Donkey Kong Country (TV series)

Donkey Kong Country
Created by Shigeru Miyamoto
Based on Donkey Kong by Nintendo
Donkey Kong Country by Rare
Developed by Jacques Goldstein
Philippe Percebois
Directed by Mike Fallows
Voices of Richard Yearwood
Andrew Sabiston
Joy Tanner
Aron Tager
Ben Campbell
Adrian Truss
Louise Vallance
Donald Burda
Len Carlson
Damon D'Oliveira
Lawrence Bayne
Rick Jones
Theme music composer Pure West
Opening theme "Donkey Kong Country"
Ending theme "Donkey Kong Country" (Instrumental)
Composer(s) Pure West
Country of origin Canada
France
Original language(s) English
French
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 40 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Dale A. Andrews
Patrick Loubert
Michael Hirsh
Clive Smith
Gérard Mital (Season 1 only)
Jacques Peyrache (Season 1 only)
Producer(s) Maia Tubiana (Season 1)
Stephen Hodgins (Season 1; supervising producer, Season 2)
Patricia R. Burns (Season 1; supervising producer, Season 2)
Pam Lehn (Season 2)
Editor(s) Samuel Lajus
Running time 30 minutes (per episode)
Production company(s) Nelvana Limited
Medialab (season 1)
Hong Guang Animation (season 2)
WIC Entertainment
France 2
Canal +
Ellipsanime
Medianet (season 2)
Distributor Alliance Communications
Nelvana International
Release
Original network Teletoon (Canada)
France 2 (France)
Fox Family (United States) (1998–2000)
Fox Kids (1998–1999) (United States)
Original release October 17, 1997 – July 7, 2000

Donkey Kong Country is a Canadian/French computer-animated television series loosely based on the Nintendo franchise Donkey Kong as portrayed in the Donkey Kong Country video game series by Nintendo and Rare. It first aired in France on September 4, 1996 during a block called La Planète de Donkey Kong translated as The Planet of Donkey Kong.; and aired on Teletoon in Canada in 1997. In the United States, it was one of the first series to be shown on Fox Family, in which the series was broadcast in its entirety from August 15, 1998 (the same day Fox Family was launched) until 2000. It was also seen on Fox Kids from 1998-1999 for a very short time airing two episodes as specials on December 19 of 1998 and aired a few more episodes during the summer of 1999 before being taken off.[1]

In Japan, Donkey Kong Country took over the TV Tokyo 6:30 p.m. timeslot from Gokudo airing on October 1, 1999, and was later replaced with Hamtaro after ending on June 30, 2000.

Donkey Kong Country was one of the earliest television series to be entirely computer-animated with motion capture, matching the artistic style of the video games. Several elements of the series, such as the Crystal Coconut, appeared in later Donkey Kong video games like Donkey Kong 64, which was released a year after the show began airing on Fox.

Plot

Donkey Kong is an ape who happens to find a magic coconut called the Crystal Coconut, which grants wishes and is capable of answering questions asked of it. Donkey Kong is the protector of the Crystal Coconut, which is housed in Cranky Kong's Cabin. King K. Rool and his minions want to steal the Crystal Coconut from Donkey Kong and company in order to rule Kongo Bongo Island, the setting of the show. Try as they may, King K. Rool and his minions never succeed in stealing the Crystal Coconut. Each episode features two songs performed by the show's characters, and the series spanned a total of 40 episodes in two seasons.

Characters

Main from the games

These characters all came from Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (mostly the former). However, some of them went through some design changes.

  • Donkey Kong - The show's titular character, and the future ruler of Kongo Bongo Island, voiced by Richard Yearwood. His singing voice was provided by Sterling Jarvis.
  • Diddy Kong - DK's sidekick and buddy, voiced by Andrew Sabiston, who had earlier voiced Yoshi in Super Mario World.
  • Cranky Kong - DK's mentor, who often mixes potions. He is able to use the Crystal Coconut to show up as a hologram whenever he needs to alert DK. The show makes no mention of how he and DK are related or of his days in the arcade games, which he frequently mentions in the game series as a form of meta-reference. He is voiced by Aron Tager.
  • Funky Kong - The resident airport manager. He looks as he did in the first game but has tan fur instead of brown. He is voiced by Damon D'Oliveira.
  • Candy Kong - DK's girlfriend. She is much less passive than in the games, and even has a different design to match. Part of her design for the show was mixed with her old game design for Donkey Kong 64. She is voiced by Joy Tanner.
  • Dixie Kong - Diddy's girlfriend, and the only character on the show who originated in Donkey Kong Country 2. Like Candy, her design differs a bit (but not as much), and she also has been given tan fur like Funky. Ironically, while Candy is less passive than in the games, Dixie isn't quite as dynamic, as she is not given much attention. She also has a habit of losing her pets. She is voiced by Louise Vallance.
  • King K. Rool - The main villain of the series, always attempting to steal the Crystal Coconut and take over the island. His only noticeable changes in physical appearance is that his cape is much shorter, and his left eye is not bloodshot, although it does enlarge often. He is voiced by Benedict Campbell and in the pilot episode by Len Carlson, who had earlier voiced Ganon in The Legend of Zelda.
  • Krusha - K. Rool's bodyguard. He is very childlike and enjoys watching the Sing Along with Uncle Swampy Show. He is voiced by Len Carlson.
  • Klump - K. Rool's general. He often carries out his boss's plans, but without success. He was voiced by Adrian Truss.
  • Kritters - K. Rool's standard foot soldiers. They look as they did in the first game but are also armed with Klap-Blasters.
  • Klaptraps - Small crocodiles who like to eat wooden surfaces in the manner of termites. They are fired out of Klap-Blasters by the Kritters and usually give comments on whatever they're eating.

Exclusives to the show

These characters appeared only in the show and have not appeared in any games to date.

  • Bluster Kong - The boss of the Bluster Barrelworks factory, where barrels are produced. He has a huge ego and constantly hits on Candy, his lone employee, unsuccessfully. He is voiced by Donald Burda.
  • Junior the Giant Klaptrap - As his name suggests, he is an abnormally large Klaptrap (about Diddy's size).
  • Kaptain Skurvy - A secondary, pirate-themed villain for the series. His design is identical that of Kannon from the second Country game, and it has even been revealed that he is Klump's long lost twin brother. He persists in chasing the Crystal Coconut, claiming it to be the birthright of one of his ancestors.
  • Kutlass & Green Kroc - Skurvy's minions, the former of whom shares a name with one of the enemies from the second game.
  • Polly Roger the Parrot - The pet parrot of Kaptain Skurvy, Polly Roger later works for K. Rool. He and Klump do not get along well.
  • Baby Kong - First appeared on the show as DK after having drunk a youth potion. Confusingly, he appeared again as a separate character from DK in Yoshi's Island DS and Mario Super Sluggers, similar to how Baby Mario showed up as a different character from Mario in his sports games.
  • Robot Candy Clone - A robot look-alike of Candy created by K. Rool to lure DK into certain traps.
  • Kong Fu - A martial arts "Kung Fu Master" who is hired by K. Rool to defeat Donkey Kong in the Annual Donkey Kong Challenge. He only appears in one episode with the same name. His name was later used in the French version of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the boss Karate Kong.
  • Eddie the Mean Old Yeti - A white-furred gorilla who lives alone in the White Mountains. He doesn't seem to like it when other characters intrude on his territory.
  • Inka Dinka Doo - The temple god from where the Crystal Coconut came. It was he who selected DK to be the future ruler. He appears as a stone column on which expressions are featured. This stone block turns around to show the expression that matches his current mood.
  • Robot Kong - Donkey Kong after exchanging minds with Bluster's robot.

Voice cast

Season 1 of the French version was done in Quebec, with the exception of Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong[2] and Funky Kong's voice actors who are from France. Season 2 was not given a French version until later when it got released on DVD years afterwards, which had a new voice cast and it was done in France, with DK and Funky's voice actors reprising their character roles. Hervé Grull did not return as Diddy Kong as he had long since hitted puberty and was replaced by an adult woman as a result.[3]

Character Role Quebec French (Season 1) France French (Season 2) Canada English Japan Japanese
Donkey Kong Franck Capillery Richard Yearwood Kōichi Yamadera
Diddy Kong Hervé Grull Lucile Boulanger Andrew Sabiston Megumi Hayashibara
Cranky Kong Yves Massicotte Yves Barsacq Aaron Tager Ryusei Nakao
Funky Kong Emmanuel Curtil Damon D'Oliveira Banana Ice
Candy Kong Camille Cyr-Desmarais Odile Schmitt Joy Tanner Mika Kanai
Dixie Kong Unknown Annie Barclay Louise Vallance Becky
Bluster Kong Daniel Lesourd Patrice Dozier Donald Burda Daiki Nakamura
King K. Rool Éric Gaudry Michel Tugot-Doris Benedict Campbell Jurota Kosugi
General Klump Jean Brousseau Jacques Bouanich Adrian Truss Keiichi Sonobe
Krusha Unknown Daniel Beretta Len Carlson Tomohisa Aso
Eddie the Mean Old Yeti Unknown Patrice Dozier Damon D'Oliveira Kenyu Horiuchi
Inka Dinka Doo Unknown Unknown Lawrence Bayne Tomohisa Aso
Kaptain Skurvy Unknown Unknown Adrian Truss Katsuhisa Hoki
Kutlass Unknown Unknown John Stocker Unknown
Green Kroc Unknown Unknown Richard Newman Unknown
Kritters Unknown Unknown Lawrence Bayne Unknown
Polly Roger Unknown Unknown Rick Jones Unknown
Junior the Giant Klaptrap Unknown Unknown Rick Jones Unknown
Baby Kong Unknown Unknown Bryn McAuley Unknown
Kong Fu Unknown Unknown Richard Newman Unknown

Episode list

Home video releases

Over thirty Donkey Kong Country DVDs have been released with only five being in English for the longest time.

For North America, four episodes of Donkey Kong Country that feature Kaptain Skurvy were edited together into a VHS cassette release titled Donkey Kong Country: The Legend of the Crystal Coconut and was marketed as a feature-length anthology film. However, these episodes are not in chronological order, as a flashback shown in the third episode actually occurs in the fourth episode of the tape. It was released in Canada around 1997 with distribution handled by Seville Pictures and Nelvana themselves as the secondary distributor.[4] The United States version of the tape was distributed by Paramount Home Video and was released in the nation on November 9, 1999, marking this the only time that the U.S. had a VHS release of this series.

In Japan, the TV series was very popular and proven to be successful, since the videogames that the series is based on, was also a hit. It was also because the Japanese dubbed version of the series was produced with a very high budget thus investing to having a big-name well known voice cast. The Japanese dubbed version of the entire series has been released on home video through Rental VHS tapes in 2000. Shogakukan Video has released all the episodes of the series spreading through 13 volumes and they were sold by Nippon Columbia, a record label company. Each tape contains three episodes each and in consistent order of its Japanese broadcasting on TV Tokyo, with the exception of its series finale, Message in a Bottle Show was not included due to mostly being a clip episode. However, that episode was later introduced as part of another TV Tokyo program which is a quiz show known as Ohashi.

In the PAL regions, Donkey Kong Country Vol.1 (released in Australia) and Donkey Kong Country - Bad Hair Day (released in the United Kingdom) were released on DVD. The other two DVDs, Donkey Kong Country: Hooray for Holly Kongo Bongo and Donkey Kong Country: The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights (both released in Australia) only held one episode. After over three years of no new English DVD, I Spy With My Hairy Eye was released in the UK in 2008.

Finally in 2013, Phase 4 Films, a small Canadian low-budget film company, officially purchased the rights to license and distribute the series for a DVD release in Region 1 alongside with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and began releasing episodes starting off with the He Came, He Saw, He Kong-quered DVD that was released on August 20, 2013. The Complete First Season was then released on DVD in Region 1 on May 12, 2015. [5] [6]

In 2017, Pidax Film has gotten the distribution rights in Germany to release all fourteen episodes of Season 2 on DVD with English and German dubbing audio included. Germany still has yet to get a release of the first season.

The episodes of the show are all available on iTunes.

NameRelease DateEpisodesRegionAdditional Information
The Legend of the Crystal Coconut1997 (Canada)
November 9, 1999 (USA and Canada)		4VHSIncludes Legend of the Crystal Coconut, Bug a Boogie, Ape-Nesia, and Booty and the Beast edited together in a feature-length format.
ドンキーコング Vol. 1 (Donkey Kong Vol. 1)June 21, 20003VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 1-3 (Bad Hair Day, Ape Foo Young and Booty and the Beast).
ドンキーコング Vol. 2 (Donkey Kong Vol. 2)3VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 4-6 (Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel, Kong for a Day and Raiders of the Lost Banana).
ドンキーコング Vol. 3 (Donkey Kong Vol. 3)3VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 7-9 (From Zero to Hero, Buried Treasure and Cranky's Tickle Tonic).
ドンキーコング Vol. 4 (Donkey Kong Vol. 4)August 19, 20003VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 10-12 (Orangutango, Double Date Trouble and The Curse of Kongo Bongo).
ドンキーコング Vol.5 (Donkey Kong Vol. 5)3VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 13-15 (Speed, Get a Life, Don't Save One and The Big Chill Out).
ドンキーコング Vol.6 (Donkey Kong Vol. 6)3VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 16-18 (To the Moon Baboon, I Spy with My Hairy Eye and Klump's Lumps).
ドンキーコング Vol.7 (Donkey Kong Vol. 7)October 21, 20003VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 19-21 (Kong Fu, Bluster's Sale Ape-Stravaganza and Legend of the Crystal Coconut).
ドンキーコング Vol.8 (Donkey Kong Vol. 8)3VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 22-24 (Watch the Skies, Bug a Boogie and Baby Kong Blues).
ドンキーコング Vol.9 (Donkey Kong Vol. 9)3VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 25-27 (Ape-Nesia, A Thin Line Between Love & Ape and The Day the Island Stood Still).
ドンキーコング Vol.10 (Donkey Kong Vol. 10)December 21, 20003VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 28-30 (Hooray for Holly-Kongo Bongo, The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights and Speak No Evil, Dude).
ドンキーコング Vol.11 (Donkey Kong Vol. 11)3VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 31-33 (Monkey Seer, Monkey Do, Four Weddings and a Coconut and Vote of Kong-Fidence).
ドンキーコング Vol.12 (Donkey Kong Vol. 12)3VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 34-36 (Follow That Coconut, The Big Switch-A-Roo and Hunka Hunka Burnin' Bluster).
ドンキーコング Vol.13 (Donkey Kong Vol. 13)3VHSIncludes Japanese dubbed versions of Episodes 37-39 (Best of Enemies, Just Kidding and It's a Wonderful Life).
Donkey Kong Country - Vol. 1TBA44Includes Hooray for Holly-Kongo Bongo, The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights, Speak No Evil, Dude and The Day the Island Stood Still.
The Kongo Bongo Festival of LightsTBA24Includes The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights and Hooray for Holly-Kongo Bongo.
Speak No Evil, DudeTBA24Includes Speak No Evil, Dude and The Day the Island Stood Still.
Monkey Seer, Monkey DoTBA24Includes Monkey Seer, Monkey Do and Four Weddings and a Coconut.
Bad Hair DayJune 6, 200542Includes Bad Hair Day, Ape Foo Young, Booty and the Beast and Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel.
I Spy with My Hairy EyeJune 9, 200832Includes I Spy with My Hairy Eye, Baby Kong Blues and The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights.
Raiders of the Lost BananaAugust 3, 200952Includes Raiders of the Lost Banana, Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel, Kong for a Day, From Zero to Hero and Buried Treasure.
He Came, He Saw, He Kong-queredAugust 20, 201341Includes Bad Hair Day, Ape Foo Young, Booty and the Beast and Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel.
Raiders of the Lost BananaOctober 1, 201341Includes Raiders of the Lost Banana, Kong for a Day, From Zero to Hero and Buried Treasure.
Kong FuJanuary 21, 201441Includes Kong Fu, Get a Life, Don't Save One, Cranky's Tickle Tonic and Orangutango.
The Legend of the Crystal CoconutMarch 11, 201441Includes Legend of the Crystal Coconut, Bluster's Sale Ape-Stravaganza, Klump's Lumps and Speed.
The Complete First SeasonMay 12, 2015261Includes all 26 episodes from season 1.
The Complete Second SeasonTBA141Includes all 14 episodes from season 2.

Merchandise

The show had a large line of merchandise in Japan, including a manga and collectible card game featuring drawings of characters—some of which never appeared in the series. The card game was later adapted to be based on Donkey Kong 64.

Channel details

Country Channel Language audio dub Notes
France France France 2 (September 4, 1996), Game One and Gulli as Donkey Kong French Season 2 was unaired in France, until DVD releases came out with a French version, featuring mostly a new cast done locally.
Netherlands Netherlands RTL 4 Dutch
Belgium Belgium Club RTL (French) and VT4 (Dutch) French
Dutch
Canada Canada Teletoon/Télétoon (1997-2000) English
French		 Season 1's French version was done in Quebec.
United States United States Fox Family (August 15, 1998-2000) and Fox Kids (December 18, 1998 and July 10, 1999 – August 28, 1999) English The series aired in its entirety on Fox Family from August 15, 1998 to 2000. Two episodes aired on Fox Kids on December 18, 1998 as specials and the series aired a few more episodes on Saturdays from July 10, 1999 until August 28, 1999.
United Kingdom United Kingdom Fox Kids English
Australia Australia Network Ten, Fox Kids, FOX8, KidsCo English
South Korea South Korea Daekyo Kids TV (September 13, 1999 – 2000) as Donkey Kong (동키 콩) Korean
Japan Japan TV Tokyo (October 1, 1999 – June 30, 2000) as Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング) Japanese
Finland Finland MTV3 and Canal+ Finnish
Denmark Denmark Canal+ Danish
Sweden Sweden Canal+ Swedish
Norway Norway Canal+ Norwegian
Italy Italy Fox Kids Italy and Italia 1 Italian
Germany Germany Super RTL and Das Vierte as Donkey Kongs Abenteuer (2001) German Only the Season 2 episodes were picked up and aired in Germany for a German dub.
Spain Spain Fox Kids Spain (1999) and Canal Sur Castilian Spanish Only the Season 1 episodes were picked up and aired for a Castilian Spanish dub.
Brazil Brazil Fox Kids Brazil and Rede Record Brazilian Portuguese
Portugal Portugal SIC and KidsCo European Portuguese
Poland Poland RTL 7 (April 24, 1999)
Indonesia Indonesia Disney Channel Asia English
Indonesian
Malaysia Malaysia Disney Channel Asia and TV2 English
Malay
Singapore Singapore TCS Channel 5 (1997-2000), Kids Central (2000-01) and KidsCo (reruns) English
Mexico Mexico HBO Olé, Fox Kids, ZAZ and Disney XD (Latin America) Latin Spanish Only Season 1 was picked up and dubbed into Latin Spanish.
Argentina Argentina HBO Olé and Fox Kids
Colombia Colombia
Venezuela Venezuela
Chile Chile MEGA
Iceland Iceland Stöð 2 Icelandic
Greece Greece KidsCo and Alter Channel Greek
India India Disney Channel India (2006-2008) English
Hindi		 Episodes dubbed into Hindi by Sound & Vision India and ran from 2006-2008.
New Zealand New Zealand Three English

References

  1. ↑ "Fox Kids Saturday Morning Lineups (1998-1999) The Kids Block Blog". wordpress.com. 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  2. ↑ http://www.rsdoublage.com/comedien-512-Herve-Grull.html
  3. ↑ "Planète Jeunesse - Donkey Kong". planete-jeunesse.com. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  4. ↑ "Donkey Kong Country: The Legend Of The Crystal Coconut - Your VHS Collector". vhscollector.com. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  5. ↑ "Amazon.com Donkey Kong Country: He Came, He Saw, He Kong-quered". amazon.com. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  6. ↑ "Amazon.com: Donkey Kong Country: Season 1". amazon.com. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
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