Western Animation / Donkey Kong Country

Banana slamma!^note First Row: Funky Kong, Donkey Kong, Bluster Kong and Candy Kong. Second Row: Dixie Kong, Diddy Kong and Cranky Kong.

"Hoo! Hah! Hoo-Hah! Donkey Kong!
Heeeey, yo! Look out down below
Here he comes, banana-slamma!
Kongo Bongo's hero!"

— The show's theme song

A French/Canadian/Chinese-produced All CGI Animated Adaptation of the popular SNES game Donkey Kong Country. The series lasted from 1998 to 2000, airing in Canada on Teletoon and in the US on Fox Family.

On the island of Kongo Bongo, The Hero of the series, Donkey Kong, is the island's future ruler, as selected by a magical orb called the Crystal Coconut, which has the ability to grant wishes (among numerous other things). But the Coconut is a prize coveted by the show's villain, King K. Rool, who aims to steal it and take over the island himself. Thus, DK has to always stand guard over it, which isn't an easy task since he's frequently taking time off to do activities such as eating his Trademark Favorite Food, bananas. Sometimes, another threat appears in the form of a group of Pirates led by Kaptain Skurvy, who believes the Coconut belongs to him. And did we mention there's a lot of singing? It happens at least Once per Episode.

While only a loose adaptation of the games, a few elements of the show would find their way into the games, particularly in Donkey Kong 64, where Crystal Coconuts are an item (but not a unique MacGuffin like here), Cranky Kong works as a potion-mixing Mad Scientist, and Klaptraps now have "dentures."

Parallel to the airing of Donkey Kong Country, Medialab (co-producer and animator of the first season) produced the programming block La planète de Donkey Kong (later retitled DKTV) for France 2 between 1996 and 2001. Outside of featuring some of the Donkey Kong Country cast, DKTV had little relation to the show or the Donkey Kong video games, being a succession of surreal, pun-heavy skits starring the Kongs as Animated Actors.

Now has a recap page.

The entire series is available online in certain countries for free courtesy of Nelvana's Retro Rerun.

An unofficial musical theatre adaptation based on the TV series titled Banana Slamma, which combines the episodes "Ape-Nesia" and "Legend of the Crystal Coconut", was released on YouTube on April 12, 2020 as part of MAGFest 2020, which can be viewed here. In 2023, animator Alex Henderson would reunite several members of the voice cast for a musical animated short Return to Krocodile Isle.

---

Tropes used exclusively in the show:

• Adaptational Dumbass: DK in the games is not particularly stupid, whereas in the show he's very dim-witted.
• Adaptational Dye-Job: Candy Kong, despite being a blonde in the video games, is depicted in this show as a redhead. Also, Dixie and Funky Kong have lighter-colored fur than in the games.
• Adaptational Jerkass:
  • Candy Kong is portrayed as short-tempered and brusque, words that would never apply to her in the games.
  • Diddy Kong is meaner than his game counterpart.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: While King K. Rool is still a bad guy, he's nowhere near as awful as he was in the games.
• Adaptational Wimp:
  • Unlike his game counterpart, Diddy Kong is about as effective against the bad guys as, well, a little kid fighting grown-ups. The most he ever does in a fight is help DK turn on Cranky's booby-trapped footbridge. Dixie didn't even get that, despite being as capable as Diddy in the games.
  • K. Rool in the games is a final boss capable of clobbering DK and leaping across the battlefield. K. Rool in the show is more likely to hide behind Krusha and Klump once things stop going his way.
  • DK in the show has an entire song about how terrified he is of the supposed 'Bog Monster.' DK in the games would be more likely to punch it. DK in the cartoon was also pleased to know that the Bog Monster was fake. Game DK would likely be disappointed by such an outcome.
• Adapted Out: Dixie Kong is the only Kong character from the second game to appear, with Wrinkly Kong and Swanky Kong being left out. None of the Kongs' animal buddies, and none of the enemies or bosses outside of the Kremlings themselves appear, either.
• Affably Evil: Basically every villain, aside from Polly Roger and Kong Fu.
• Afraid of Needles: Diddy is revealed to be as such in "Speak No Evil, Dude," and avoids getting a shot for the Kongo Bongo Gone Wrongo disease by holding two coconuts against his butt, tricking Cranky into injecting them with the vaccine. This ends up biting him in the ass, literally, when Polly Roger, the carrier of the disease, infects him.
• All-CGI Cartoon: One of the early examples, and the first one to be entirely animated in motion capture.
• Almost Kiss: A running gag between DK and Candy, mostly in the first season.
• Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The Japanese version has a different opening and ending theme. The ending theme does feature the "hoo-hah, Donkey Kong!" chant.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: The Ape-propriately-named one-episode character Kong Fu. In fact, he's so arrogant that when K. Rool's 'krew' make fun of his phobia, he quits working for them.
• Art Evolution: Zigzagged. The models actually lose detail in the second season, presumably due to budget cuts, but more vibrant color palettes are used as compensation for this issue and the motion capture is replaced by regular 3D animation, removing the rapid lip-flapping and having each character's mouth accurately move to what they're saying. Movements are less uncanny, characters are more expressive and clipping is much less abundant too, so it somewhat makes up for the drop in detail.
• Art Shift: While still CGI, the series' animation switches methods from Motion Capture in Season 1 to keyframe animation in Season 2.
• Artifact of Attraction: The Crystal Coconut is an incredibly powerful wish-granting artifact that's the central focus for most of the episodes because of how everyone wants it. Every episode is either about the Kongs protecting the Coconut from someone trying to steal it, the Kongs trying to retrieve the Coconut after someone steals it, the Kongs losing it either through rotten-luck or stupidity or a convoluted plan from one of the various antagonists to procure it legitimately.
• Ass Shove: In order to immunize the islands' inhabitants against the Kongo Bongo Gone Wrongo disease, Cranky administers the Timbananatu nectar vaccine by putting the syringe into the rear (following an incident caused by Polly Roger, which gave him the idea). Yes, this includes Candy and Dixie. (Cranky has a bigger syringe especially for Bluster.)
• Bad Boss: Bluster Kong is a genuine example. He spends about half of his time trying in vain to flirt with Candy, and the other half overworking her or making unreasonable demands from her.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: The Crystal Coconut can grant wishes, so this topic comes up now and again. The biggest example would be in "The Day The Island Stood Still," where it's played for comedy; DK, about to take a nap, absentmindedly wishes he could sleep forever. The result is time halting...and he can't protect the island if he's napping since the Crystal Coconut also makes DK unable to ever awaken while time is stopped. Made worse when K. Rool, who is awake with the rest of the island's inhabitants, also realizes the time has stopped and DK is out like a light...
• Benevolent Boss: While King K. Rool might sound like a Bad Boss, he does take pretty good care of his troops, despite their fumblings. This is the complete opposite of K. Rool in the games, who is indeed a cruel and tyrannical ruler who constantly abuses his minions.
• Beta Couple: Diddy and Dixie to Donkey and Candy's Alpha Couple (just like in the games), though Diddy sometimes reciprocates the feelings when it's not directly or heavily implied.
• Be the Ball: DK does this to Diddy in one episode.
• Big Bad Ensemble: King K. Rool and Kaptain Skurvy.
• Big "NO!": K. Rool's reaction to when Klump's video conference messes up his game playing in "Buried Treasure."
• Big Red Button: K. Rool wanted to push it.
  Klump: But you said blast off! I didn't get to say anything!
• Boyish Short Hair: Candy Kong. Although since she's always seen wearing a sweatband, it might be a case of Compressed Hair.
• Bragging Theme Tune: "I'm so bad I scare myself!"
• Broken Aesop: Subverted. In the episode "Bug A Boogie," Cranky tries to show DK and Diddy that practical jokes aren't fun... by pulling a practical joke on them. However, this actually comes back to bite him when not having DK around due to said practical joke leaves the Crystal Coconut unprotected, fixing the aesop.
• BSoD Song: In "Kong For A Day," K. Rool frames DK for various misdeeds, leading to the other Kongs banishing our hero to the White Mountains. There, poor Donkey Kong is left singing about how everything's gone wrong with no idea why.
• Butt-Monkey:
  • DK himself is this, figuratively and literally speaking, especially in "Kong for a Day" and the majority of season two.
  • Cranky is also a figurative and literal example, as he's been injured at least once by every other character in the show, most often by Donkey Kong.
• Canon Foreigner: Bluster Kong, Inka Dinka Doo, Polly Roger, Eddie the Mean Old Yeti and Skurvy and his crew. Although Skurvy's design appears to be directly based on the cannon-wielding Klumps named Kannon from Donkey Kong Country 2.
• Canon Immigrant: The Crystal Coconut, and Cranky dealing in potions, as well as the Klaptraps with "dentures." Similarly, General Klump and Krusha also appeared in a commercial for the Game Boy Color port of the original Donkey Kong Country video game, fighting Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and even Rambi the Rhino for a giant version of the GBC. All the characters (even though Rambi never appeared in the cartoon) were based on their appearances from the second season of this cartoon.
• Catchphrase: Banana-Slamma!
• Character Check: While a majority of episodes in Season 2 had Donkey Kong be rather egotistical, a few had him acting more like he did in Season 1; a dimwitted hero who would fight tooth and nail for his friends if they were in trouble.
• Chase Scene: Done in multiple episodes.
• The Chosen One: Donkey Kong is 'The future ruler of Kongo Bongo'. The thing is, no one knows when he'll become ruler, but for now it seems his only job is to protect the Crystal Coconut. On the other hand, Inka Dinka Doo might know...
  Inka Dinka Doo: "For me to know, for you NOT to find out!"
• Christmas Episode: One episode appears to focus on a holiday known as "Festival of Lights Day" (Day appears to actually be in the name of the celebration). The festival appears to be about be around family and friends, gift giving, peace, and fireworks. Minus the fireworks, this is basically the idea and overall way Christmas is treated. Even K.Rool celebrates it and honors the peace for one day, although Skurvy doesn't...
• Clip Show: The final episode of season 2 is simply a montage of characters remembering various sequences from the older episodes, with the over-arching story being about DK leaving the island possibly forever. He misread the letter, so he's not.
• Comically Missing the Point: In "Buried Treasure," Donkey didn't realize at first that he's found a treasure map.
• Compilation Movie: Several episodes that featured Kaptain Skurvy were edited together and presented as Donkey Kong Country: The Legend of the Crystal Coconut. The commercials and even the box cover advertised it as a standalone film, completely failing to acknowledge the fact that the episodes were just that: episodes from a TV show, which is also never brought up in the marketing. This has led to much confusion for people unaware of the series, such as references to episodes that weren't included on the videotape, characters showing up without a proper introduction (most notably Eddie the Mean Old Yeti, who appears for a few seconds in the third episode on the tape without any explanation given for who he is), and most infamously, they somehow managed to mix up the order of two episodes. The last one featured is actually one of the first episodes of the show period and the events of that episode are called back to in the episode immediately preceding it.
• Covers Always Lie: When Nelvana released the show for free on YouTube, almost none of the video thumbnails were from the correct episode.
• The Creon: Klump's sole desire is serving K. Rool. When he briefly gets fired, he's devastated because he literally has no idea what else to do with his life. When K. Rool and Cranky seemingly rekindle their childhood friendship, Klump panics because he can't function without being given orders.
• Curse Cut Short: In "Speak No Evil, Dude":
  Diddy: What a riot, what a gas! Cranky is dumber than a monkey's... (gets bitten by a parrot)
• Cutting the Knot: In "Speed," the now-smart Krusha has started a minecart with a bomb attached to it, which will explode if the minecart stops, but he's about to obtain the Crystal Coconut, forcing DK to either go after the minecart, or protect the Crystal Coconut. DK goes after the minecart... But then comes back and just takes the Crystal Coconut with him instead of leaving it with Krusha.
• Deadpan Snarker: Diddy, K. Rool, and Cranky.
• Decided by One Vote: Krusha in "Vote of Kong-fidence."
• Decomposite Character: K. Rool's pirate captain role, and the piracy and seafaring element of the Kremlings in general, have been put into Kaptain Skurvy and his crew.
• Denser and Wackier: In comparison to the games.
• Didn't Think This Through: In "The Curse of Kongo Bongo," cursed chain letters are sent out to everyone on Kongo Bongo that will sink the entire island if read twice. When K. Rool finds out about it, he tries to use it to his advantage by threatening to read the letter intended for him if he's not given the Crystal Coconut, making it clear he'll sink the island if he doesn't get what he wants. When DK and Diddy show up, he does exactly that, thinking there are more words on the other side when there aren't; it's at that moment that K. Rool realizes that he's doomed the entire island with him on it.
• Dirty Coward: Bluster. In "Booty and the Beast," when threatened by K. Rool at gunpoint, he literally bows down to him and kisses his feet:
  Bluster: You're the master! The pooh-bah! What's mine is yours, what's hers is yours, what's yours is yours! All of it, yours!
  Candy: Bluster, you spineless worm!
• Ditzy Genius: King K. Rool. Several of his schemes are smart enough to actually work, but he gets too carried away at the end. Part of this problem is K.Rool's insatiable appetite for grandiose schemes and using Krusha and Kump over and over rather than his very adept workforce.
• "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The Japanese version of the show's theme song is sung by DK and Diddy.
• Do Not Adjust Your Set: In the B-plot of Bluster's Sales Ape-Straveganza, K. Rool decides to steal the Crystal Coconut on live TV.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The way the Kritters march in the song "King K. Rool's Finest Hour."
• Dumbass Has a Point: In the episode "Buried Treasure," K. Rool decides that the treasure the Kongs are looking for is an Artifact of Doom "capable of wiping out the island":
  K. Rool: Do you know what that means!?
  Krusha: Uh... the apes will have supreme domination over Kongo Bongo, and probably turn us into matching luggage.
  K. Rool: (to the audience) ...he does have his moments...
  • And again in, "Monkey Seer, Monkey Do," after they steal the "mystic oracle" (Funky's lava lamp). The Kremlings spend several elaborate dances trying to "summon the oracle," only for Krusha to point out that the lamp isn't even on.
• Dumb Muscle: King K. Rool and his henchmen (especially Krusha), Eddie the Mean Old Yeti, and to a lesser extent^note Or maybe not. It's ambiguous for the most part, but how much DK is an example ultimately depends on the writer., Donkey Kong.
  • This trope (among other related ones) is implied to be the reason why Bluster was given the time capsule project in "To the Moon, Babboon", even though it was DK's idea.^note Even though Bluster has his own barrel factory, and made the time capsule rocket, DK still could have been given the project, with the time capsule rocket itself being Bluster's contribution.
• Easy Amnesia: "Ape-nesia" revolves around DK losing his memory from being bonked on the head. The concept is played with later on as Candy asks if she needs to bonk him on the head again, only for Cranky to say it could take years to recover. When everyone attempts to remind him of who he fails, though, Candy bonking him on the head is what restores his memory.
• Evil Brit: King K. Rool is this.
• Evil Twin: Candy Clone, who even DK can't tell from the real thing.
• Evil Virtues: K. Rool gives all of his minions the day of the Festival of Lights off every year.
  "Even cerebrally-challenged, home-spun, pinheaded subordinates need to spend time with their scaly loved ones."
  • K. Rool shows this again during Donkey Kong and Candy's impending wedding. Rather than sabotage it, he's actually anticipating the chance to actually give a toast to the bride!
  • Krusha, on the other hand, in the episode "Speed" has none, and is willing to go so far as to kill Diddy and Dixie with a bomb to get to Donkey Kong. Even K.Rool is rather amazed and terrified.
• Evil Versus Evil: Kaptain Skurvy allowed for a three-way conflict, something that doesn't show up often in children's cartoons in the era.
• Eviler than Thou: When Krusha gets his intelligence enhanced, he becomes infinitely more ruthless and cruel than K. Rool is.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!:
  • As part of a Zany Scheme, DK flies around in Funky's bi-plane.
    DK: Hey, it's Dixie's pet crab! Aw, isn't he cute, eatin' through all those funny-lookin' wire- Uh oh. This is probably a bad thing.
  • From "Bug-A-Boogie" when DK informs Klump and Krusha there could be a bog monster lurking around:
    Krusha: What's a bog monster?
    Klump: Oh, it's a big, ugly, hairy beast that eats... anything in... sight. [gasp]
  • In the beginning of "From Zero to Hero", Krusha steals the Crystal Coconut out from Cranky's nose. However, he doesn't have it when he gets to K. Rool's lair. One of his Kritters who accompanied Krusha remind him that after Cranky's, they went to a swamp and met "That very cute lizard"...
    Krusha: Yeah, right, and-and then I handed her the Coconut...
    K. Rool: You handed her the Coconut?
    Krusha: Eh... Uh-oh. I didn't get it back. Back in a jiffy. (Leaves)
    K. Rool: The brains...of a NEWT!!!
  • In "A Thin Line Between Love and Ape", upon learning that Bluster asked the Crystal Coconut for the formula for a Love Potion, Donkey Kong is left wondering why he'd want such a thing...until he remembers that Bluster has eyes on his girl, Candy.
    Donkey Kong: What would Bluster want with a...love potion?! (Charges out of Cranky's treehouse out for blood) BLUSTER!!!
• Expressive Mask: Funky's shades.
• Fan Disservice: Because King K Rool is tailless, his 'butt' is technically visible at all times. Meanwhile Candy is the only character who doesn't go around bottomless.
• Finagle's Law: "The Legend of the Crystal Coconut" has every villain being reluctant to do anything bad because it's a bad villain day. Murphy's Law does indeed strike.
• Fountain of Youth: In "Ape Foo Young," Cranky developed a youth tonic to turn him back into a brawny ape. Unfortunately, DK drinks it too, turning him into a little baby!
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: "The Big Switcheroo" has DK getting his brain switched with a barrel-making robot's, and Candy's with Klump's.
• Friendly Enemy: Klump and Krusha. Even King K. Rool has his moments.
• Friend-or-Idol Decision: In "Speed," the intelligence-enhanced Krusha invokes this, placing Diddy and Dixie in danger so that DK will have to choose between saving them or protecting the Crystal Coconut. Unfortunately for him, DK decides to Take a Third Option; he just grabs the Crystal Coconut and carries it with him while he saves Diddy and Dixie.
• Full-Name Ultimatum: Donkey Kong gets this the most. Usually from Cranky.
• General Failure: General Klump. All of his plans to steal the Crystal Coconut for King K. Rool are undone by his bumbling and incompetence.
• Genius Bruiser: One episode has Krusha suddenly become highly intelligent. He outwits the entire cast, becoming The Starscream in the process.
• Genius Ditz: General Klump.
• Gentle Giant: Krusha manages to be this while still being a villain.
• The Ghost: Bluster's mom, who he always mentions or talks to through his phone.
• Graceful Loser: On a few ocassions, when it is clear King K. Rool has lost, he tends to be very polite towards Donkey Kong. Not that this has saved him from getting his snout punched in.
  K. Rool: Good match. Once again, you win, I lose. No harm, no foul. Let's call it a day. *gets cold-cocked by Donkey Kong*
• Growling Gut: In the episode "Klump's Lumps", Klump's stomach growls when he tries to persuade the Kongs to let him live with them.
  Klump: I'm clean, I'm quiet, I don't eat much! *stomach growls* Okay, I can diet...
• Guns Are Worthless: A notable aversion, as anyone with any sort of firearm, no matter how ridiculous the weapon (or how ridiculous the wielder, in the case of Bluster's Let's Get Dangerous!) is taken quite seriously.
• Hand Cannon: Scurvy's weapon of choice on land. It is a quite literal hand-held cannon
• Hard Work Hardly Works: Averted. While DK is 'The biggest, strongest ape on all of Kongo Bongo' the episode 'Kong Fu' shows that if he just sits around eating bananas, he loses that strength.
• Have a Gay Old Time: Modern audiences snicker at Diddy telling Donkey that "Your plan's a bit of a boner" in one episode.
  • In "Kong for a Day," DK refers to Dixie by the first three letters of her name. That is to say: "Dix."
• Hero with an F in Good: Bluster Kong. His attempts to legitimately help his fellow apes in "Get a Life, Don't Save One!" and "From Zero to Hero" are so destructive (not to mention annoying and overblown) that We Want Our Jerk Back! ensues.
  • In one episode he successfully steals the Crystal Coconut and loses it. He then proceeds to work against DK and Diddy to retrieve it because he wants to be the hero, but just hands it over when asked by Klump out of fear. When it comes down to it, Bluster's selfishness overpowers any good he's attempting to do.
• Hulk Speak: Eddie the Mean Old Yeti and Krusha from time to time.
• Hurricane of Puns: One of the songs in "The Big Switch-a-Roo" is nothing but Cranky Kong and the others making "head" puns in reaction to robot Donkey Kong's head becoming detached from his body.
• Idiot Hero: Donkey Kong.
• Idiot Ball: Everyone. It's a running theme that almost every character lacks lots of common sense during most episodes with a situation or conflict that could've been resolved more easily. Especially the Big Bad consistently having a Villain Ball.
• Idea Bulb: Shows up. K. Rool at one point had turning gears appear over his head before the bulb did.
• I'm Not a Doctor, but I Play One on TV: DK's not a villain. But he played one in Bluster's movie and when K. Rool, playing the hero, stole the Crystal Coconut, DK got the blame and was banished for it.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: K. Rool has to deal with stupidity from his minions, repeated failures, and repeated beatings from Donkey Kong, but his hammy, Laughably Evil tendencies make him one of the highlights of the show, and you really do feel sorry for him with what he has to put up with. In one episode he spends most of it watching Krusha and Klump try to troubleshoot their way into decoding a message they themselves wrote and forgot the code to, and K. Rool mutters to himself, "It's times like this I find myself asking: do I really want the Crystal Coconut this badly?"
• Inexplicably Tailless: K. Rool and Kutlass are completely tailless. The other crocodilian characters have noticeably shorter and stiffer tails than their video game incarnations, possibly due to animation constraints.
• Injection Plot: "Speak No Evil, Dude," is this show's example featuring Diddy Kong being Afraid of Needles.
• In Name Only: Kutlass is nothing like his canon counterpart.
• Insistent Terminology:
  • Or rather, insistence on not using a particular terminology. The word "Kremling" is never heard at any point throughout the series. Instead, the minions are called "Kritters", which in the original video game refers only to the standard Mook enemy but in this series appears to refer to K.Rool's entire army.
  • Donkey Kong is never referred to as just "Donkey," even though every other Kong shares his surname. It's always "Donkey Kong" or "DK." Dixie once refers to "Donkey and Diddy," but that's it in two seasons.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Besides Donkey and Diddy (as always), Candy and Dixie are explicitly shown to have this kind of friendship, with Dixie even hanging out at Candy's house on occasion.
  • Klump's Lumps has Dixie befriending Klump after he was Unperson'd by K.Rool. This obviously doesn't last, but the ending implies he still does want to be friends, but his service to the Big Bad prevents it.
• Ironic Echo: In "From Zero to Hero", K. Rool and Bluster each said "One minute you're up, and the next, you're down".
• I Owe You My Life: In the episode "Get A Life, Don't Save One!," Bluster becomes DK's lackey after a life-saving experience. This doesn't go unnoticed by K. Rool, who comes under the paranoid impression that DK and Bluster are collaborating in some sort of plot against him. He subsequently has Bluster kidnapped in an effort to uncover whatever their "scheme" is, and in doing so inadvertently subverts the usual "master stages a disaster for the slave to save them from" stage of the trope. When Bluster doesn't show to save DK from a malfunctioning airplane, DK is forced to save Bluster once again from K. Rool's lair. Afterward, Bluster cuts off the debt himself, declaring that looking after DK's hide is more trouble than it's worth.
• Jerkass:
  • Bluster Kong. He has no regard for anyone's happiness but his own, and is willing to screw over any and everyone just to get it. He even goes out of his way to make a love potion to use on Candy because he believes Candy is better off with him than DK.
  • Polly Roger. King K. Rool and Kaptain Skurvy had either redeeming qualities or good manners beneath their evil, while most of their respective minions either had Undying Loyalty or were Friendly Enemies. Polly's just an asshole.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Cranky Kong. Also, Klump in a few episodes.
• Jiggle Physics: The animation team gave K. Rool's stomach jiggle physics, an inversion of what they would normally be used for.
• Karma Houdini:
  • King K. Rool in "Kong For a Day." He manages to frame DK for various incidents, isolating him from everyone and ultimately resulting in being banished. Although DK is brought back in time to foil K. Rool, in the end DK's friends still think he did all of that, with nobody aware that this was all K. Rool's doing.
  • Polly Roger also qualifies in "Speak No Evil, Dude." He infects Diddy with the deadly Kongo Bongo Gone Wrongo, visibly enjoys putting DK through a Sadistic Choice to save his best friend or the island, and deliberately chooses not to tell Klump and Krusha that K. Rool doesn't want the island blown up purely to spite the king for insulting him. Aside from being choke-holded into spitting out the cure and startled by Cranky's hologram into dropping it, Polly gets off totally scot-free.
  Polly: Yo-ho-ho and a...uh...ah, forget it.
• Karmic Jackpot: In the episode "Kong Fu", DK and the titular Kong Fu are competing for the title of Ruler of Kongo Bongo Island. Kong Fu won the test of knowledge and was trouncing DK during the test of strength. A Convenient Eclipse paralyzes Kong Fu with terror because he's afraid of the dark. Even with his opponent helpless before him, DK can't bring himself to attack someone when they can't fight back. This wins DK the test of heart. Because DK didn't attack him and because K. Rool mocked Kong Fu for his fear, he forfeits the test of strength, giving Donkey Kong the win.
• Kiss of Life: DK accidentally wishes he could sleep forever and ends up doing just that. He is eventually awoken when K. Rool accidentally kisses him while having apples in his eyes.
• Knight of Cerebus:
  • Krusha when he gets hit by a minecart in "Speed". He knows how most of the situations with everyone will play out, and fails because he neglected to take one detail into account: DK taking the Crystal Coconut. Krusha's so deadly, that he's even willing to kill Diddy and Dixie with a bomb, and effectively doesn't bat an eye at the prospect of K. Rool accidentally being killed in the crossfire.
  • Kaptain Skurvy as well. Since he appeared less often than K. Rool, he and his plans tended to be more threatening. He successfully captured both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in one episode, and the Crystal Coconut in his debut appearance.
• Large Ham:
  • King K. Rool and, to a lesser extent, Bluster Kong.
  • In one episode, during DK's attempts to imitate K. Rool, Bluster yells "Get that ham out of here!"
• Let's Get Dangerous!: One episode has Bluster hold up King K. Rool with his own blunderbuss.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: While not without his monstrous moments, K. Rool sometimes boils down to being less of a villain than the other two main antagonists, Captain Skurvy and Bluster Kong. K. Rool is happy to honor the truces established with the Kong's for holidays, while Skurvy doesn't give a damn and happily violates the truces for his own gain. In the first season finale, Bluster brews a love potion to brainwash Candy into marrying him, and while K. Rool steals the potion to brainwash Candy, it's only to get her to steal the Coconut for him, and he never considers going as far as Bluster planned to go.
• MacGuffin: The Crystal Coconut. It doesn't matter what it does, because it does everything the plot demands. Because of this, villains such as K. Rool dedicate their screentime stealing it, and DK and his friends have to protect it.
• Made of Indestructium: Once again, the Crystal Coconut. The two times it's shown being broken (by Donkey Kong, no less), it's a duplicate. Any other time that it falls with no one able to catch it, the coconut just bounces like a rubber ball.
• Man, I Feel Like a Woman: Not easy to catch, but Klump does this once he realizes he's in a "Freaky Friday" Flip with Candy.
• Manipulative Bastard: King K. Rool
• Market-Based Title: The French and Japanese dubs are both called simply "Donkey Kong."
• Meaningless Villain Victory: K. Rool wins the dancing competition and a wish from the Crystal Coconut as his prize, with Cranky conceding that there's nothing they can do. Unfortunately, K. Rool haphazardly wishes Klump would stop dancing like a fool after his minion does so, and completely nullifies his victory in the process.
• Metronomic Man Mashing: Kong Fu to DK.
• Miles Gloriosus: Bluster Kong.
  • Inverted with Leo Luster.
• Minimalist Cast: Because of the limitations of CGI, it's practical to list all main characters who appear in the show - seven Kongs (Donkey, Diddy, Cranky, Candy, Dixie, Bluster, and Funky), K. Rool and his henchmen Klump and Krusha, and Captain Skurvy and his two henchmen. Only the occasional guest star or recurring minor character like Eddie the Mean Old Yeti or the Klaptraps appear otherwise. This sometimes leads to some interesting scenarios where there's apparently meant to be far more Kong's on the island than could ever be shown, such as "From Zero to Hero" when Dixie says "the whole island" is panicking because K. Rool stole the coconut; or the election in "Vote of Kong-Fidence" where most of the cast clearly was fooled into voting for K. Rool, but DK still somehow got enough votes to tie with him (Bluster's mom also voted for either K. Rool or DK).
• Minor Flaw, Major Breakup: In "Kong For A Day," Candy breaks up with DK...because she slipped on a banana peel that then landed on his head^note which K. Rool put in her path.. No, seriously. They reconcile at the end, but sheesh!
• Mirror Character: Cranky and K. Rool, especially when it's revealed they used to be the best of friends.
• Mistaken for Dying: Bluster in "From Zero to Hero".
• Mood Whiplash: In "Kong for a Day," we have a melancholy DK singing "Nobody's Hero" until we pull back from him as the last note echoes and we slowly fade to black which cuts to a commercial. Later, after Diddy's failed first attempt as a hero, we cut back to a whiny DK hungry for bananas, hallucinating a banana tree and ending up falling into a pile of snow.
• Mooks: Kritters, as with the games.
• Morality Pet: Dixie for Klump, who previously didn't have one before 'Klump's Lumps'.
• Motion Capture: Used in Season 1 in an early example of the method.
• Mythology Gag:
  • In "Buried Treasure," a frustrated Diddy throws his hat to the ground and stomps on it. In the first game, this is what he does when he loses a bonus round.
  • In "Get A Life, Don't Save One," Donkey Kong says flying a plane is more fun than "standing on top of some skyscraper." Doubles as a Shout-Out to King Kong.
  • In "Message In A Bottle Show," Cranky says that DK is like a son to him. Think about it.
  • In "From Zero to Hero," the song "King K. Rool's Finest Hour" shares the same beat as "Krook's March" from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
  • Cranky living on a tree top, similar to the Tree Top levels in the first game. While we don't see any other tree top houses, there are many bridge paths connected between trees.
  • Kaptain Skurvy is clearly based on the enemy Kannon from the second DKC game. The enemy is referred to as being just a Klump in pirate gear. Turns out Skurvy and Klump are brothers!
• Never Recycle Your Schemes: K. Rool never recycles his plans. Not even the ones that actually got him the Crystal Coconut.
• Never Trust a Trailer: The Donkey Kong Country: The Legend of the Crystal Coconut VHS, released in 1999, was marketed as a standalone feature-length movie...even though it's actually four episodes of this TV show edited together (Out of Order, no less). And the commercials and even the packaging for said VHS also completely fail to acknowledge the existence of the show that the episodes are derived from. Considering that Nelvana helped distribute the videotape, it makes you wonder why they'd try to ignore their own show, especially since the videotape contained a lot of scenes that would've made no sense at all to newer viewers that weren't previously aware of the TV series.
• New-Age Retro Hippie: Funky Kong became this, "mon."
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The conflict in "Legend of the Crystal Coconut" began when DK just GAVE the MacGuffin to K.Rool under the belief that would grant him enlightenment. ("To know everything, you must give up everything")
• No Flow in CGI:
  • K. Rool's cape is MUCH shorter than in the games. Averted with his gut, however.
  • Dixie's ponytail is only half the length it is in the games, which also makes her Off-Model.
  • DK's tie is pretty much pasted onto his chest.
• No Indoor Voice: Inka Dinka Doo TALKS LIKE THIS.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Krusha becomes one when he gets he gets hit by a minecart in "Speed". Even K. Rool is terrified of him.
• Odd Friendship: Dixie and Klump.
• Odd Name Out:
  • Bluster in the Kong's Theme Naming of ending with an "e" sound and in Skurvy's crew there's Green Croc. Who isn't even green.
• Older Than They Look: It turns out that K. Rool is the same age, or thereabouts, as Cranky Kong. Doubles as a Genius Bonus, when you consider that crocodiles/alligators and their related species are relatively long-lived in real life.
• Once per Episode: There are two songs sung by the characters in each episode.
• Out of Focus:
  • Dixie gets this treatment pretty badly, having perhaps one single episode or two dedicated for her. Even in Message in a Bottle Show, she's the only one out of everybody and the villains who hardly does anything with DK and thus doesn't even get to use flashbacks. It feels like she's a Recurring Extra rather than a secondary character.
  • To a lesser extent, Scurvy and his crew. The family root reveal kind of put an end to his shenanigans.
• Palette Swap: Donkey Kong and Eddie the Mean Old Yeti. Also Captain Scurvy and his two henchmen are Palette Swaps of General Klump, King K. Rool and one of the mooks.
• Parody Episode: One episode copied the plot (and even the title) of the movie Speed. Another episode used the "It's a Wonderful Plot" trope in an All Just a Dream fashion.
• Pirate Booty:
  • One episode revolves around most of the main characters looking for Buried Treasure pinpointed on a map that DK finds. The Kongs believe the treasure is money, and King K. Rool believes it is a Doomsday Device. It turns out to be some now-spoiled bananas that DK buried in his youth.
  • The Easy Amnesia episode brings Skurvy and his crew into the fold by trying to dig up a treasure they buried on the beach. "Captain, why does we bury the treasure?"
• Pirates: Kaptain Skurvy and his crew.
• Pirate Song: As every episode has two musical numbers, and a portion of the cast are pirates, it was inevitable there would be pirate shanties. In this case, "Booty Boogie" and Pirate's Scorn" are both sung by Captain Skurvy and his crew.
• Power-Up Food: Bananas for DK.
• Production Foreshadowing: Dixie wears a blue shirt with a flower on it, which Tiny Kong would later wear in Donkey Kong 64.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Krusha, a very strong Type A.
• Redundant Romance Attempt: In "The Big Chill Out", DK's sudden interest in big business is born out of the belief that this will impress Candy, due to comments made by Bluster. Naturally, Candy is not happy with her boyfriend becoming a "boring old Bluster clone" and sets him straight.
• The Resenter: Bluster. It's sometimes shown that he hates DK more than K. Rool does, and he even hates DK more than K. Rool who is the Big Bad and mortal enemy of the Kongs. In the first episode, no less, he decides to destroy a potion that would've restored DK's strength to enable him to save the island from K. Rool, declaring he didn't care if K. Rool won if it meant getting rid of DK.
• Retired Badass: K. Rool and Cranky used to do a lot of crazy stunts when they were friends. In the episode about their former relationship, they mention "tsunami wrestling" and "skydiving without a parachute."
• Rhyming Title:
  • "From Zero to Hero"
  • "Klump's Lumps"
  • "To the Moon Baboon"
• Rich Bitch: Bluster Kong, although most of this is because of his "mumsy."
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: King K. Rool is surprisingly active, from leading operations from the front to building his own super weapons.
• Sadistic Choice: In the episode "Speed," Krusha, his intelligence increased, traps Diddy and Dixie on a runaway mine cart with no brakes and a bomb that will explode if it does stop. DK has to choose between staying and defending the Crystal Coconut, or going off to save his friends. Naturally, DK goes off... but not before taking the Coconut with him!
• Scary Surprise Party: In "Watch the Skies," DK and Diddy thought everyone is being controlled by aliens. DK finds out they're throwing a surprise party for Diddy (they didn't tell DK before because he blabs secrets). DK tried to tell Diddy it was all a misunderstanding without spoiling the surprise, but Diddy thinks DK is possessed too. At the end of the episode, Diddy fainted upon everyone telling "SURPRISE!"
• Scooby-Dooby Doors: Donkey and Diddy briefly chase Polly Roger into this trope in "Raiders of the Lost Banana."
• Serious Business: Cranky and K. Rool were once childhood friends who kept competing for a grand prize. It got so personal that they had a falling out and, as adults, K. Rool ultimately tries to win the prize by getting Cranky killed during a high-flying stunt. The lofty grand prize? An old umbrella. Candy says this is ridiculous, but Cranky explains that it was the only thing they could wager as kids. Being bitter enemies as adults just makes claiming the prize even more desirable.
  Cranky: It's symbolic.
  K. Rool: That umbrella means as much to me as my entire kingdom. It represents my final victory over Cranky.
• Shout-Out:
  • When Barrel 007 is loaded for launch in one episode, James Bond style music starts playing. Ironic, considering that the company that made the Donkey Kong Country games are also known for developing one of the most famous and acclaimed James Bond video games ever made.
  • In the episode "Zero to Hero," DK and Diddy argue about a movie about a "giant ape" and a "lizard".
  • The island was likely named "Kongo Bongo" after Congo Bongo a game released by Sega as an Alternate Company Equivalent to to the original arcade game.
  • In "Legend of the Crystal Coconut", DK mentions in his song that King Kong is his idol that he has an autographed poster of and collects Planet of the Apes trading cards.
• Sick and Wrong: In "Kong for a Day" Krusha imitates DK's voice and makes passes at Dixie behind their back, which cause her to think DK is hitting on her. Obviously Diddy is pretty pissed about this whole incident.
• Singing Voice Dissonance: Donkey Kong has a gravely, high-pitched speaking voice. Meanwhile, his singing voice is deeper and more soulful, somewhat reminiscent of Terence Trent D'Arby.
• Smart Ball: Donkey Kong has his moments.
• Smug Snake: Bluster Kong and King K. Rool.
• The Smurfette Principle: Candy Clone is the only female antagonist in the show.
• Snipe Hunt: "Bug a Boogie" features MULTIPLE snipe hunts, starting when DK and Diddy trick K. Rool's crew into thinking there's a magic amulet in the swamp, Cranky tricks the two apes that some trinket is cursed and it must be disposed of in the "Well of Woe," and then K. Rool tricking Scurvy into coming after an amulet. It's revealed at the episode that the "amulet" is actually the hood ornament for Funky's plane.
• Spy Speak: Klump does this. K. Rool is not impressed. Part of the problem is that Klump has a myriad of phrases for the exact same situation, and he never got to rehearse any of their meanings with K.Rool.
  Klump: The Baby's bicycle is broken
• Squashed Flat: K. Rool in one episode as a result of The Door Slams You and Cranky in another, after being run over by a mine cart.
• Start My Own: Donkey Kong and Diddy's "Coconut Chill" milkshake stand started because DK wanted to be a successful businessman like Bluster, in order to impress Candy.
• Superpowered Alter Ego: Leo Luster, the result of a chemical mixing of various hair-growth formula's, turns Bluster into a complete foil of himself: A suave, smooth-talking, effective, brave, bold, and handsome monkey with a deep soothing voice. Nobody is aware that it is Bluster until he blatantly admits it to DK in the end of the episode before the two attack K.Rool for the Crystal Coconut.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: In the episode "Kong Fu", the plot revolves around an annual challenge for the title of the future ruler of Kongo Bongo, but nobody ever accepts because one round is a physical contest and DK is 800 pounds of solid muscle. Because of this, DK has been slacking on training for it that year. That time, however, K. Rool hired a martial artist, the titular Kong Fu, to fight as his proxy. The reality ensuing is two-fold. One, just a few days of training isn't enough time to get DK back into prime physical shape. Two, an out-of-shape Donkey Kong is easily pummeled by the well-trained, physically fit Kong Fu. Donkey Kong only wins due to a foreshadowed Convenient Eclipse and some Stupid Evil actions from the Kremlings.
• Surrounded by Idiots: It's at times like this that I find I must ask myself, again and again: do I really want the Crystal Coconut this badly?
• Terrible Trio: Klump and Krusha, with K. Rool as The Man Behind the Man.
• Too Dumb to Live: Klump and Krusha, especially in "Speak No Evil, Dude", where they misinterpret K. Rool's sickened grunts into blowing up the island...with everyone and THEM on it. To further prove the point, Cranky tried to point it out, yet Klump thought it was a mental trick.
• Took a Level in Dumbass: Krusha became much, much stupider after the pilot.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Donkey Kong in Season 2. There's one sequence where he even attempts to break a date with Candy for a fishing trip by tricking her.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Candy and Dixie, respectively. This stands in stark contrast to the games, where Dixie was an Action Girl and Candy was mostly just eye candy.
• Tsundere: Candy Kong. King K Rool is like this to his troops.
• That Reminds Me of a Song: At least Once per Episode, someone will burst into song, usually about what's going on.
• Unconventional Food Usage: In the episode "Speak No Evil, Dude", Diddy puts two coconuts on his behind to fool Cranky into injecting them with a shot so he won't have to get the shot himself.
• Undying Loyalty: Klump lives to serve K. Rool.
• The Unreveal: If Donkey Kong is set to be the next ruler, then who's the current ruler?
• The Unseen:
  • Bluster's mother or "Mumsy." She is never seen, heard, or involved directly in most of the plots. She is repeatedly mentioned as the real owner of the barrel works, and is apparently wealthy. It's also implied she voted in the episode "Vote of Kong-fidence" AGAINST her son.
  • Dixie's pet crab. The episodes make everything in their power to make the pet not get seen in the picture. Only the characters can see where it is, usually about to cause some sort of accident.
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: In 'Watch The Skies', K. Rool decides that "Secrecy is the key" and makes sure almost no one in his forces know what episode's 'Project X' is. According to Klump, each Kritter builds a piece of the weapon in their spare time, and the general assembles the thing in complete darkness, with his eyes closed.
• Vetinari Job Security: In "Kong for a Day," K. Rool frames DK for several misdeeds, eventually leading to Cranky banishing him to the White Mountains and declaring Diddy future ruler in his place. However, it soon becomes apparent that part of the reason DK was labeled Future-Ruler is because he's the only one strong enough to handle K. Rool and actually protect the island; when Diddy tries to stop the Kremlings from raiding the Barrelworks, he's completely helpless, forcing Cranky to retrieve DK to handle the situation.
  Cranky: The pipsqueak's in over his head! You're the only one who can do the job!
• Villain Ball: The Crystal Coconut is shown to have the power to grant wishes, the Coconut granting wishes indiscriminately with no limitations. While King K. Rool knows this and will sometimes try and procure a wish when the opportunity presents itself, he seems to treat it more as a status symbol and will either flaunt it around while he gloats (giving the Kongs plenty of time to take it back) or try and make it unattainable, like locking it in a vault or in a satellite.
• Villain Song: Notable examples are:
  • "Pirate's Scorn" and "Booty Boogie" for Skurvy.
  • "One of Us," "No One's Going To Make A Monkey Out Of Me," and "King K. Rool's Finest Hour" for K. Rool.
  • DK also gets one, sorta. When he tries Method Acting to play the bad guy in Bluster's movie in "Hooray for Holly-Kongo Bongo".
• Villains Out Shopping: K. Rool is introduced in "Buried Treasure" playing a video game at his lair.
• Vocal Dissonance: This version of K. Rool has a posh English accent that contrasts heavily with his brutish appearance.
• Voice Changeling: In the episode "Kong for a Day", it is revealed that Krusha can perfectly imitate voices. K. Rool has Krusha use his imitation of DK's voice to insult Dixie and Diddy, making the both of them get angry at DK.
• Wacky Marriage Proposal: In "Four Weddings and a Coconut," DK's attempt to propose to Candy leads to him kissing Bluster's hand.
• Wedding Smashers: DK at, ironically, what is supposed to be his own wedding.
• Weird Trade Union: If "Message in a Bottle Show" is to be believed, there are apparently enough chosen future rulers that they have their own federation.
• Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Donkey and Candy.
• We Want Our Jerk Back!:
  • Two occasions with Bluster. Notable in that the heroes don't want him to be a jerk again because they like him that way (they don't), but because his attempts to help are so destructive that they have to make him a jerk again just to keep him from wrecking the whole island.
  • Occurs with Cranky and K. Rool at one point. They both become friends, ending the Kong and Croc feud, but their pranks tick off everyone so much that DK, Diddy, Klump and Krusha conspire to make them enemies again.
• Who Writes This Crap?!: Cranky's reaction to the lines Bluster feeds him for a commercial;
  Cranky: "Bluster Barrelworks...because their barrels have been around forever...and I should know 'cause so have I"? What kind of crock is that!?
• Write Who You Know: In-universe. Bluster's movie, written by Funky, is based on the events of the series. Leading to an in-story Questionable Casting when K. Rool is cast as the hero and DK is cast as the villain.
• You Never Asked: 'Legends of the Crystal Coconut' has Klump and Krusha hiding in barrels on Kaptain Skurvy's pirate ship while it sails off:
  Klump: Now when the coast is clear, we'll jump out of the barrels, steal the Crystal Coconut back, and then swim back to shore.
  Krusha: Duh, I can't swim.
  Klump: Well, why didn't ya say so before we snuck on board?!
  Krusha: Well, you never asked.

---