Donkey Kong (character)

Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong and Mario character
Promotional art for Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2004)
First gameDonkey Kong (1981)
Created byShigeru Miyamoto
Designed byShigeru Miyamoto (1981–1994)
Kevin Bayliss (1994–present)
Voiced by
Language-neutral
English
Other languages
  • Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese dub of Donkey Kong Country animated series, 1999–2000)
  • Koji Takeda (Japanese dub of The Super Mario Bros. Movie)
  • Franck Capillery (French dub of Donkey Kong Country animated series, 1996–2000)[8]
  • Christophe Albertini/Nicolas Bienvenu (1996–2001; The Planet of Donkey Kong)[9]
  • Park Jo-ho (Korean dub of Donkey Kong Country animated series, 1999-2000)
  • Choi Seok-pil (Korean dub of Donkey Kong Country Returns Commercial, 2013)[10]
In-universe information
NicknameDK
SpeciesGorilla

Donkey Kong, also shortened to DK, is a fictional gorilla-like character in the Donkey Kong and Mario franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. The original Donkey Kong first appeared as the title character and antagonist of the eponymous 1981 game, a platformer by Nintendo, which would lead to the Donkey Kong series. The Donkey Kong Country series was launched in 1994 with a new Donkey Kong as the protagonist (although several installments focus on his friends Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong instead). This version of the character persists as the main one up to today. While the 1980s games' Donkey Kong and the modern Donkey Kong share the same name, the manual for Donkey Kong Country and subsequent games portray the former as Cranky Kong, the latter's grandfather, with the exception of Donkey Kong 64 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, in which Cranky is depicted as his father, alternatively portraying the modern Donkey Kong as the original Donkey Kong Jr. from the titular game. Donkey Kong is considered one of the most popular and iconic characters in video game history.

Mario, the protagonist of the original 1981 game, went on to become the central character of the Mario franchise; the modern Donkey Kong is regularly featured as a character in the Mario games. He has also been playable in every entry of the Super Smash Bros. crossover fighting series, and serves as the main antagonist of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series from 2004 to 2015.[11] The character is voiced by Richard Yearwood and Sterling Jarvis in the animated series Donkey Kong Country (1997–2000),[12] and by Seth Rogen in the Illumination Entertainment feature film The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).[7]

  1. ^ McFerren, Damien (27 February 2014). "Month of Kong: The making of Donkey Kong Country". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Donkey Kong Voices (Donkey Kong Country)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  3. ^ "DK voice in Captain N: The Game Master". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  4. ^ "Interview with the Voice of Mario". Archived from the original on 14 December 2004. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  5. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Donkey Kong In Real Time at the '94 VSDA expo". YouTube. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  6. ^ "Stevie Coyle - Interview 2023, Mario (Mostly Unedited)". -YouTube. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 2023 film was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Cast & Crew of Donkey Kong Country". planete-jeunesse. Archived from the original on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  9. ^ "La Planète de Donkey Kong". Planète Jeunesse. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  10. ^ "[Tv Cm]최석필 성우님의 파워풀한 동키콩 더빙". YouTube.
  11. ^ "Now You're Playing With Power: Top 25 Nintendo Characters of All Time". GameDaily. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  12. ^ "DK voices of the TV series". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2020-10-18. Retrieved 2020-10-18.