizzy's Silly amiibo Theater (2018) • "5 Games With Spooky Levels to Play on Halloween!" (2018) • Guess That Game (2020) (Episode 1 · Episode 2 · Episode 3 · Episode 4 · Episode 6 · Episode 8) • 5-Second Focus (2020) (Ep. 1 · Ep. 2 · Ep. 4 · Ep. 7 · Ep. 8 · Ep. 9 · Ep. 10) • 60-Byō Challenge! Luigi o Sukue!! (2020) • Know Your Nintendo (2020) (Episode 1 · Episode 2 · Episode 3 · Episode 4 · Episode 6 · Episode 9 · Episode 10) • Baddies & Battles (2022) (Ep 1 · Ep 2 · Ep 3 · Ep 4 · Compilation) • Fun Lists! Lists! Lists! (2022) (Top 10 Reasons to Play My Game! · 5 Funny Games! · 5 Characters = 5 Fun Choices · Princess Peach Power · Laugh Till You Pop · 10 Power-Ups! · Get Them Goombas! · Epic Mario Kart Takedowns Compilation · Mario Kart Items to Put Your Bro on Blast · 5 Minigames in Mario Party Superstars That Are Really Cool) • "Mario and Friends" (2022) • Meet the Characters! (2022) (Episode 1 · Episode 3 · Episode 5 · Episode 6 · Episode 7 · Episode 8 · Episode 9 · Episode 10 · Compilation 1 · Compilation 2) • Stuff on Nintendo Switch (2022) • "This Is My Nintendo Jam!" (2023) • Get to Know Mushroom Kingdom Characters (2023) • Super Mario Maker 2 Challenges! (2023) (Ep 1 · Ep 2 · Ep 3) • Which Nintendo character are you (2023)
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