Characters / Donkey Kong: Kongs

Super Mario Bros. Main Character Index
Main characters: The Mario Brothers | Allies (The Princesses) | The Koopa Kingdom (Bowser — Bowser Jr. — The Koopalings — Other High-Ranking Subordinates — Bosses) | Assorted Nasties
RPG characters: Super Mario RPG | Paper Mario (64 — The Thousand-Year Door — Super — Sticker Star — Color Splash — The Origami King) | Mario & Luigi (Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser)
Spinoff series: Yoshi's Island | Luigi's Mansion | Mario Golf | Mario Tennis | Super Mario Maker | Donkey Kong series (Kongs) | Wario series (Wario and Waluigi)
Crossovers: Punch-Out!! | Super Smash Bros. | Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games | Skylanders | Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle | Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Other media: The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach! | Super Mario Bros. (DiC) | Super Mario Bros. (1993) | The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Donkey Kong Main Character Index
Kongs | Allies | Villains

The Kong Clan

So they're finally here, performing for you...^note 
L-to-R: Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, Dixie Kong, Funky Kong, Cranky Kong, Wrinkly Kong, and Swanky Kong
Not pictured: Donkey Kong Jr., Kiddy Kong, Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong, Chunky Kong, and Candy Kong

Donkey Kong and his merry band of primate friends and relatives, who frequently assist him in his adventures either as playable characters or through supporting roles. They're the main inhabitants of Donkey Kong Island.

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The Kongs in general

• Ambiguously Related: The games go back and forth as to whether the Kongs are related to each other biologically and/or through taking their partners last name, whether "Kong" refers to the group unit as a whole regardless of relationship (like a clan or tribe), or if "Kong" refers to a distinct species of primate whose members just happen to resemble other distinct species of primates, like gorillas, orangutans, spider-monkeys, etc. For example, Diddy has gone from being Donkey Kong's nephew in spite of resembling another species of primate to being his nephew "wannabe". His girlfriend Dixie shares the same last name as him, but they aren't treated as siblings. Donkey Kong's own name is treated as something he inherited from his grandfather, who took on a different name altogether.
• Badass Family: Many, many of its members can throw down.
• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": The Kongs overall resemble a variety of real primates, yet they're all treated as a single species called "Kong". Try not to think about it too much.
• Color-Coded Characters:
  • Donkey: Yellow (or Red in several games, and sometimes Brown in Mario's games)
  • Diddy: Red (or Blue in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Diddy Kong Racing)
  • Dixie: Pink
  • Kiddy: Light Blue
  • Tiny: Purple
  • Lanky: Blue
  • Chunky: Green
  • Cranky: Yellow
• Eternally Pearly-White Teeth: Almost every Kong have these. Kiddy and Chunky don't have teeth (Kiddy is understandable, as he is a toddler, Chunky was incorrectly drawn with teeth in a comic) and Wrinkly and Cranky wear dentures, though Wrinkly has not used any since her passing after DKC3. Swanky's teeth make a distinct white twinkle when he shows them in DKC2. For the Super Smash Bros. series, DK and Diddy were given yellowish white teeth in Brawl, but they became their original white color in 3DS/Wii U.
  Wrinkly: Memblesh. Mammble Schwerble. Sorry, Kongs, I've just had my new teeth fitted.
• Funny Animal: The Kongs are effectively ape people, with heavier emphasis on the "ape", and they're all a bunch of quirky primates. Some of them, like Diddy or even Donkey himself, are more animalistic than normal, but they're still within the human range of intelligence and behavior. Contrast with the Kremlings, who generally err more on the human side as opposed to crocodile.
• Intelligible Unintelligible: While not consistent, when Kong characters appear in Mario spin-off titles they're usually shown communicating in Ape noises like "ook" that are translated in their dialogue boxes, with other characters understanding them and communicating back without issue. Certain games and other media show them to be mute or show them to be capable of speaking the same language as others without issue.
• No Hero Discount: Despite being relatives, the various family members you meet on your journey won't hesitate to charge money from whichever Kong you're playing as for their various services, even if you're trying to save the Island and/or your fellow Kongs.
• Primate Versus Reptile: Their archenemies are the sinister Kremling Krew, and the intensity of the feud has ranged all the way from competitive racing in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast to the latter attempting outright genocide on them in Donkey Kong 64.
• Silly Simian: Applies to the family as a whole, with their silliness and exact simian-type varying from member to member.
• Sudden Anatomy: By comparing some of Rare's artworks for the Kongs with Paon's, some Kongs get an extra finger or toe between games. Tiny not only got an extra finger on each hand, but also smaller blue eyes as well as eyelashes since her redesign, though only a single thick eyelash on each eye.
• Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: With the exception of Wrinkly Kong, the female Kongs have long blonde hair.
• Theme Naming: Every Kong's first name MUST end with an "ee" sound. Bluster Kong, a character specific to a non-canon cartoon, breaks this rule. And while not part of Donkey Kong's entourage, Kong Fu (also from the show) and the Evil Kings from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat also do not follow this rule.
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: Look closely; before Paon's redesigns, DK, Cranky, Swanky, Funky, and even Wrinkly were basically almost the same character model wearing different clothes.

Donkey Kong

He's the leader of the bunch, you know him well...

"Banana-slamma!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country

Voiced by (English): Soupy Sales (Saturday Supercade), Gary Chalk (Captain N: The Game Master), Chris Sutherland (SNES games), Richard Yearwood (Donkey Kong Country), Sterling Jarvis (singing voice, Donkey Kong Country), Charles Martinet (E3 1995), Grant Kirkhope (video games, 1999-2010), Seth Rogen (2023 animated film)

Voiced by (Japanese): Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese commercials 1998-2013, Donkey Kong Country), Takashi Nagasako (video games, 2004-present)

Voiced by (Latin-American Spanish): Rubén Cerda (Donkey Kong Country)

Voiced by (French): Franck Capillery (Donkey Kong Country)

D-K! DONKEY! KONG!

Donkey Kong ("DK" for short) is the grandson (or son) of Mario's original nemesis in the game that bore his name. He's a big, hulking gorilla with a penchant for tossing barrels and eating bananas. He's been pushed out of Mario's Arch-Enemy #1 spot by Bowser (and gotten his own video game series), but has again challenged the plucky plumber in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games. According to Donkey Kong Country, the original Arcade Donkey Kong was actually his grandfather (now named "Cranky Kong"), and while this was disputed for a time, later games reconfirmed this.

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• Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Wears a necktie and nothing else, which first appeared in Donkey Kong '94.
• The Ace: Donkey Kong is great at just about anything he does. Fighting bad guys, playing sports, racing, using weapons, and playing instruments.
• Adaptational Badass: The Donkey Kong Country games produced by Rare didn't show him to be particularly unstoppable character, being taken out in one hit like any of the other Kongs and getting overwhelmed and kidnapped twice. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, featuring none of other Kongs, had him Inexplicably Awesome and Strong and Skilled to the point where he battles through multiple kingdoms of animal enemies singlehandedly through raw power and cunning. The Retro Studios-developed games find a balance between the two extremes, where he's only capable of taking three hits without aid but capable of carrying the other Kongs on his back where they function more like power-ups to him rather than partners in Single-Player Mode.
• Adaptational Dumbass: The cartoon is where DK is at his dumbest, which is one of the reasons why some of the kongs get exasperated more by his antics. Kongs such as Bluster tend to use this to their advantage, leading to disastrous results..
• Adaptational Nice Guy: The Wii re-release of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat added a paragraph in the manual explaining that he's fighting on behalf of the helper monkeys accompanying him through the game, giving him a more altruistic explanation for his adventure than just proving he's the "King of the Jungle".
• Adaptational Villainy: In the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, for obvious reasons. He tends to play the antagonist role to Mario that Cranky once had, usually in a tantrum over not getting a Mini Mario toy.
• Adaptation Personality Change: DK's personality tends to vary depending on the canon, to the point of Era-Specific Personality.
  • Saturday Supercade portrayed DK as a friendly, and playful Gentle Giant who doesn't mean to cause trouble and is on more than friendly terms with Pauline. The reason why he's at odds with Mario is because he just didn't want to be stuck in the circus.
  • Rare tends to depict him as being a laidback and coolheaded guy most of the time, only getting aggressive when someone steals his Banana Hoard or messes with him and his friends. His interactions with Diddy Kong and Cranky Kong are notably rough around the edges, with him getting into a rough slap fight with Diddy in the credits and shoving Cranky out of the way in the intro sequence of the original Donkey Kong Country.
  • In the cartoon, DK is at his dumbest, as seen above. However, he remains a good guy deep down and would still do everything it takes to protect the Kongs and become the ruler of Kongo Bongo.
  • The titles developed by Nintendo put more emphasis on his animalistic aspects and many games developed by them (particularly the original release of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat) depict him as an aggressive, selfish Boisterous Bruiser and Wild Card who largely acts, good or bad, out of self-interest.
  • His Smash Bros. appearance is especially notorious for ridding Donkey of most of his personality traits, being at his most aggressive, though remaining heroic and far from stupid as seen in the Subspace Emissary.
  • Finally, from Retro Studios onward, he is depicted as a mix between most of his appearances, going back to the more heroic persona he had back in the Rare-developed titles while retaining the Boisterous Bruiser and animalistic qualities he gained in the Nintendo-developed titles. His scenes with Diddy and Cranky are much warmer, with him catching Diddy in the latter's ending of Donkey Kong Country Returns and doing a playful fist bump with Cranky during their shared special move in Tropical Freeze.
• Advertised Extra: In the latter two Donkey Kong Country games, his name is front-and-center even though his role in either game amounts to a non-playable Distressed Dude.
• Alternate Company Equivalent: Can be seen as one to Knuckles The Echidna from Mario's rival series Sonic the Hedgehog, who debuted not too long before the modern DK's re-conception in Donkey Kong Country. Both characters were introduced as antagonists to their respective companies Mascot Platformer heroes, only to develop into Friendly Rival characters in future games and become the heroes of their own spin-offs. They're both notable for their Super-Strength and defend their Jungle Island homes from threats. Even their characterizations fluctuate similarly Depending on the Writer either being tough guys bruisers or Dumb Muscle characters in lighter iterations. Notably, they have identical stats when they actually have a chance to appear together in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Death Battle even pitted them against each other in a video.
• Ambiguous Innocence: When he is an antagonist to Mario, it's unclear if he's so uncivilized that he doesn't understand what he's doing is wrong until the end of the game, or if he simply is deciding to be willfully amoral despite his heroic role in his own series and is humbled by Mario defeating him. All the games end with him coming to an understanding with Mario at the end, and he's usually characterized as less intelligent than he would be otherwise, complicating the matter.
• Anthropomorphic Zig-Zag: DK's character can range between "dumb animal" and "tough guy who happens to be an animal", depending on the game. In the Super Smash Bros. series and his superboss appearance in Punch-Out!! (Wii), he walks, acts and hits like a normal gorilla. In the Donkey Kong Country games (both the original trilogy and Returns/Tropical Freeze), he shows more human-like intelligence, but still walks around on all fours like a typical gorilla. In the cartoon and Donkey Kong 64, he is bipedal and shows far more human-like mannerisms, though in DK64 he stands on all fours when idle. Also, in DK games, he and the other Kongs are capable of speech, while when interacting with human characters from Mario to Little Mac, they only do ape noises (which are subtitled in the Mario spin-offs).
• Anti-Villain: In his antagonist roles, such as Mario vs. Donkey Kong, he's a Type IV (Villain in Name Only). DK doesn't really have anything against Mario, he just has trouble controlling his impulses and Mario has to rein him in. Certain games in the series reveal him to be largely without malice even when it seems he has kidnapped Pauline.
• Author Avatar: If Grant Kirkhope's statements during his guest appearance on Game Grumps are to be believed, then DK is basically Grant himself.
• Awesome Moment of Crowning: Receives one in the closing cutscene of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, where the various defeated Kong Kings of the Jungle Kingdoms stoically dance in unison with him in front of the various monkeys applauding him before the credits roll. If you complete the game at 100% Completion in the Wii re-release, DK even wears an actual crown that he keeps on when replaying the rest of the game.
• Badass in Distress: In DKC2 and DKC3. It then turns into Damsel out of Distress in DKC2 when the player can't quite finish off K. Rool.
• Barefisted Monk: Displays surprising acumen in martial arts moves during his fights with the evil Kong Kings in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, though his signature technique is Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs.
• Barrier Maiden: He was one of the "star children" sought out by a time-travelling Bowser to harness their innate power to conquer the universe in Yoshi's Island DS, along with the other baby versions of the Mario cast in the game. Whatever this means for the characters as adults outside of a vague predestination of their heroic adventures in the present day doesn't come up in other games.
• Beast and Beauty: The original and modern Donkey Kong both have this dynamic with Pauline, though in the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong games it ends on a more amicable note with the Modern DK.
• Berserk Button:
  • Messing with DK's precious banana hoard or his friends will have painful consequences for whoever does it.
  • He also really, really wants those Mini Mario toys. When he can't get one, he starts taking notes from his namesake, the original Donkey Kong.
• Beware the Nice Ones: If you are his friend, Donkey Kong shows that he has a heart as big as he is. If you are his enemy, either by stealing his banana hoard or threatening him or his family, prepare for a world of pain.
• Big Bad: Of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, although he's an Anti-Villain at worst.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • During the end of DKC2, he manages to get loose from the rope that K. Rool has tied him with, and uppercuts K. Rool clear through the ceiling.
  • In Mario Party 5, rarely, when a player lands on a Bowser Space, DK will appear and punch Bowser, stopping him from doing what he would normally do and making Bowser leave with just 10 or 20 coins from the player. His bio from Mario Party 2 even stated that he thought he could beat Bowser in a fight.
  • In Mario Party DS, he and Diddy Kong arrive at Bowser's castle and knock Bowser aside right when Bowser was about reduce the player character even more with his magical scepter the Minimizer, before accidentally destroying the Minimizer and thus restoring the heroes to their original heights.
  • And in Donkey Kong Country Returns, should Diddy Kong somehow save the day, when Diddy falls from the sky after knocking the moon out of orbit, Donkey Kong will catch him before he falls to the ground.
• Big Good: From Mario Party 5 through Mario Party 9, he acts as an exact opposite of Bowser, having minigames where everyone always gets coins, and sometimes even gives Stars to people. This is particularly shown in Mario Party 6, where DK Spaces are on a board during the day, and Bowser Spaces replace them at night. On Clockwork Castle, DK walks around the board and gives stars during the day, while Bowser walks around and steals them at night.
  • In his own series, he's this role by default, as when he isn't out rescuing his friends and family, they're coming together to rescue him. The DK Rap introduces him as "the leader of the bunch" for a reason, and his sidekick Diddy is introduced as wanting to emulate his heroism.
• The Big Guy: Shares this role with Wario whenever DK is in Mario's friend group, but not so much in the Kong family where that role belongs to Chunky.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: Him and Diddy, to the point where he usually carries the latter on his back nowadays.
• Big Eater: Every level in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat ends with him eating a giant fruit the kingdom is named after, followed by a mini-game of him chowing down banana piles as tall as him. Finally, the ending of Mario Party DS shows him and Diddy eating all the food Bowser left for the playable heroes.
• Boisterous Bruiser: He is very boisterous in Jungle Beat, and it carries over from Donkey Kong Country Returns onward.
• Boxing Battler: When he isn't jumping on, rolling into or hand-slapping his foes, he employs a boxing stance that demonstrate a surprising deftness with Good Old Fisticuffs, particularly in games in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He's apparently something of an expert, as he's been seen more than once using signature Red Boxing Gloves, whether improperly in Mario Superstar Baseball or properly as Little Mac's final exhibition opponent in Punch-Out!!
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Donkey Kong Country 3 has him and Diddy kidnapped and rendered into comatose living batteries whose brainwaves apparently power the apparent new leader of the Kremling Krew under K.Rool's command, KAOS. They both emerge from the situation scarcely the wiser.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: If you succeed at a bonus room puzzle while controlling him, he'll turn to applaud you and give you a thumbs-up for succeeding.
• Breakout Character: From the Big Bad of the first Mario game to the protagonist of his own franchise, with the original character now retooled in-game as his grandfather and a separate character.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": The DK on his tie.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: He usually thinks with his fists, but if his relationship with Diddy and the endings of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games are any indication, he's a pretty big softie at the end of the day, though not as obviously as Chunky Kong.
• Bullying a Dragon: His favorite item in Mario Party 2 is the Bowser Bomb, meaning a computer-controlled DK will try to aim for it whenever he gets to play an Item minigame. While DK isn't any safer than anyone else should Bowser catch him, the in-game description for a computer-controlled DK has him think he could take on the Koopa King in a fight.
• Catch-Phrase Spouting Duo: DK and Diddy in the DKC cartoon; they also give off this vibe in the games, though they never actually speak besides some brief exclamations.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: He's basically just a really strong ape. That said, he once punched the moon out of orbit.
• Coconut Meets Cranium: Invokable with the Coconut Shooter in 64. Though it isn't as strong as Chunky's Pineapple Launcher.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: The Donkey Kong from DKC and beyond is explicitly established to be a distinct gorilla character from the original Donkey Kong who functioned as the titular antagonist in the original arcade games, who is reintroduced as the new character's grandfather and a retired old ape. Where the Donkey Kong that starred in the arcade was quarrelsome and rambunctious (traits which he still possesses as Cranky Kong), the new Donkey Kong was friendlier, laidback to a fault, and only roused to action to defend his food and friends.
  • Interestingly, this wasn't the original pitch for the game's story during development, as {{Word of God https://twitter.com/Ghoulyboy/status/639541214774206466}} revealed that the original Donkey Kong was indeed going to be same character in a protagonist role, with Cranky Kong originally just being titled "Grandpa Kong".
  • After Rare's partnership ended with Nintendo, this became downplayed to the point where certain games like Mario Vs. Donkey Kong had the modern Donkey Kong in the same role as the original character with little to no acknowledgement that the two are distinct.
• Dash Attack:
  • His Rolling Attack, which he has had for quite a few games, most notably the Donkey Kong Country franchise (the first game, Donkey Kong 64 and Returns/Tropical Freeze). It carries over as his dash attack in Super Smash Bros., starting with 3DS/Wii U.
  • Even as a baby, he had strength to spare — in Yoshi's Island DS, sequel to the original, he lends his burliness to whatever Yoshi is carrying him in a Wario-esque shoulder tackle.
• David vs. Goliath: Has this dynamic with Mario whenever they come to blows, just as the original Donkey Kong did in his self-titled arcade game. Mario gets comically swatted away if he tried to touch DK, and must rely on Puzzle Boss tactics to defeat him. In games where DK himself is the protagonist, this dynamic is usually reversed despite his considerable physical strength.
• Defeat Means Friendship: The end of Mario vs. Donkey Kong, in which Mario beats DK, scolds him good, and gives him a Mini-Mario like he wanted all along.
• Depending on the Writer:
  • Throughout the 90s and 2000s, it seems as though Nintendo and Rare couldn't decide on if he's Cranky Kong's son (making him an older Donkey Kong Junior) or his grandson (making him Junior's son), as both have gone back and forth on it quite a bit. Since The New '10s however, Nintendo has largely settled on him being Junior's son and Cranky's Grandson.
  • While Rare and Retro have both established Cranky Kong as being the original Donkey Kong, some of the Mario spin-offs and Super Smash Bros. have implied that the current Donkey Kong is the original Donkey Kong from the arcade game as opposed to Cranky Kong, which complicates the Cranky/DK relationship even further.
  • Donkey Kong's personality also varies a bit depending on the developer. See Adaptation Personality Change above. The one constant uniting different portrayals is his stubborn nature, but whether that compels him into a protagonist or an antagonist position and if he's more tough than goofy depends on the game studio.
• Determinator: Shigeru Miyamoto called him "Donkey" because he's as stubborn as one. Depending on who you're playing as, this is either a good thing or a bad thing.
  • Detrimental Determination: His stubborn nature may drive him to heroic feats in his own games, but his impulsiveness and short-sightedness kick start his conflicts with Mario and lead him to take role of the Heavy in the games they share. He doesn't come to his senses nor does his better nature come through until the very end of these installments.
• A Dog Named "Cat": An unintentional example. Shigeru Miyamoto thought that Donkey was the English word for "stubborn", and used it to name his "big, stubborn, ape" character.
• The Dreaded: Even Bowser is afraid of him as seen in Mario Party 5, when Donkey Kong rarely appears if someone lands on a Bowser Space:
  Bowser: Do... Donk... Donkey Kong!
  • He's notably the only opponent to make the famously brave Mario audibly express fear...though in Mario's defense, he was piloting a giant robot at the time.
  • The intro sequence to Mario vs. Donkey Kong has the Toads scatter and panic immediately at his sight before he even does anything.
• Dumb Muscle: Zig-zagged, as it depends on the writer. Donkey Kong is generally incredibly strong and most official media, pretty smart for a gorilla; however, in some earlier games as well as in the 1995 TV series, he's also very strong but far from the sharpest tool in the shed.
• Era-Specific Personality: Due to being one of the oldest video game characters and having multiple different developers work on the franchise, this trope applies perhaps more to Donkey Kong than any other Nintendo character, to the point where if there is even more than one Donkey Kong and if so, how much he has in common with the original character varies quite a bit. He's gone from simple brute villain, to father-in-distress, to being reconfigured into The Hero of own games with a laid-back personality and friends and family of his own to defend, distinct from the now retired original Donkey Kong he was modeled after. To make matters more confusing, the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games slide him back into the same antagonist role as the original character he was conceived to be distinct from, with no apparent acknowledgment of the difference. He can be a smart tough guy in some games and an oblivious softie in others, depending on the studio.
• Establishing Character Moment: His first introduction as the modern Donkey Kong occurs in the intro cutscene for Donkey Kong Country, which has him dropping a boom box on his grandfather's victrola and knocking him off the girders from the old arcade games to dance for the player and show off the new graphics, showcasing his friendliness, carelessness and status as the new DK.
  • Gets one in Yoshi's Island DS as a baby, where he falls from the sky and lands on Yoshi before cheerfully aiding him in rescuing Baby Peach from the other monkeys in the jungle with his shoulder charge ability. Even from infancy, this DK is quickly shown to be friendly and heroic by nature and ready to use his strength to save his friends.
• Expy: He began as one for King Kong, being a giant ape carrying a woman to the top of a skyscraper. The similarities were so apparent that Universal even unsuccessfully sued Nintendo out of alleged copyright infringement back in 1982. Word of God also cited Bluto from Popeye and the Beast from "Beauty and the Beast" as inspiration for the original character. He would soon develop an identity of his own starting with Donkey Kong Country, where he's usually characterized as a Tarzan -like defender of the jungle, complete with a yell not unlike Tarzan.
• The Face: Of the Kong family generally and the DK Crew specifically. Even if he isn't the strongest, quickest or sharpest Kong, he's the first line of defense and his description is the the first one up in the DK Rap.
• Facepalm: He'll do this if you screw up in a bonus room puzzle while controlling him. He also does this on the character select screen when entering a tag barrel in DK64, if you highlight him and then move over to another Kong.
• Fastball Special:
  • He can throw Diddy Kong in Jungle Climber.
  • Unlike the other heroes in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle who bounce off of others for a Team Jump, Donkey Kong does not have that ability. Instead, meeting up with his teammates will have him throw them, allowing them to cover more ground.
• The Fool: He avoids being kidnapped by K. Rool in DK 64 just by absent-mindedly working out to some tunes at home. He also retains the honor of being the only animal left unhypnotized in the entire jungle by the evil Tiki Tak Tribe simply by being too dense to be hypnotized. He even thwarts Bowser's plan in Video Game/Mario Party DS just by being so laser focused on the promise of food used to trick the rest of the heroes. His obliviousness seems to go hand in hand with his incredible strength when it comes to saving the day.
• Forgetful Jones: Immediately forgets the directions to the tutorial area Cranky sets up seconds after hearing them in the opening area of Donkey Kong 64.
• Full-Name Basis: He's never referred to as just Donkey. It's always Donkey Kong, DK or D. Kong in Japan. (With the few exceptions being Cranky in Donkey Kong Country 2 during one of his speeches in his monkey museum, Diddy during the ending of Donkey Kong Country 3, and almost the entirety of Donkey Kong 64.)
• Friendly Enemy: To Mario in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. He robs his Mini Mario industries and sometimes even kidnaps Pauline, but only because he likes Mario's toys, with a few games ending on Defeat Equals Friendship.
• Friendly Rival: Usually characterized as the most well-meaning and affable of Mario's rivals whenever they share a game, with even Nintendo of America describing the two as "frenemies" in this promotional video. While still competitive and headstrong, DK's relationship with Mario is much less contentious than Wario's or Bowser's.
• Genius Bruiser: Gorillas are known to be highly intelligent animals, and in many games Donkey Kong shows that he is pretty smart. He knows how to play instruments and how to use weapons, and he can come up with clever solutions to problems sometimes. That said, how much of a "genius" he is and how much relative to other characters varies greatly between developers and writers.
• Gentle Gorilla: A heroic gorilla with a heart as big as he is. Even in an antagonist role, he usually ends the game on notably good terms with Mario.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: He can race with King K. Rool in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast and play baseball with him in Mario Super Sluggers.
• Good All Along: Mario suspects the worst when he kidnaps Pauline, but in each ending of Mario vs. Donkey Kong, he's revealed to either be showering her with gifts or secretly working with her for Mario's sake, and she bears him no ill will.
• Good Counterpart: Donkey Kong has gradually become one to Mario's other notable antagonist, Bowser. In any Mario Party game where he isn't playable, Donkey Kong acts as the good-aligned counterpart to Bowser. Both are large, hulking brutes who have their own spaces, but while Bowser's spaces usually hinder whoever lands on them, DK's aid anyone who lands on them by granting them coins or even stars.
  • Arguably this even outside of Mario Party, as both characters are large leaders of their own kingdoms who rival Mario in someway. Bowser was established as Mario's archenemy and is a conquering warlord from a fiery wasteland, while Donkey Kong was retooled as a Friendly Rival of Mario and a laidback leader who defends his lush Island paradise. Bowser's an unrepentant villain whose son and Koopalings carry out his will, whereas Donkey Kong is a friendly hero who works with his nephew and extended Kong Clan to save the day.
• Good Is Not Soft: As good-natured as he can be and as loving a family member as he is, DK will not hesitate to lay a savage beatdown on his foes. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat in particular emphasizes his utter ruthlessness as fighter.
• Ground Pound: He's got two of them. The Simian Slam move that he shares with the other Kongs in Donkey Kong 64, and one in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat where the player must slam both drum while DK is in midair. His Hand Slap gets renamed as a Ground Pound at times especially after the Retro Studios games, but it does not count as this trope.
• Guest Fighter: Joins Bowser as a Nintendo-exclusive Skylander starting with Skylanders: Superchargers. He is packed with the Wii U version along with his signature Barrel Blaster vehicle.
• Heel–Face Turn: He becomes the protagonist of his own series and becomes friends with Mario and the other characters. However, whether or not Donkey Kong is the original DK or actually the son of Cranky depends on the writer.^note Nintendo eventually agreed with the notion of DK being Cranky's grandson, but other sources, mostly around the time of Rare's departure, would seem to suggest otherwise.
• The Hero: In his own games, he's the leader of the Kong family who defends their Island and food supply from villainous invaders. Zigzagged in that he's a Distressed Dude in DKC 2 and 3, and Temporarily A Villain in the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong entries, as a call back to the original Donkey Kong in the Arcade trilogy of games.
• The Hero's Idol: Is one to his sidekick and the series' deuteragonist Diddy Kong. Diddy is introduced idolizing his strength and bravery, and the plot of the original DKC starts because DK humors him with "hero training" by letting him take over as watchman for the banana hoard, not expecting the Kremlings to mount an actual raid that very night. Diddy has since proven to be a brave hero in his own right, and the Game Boy Advance port of DKC even includes an unlockable Hard Mode appropriately labeled "Hero Mode" where he can tackle the quest without DK.
• A Hero To His Home Town: Since Donkey Kong Country, DK has been established as the guardian and hero of his Jungle Home, to the point where the Island he lives on is apparently named after him and even shaped like his head in the Rare-developed games. He's rarely seen without his supportive family members who look to him as their leader and has more than a few animal friends of varying species ready to help him on his adventures. In games set in the Mushroom Kingdom, however, he's usually treated neutrally or with outright fear going by the Toads' reaction to him in Mario vs. Donkey Kong, due to his mischief and rivalry with the heroic Mario.
  • Oddly enough, in spite of his similar history with Pauline, she's shown to be the mayor of a city replete with light-hearted references to not only him, but his various family members and animal friends!
• Heroic Build: His physique has become more exaggerated this way since the original DKC trilogy, where he didn't seem especially different in build from a (lean) gorilla.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Diddy; they're basically inseparable.
• Hidden Depths: Despite usually coming off as simple-minded in most of his games, DK displays a few traits that hint at a surprising inner life for a cartoony gorilla...
  • In DK64, his treehouse displays things like music players and books, apparently indicating he can read.
  • Donkey Konga shows him capable of playing the Bongos to a wide variety of music from different genres. Though the intros to the first two games imply he's still practicing.
  • Jungle Beat shows him implementing Martial Arts moves like uppercuts and spinning crescent kicks in his one-on-one fights with the Kong bosses, defeating them with genuine combat skills and cunning as opposed to just relying on the rapid fire no-holds barred cartoony beatdowns he dishes out to the other larger enemies in the game.
  • The Final Boss of Mario vs. Donkey Kong has him capable of finding, piloting and competently operating a Humungous Mecha shaped in his image.
  • While by no means the most technical opponent, he nevertheless puts in a solid showing as a professional boxer and Little Mac's final career challenge in Punch-Out!!! for the Wii.
  • When E-123 Omega was damaged in one of the Crossover Mario and Sonic titles, it was Donkey Kong who helped repair him. Considering that Omega is an advanced combat robot designed by Mad Scientist Doctor Eggman, that's a pretty impressive accomplishment.
  • In the Retro Studios games, his Idle Animation shows that he likes to play video games when he is bored.
• Honorary Uncle: To Diddy, naturally. Due to Diddy's parents never being mentioned, Donkey is his main role model, and Donkey is always happy to hang out with his little buddy and let him tag along on any adventure.
• Hot-Blooded: He takes threats against his friends or the theft of his banana hoard extremely personally. If you need his help, though, DK will move heaven and earth if he has to. And in keeping with his Meaningful Name, he won't stop until he gets what he wants. His hot-bloodedness is as much a flaw as it is an asset however, as his wrath and impatience end up kickstarting his various battles with Mario.
• Hulk Speak: In Donkey Kong 64, DK speaks like this as a way to lampshade the fact that he's stupider than the other Kongs.
  DK: What did Cranky mean about training? Donkey all confused...
• Human Cannonball: While the other playable Kongs can be this in the Donkey Kong Country games, a few games make the ability to be shot out of barrel cannons unique to DK. In Donkey Kong 64, only he can activate pads leading to the Baboon Blast mini-game. In Mario Power Tennis and Mario Tennis Aces, his special shots consist of him launching himself out of a cannon to reflect the ball.
• Hunk: While still very much a gorilla, DK isn't above showing off his substantial muscles. He's still ultimately dwarfed by Funky and Chunky in this department, however.
• Idiot Hero: In some games and the TV series. He's not the most clever Kong, but certainly one of the bravest. How much of an idiot he is varies from game to game though, with some entries showing him to be smarter than he looks.
• Idle Animation:
  • In DKC, he'll beat his chest and roar into the distance.
  • In DK64, he'll swat a fly before eating it.
  • In Donkey Kong Country Returns, he pulls out a DS and plays a random game, while in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze he does the same but he either pulls out a 3DS or a Switch (in the Switch port).
• Improbable Weapon User: At the end of Returns, he weaponizes the moon. In the Mario Baseball series, he uses a boxing glove when batting, while his baby self uses a banana.
• Immune to Mind Control: In Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kalimba attempts to hypnotize Donkey Kong, to no avail. Maybe he's too determined or too stupid for it? Averted in Video Game//Donkey Kong Country 3 Dixie Kongs Double Trouble, where it's revealed that he and Diddy were having their brain waves harvested to power K. Rool's robot servant KAOS.
• Inadequate Inheritor: Cranky Kong usually berates DK for being a poor successor, calling him lazy compared to his own role as the Donkey Kong of his heyday. He only relents in the ending, but repeats this attitude towards Diddy and Dixie when they step up as the playable characters in the sequel. DK, for his part, is patient towards Cranky most of the time when he hears this but has his limits and won't hesitate to tell Cranky off when he goes too far. This aspect of their relationship is largely ignored in the Retro Studios games, where Cranky's dialogue is less mean-spirited and he is shown happily celebrating DK's birthday with him in Tropical Freeze.
• Informed Attribute: An official quiz book revealed that he was from the United Kingdom, but nothing in his personality or backstory indicates this. He also tends to have American accents regardless. Though it's likely just a reference to how the Donkey Kong Country series was developed by Rare, which did originate from the UK.
  • The Donkey Kong Country Game Boy Advance port website and his trophy information in Super Smash Bros. Brawl both reference his charisma, which, while he's friendly enough, doesn't really come through in the games outside of a Hand Wave as to why he's the leader of the DK Crew.
  • The manual for Mario Vs. Donkey Kong 2 describes him as "the hairiest employee" of the Mini-Mario Toy Company. Even putting aside exactly why Mario would hire him after stealing his product and trying to fight him, DK's never shown to be working for the company in any capacity in the games themselves unless you count the ending of Minis March Again!, in which it's shown that DK was apparently just helping Pauline test the toys the whole time. He not shown regularly holding a job in his own series either outside of his broad role of defending his bananas.
• Informed Flaw: Cranky never misses a chance in the games or in the manuals for said games to bemoan his laziness. Given the amount of death-defying adventures and strenuous lengths DK goes through to get his bananas whenever he's a playable character, this isn't really apparent during gameplay itself.
• Invincibility Power-Up: The Strong Kong ability in Donkey Kong 64 grants him invincibility to enemies and hazardous terrain.
• Jack of All Stats: Only within his series whenever Mario isn't around to be the baseline.
  • His stat spread in DK: King of Swing is a balanced 3/5 in both jump and attack power.
  • In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, all of his stats are balanced. Ultra Barrel DK however, is outright Purposely Overpowered as all of his stats are maxed out.
• Killer Gorilla: In the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, he acts as a menace to Mario by kidnapping Pauline and causing destruction over minor slights.
• Kindhearted Simpleton: How simple and how kind he comes off as in his games tends to vary, but on the whole he's a well-meaning guy who, even at his best, is not known for thinking things through, if much at all. The TV series Donkey Kong Country plays this completely straight for it's interpretation of the character.
• The Kindnapper: The endings of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games invariably show him to be this, as even when he kidnaps Pauline like the Arcade DK did, he's always revealed to have a benign reasoning, whether it be trying to shower her with gifts, working with her to test the Mini-Marios, or even leading Mario to a surprise birthday party. As such, he ends the game on good terms with both her and Mario when the latter catches up to him.
• King Kong Copy: While the original Donkey Kong was inspired by King Kong, to the point where Universal sued Nintendo for the resemblance, the modern Donkey Kong occasionally qualifies as a lighthearted take when he clashes with Mario, but otherwise subverts the trope to the point where, if anything, he has more in common with gentler gorilla characters like Mighty Joe Young.
• Large Ham: Usually when something awesome happens, but also when riled up (as with real life apes). A good example is right before the final boss in Returns. Donkey Kong and Diddy are pissed.
• Lazy Bum: The backstories for the first two DKC games portray him as this. For the first game, he overslept and wasn't able to switch places with Diddy to guard the Banana Hoard at night. For the second game, him taking a beachside nap makes him an easy target for the Kremlings to capture.
• Leeroy Jenkins: DK's characteristic stubbornness and lack of patience often manifests as him taking action immediately and without forethought at any provocation. In the game's stories, this means shrugging off the warnings of Cranky, or ignoring Mario's pleas for him to stop causing mischief, or destroying a friendly alien's spaceship in Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber because it looked like a banana. Dixie Kong even bemoans that he "never listens to anyone" in the Story Mode for Mario Super Sluggers. In Donkey Kong Land this tendency gets him baited into repeating the same adventure he had in Donkey Kong Country when he insists he could do it again on the Game Boy.
• Legacy Character: As mentioned above, Cranky Kong was the first Donkey Kong before giving the title to the current one.
• Leitmotif: In spin-offs, he is often associated with the title theme of the NES Donkey Kong and/or the theme from the first level of Donkey Kong Country. Though for some of his more antagonistic roles, the theme of Pauline getting kidnapped from the first Donkey Kong.
• Let's You and Him Fight: Despite the modern Donkey Kong being established as a heroic figure in his own games, he takes on the antagonist role the original Donkey Kong had towards Mario in Mario Vs. Donkey Kong games anyway, for various reasons.
• Lightning Bruiser: Despite his size, he's actually quicker than one might think, especially in Jungle Beat. This classification is even pointed out in a Super Smash Bros. Melee trophy. And the obvious inferences from the fact that the games are intense platformers, and DK's primary attack is a somersault.
• Like Father, Like Son: He's definitely picked up at least some of his grandfather's old habits if the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series is any indication, much to Mario and Pauline's displeasure.
• Magic Music: In Donkey Kong 64 and Super Smash Bros. (Brawl and 3DS/Wii U), played with bongo drums. He even uses the Magnet Groove in Mario + Rabbids to lure in enemies closer to him for follow-up attacks.
• Magnetic Hero: Is described as the "superstar" of the Kong Family and his trophy info in Super Smash Bros Brawl describes him as having the "laidback charisma of a natural leader." The rest of the Kong family is willing to band together to rescue him from the heart of Crocodile Isle, and he returns the favor in Donkey Kong 64.
• Make Some Noise: DK utilizes a Shockwave Clap in Jungle Beat, as well as weaponizing his ability to play the bongos in Donkey Kong 64 and a couple Super Smash Bros. installments.
• Mammal Monsters Are More Heroic: While he and Bowser both have clashed with Mario, Donkey Kong is otherwise a friendlier and nobler character than the famously villainous Koopa King, protecting his friends and food and home instead of trying to conquer the world when he isn't causing the odd spot of trouble.
• Manchild: Both positively and negatively. Despite being an older mentor figure for Diddy Kong, DK himself can come off as a big goofy kid as much as an ape. Unfortunately, this childishness and impulsiveness can lead him into trouble when he does things like steal Toys from Mario.
• Mascot with Attitude: Retooled to have shades of this for his role as the main character of Donkey Kong Country. His Establishing Character Moment in the intro sequence of the game is knocking the aged Cranky Kong, the original Donkey Kong, off the girders from the old arcade games to dance to a boom box and showcase the state-of-the-art (for the time) graphics and music. While he gets a TNT barrel thrown at him by Cranky for his trouble, the message that he's literally and figuratively "not your father's Donkey Kong" is pretty clear. Later games have toned this down to the point where he's usually more of a goofy Idiot Hero who occasionally retakes Cranky's original role as Mario's rival.
• Meaningful Name: His name is meant to indicate both his stubborn behavior (Donkey), and his massive size (Kong). Likely started out as a bit of an insult, but has since morphed into Names to Run Away from Really Fast.
• Megaton Punch: DK has had this since some of his earliest showings, starting with capping off the climax of Donkey Kong Country 2 by delivering a meaty uppercut to K. Rool through the ceiling of his airship and bringing it back time and again since. Generally speaking, whenever DK whallops you, you're going to be admiring the sky for a good while.
  • At the end of Donkey Kong Country Returns, he punches the moon out of orbit!
  • Not to be outdone, in the Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze DK pays Lord Frederick back for all the trouble caused by launching him out of the volcano, through his island-sized boat, and with such force that the huge walrus' impact with the sea destroys his fleet's remainder.
  • His Giant Punch neutral special in Super Smash Bros. serves as one.
  • In Mario Party 5, he rarely gives one to Bowser when someone lands on the latter's space.
• Mighty Glacier:
  • In Mario Kart, he falls under the "heavy weight, high top speed, low acceleration" weight class.
  • In the SNES trilogy, he's slower than Diddy, but able to hurt stronger enemies likes Klumps or Krushas that would just laugh off or block an attack from the smaller primate. In the Japanese and GBA versions of the first game, he can even defeat curled-up Rock Krocs with a hand slap.
  • He started off as this in Super Smash Bros, but eventually became a Lightning Bruiser from Melee and onwards, consistently outrunning the likes of Mario.
  • He is usually a Power-type character Mario spin-offs, specializing in brute strength over speed or precision.
• Moral Myopia: In spite of the Rare-produced games showcasing DK's indignation towards the thieving, kidnapping Kremling Krew, the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, produced after Rare left Nintendo, ironically has him commit the same actions himself in fits of pique. While the latter series was developed by a different studio and meant to callback to the original Arcade Donkey Kong series, it's never firmly established if he doesn't understand his actions are wrong due to ignorance of life outside the Jungle or if he just willfully decides to do villainous actions in spite of his otherwise heroic character. To his credit, the endings of these games at least show him repenting or expressing remorse upon being defeated.
• Mr. Vice Guy: The post-1994 DK is a good-natured and friendly hero distinct from the original brute character in the arcade trilogy, but his various character flaws aren't shied away from and are consistently the impetus for his adventures and misadventures alike.
  • Donkey Kong Country begins because he let Diddy Kong cover for his role in guarding the banana hoard so he wouldn't have to do it, and he ends up kidnapped in the sequels because he's too focused on relaxing.
  • Donkey Kong Land technically begins not because Donkey Kong was wronged, but because he was essentially baited by Cranky into repeating his adventure in the SNES game to prove a point.
  • Donkey Konga has him and Diddy immediately overcome by lofty dreams of playing the Bongos for fame and fortune (and bananas), to the point where he ignores Cranky's pleas to practice first.
  • Donkey Kong Jungle Beat has him travel to other kingdoms and fight their kings apparently just to prove his strength and, according the game's director {{https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0412/pick/2_int/index.html}}, "be the best".
  • Mario vs. Donkey Kong games show him impulsively antagonize Mario over petty fits of greed or jealously, leading him to temporarily be a villain until he comes to his senses.
• Musical Assassin: With his bongos in Donkey Kong 64 and a few Super Smash Bros. games. It's even weaponized in the crossover games like Skylanders or Mario + Rabbids.
• Nature Hero: He IS the King of The Jungle. His appearance in Skylanders gives him the Life element, which is that series' equivalent to the plant element.
• No-Sell: A master of this. If you intend to put him down, you should use everything you have at your disposal out of the gate and Double Tap to be sure. If you don't...
• Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Only when he takes on the antagonist role in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, just as the original arcade era Donkey Kong character was meant to be. Even ignoring his role as a hero in his own series, the games go out of their way to establish that he doesn't antagonize Mario and Pauline out of malice, but because of his stubbornness and short-sighted nature. A common thread throughout the games is Mario and Donkey Kong reaching an understanding and ending the stories on more-or-less friendly terms.
• Obsessed with Food: Shown to be dedicated to maintaining his stockpile of bananas, to the point where it's regularly depicted as being mountainous in scope.
• Odd Friendship:
  • Even regarding the Loose Canon and Excuse Plot of their game series, Mario and the modern Donkey Kong's amicable relationship is fairly strange, considering that the original Donkey Kong antagonized and was imprisoned by the plumber according to the manuals of the Donkey Kong Country games. While they're both ostensible heroes, Mario's leniency and friendliness with him is notable especially in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, where Donkey Kong outright tries to rob him, kill him or kidnap his friend Pauline. According to the manual for Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2, Donkey Kong is apparently an employee of the Mini-Mario Toy Company, in spite of robbing them in the previous game!
  • He shares good chemistry with Petey Piranha in Mario Superstar Baseball. In Mario Super Sluggers, their chemistry is neutral.
  • He also has a friendly rivalry with Vector the Crocodile in the Mario & Sonic series, despite Vector being not too far off resembling a Kremling. They even share a special victory animation with each other in the Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 Olympic games.
  • As mentioned above, he bonds with Omega in the Story Mode immediately after beating him in an impromptu boxing match caused by the latter accidentally ruining his banana snack. By the end of the story, the normally ruthless robot was personally repaired by DK.
• One-Man Army: While all the Kongs are impressive adventurers in their own right, DK's shown to be capable of taking on entire Jungles, Islands and even Kingdoms worth of fearsome animals and coming out on top with a smile on his face, in particular during Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.
• One-Track-Minded Hunger: All too dedicated to gathering and eating bananas. Plays a role in his story during DK Jungle Climber and Mario Party DS.
• Out of Focus: After being the main character of the first Donkey Kong Country, the next two games relegated DK to a Distressed Dude who only appeared near the end. It gets even worse in Donkey Kong Land III, where he doesn't even appear at all outside of the manual's backstory.
• Papa Wolf: DK's love for his family, Diddy most evidently, is never in dispute. In DKC 1, his shock over his bananas missing turns quickly into anger when he realizes Diddy is gone as well, and he outright breaks out of bondage to punch K. Rool out of his ship when he sees Diddy and Dixie in danger during the final battle in DKC 2. Messing with his family is rarely a wise decision.
• Power Up Mount: Inverted in the Retro Studios games. The other Kongs can hitch a piggyback ride on DK so that he can use their unique abilites (Diddy's jetpack, Dixie's helicopter, or Cranky's bounce) and grant him an infinite Kong Roll, so long as the player keeps mashing the roll button.
• Primal Chest-Pound: Often does it as an Idle Animation, a Victory Pose or a taunting move.
• Real Men Wear Pink: His blue alternate costume since Super Smash Bros. Brawl gives him a pink tie. 3DS/Wii U gave him an alternate costume with pink fur.
• Recurring Boss: For obvious reasons, he's the only boss within the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series.
• Red Is Heroic: DK is further distinguished from the original Donkey Kong design-wise by his signature bright red tie, which complements his sidekick Diddy's similarly red shirt and cap.
• Redeeming Replacement: Where the Donkey Kong from the original arcade games wasn't much more than a troublesome brute, the Donkey Kong introduced in Donkey Kong Country and beyond is a much gentler character more interested in fighting to defend his home and food from aggressors, and isn't above using his strength to help others in need. This hasn't stopped him from clashing with Mario like his grandfather does, but these games emphasize that he doesn't mean any real harm and he make amends with the hero by the story's end.
• Reforged into a Minion: He and Diddy are both kidnapped in the 3rd DKC and are apparently both used to power the new apparent leader of the Kremlings as living batteries.
• The Rival:
  • He's picked up the mantle from his grandad's old feud with Mario, and the pair keep butting heads every now and again. But the two are also shown to be on amicable terms, being shown to be good friends. Unlike Bowser and Wario, Mario is actually very friendly with DK most of the time.
  • In Barrel Blast, DK's rival is... Kritter.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: This is how most of his adventures come about. Be it due to his bananas, his friends or his home, someone gets it in their head that hammering on the Berserk Button of an eight-foot, eight hundred pound gorilla is a terrible idea. To K. Rool's credit, plenty of the time he at least tries to remove DK as a factor early on, but that's no excuse for the others who've incurred his wrath.
• Robot Me: The Mini Donkey Kongs and their variants from the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series qualify. Barrel Blast have the Cyber Kongs◊, who resemble the Terminator.
• Rolling Attack: In the Donkey Kong Country series. An important aspect of the Country series is that it allows the Kongs to cover more horizontal distance as a pseudo- long jump, as they can roll off a ledge, then cancel it with a jump. Donkey Kong 64 has him do a swinging kick by default but you can still make DK roll if want. If Diddy is on his back Donkey Kong can roll further too. Rolling became his new dash attack in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U. It even shows up in games such Mario Golf: Super Rush and Punch-Out!! for the Wii.
• Running on All Fours: How he moves, even in instances where he stands upright. Justified by his species. Not so much in Donkey Kong 64 where he runs on his legs while swaying his arms side to side.
• Shock and Awe: In the Mario Strikers series, his Super/Mega Strike has him using the power of lightning to shoot the ball towards the goal. During his Mega Strike in Mario Strikers Charged he gains Glowing Eyes of Doom and does a Death Glare towards the ball before clapping it. One of his custom moves in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U is the Lightning Punch. It takes less time to charge than his standard Giant Punch, but deals less damage and lacks super armor.
• Shockwave Clap: Donkey's most used action in Jungle Beat. He has a lot of other moves, but most are context sensitive (extra jump when coming up on a wall, pummeling something in your way, snatching bananas).
• Showy Invincible Hero: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, developed by Nintendo EAD, bases it's gameplay in DK being an unstoppable force of nature whose hit points are tied to the game's score system in the initial Game Cube release, making a genuine Game Over highly unlikely (though the Wii re-release tries to correct this with a separate heart meter). He's also shown as unbeatably combat savvy and impossibly strong, taking on towering foes with a confident grin. This is largely averted in his other playable appearances, where his confidence and strength are still present but he's heavily aided in his quest by other Kongs with their own unique skills.
• Signature Move: If it's not his Roll Attack, then the Hand Slap is Donkey Kong's signature technique. It's the one ability that Diddy cannot replicate in the original Country and even appears as a secondary "weapon" for his campaign in Kingdom Battle.
• Slasher Smile: Sports one regularly during the cutscenes and art for the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games. All the more startling, given his general goofiness in the other games he's featured in.
• Sleepyhead: To Cranky's frustration. He sleeps through Diddy's kidnapping in the backstory for Donkey Kong Country, and then sleeps through his OWN kidnapping in the backstory for the sequel when he decides to relax on the beach. He falls asleep out of boredom in the ending for Donkey Kong 64 waiting for Cranky to reach him so he can show the reconstructed Banana Hoard.
• Stationary Boss: Plenty of his boss encounters in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series has him stay in place while the player must navigate the Minis into spots where they can hurt DK. Major examples of this are the final two battles in March of the Minis and all except the final ferris wheel stage in Mini-Land Mayhem!
• Stock Sound Effect: Donkey Kong's "voice" used to consist of a soundclip of chimpanzee screeches. These screeches were used in the Nintendo 64 spin-offs, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and the GameCube Mario Party titles.
• Super Mode: In Jungle Climber, he can use crystal stars to basically become invincible and to fly. His barrel transformation in DK64 is the Strong Kong, granting him (situational) invincibility.
• Super-Strength: He can carry and throw barrels easily and break through entire hordes of enemies with only his fists, and once punched the moon out of the sky. The only characters in the Super Mario Bros. franchise (and spin-offs) who might be stronger, let alone come close, are Bowser and Petey Piranha, and the only Kong to be stronger than him is Chunky Kong. Mind that, this is including the likes of Mario and Wario, who can generally pummel or lift creatures dozens of feet tall or weighing in hundreds of pounds with no issue.
• Temporarily a Villain: Despite confirmation that the modern Donkey Kong is separate from the original ape who bore that name in the arcade games and generally heroic in his own games and spin offs, he nevertheless takes on a similar antagonist role in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series and impulsively commits acts of thievery and kidnapping not unlike those committed against him in his own series of games. He at least comes to his senses and leaves things on better terms with Mario than the Arcade DK by the end of these games, allowing him to still remain a heroic character in future games.
• Third-Person Person: In Donkey Kong 64, he speaks in this manner.
  "What did Cranky mean about training? Donkey all confused..."
• Throw a Barrel at It: The Trope Codifier, and he also provides the page image. Generally one of his most recurrent abilities is to grab a barrel and throw it at enemies, usually by rolling them.
• Took a Level in Badass: Donkey Kong is a veritable beast in Jungle Beat. Seriously, the guy isn't above fighting dirty and pulls no punches at all.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Downplayed, as the modern Donkey Kong was already introduced in Donkey Kong Country as a heroic successor to the original arcade Donkey Kong, but he has been steadily characterized as a warmer character in modern installments than he was in the original Country trilogy, particularly to his family members. Even his appearances as an antagonist in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series show him becoming less villainous in each installment until he's revealed to be a VillainyFreeVillain in the latest installment's ending.
• Top-Heavy Guy: He has a huge, muscular upper body but his legs look shorter by comparison. Justified, given gorillas tend to look like this in real life.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Fittingly for a gorilla, bananas. K. Rool stealing his banana hoard is what spurs DK into action in the first Donkey Kong Country. Even some of his super moves in the Mario sports spin-offs are banana-themed. Coconuts come at a distant second.
• Unskilled, but Strong: In the sports games, Donkey Kong tends to have high power but low technique, meaning he hits hard but struggles with precise shots.
• Use Your Head: Against the Rocs in Jungle Beat. His side special from Melee and onwards allows him to bury opponents into the ground. His animation for the Super Duper Simian Slam in Donkey Kong 64 has him slamming his head on the ground. If he loses a bonus game in DK64, he will tap his head with his hand before slamming his head on the ground twice.
• Virtuous Character Copy: A complicated case, but most prominently to the original King Kong. Where King Kong was a gigantic gorilla who's occasional sympathetic traits were overshadowed by his ferocity and size, DK (and the original arcade incarnation, now Cranky Kong) is designed to be, per Shigeru Miyamoto "nothing too evil or repulsive", with goofier and friendlier traits apparent even when he's fighting Mario. His size is closer to an actual gorilla, and thus the physical danger he poses to Mario comes as much from his strength as the fact that Mario, the hero, is a short and stubby underdog. Unlike the tragic fate of the 1933 film's Kong, DK survives his altercations and is even shown to make peace with his antagonists.
  • His original arcade incarnation was also inspired by Popeye villain Bluto, but his own on-and-off rivalry with Mario ends much more amicably and he's been allowed to function as a protagonist in his own right, whereas Bluto remains a perennial thorn in Popeye's side regardless of their occasional friendship.
  • Shigeru Miyamoto also cited Beautyandthe Beast as another inspiration for the character's original role as beastly kidnapper in love with a fair maiden. While the original arcade DK did kidnap Pauline, he's meant to do this less out of malice and more out of stubbornness, and the modern incarnation is always shown to be well-intentioned and capable of remorse. His beastly nature is also meant to make him a goofier antagonist as opposed to a frightening one, and he has since been shown to be capable of heroism in his own game series.
  • When the franchise was taken in a new direction in 1994 with the Donkey Kong Country series, the game's version of Donkey Kong was established as the grandson of the original Donkey Kong who antagonized Mario, who in turn was reintroduced at the same time as the wizened Cranky Kong. With DK's more heroic role and more positive traits on display since then, the modern DK is effectively a Virtuous Character Copy of his original self!
• Varying Tactics Boss: Being the only boss in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. The goal for the battles is to nail DK a few times with items before he retreats, but how Mario or the Minis must accomplish this, what obstacles they need to avoid, and how DK fights back tends to change.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Has this relationship with Diddy Kong at the end of the first Donkey Kong Country game, stepping on each other's feet or kicking each other's butts before the credits truly start. Their interactions are usually warmer from that point forward in future appearances.
• Younger Than They Look: If Cranky is the original DK from the arcade game, and Jr. really is this DK's father, then he's younger than the adult he looks like.
• Your Size May Vary: Donkey Kong's size varies heavily from game to game, depending on whether making him big would be a hinderance in gameplay. Often he's a giant who is even larger than a real gorilla.^note Gorillas are bigger than humans but they are on average shorter even when standing all the way up. Donkey Kong is often one of the tallest Mario characters even when he's on all fours. In other games, however, he is closer in size to other characters. Compare the original Donkey Kong Country where he's only slightly taller than Diddy, to Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze where he's so big that Diddy can ride on his back.

Donkey Kong Jr.

Have you seen this primate?

"Monkey muscle!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Junior

Voiced by (English): Frank Welker (Saturday Supercade)

Junior is a mystery. He first appeared when Mario flew off the handle and locked up his father, the original Donkey Kong, rescuing DK and apparently setting Mario back on the straight-and-narrow. He popped up a handful of times after that, most notably in a kart race and tennis tournament, and then just fell off the map. Depending on whether Cranky Kong (the original DK) is the current DK's father or grandfather, then Donkey Kong Jr. could be the modern DK's father or even DK himself (except that they both appear in Mario Tennis...^note And so do Mario and Baby Mario. DK Jr. was in because, at the time, Nintendo wasn't sure they could use Diddy, as he was owned by Rare. Don't look too deep into this.)

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• Bratty Half-Pint: The Saturday Supercade version of him was Scrappy Doo as a baby gorilla.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": The "J" on his singlet.
• The Bus Came Back: After decades of being out of the spotlight, he finally reappears as a playable character in Mario Kart Tour... albeit as a 3D recreation of his SNES sprite. But still that's something!
• Character Catchphrase: "Monkey muscle!"
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He hasn't had any major appearances since Mario Tennis on the N64.
• Conjoined Eyes: He shares these with Cranky Kong, but not Donkey Kong.
• Continuity Snarl: Some of Rare's later statements indicate that he grew up into the modern Donkey Kong, although earlier (and more recent) confirmation that Cranky Kong is actually his grandfather would suggest otherwise.
• Cowardly Lion: His sprites in the game of the same name suggest he's not enjoying his platforming adventure at all.
• Disappeared Dad: He is currently considered DK's father — and he hasn't made an appearance since growing up.
• The Dragon: To his dad's big bad in Donkey Kong '94.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: Like Donkey, Mario can go karting with him.
• Kid Hero: He is rather young compared to Donkey Kong.
• Mighty Glacier: In Super Mario Kart, he falls under the "heavy weight, high top speed, low acceleration" variant.
• Older Than They Look: Possibly? The early days of the franchise portrays him as a kid compared to Mario being an adult. But ever since Yoshi's Island DS established that the modern Donkey Kong is around the mid-twenties age range that most Mario characters are, this implies that Junior simply looks like a premature gorilla.
• Plot-Relevant Age-Up: In Super Mario Kart and Mario's Tennis (the Virtual Boy game).

Diddy Kong

He's back again and about time too...

"Pay no attention to the monkey behind the monkey!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country

Voiced by (English): Chris Sutherland (video games, 1999-2004), Andrew Sabiston (Donkey Kong Country), Eric Bauza (2023 animated film)

Voiced by (Japanese): Megumi Hayashibara (Japanese dub for animated series), Katsumi Suzuki (video games, 2004-present)

Voiced by (Latin-American Spanish): Raúl Carballeda (Donkey Kong Country)

Voiced by (French): Hervé Grull (Donkey Kong Country, Season 1), Lucile Boulanger (Donkey Kong Country, Season 2)

Donkey Kong's little buddy and sidekick, Diddy is a teenage monkey in a red baseball cap and tank top. Diddy is more carefree than DK and loves to play rap music and eat peanuts. He spends most of his time hanging out or having adventures with DK or his girlfriend, Dixie Kong. Diddy was introduced in Donkey Kong Country, but was integrated into Mario's extended cast in the Mario Sports games, starting with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.

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• Adaptational Jerkass: In the cartoon, he's a lot more whiny and snarky, and can be a real jerk, most notably in Kong For A Day.
• Agitated Item Stomping: If you fail a bonus game in the original Donkey Kong Country, he'll throw his hat on the ground and stomp on it. He would also do it sometimes in the cartoon if he became irritated.
• Ambiguously Related: To DK. In some sources, Donkey Kong and Diddy are referred to as uncle and nephew. An example is Super Smash Bros., where he is suddenly referred to as DK's nephew in the in-game character data, though Rare themselves weren't sure about it; however, this seems to have been mistakenly invented in the English version, as the original Japanese version does not mention it in any way whatsoever. This discrepancy is somewhat cleared up in the Donkey Kong 64 manual, in which Cranky explains that Diddy is Donkey's "little nephew wannabe".
• Badass Adorable: He's a cute monkey who's not scared to fight opponents larger than he is.
• Blow You Away: He and Donkey Kong can use feathers to push enemies off pegs and platforms in Jungle Climber.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: He and DK are captured in the backstory of DKC 3 and their brain energies are used to power the apparent villain of the game, KAOS.
• Breakout Character: Is as much of a mainstay of the series as DK himself is. Diddy has gotten starring roles in the second game and his own spin-off.
• Catch-Phrase Spouting Duo: Him and DK in the DKC cartoon; they also give off this vibe in the games, though they never speak intelligible words.
• Conjoined Eyes: He shares these with his girlfriend Dixie Kong.
• Distressed Dude: In DKC3 and DK64.
• Edible Ammunition: The Peanut Popgun shoots peanuts; Solid Snake's comment on this in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the Trope Namer.
• Fragile Speedster: In Barrel Blast, he has low top speed, but average boost and high agility. In the original Donkey Kong Country, he can jump higher than Donkey Kong but isn't strong enough to defeat heavier enemies by stomping on them. In DK: King of Swing, he has higher jumping abilities thank DK, but a worse attack stat.
• Guns Akimbo: He is often depicted as having two Peanut Popguns as opposed to just one.
• Graceful Loser: Unlike most characters in the Mario spinoffs, Diddy never seems to overreact much when he loses, with Mario Golf: World Tour being a notable example.
• Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: All he wears is a red Nintendo hat and red t-shirt.
• Hard Head: In his own ending for Donkey Kong Country Returns, his malfunctioning jetpack propels him headfirst into the moon, and this proves as capable of knocking it out of orbit as Donkey Kong's megaton punch does in his respective ending.
• Hero-Worshipper: Cranky calls him DK's "little nephew wannabe", implying this.
• Heroic Wannabe: Introduced as training under DK to be a hero like him. He's since proven a dependable hero even without DK in games like Diddy's Kong Quest and Diddy Kong Racing.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Donkey Kong.
• Idle Animation:
  • In DKC, he'll take off his cap and scratch his head.
  • In DKC2, he'll juggle.
  • In DK64, he'll play with an orange.
  • In DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze when carried by DK, he will first help him on a lookout for enemies before watching DK play a game on his DS (Returns)/3DS or Switch (Tropical Freeze). If he is by himself, he may take off his cap and sing, or he will yawn, though he doesn't take off his cap if he yawns.
• Informed Species: Some sources identify Diddy a "chimp", despite real-life chimps having no tail. He's closer to a spider-monkey on this regard, yet that also sticks out since all other Kongs are clearly based on apes (because, again, no tail).
• Innocent Blue Eyes: Only in Donkey Kong 64. He has black pupils in every other game.
• Jack of All Stats: In Diddy Kong Racing and Diddy Kong Racing DS. His high running speed didn't translate into driving or piloting here and when racers range from a bear to a mouse, a monkey does seem in the middle. In his Mario Kart appearances outside Double Dash!!, he's in the same size class as Mario himself.
• Jet Pack: One made of Bamboo Technology, much like his Peanut Popguns. Originally consisting of two barrel jets, the Retro Studios games consolidate it to a single rocket that he wears (though not necessarily active) at all times.
• Kid Hero: He is a teenager at oldest.
• The Lancer: His typical role in most games is to be DK's primary sidekick.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Hinted in a German character profile to have gotten himself captured trying to take on an entire pack of Kremlings all by himself at the start of Donkey Kong 64.
• Magic Music: Played on a guitar in Donkey Kong 64, an instrument previously associated with Dixie.
• Meaningful Name: "Diddy" is a euphemism for small. He's smaller than Donkey Kong and is one of the smallest Kongs in general.
• Mischief-Making Monkey: He has his moments, like messing with DK in the ending of DKC 1, tricking Kremlings with his jetpack in DK64, and dropping banana peels to make other fighters trip in Super Smash Brothers. Otherwise he's more known for his enthusiasm and his bravery.
• Never Bareheaded: Unless you win or lose a bonus game, he never takes off his cap. He will also take off his cap on the results screen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl if he loses.
• Official Couple: Him and Dixie.
• Power Up Mount: Inverted as of Donkey Kong Jungle Climber, where Diddy powers up Donkey Kong by riding on his back. Diddy doesn't have to be used this way, provided you're in multiplayer mode.
• Product Placement: His cap has the Nintendo logo on it starting from the official renders of Diddy's Kong Quest.
• Real Men Wear Pink: One of his alternate costumes in the Super Smash Bros. series gives him a pink shirt and cap.
• Red Is Heroic: Like his idol DK, he is distinguished by his bright red clothing.
• The Rival: Kip in Barrel Blast, both having Fragile Speedster stats.
• Secret Character:
  • In Mario Kart Wii, win the 50cc Lightning Cup or play 450 races.
  • In Mario Party: Star Rush, reach level 12 or scan his amiibo.
  • In Super Mario Party, complete Chestnut Forest of Challenge Road.
• Spring Coil: The Simian Spring ability in Donkey Kong 64 allows him to use his tail as a spring for high jumps.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Replaces Donkey Kong Jr. as DK's sidekick. Diddy was first intended to be a redesign of Donkey Kong Jr., but Nintendo didn't like the extreme changes Rare was making to the character, and demanded that they either make a design closer to the original, or have the redesign be a completely new character.
• Tail Slap: In Donkey Kong 64, his standing strike combo consists of it.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • In Donkey Kong 64, with the introduction of his peanut poppers and Jet Pack.
  • And even earlier in Donkey Kong Country 2, where he goes on a quest to save Donkey Kong and even defeats King K. Rool, with the help of his girlfriend Dixie.
• Totally Radical: Not quite as much as any of the other platforming mascots at the time, but Diddy's interests in the Rare era seems to lean towards conventionally cool activities such as enjoying the boombox or rocking out on a guitar.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He likes bananas like the rest of the Kongs, but he also likes peanuts. The German website for DK64 says that his favorite dish is a peanut butter sandwich.
• Troll: Has a mischeivous streak. He's shown tricking Kremlings into knocking each other out, and even drops banana peels for characters to slip on as part of his moveset in Super Smash Bros.. He even messes back with DK in the ending for Donkey Kong Country, to which DK responds with straight up beaning him on the head.
• Use Your Head: Donkey Kong 64's Chimpy Charge is a straight example. Colliding with something makes him stagger and groan, so his head cannot be too hard, but it hurts enemies more and is necessary to progress in some areas.
• Victory Pose: In DKC, he tosses his hat in the air while smiling and winking at the player. In DKC2, he turns his cap backwards, puts on sunglasses, and raps with a boombox on his shoulder. In DK64, he dances and does two backflips.
• Video Game Flight:
  • His crystal coconut powered rocket barrel pack in Donkey Kong 64. It is more like a Double Jump in the Donkey Kong Country side-scrolling platform games that follow.
  • In "Jungle Climber" he and Donkey Kong can hold feathers, which allow them to fly with they flap them together, it doesn't work for them separately.

Dixie Kong

Debut: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Voiced by (English): Eveline Novakovic (video games, 2001-2005), Stevie Vallance (Donkey Kong Country)

Voiced by (Japanese): Becky (Japanese dub for animated series ): Kahoru Sasajima (video games, 2005-present)

Voiced by (Latin-American Spanish): Lourdes Adame (Donkey Kong Country)

Diddy Kong's chimpanzee girlfriend, Dixie, is a hero in her own right. She helped Diddy rescue Donkey when the big ape was kidnapped by the Kremlings, then rescued Diddy himself when he befell the same fate. Dixie has long blonde hair that she wears in a huge ponytail, which she can use to spin helicopter-like over long distances and, inexplicably, pick up large objects. She can act childish at times, but makes up for it with her courage. Tiny Kong is Dixie's (bigger) little sister.

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• Abnormal Ammo: Gains a gumball gun in Tropical Freeze.
• Action Girl: Nintendo's first after Samus Aran. She has never been a Damsel in Distress in a Donkey Kong game^note By contrast, both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong had to be rescued twice respectively in the main series (Donkey in DKC2 & 3, Diddy in DKC3 & DK64), only in Mario Super Sluggers and even then, she is the first person you recruit in DK's stadium. Sadly, her track record wasn't so good in the cartoon. Cranky also said this about Dixie in the instruction manual for DKC2.
  Cranky Kong: What's going on here? She should be the damsel in distress, not one of the stars!
• Affirmative Action Girl: Dixie, along with Wrinkly Kong, was introduced to add some more female faces to the cast when it was originally just Candy Kong.
• Babysitter from Hell: A hilarious and completely non-malevolent example. Her babysitting instincts are abysmal to the point of criminality, but it's alright because Kiddy Kong has been blessed by genetics with badassery right out of the cradle.
• Badass Adorable: Don't let her small size and cute looks fool you, she definitely qualifies for this after beating K. Rool and his forces in DKC2 and DKC3.
• Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: She's one of the more prominent female Kongs, with pink clothes and a long ponytail, and she wears her top tied up to expose her belly in all games except in DK: King of Swing.
• Bash Brothers: With Kiddy. They can send each other flying around all over a room, and sometimes have to in order to get by obstacles or entering a bonus barrel.
• Battle Couple: She insisted on joining Diddy's quest to save Donkey Kong when the rest of the Kongs declined to go.
• Beta Couple: With Diddy.
• Breakout Character: She displaced Diddy as the main character in the third game and in Tropical Freeze became part of a Two Guys and a Girl trio with Donkey and Diddy.
• Brains and Brawn: Brains to Kiddy Kong's brawn. Justified as Kiddy is still a toddler learning much about the world.
• Conjoined Eyes: Oddly, her sister Tiny doesn't have these.
• Cool Big Sis: For Tiny.
• Cute Bruiser: She's a small cute monkey who can whomp crocodiles with the best of them.
• Deadpan Snarker: She sasses K. Rool before both boss fights in Donkey Kong Country 3.
• Distaff Counterpart: To Diddy.
• Double Jump: Her iconic helicopter spin was upgraded to this in Tropical Freeze.
• Fragile Speedster: In Barrel Blast, she has maxed out boost and high agility, but the lowest top speed.
• Friend to All Living Things: She had a lot of pets in the cartoon series.
• Girly Bruiser: Dixie is adorable and wears a fashionable outfit, but is also one of the most battle-competent members of the Kong Clan.
• Goo Goo Getup: Averted. In the Game Over screen in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Dixie is put in a baby crib with Kiddy, while she crosses her arms and gives an annoyed look, as she is upset about being treated like a baby.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Especially in the cartoon, but this also applies to the games to some extent.
• Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: She only wears a pink beret and shirt, and after Paon's redesign, teal earrings, but no pants.
• The Heart: In the cartoon.
• Helicopter Hair: Her main characteristic is the ability to slow her fall by spinning her hair rapidly.
• The Hero: In DKC3. While she and Kiddy are equal contributors to their adventure, Kiddy has no stake in anything and little opinion on the matter. It's Dixie who moves the plot.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Dixie only appeared in the second episode of Donkey Kong Country, but she became of the most prominent characters of the franchise.
• Idle Animation: In DKC2, she'll either sit down and drink juice or blow a bubble with her gum. She can also lick honey when in the beehive levels. In DKC3, she only blows bubbles with her gum. In Tropical Freeze when carried by DK, she first helps him on a lookout for enemies before grooming DK's fur as he plays his 3DS. If she is by herself, she will either do some gymnastics or play air guitar.
• Improbable Weapon User: Her hair.
• Inelegant Blubbering: When she loses a life or gets thrown inaccurately, she breaks her Action Girl demeanour and bawls even worse than Kiddy does.
• Jack of All Stats: In Diddy Kong Racing DS.
• Kid Hero: She is a teenager at oldest.
• The Kindnapper: In DKC3, to Kiddy, technically. No one seems to mind, though, and Funky sure didn't feel like being Kiddy's babysitter at the time.
• Odd Couple: With Kiddy. With his being a baby and her being a babysitter, they nevertheless act as equal partners and Bash Brothers in adventuring.
• Odd Friendship: With General Klump in the cartoon.
• Official Couple: Her and Diddy. The cartoon touches more on their relationship compared to the games, as in one episode, Dixie rewarded Diddy with a kiss on his cheek for fixing her broken fishing rod and then commenting "You are the smartest monkey on the island".
• Only Sane Woman: In the cartoon, she is pretty much the only character of the entire cast who doesn't have any wacky quirks or a brain the size of a pea and (almost) is also the only one who doesn't act like a jerk to her friends when things go wrong for them.
• Pink Girl, Blue Boy: In DKC3, she's the Pink Girl to Kiddy's Blue Boy. She wears a pink shirt and hat, while Kiddy wears blue pajamas.
• Pink Means Feminine: She has always worn a pink top and beret, though one of her Palette Swaps in DK: King of Swing inverts her normal color scheme, giving her a yellow top and beret with pink hair.
• Plucky Girl: Considering that she took on K. Rool's forces twice, she definitely falls under this.
• Prehensile Hair: Her ponytail is capable of picking up various objects, like barrels and cannonballs.
• Product Placement: She used to have a pin of the Rare logo on her beret. For obvious reasons, she doesn't wear it anymore.
• Put on a Bus: She's absent for the first time in a Donkey Kong Country game in Donkey Kong Country Returns since Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. She returns in Tropical Freeze. She was also missing between Mario Super Sluggers and Tropical Freeze, a gap of 6 years (2008-2014).
• Refuge in Audacity: If presented with her baby cousin, right out of the cradle, what would Dixie Kong do? If you answered "abduct him onto her continent-spanning journey, utilizing him as a meat shield, projectile, and pack mule against killer animals in dangerous and extreme climates in environments littered with health hazards", then you'd be correct.
• The Rival: Kass in Barrel Blast.
• Secret Character: Only in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Hoops 3-on-3. She is available from the start in all other playable appearances.
• Tank-Top Tomboy: Notably, her appearance◊ in DK: King of Swing is the only time were she does not wear her top tied.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to her sister Tiny's Tomboy.
• Victory Pose: In DKC2, she plays her electric guitar.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: The third game is about Dixie fighting her way through the Kremling army to rescue her boyfriend and boyfriend's best friend.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kiddy. The character change animations make it very clear (Kiddy'll grab her by the scruff and set her aside, while Dixie would pop a bubblegum bubble against his back, startling him).
• Would Harm a Senior: Possibly? In the initial ending of Donkey Kong Country 3, it seems she and Kiddy corner Cranky after the latter was unimpressed with Dixie's adventure. Cranky even pulling a You Wouldn't Hit a Guy with Glasses stunt at the end.
• Writing Around Trademarks: Her hat originally featured a pin in the shape of the Rare logo, but this was removed in her appearances after Rare left Nintendo for Microsoft.

Kiddy Kong

Debut: Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

Voiced by (English): Chris Sutherland (2005)

Kiddy Kong is Chunky Kong's baby brother and Dixie and Tiny's cousin. Although he's only a toddler, he's absolutely massive, roughly the same size as Donkey Kong himself. Kiddy accompanied Dixie when Donkey and Diddy were kidnapped in the Northern Kremisphere. Kiddy can roll onto bodies of water and skip like a rock two times consecutively. He cries and throws tantrums at times, but possesses the same natural courage as the rest of his family. He is one of three Kongs who have not has made any physical appearance in games not developed by Rare, the other two being Chunky and Swanky.

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• Alliterative Name Kiddy Kong.
• The Baby of the Bunch: He's the youngest Kong member, and a cute baby.
• Badass Adorable: He may be only a baby, and a cute one at that, but he is still strong.
• Bash Brothers: With Dixie. There will be many occasions where he and Dixie will have to throw each other at something to proceed.
• Berserker Tears: After taking damage, he'll sit down, cry, and slam his fists into the ground.
• Big Little Brother: Baby cousin, actually, but otherwise a dead ringer for Donkey Kong. While he isn't bigger than his bigger brother Chunky, he is big in a literal sense.
• Big Brother Worship: This is the main reason he tags along with Dixie.
• Blue Boy, Pink Girl: He's the Blue Boy to Dixie's Pink Girl. He wears blue pajamas, while Dixie wears a pink shirt and hat.
• Brains and Brawn: Brawn to Dixie's brain, since, y'know, he can't talk yet. Or think very hard, for that matter. He is smart enough however, to drive all of Funky's vehicles in DKC3 with little trouble.
• Cheerful Child: Has absolutely no problem with Dixie shanghaiing him on their adventure. At least, right up until something so much as gently brushes up against him.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Out of all the Kongs, he's had it the worst. In the mainline series, he hasn't been seen since Donkey Kong Land III, even in a cameo, only mentioned. Kiddy was planned to appear in Donkey Kong Racing, which even has an image of the playable characters◊, but it was cancelled. He was also briefly mentioned in Dixie's Notes, as well as a badge in Donkey Konga 2, but that was it for him.
• Conjoined Eyes: Strangely, his brother Chunky does not have them, though it is hard to notice.
• Cute Bruiser: For a given value of "cute".
• Cute, but Cacophonic: He's a crybaby, no doubt about it. Especially so if he loses a life.
• Dub Name Change: Dinky Kong is his Japanese name, which is actually one of the names Rare considered before going with Kiddy Kong. This continues the Theme Naming of characters with "DK" initials.
• Extreme Omnivore: According to the manual, he likes to chew on old tires, despite being toothless.
• Eyebrow Waggle: He'll give you one of these if you succeed at a bonus game while he's in the lead.
• Inelegant Blubbering: If he gets hurt, you get a shot of him crying his eyes out in either fear, pain, or anger.
• In the Blood: Chunky Kong is also huge.
• Kid Hero: He's a toddler. An old Rare website states that Kiddy is three years old, meaning he is the only Kong with a confirmed age.
• Lightning Bruiser: He can skip across water while rolling and can somersault all over the place with Dixie's help.
• The Load: Hilariously subverted. In DKC3, Funky Kong palms him off on Dixie because he's tired of baby-sitting. While Kiddy Kong is barely even a toddler (he still prefers crawling to walking), it's also immediately apparent that he's also twice Dixie's size and as strong as Donkey Kong.
• Odd Couple: A baby and his babysitter. They're nevertheless equal partners on their journey.
• Odd Name Out: His name broke the trend of the playable kongs names starting with the letter "D", although this is averted with his original name of Dinky Kong.
• Older Than They Look: Kiddy is 3-years old, but the fact that he wears pajamas, sometimes has a pacifier, and stands in a baby crib in DKC3's Game Over screen suggests that he is either 1 or 2 years old.
• Refuge in Audacity: There's no real way to justify putting a baby in mortal danger. Repeatedly. His babysitter Dixie did it anyway.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Kiddy fills roughly the same niche as Donkey Kong in DKC3. A heavyweight who can crush bulkier enemies that would laugh off attacks from Diddy and Dixie.
• Top-Heavy Guy: He has big muscular arms and a fairly big head (partly because of his big mouth), but quite small legs and feet, a trait he shares with his bigger brother Chunky.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Dixie like to prank the hell out of each other.
• Walk on Water: In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Kiddy can roll onto bodies of water and skip like a rock two times consecutively.

Lanky Kong

He has no style, he has no grace...

"Cool move, DK! Gotta get some fresh air. I’ll help you by collecting blue bananas."

Debut: Donkey Kong 64

Voiced by (English): Unknown (video games, 1999)

Voiced by (Japanese): Kentaro Tone (video games, 2007)

"A twisted twig on a distant branch of the family tree", Lanky is an eccentric oddball orangutan who hangs out with the other Kongs. He marches (or handstand-walks...) to the tune of his own trombone. Lanky's distinguishing characteristics are his goofy personality, his ridiculously long arms, and, of course, his funny face despite his lack of style and grace. He joined up with Donkey and Diddy during one of King K. Rool's invasions of DK Isles.

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• Balloon Belly: He gains one after using his Baboon Balloon ability, when he stands on a pad with his face on it.
• Blow Gun: That shoots grapes.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Not counting his cameo in the GBA port of DKC3, Lanky Kong was missing between the release of DK64 and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, a gap of 8 years. It was even lampshaded on his Brawl trophy.
  Lanky's trophy: In the recent game Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast, Lanky appears for the first time in years.
• Cloudcuckoolander: He's eccentric, goofy, and odd.
• Dance Battler: His version of the Kongs' AoE attack involves him breakdancing.
• Distressed Dude: In DK64.
• Facepalm: Whenever the player switches from him to another Kong in the tag barrel in DK64.
• Helium Speech: When using his Baboon Balloon ability, after he inflates, he lets out a "Woohoo!" that's even more high-pitched than normal.
• Idle Animation: In DK64, he'll juggle oranges and kick them into the air, only for them to disappear.
• Kid Hero: Most likely, anyway. This is hinted at by his general demeanor and lack of facial flanges despite being a male orangutan.
• Magic Music: Played on a trombone in Donkey Kong 64.
• Mighty Glacier: In Barrel Blast, he has very high top speed, but low boost and poor agility.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: That potion must've been really good, because, despite his arms being thin as twigs, he can handstand despite looking pretty plump (and, through using Crystal Coconuts, adds Super-Speed on top of that). In real life, Orangutans can hang onto trees as easy as person can stand, so it's pretty realistic.
• Mythology Gag: Malevolent orangutans called "Manky Kongs" appeared in the first Country game, starting from the Vine Valley stage "Orangu-tang Gang", where the manual explicitly described them as a Black Sheep branch of the Kong family tree who have allied themselves with the Kremlings.
• Non-Ironic Clown: With his red round nose, white shirt and blue overalls, Lanky certainly resembles a clown.
• Not Quite Flight: From Donkey Kong 64.
  DK Rap: Inflate himself just like a balloon.
• Plucky Comic Relief: His bio on the German Donkey Kong 64 website mentions that his silliness is appreciated by the Kong family, particularly by Chunky and Kiddy. The bio also said his occupation was a stand-up comedian, and his hobbies are playing the trombone and making up jokes.
• The Rival: Klump in Barrel Blast, both having Mighty Glacier stats, though not as extreme as Funky or Kludge.
• Rubber Man: At least when it comes to his arms, especially in his phase of the boss fight against King K. Rool.
• Secret Character: In Donkey Kong 64 and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.
• Spectacular Spinning: When using his shockwave attack in DK64, he creates it by spinning on his head. His animation when using the Super Duper Simian Slam also involves him spinning around on his head.
• Super-Speed: By handstand running using his Orangstand Sprint in Donkey Kong 64; going fast uses up crystal coconuts, though.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Grapes.
• Use Your Head: His animation for the Super Duper Simian Slam in Donkey Kong 64 has him slamming his head on the ground while spinning on it.
• Victory Pose: In DK64, he does the wave, before moving his arms in an X-pattern in front of him.
• White Sheep: It's all but stated that Lanky is a Manky Kong who decided to mend the bridge and be part of the Kong clan again.

Tiny Kong

This Kong got style, so listen up dudes...

"I'm off to the tag barrel - ready to kick reptile butt!"

Debut: Donkey Kong 64

Voiced by (English): Eveline Novakovic (video games, 1999)

Voiced by (Japanese): Kahoru Sasajima (video games, 2007-2008)

Dixie Kong's little sister (in age, not in height), Tiny Kong shares Dixie's speed, helicopter-like hair, and adventurous spirit. She's good friends with her cousin, Chunky Kong. After her first appearance, Tiny apparently hit puberty, as she is now much taller and more mature-looking than her big sister.

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• Action Girl: Just like her older sister Dixie. Her bio from the German DK64 website provides some extra insight to this.
  Tiny's bio: Tiny is always trying to follow the footsteps of Dixie Kong, who together with Diddy has made a name for herself as an adventurer.
• Automatic Crossbows: Her weapon in DK64, the Feather Bow, fires the fastest of all the Kongs' unique weapons.
• Badass Adorable: Again, mainly in Donkey Kong 64. As soon as you rescue her, she's "ready to kick some reptile butt", and is quite capable of it. And just look at her in Krazy Kong Klamour: While the other Kongs are trembling at the possibility that they might be shot with a watermelon, Tiny is taking up a fighting stance.
• Badass Armfold: When interacting with certain characters in DK64, she will do one. Usually though she has her hands on her hips.
• Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: When she was redesigned as a teenager instead of a child, she started wearing a crop top similarly to Candy and Dixie.
• Big Little Sister: In Diddy Kong Racing DS, Dixie filled in for Conker and Tiny for Banjo, making the younger sister a bear and the older one a squirrel. Tiny is also less... infantile in behavior. While Tiny is obviously taller than Dixie since her redesign, she is a whole head taller than Diddy Kong in DK64^note Measured by comparing their models in the multiplayer mode., meaning she has always been taller than Dixie Kong, as Diddy and Dixie are the same size.
• Big Sister Worship: The German DK64 website states that Tiny became an adventurer because she wants to be like her big sister.
• The Bus Came Back: After her debut in Donkey Kong 64, it wasn't until Diddy Kong Racing DS eight years later that she became playable again, though she did make a cameo in the GBA ports of DKC2 and DKC3.
• Cheerful Child: In Donkey Kong 64.
• Costume Evolution: In her debut, she wore blue overalls with a flower on it, a white t-shirt, a multicolored beanie hat and white shoes. Since her redesign, she wears sky blue pants, a sky blue top with purple borders and a flower on it, orchid sandals and the same multicolored beanie hat, except the hat now has a purple top instead of a red one. Accessories she wears are large hoop earrings and white fur wristbands. She also sports dark red eye makeup and pink nail varnish.
• Cute Bruiser: Mainly in Donkey Kong 64.
• Damsel in Distress: In Donkey Kong 64 and Mario Super Sluggers.
• Dynamic Akimbo: Literally ALWAYS has her hands on her hips when they're not in use. Without exception. The other characters don't exactly pose when idle, she does. It adds to the Badass Adorable look. However, in DK64, she briefly and sporadically stops to play hacky sack with an orange (see Idle Animation below) but as soon as she's done, her hands go back on her hips.
• Fanservice Pack: Tiny Kong was added to Diddy Kong Racing DS to replace Banjo (who could not appear at the time due to Rare being purchased by Microsoft) and was redesigned to be a Humanoid Female Animal who could fill the bigger bear's shoes; probably in keeping with Ms. Fanservice Candy Kong, Tiny's grown-up body has unmistakable curves and a revealing tank-top. Tiny's new design appears to be permanent, since it reappears in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast and Super Mario Sluggers.
• Feather Flechettes: Out of a crossbow, the aptly named Feather Bow.
• Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal: She is one of only two Kongs to be fully dressed, the other being Swanky Kong (Funky was also fully clothed, but only in DKC3). Interestingly, she is fully clothed in both of her designs, while Swanky only became this since his second appearance in DKC3.
• Genki Girl: She shows a lot of energy.
• Girlish Pigtails: After her redesign, she gains pigtails that compliment her energetic nature.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has blonde hair and is friendly.
• Helicopter Hair: She can use her pigtails to fly just like her older sister.
• Hotter and Sexier: She became this after she was redesigned. In Mario Super Sluggers, she sways her hips when successfully making a nice play, scoring an RBI or a home run and when celebrating the player(s) who received MVP after winning a match. When walking, instead of her Skip of Innocence from DK64, she does a Supermodel Strut. She does not do a Girly Run like Princess Peach however.
• Humanoid Female Animal: After her growth spurt, making her more akin to Candy Kong rather than Dixie Kong.
• Idle Animation: In DK64, she'll take out an orange and balance it on her foot before putting it away. In Mario Super Sluggers when left idle long enough while batting, she leans back and stretches her left arm. When she's not doing her idle animation, she's standing with her hands on her hips.
• I Got Bigger: She was around the same size as Diddy back in Donkey Kong 64. Come Donkey Kong Barrel Blast and the DS remake of Diddy Kong Racing, she's twice as tall as him and proportioned more like a human. Making her name an Ironic Name.
• Improbable Weapon User: Her hair. In Barrel Blast, she can defeat sharks that are much larger than she is with it.
• Incredible Shrinking Man: In Donkey Kong 64, where she has the ability to shrink when she uses the magic barrel showing her face.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: They were bigger in DK64.
• Ironic Name: Since her redesign in Diddy Kong Racing DS, Tiny's become one of the tallest Kongs.
• Jack of All Stats: In Diddy Kong Racing DS. In Mario Super Sluggers, her batting, pitching and running are exactly average while her fielding and stamina are above average. In fact, of all team players available in the game, she has the highest stat total.
• Kid Hero: In Donkey Kong 64. The trope can still be played straight with her redesign, but it's more believable in pre-redesign.
• Lightning Bruiser: In Barrel Blast, she has maxed out boost and very high speed, but below average agility.
• Little Miss Badass: In Donkey Kong 64.
• Made of Iron: This applies to her and Dixie. They are both brave and are more than willing to participate with the guys in their adventures, even if they get hurt by being set on fire, crushed or electrocuted.
• Magic Music: Played on a saxophone in Donkey Kong 64.
• Meaningful Name: Her name makes sense with her child design in Donkey Kong 64, especially with her ability to shrink. Averted after her redesign.
• Ms. Fanservice: In Mario Super Sluggers, compared to the more traditional Peach and Daisy.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: In DK64's secret ending, Donkey Kong tries to pull a lever with all the strength he can muster, to no avail. Tiny then gently taps the lever, which sends DK flying.
• Mythology Gag: Doubles as a Hilarious in Hindsight, her bio on the German Donkey Kong 64 website says that Tiny's greatest wish is to become a super model, but she was too short for the job. Fast forward 8 years, and she got her redesign.
• Never Bareheaded: She never takes off her hat.
• Non-Indicative Name: Due to a combination of her being aged up and lacking her shrinking ability in other appearances, she hasn't lived up to her name since Donkey Kong 64.
• Out of Focus: In this case, just her original design. After being redesigned in Diddy Kong Racing DS, Tiny didn't appear with her child design again until Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which is, however, non-canon.
• The One Who Wears Shoes: White shoes pre-redesign, orchid sandals post-redesign. While she wasn't the only Kong to wear shoes in the past, she is the only one who still wears some.
• Pint-Sized Kid: How she originally looked in Donkey Kong 64, hence her name, TINY Kong.
• Plucky Girl: Just like her older sister.
• Prehensile Hair: Though not to the same degree as Dixie.
  Tiny's manual bio for DK64: You'll find her pigtails perfect for pugilism and not too bad for a helicopter ride from the treetops.
• The Rival: Kalypso in Barrel Blast.
• Secret Character: In all of her playable appearances except Diddy Kong Racing DS and DK64 where she was a main character.
• Sexy Backless Outfit: When scoring a strikeout in Mario Super Sluggers, she shows her backside unlike the other characters, who directly look towards the camera.
• She Is All Grown Up: Yet she's still the younger sister to Dixie Kong. While no one says anything about her growth spurt, it was mentioned on her trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
  Tiny's trophy: She isn't quite as small as when we first met her.
• Short Tank: She wears one after she was redesigned.
• Skip of Innocence: Both her running and walking cycle in Donkey Kong 64. It's even lampshaded in the DK Rap.
  DK Rap: "With a skip and a hop, she's one cool Kong."
• Slide Attack: In DK64, one of her attacks is a ground-sliding front kick.
• Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: Nothing in the games really explain why she had a sudden growth spurt.
• Spectacular Spinning: When using her special shockwave attack in DK64, she creates a purple shockwave by spinning both herself and her ponytails.
• Statuesque Stunner: Post-redesign. While she doesn't have a confirmed height, in Mario Super Sluggers she is a little taller than Princess Peach, who is 6'1" tall (186 cm).
• Supermodel Strut: She does this in Mario Super Sluggers, and it especially stands out when compared to Peach or Daisy (who walk normally).
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Dixie in Donkey Kong 64.
• Tank-Top Tomboy: Since her redesign, which also overlaps with Short Tank.
• Teleportation: Her Monkeyport ability in Donkey Kong 64, in which she could teleport to another area by standing on a pad with her face on it.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tomboy to her sister Dixie's Girly Girl.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She may be tomboyish, but she still likes nail polish and takes very good care of her appearance.
• True Blue Femininity: Compared to her sister's pink.
• Victory Pose: In DK64, she does a little dance before jumping and doing the splits in midair. In Barrel Blast when finishing a cup in first place, she throws a few punches and puts her hands on her hips. In Mario Super Sluggers when she clears a mission, minigame or wins MVP, she starts dancing and smiles towards the camera.
• Younger Than They Look: Post-growth spurt, she looks much older than her older sister. But she is still considered the younger sister.

Chunky Kong

This Kong's so strong, it isn't funny...

"H-Help me! Chunky d-doesn't like heights!"

Debut: Donkey Kong 64

Voiced by (English): Chris Sutherland (video games, 1999)

The biggest and strongest member of the Kong family, this gorilla is Dixie and Tiny's cousin and Kiddy's big (very big) brother. Chunky is big, strong, and tough, but has a very gentle personality and is very easily frightened. Like a true Kong, though, he always pulls through in the end. Like Kiddy, he never made any physical appearance in games not developed by Rare, the other being Swanky.

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• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: He can become even bigger in Donkey Kong 64. The longer he stays giant however, more crystal coconuts will be used up, though certain scenarios gives him an unlimited amount.
• Belly Flop Crushing: When using the Super Simian Slam, Chunky Kong performs a frontflip before belly flopping onto the ground.
• The Big Guy: According to the announcer during the boss fight at the end of DK64, he weighs just under a ton —2000lbs, or 907kg— at his normal size. He is also taller than Candy Kong.
• Butt-Monkey: Everything goes badly for Chunky during the DK Rap; among them being flattened by the other Kongs when their handstanding pose goes wrong, sliding on his knees into the camera and breaking it, dropping his own thrown boulder onto himself in a manner^note Namely, throwing it forward and then somehow having it drop down on him from the top of the screen. that completely defies physics for comedy, being buried underneath an avalanche of bananas, and finally being blown up with an Orange Grenade.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: To date, Donkey Kong 64 is the only game Chunky has been playable in, and even adding in non-playable cameos he's only appeared five times - in a DK64-based comic, in a minigame in the GBA version of Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and as a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

  • Recently, he’s made a cameo in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

• Cowardly Lion: He's the biggest (according to the talking microphone in Donkey Kong 64, he weighs 2000 pounds, more than twice as much as Donkey Kong, who weighs 800 pounds) and strongest of the Kongs, and also the most cowardly.
• Cower Power: If you highlight him when entering a tag barrel in DK64, he will panic and gesture for you to pick Tiny instead of him, going "phew!" in relief if you do.
• Disco Dan: During the DK Rap, he's initially wearing a purple disco outfit completely with matching 'fro, before running off-screen and switching to his normal clothes once he realises that no one else is wearing one.
• Distressed Dude: In DK64.
• Does Not Know His Own Strength: During the credits in DK64, where he plays with Tiny Kong by tossing her into the air. He eventually tosses her onto a big hill by mistake, and it takes him about five seconds to realise she disappeared.
• Fartillery: When using the shockwave attack in DK64, he creates the shockwave by doing a massive burp.
• Funny Afro: He wears one in his disco outfit during the DK Rap, before changing to his usual attire.
• Gentle Giant: He is bigger and stronger than DK and fires a pineapple launcher, yet he plays the triangle and is shown to be very sweet and gentle.
• Hulk Speak: Similar to Donkey in DK64, Chunky doesn't have much eloquent grammar.
• Idle Animation: In DK64, he takes amusement at a butterfly landing on his hand, but gets annoyed when more start landing on him, so he swats them all away. He may also do a Primal Chestpound.
• Invisibility: In Donkey Kong 64, which really suits him.
• The Klutz: He comes off as really clumsy during the DK Rap.
• Large Ham: Strangely enough for a Lovable Coward. He hogs the camera during the DK Rap (even though he's not until last), keeps looking at the camera during his minecart ride in Fungi Forest, and really seems to enjoy the cheering and applause of the crowd in his fight with K. Rool at the end.
• Lovable Coward: Despite being the biggest and strongest of the Kong family, he is quite a coward. He will gather enough courage when needed though.
• Magic Music: Played on a triangle.
• Megaton Punch: His Primate Punch in Donkey Kong 64 has him lean back before letting out a haymaker. Out of the physical attacks of every Kong in the game, the Primate Punch is the strongest of them all.
• Mighty Glacier: In Donkey Kong 64, he's strong enough to pick up and toss rocks, but he's not very fast and can't jump high.
  He may move slow, he can't jump high, but this Kong's one hell of a guy!
• Muscles Are Meaningful: The undisputedly strongest Kong shown thus far, dwarfing even the beefy Donkey Kong and Funky in terms of muscle. He can grow even bigger and larger through one of his special abilities.
• Out of Focus: Unlike Tiny and Lanky, he's vanished off the face of the earth, to the point some questioned if it was due to Rare owning him. However, he has had a couple of minor nods to him.
• The Runt at the End: Many of the game's moments have him suffering the worst slapstick out of his fellow Kongs, particularly the DK Rap. Not only that, he is rescued last in the game, fights K. Rool last, and is introduced last in, again, the DK Rap.
• Super-Strength: He can pick up a boulder with relative ease and makes crushing rocks seem such a breeze.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Kiddy Kong in Donkey Kong 64, as a strong but childish Kong. It helps that the two are brothers.
• Took a Level in Badass: At the start of his battle against Dogadon, he begged for mercy, but Dogadon still tried to eliminate him. Chunky then gathered enough courage and repeatedly punched Dogadon in the face after turning giant, before finishing the fight with a Megaton Punch.
• Top-Heavy Guy: He's a big ape, and he can pick up and toss huge rocks quite easily.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Pineapples. Not only does he use them as his weapons, but his favorite food is pineapple compote, according to the German DK64 website.
• Younger Than They Look: In DK64, he is the youngest of the protagonists, despite what his huge size and deep voice would suggest.

Cranky Kong

GO HOME, AND LET ME GET SOME SLEEP!

"They can't keep this level of graphics up for much longer! We used to be lucky if we only got three shades of grey, let alone any real colors!"

Debut: Donkey Kong (as Donkey Kong), Donkey Kong Country (as Cranky Kong)

Voiced by (English): Aron Tager (Donkey Kong Country), Fred Armisen (2023 animated film)

Voiced by (Japanese): Ryusei Nakao (Japanese dub for animated series), Takashi Nagasako (video games, 2007-present)

Voiced by (Latin-American Spanish): Ismael Castro (Donkey Kong Country)

Voiced by (French): Yves Massicotte (Donkey Kong Country, Season 1), Yves Barsacq (Donkey Kong Country, Season 2)

(see also Cranky rambling about himself over here)
Donkey Kong's aptly named grandfather (or father, depending on who you ask), and the original Donkey Kong who kidnapped Pauline and fought Mario. Nowadays, Cranky Kong spends his days sitting on his front porch, dispensing sarcastic advice to passersby, and bemoaning the loss of the good ol' days of 8-bit gaming. He was married to Wrinkly Kong before she gave up the ghost.

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• Abnormal Ammo: In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, he throws dentures as projectiles.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: In the cartoon, Cranky still has his snippety moments, but he's also much more rational and wise, mainly scolding Donkey Kong for being reckless rather than being a perpetually grumpy old man.
• Ambiguously Evil: His past as the original Donkey Kong that kidnapped Pauline and fought Mario seems to be a point of pride for him rather than remorse. While he helps his successor and friends defend their home and save the day now, it's not clear if this attitude towards the "good old days" is due to him being a Fourth-Wall Observer fond of his role in older video games, or if he would still cause trouble for Mario like his grandson occasionally does if he regained his youthful vigor and strength. It's worth noting that, when explaining the story of the original arcade game, Shigeru Miyamoto claimed that the original Donkey Kong was created to be an antagonist who wasn't "too evil or repulsive."
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other:
  • For all his grouching and his comments on how he'll never be as good as him, Cranky truly loves and cares for Donkey Kong. He'll even admit at the end how proud he is of him.
  • There's a recurring implication that despite his endless complaining about every game that isn't his arcade classic, Cranky still deeply loves video games and is mainly bitching out of pride. In DKC2, he regularly blabbers about how lame Killer Instinct is since he's not in it, only to immediately resume playing it when the other Kongs leave. And in 3, Wrinkly is actively hiding the release of the Nintendo 64 from him because she bets he'd be hogging the console all to himself if he knew about it.
• Blatant Lies: In the original manual for Donkey Kong Country, he pops up throughout and comments on stuff. On the page for the Animal Friends, he says that none of them actually appear in the game, and on the page for the Kong Family, he pretends he doesn't know them.
• Cane Fu: In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, he uses his cane offensively both on land or underwater. In Barrel Blast, he attacks other racers with his cane and can also use it to smash barrels and certain stage hazards.
• Cool Old Guy: In Barrel Blast and Tropical Freeze, where Cranky is playable. He can easily keep up with the much younger Kongs. He even uses his cane to injure enemies they can't! Also in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, in which he competes with the player characters in Swanky's Sideshow's ball games.
• *Crack!* "Oh, My Back!": In Donkey Kong 64, if you lost at least one round against K. Rool. Happens more frequently in the cartoon.
• The Cynic: His opinion of the newer games he's stuck in, the people who make them, the players who enjoy them and his relatives starring in them are all consistently pretty low, per his contributions to the manuals and his ramblings in the games themselves. Case in point: His hints section for the DK 64 manual is empty, and he blames the developers of the game for "saving them for some money-making strategy guide" before telling the reader to just "play better."
• Cynical Mentor: Rarely has much confidence in the next generation of Kongs, but will provide genuine advice interspersed within his various ramblings.
• Deadpan Snarker: It was obvious by looking at the manuals from the first games, but his quotes in the games cement this even further. It would be easier to count when he doesn't spout a snide remark. Some glorious ones from DKCR are:
  "Back for more, are you? I knew you couldn't make it without my help." (entering his shop)
  "So, who hasn't stolen your bananas at this point?" (entering his shop)
  "One extra balloon equals one extra reprieve from failure." (highlighting an Extra Life Balloon)
  "I give this balloon 30 seconds before it pops." (buying an Extra Life Balloon)
  "Okay, sonny, but don't say I didn't ridicule you." (buying the Heart Boost)
  "And I thought two hearts was too easy! Now you want a third?" (buying the Heart Boost)
  "Wow, way to fight fair, Donkey Kong." (buying the Banana Juice)
  "You gonna stare all day, or are you gonna throw down some coin?" (taking too much to buy something)
  "What's the matter? Waste all your coins on video games?" (not having enough coins to buy something)
  "You know where you can find more Banana Coins? Everywhere." (not having enough coins to buy something)
• Distressed Dude: In Donkey Kong Jr.
• Dub Name Change: To "Bubbles" of all names, in the cartoon's German dub.
• Establishing Character Moment: Has the honor of gracing one of the first cutscenes in video games with his by carrying Pauline and using his strength to bend the girders beneath him, before smiling and grunting like a mule. All of which established him immediately as a stubborn and strong menace for the original arcade Donkey Kong before the game properly begins.
  • Gets a new one in the introductory cutscene for the first Donkey Kong Country, where he's shown feebly winding a Victrola on those same girders by himself to play the theme from the NES port of the arcade game, before having the background change to reflect the new graphics of the current game and the current Donkey Kong shove him out of the way to dance to a modern remix of the game. Cranky responds by shaking his fist and throwing an explosive barrel at his new successor with a mischievous chuckle. This establishes Cranky as not only an aged version of the original Donkey Kong character, but one stubbornly stuck in the past and unamused by the antics of the new DK and his adventures.
• Ex-Big Bad: Notable in that he was one of Nintendo's very first, and Mario's original antagonist. Nowadays, he's a cantankerous but benign side character in his grandson's (the modern Donkey Kong) own series, helping him save the day and nowhere to be seen when the latter occasionally takes on an (anti-)villainous role against Mario himself.
• Fourth-Wall Observer: In the animated DKC series, the fourth wall practically doesn't exist for him. However, he must have gotten feeble in his old age and can no longer break it in DKCR (although he does lean on it at times).
  • His awareness is so great that he jumpstarts the plot of Donkey Kong Land by baiting DK with insults about Donkey Kong Country.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Played for laughs in the manual for Donkey Kong Land. When Donkey Kong defends the original Country game as being good regardless of graphics, Cranky challenges him to prove it and calls their enemy K.Rool to steal his grandson's bananas all over again so he can prove it in a Game Boy adventure!
• Grumpy Old Man: It's in his name.
• Heel–Face Turn: Downplayed. After his antics of kidnapping Pauline, terrorizing Stanley's greenhouse, and declaring a hundred-level war alongside his son on Mario, Cranky finally stopped harassing innocent civilians and became a good guy by the time of Donkey Kong Country. Except, he's still as abrasive now as he was back in his prime, still fondly reminisces on his days of being a Big Bad, and usually has selfish ambitions.
• Hero's Evil Predecessor: "Evil" is definitely pushing it but he is still an aged version of the original Donkey Kong character who was established, first and foremost, as Mario's antagonist. The modern DK using that name since 1994 still fills that role from time to time, but otherwise has made a name for himself as the heroic defender of his home-turf in his own game series, whereas Cranky usually takes a passive role in his retirement.
• Idle Animation: In Tropical Freeze when carried by DK, he picks up a newspaper and starts reading it. If he is by himself, he scratches his ear with his cane.
• I Was Quite a Looker: By Kong standards, anyway. Cranky as the original Donkey Kong was an ape of absolutely tremendous burly physique, dwarfing even his beefy grandson. Of course, given Mario's age was settled to be mid-20s, and the current DK is his age, Cranky must have hit a hard and fast decline after Mario took him down.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Mainly in the cartoon series. He yells at DK and Diddy far more times than one can count, but considering how often they screw up, it's understandable.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he is an incredibly snippy Grumpy Old Man and a massive jerk at times, he still undeniably cares for his grandson and the other Kongs.
• King Kong Copy: Was one of gaming's foremost examples in his original incarnation as Donkey Kong. which resulted in Universal Studios unsuccessfully trying to sue Nintendo for the resemblance. As Cranky, this trope doesn't really apply anymore.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Doesn't think much of his grandson's adventures but will nevertheless journey with him and aid him as well as his friends, working with them to save their island home.
• Leitmotif: Gets a remix of the NES Donkey Kong title screen whenever you visit his cabin in the Country games.
• Lightning Bruiser: He has very high stats in all areas in Barrel Blast, one point higher in each stat than Donkey Kong and Kritter. He is also able to keep up with the other Kongs in Tropical Freeze in spite of his old age.
• Like a Son to Me: Says this to DK in at least one episode of the animated series.^note Incidentally, said episode aired around the time the "Cranky is DK's father" story caught on, and it's unknown if this was intended as a response to that idea.
• Like an Old Married Couple: Before Wrinkly's passing, he was never seen spending any time with her, only badmouthing her to the other Kongs (while she did the same about him).
• Mad Scientist: He mixed potions in the cartoon, which is a trait kept in DK64 when he went by "Professor Cranky Kong".
• Meta Guy: Especially in the GBA ports, where he lampshades practically every trope that's used, complaining about the Palette Swap bosses and Sequel Hook in the port of the first game..
• Miniature Senior Citizen: When he used to be the original Donkey Kong, his sprite was 4 times bigger then Mario's sprite. Now he's small enough that he can comfortably ride on the current Donkey Kong's back in Tropical Freeze.
• Nostalgia Filter: An in-universe example, he always complains about how much better the older video games were.
• Not So Above It All: Even if he spends most of his time decrying the graphics and stories of the games he's in now, he still shown to throw himself into the same mini-games and activities his grandchildren participate in, and in "Tropical Freeze" he tags along with them as a playable character with his own idiosyncratic set of skills.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: In the SNES manual of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, he believes Dixie should be the Damsel in Distress instead of one of the stars. Thankfully, he drops this in later games.
• Promoted to Playable: In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, marking his first playable appearance in the series, after spending two decades of providing hints, Breaking the Fourth Wall and kidnapping Pauline.
• Retcon: Cranky Kong was always considered the elderly form of the original Donkey Kong, but he was originally described as the current Donkey Kong's grandfather, with Junior apparently MIA. Flash forward to Donkey Kong 64, and Cranky begins to refer to him as "son". Official websites around this time also backed up the idea that Cranky Kong was actually DK's father. This has since been re-retconned by Nintendo, which reverted back to the grandfather story in newer Super Smash Bros. and Donkey Kong titles.
• Retired Badass: He was the original arcade/NES DK, now just lazing around in his chair or charging for special potions. This changes in Tropical Freeze to become an active hero once again.
• Retired Monster: Downplayed, as Cranky does have a genuine good side, but he's not at all remorseful of his golden age as a maiden-kidnapping, greenhouse-attacking villain, and reminisces fondly on it. It can be inferred the primary reason he no longer engages in such antics is simply that age has caught up to him.
• The Rival: To King K. Rool in Barrel Blast. Fittingly, as they were once best friends in the cartoon.
• Same Character, But Different: Per the manuals of the Rare-era games, the Donkey Kong that famously caused trouble for Mario is now much older, hunched over and grumpy, with his younger relative taking on his old name, the spotlight and a lot of his original characteristics. While still the case in the newer games, explicit references to this are so few and far between that you'd forgive newer fans for thinking the arcade DK and the new one are still the same characters. Not helping are certain Nintendo games, like some promotional material for Mario vs. Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong's character entry in the first two Smash Bros games, outright conflating the two.
• Scatterbrained Senior: This is Gregg Mayles' excuse as to why Cranky suddenly referred to DK as his "son" instead of "grandson" by Donkey Kong 64.
• Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: He's rude and abrasive to everyone younger than him (i.e. everyone, including his wife Wrinkly).
• Sink or Swim Mentor: When DK boasts that DKC was a great game regardless of graphics, Cranky forces him to prove it by literally inviting K.Rool, their family's archnemesis, to steal their bananas again so they can go on the same dangerous adventure they did before, but on the Game Boy this time!
• Sore Loser: Beating him in the Swanky's Sideshow minigames often results in an angry comment or two from him, such as accusing you of being a fraud and threatening to contact his lawyer. He'll sometimes even throw one of the game's balls at you.
• Sour Supporter: He can be counted on to provide advice, potions, supplies, and even occasional playable backup for his family on their quests...just don't expect him to be very enthusiastic about doing it.
• Starter Villain: Of the Mario series, back when he was the original Donkey Kong.
• Strong as They Need to Be: Depending on the game, he can be old and frail to the point of needing two canes to being a badass who can easily keep up with his grandson.
• Super-Strength: In his prime, at any rate. He could nearly level a construction site with just a couple of stomps, and this is the only foe Mario needed to bring the hammer for in the mainline entries. Nowadays he can still huck a good barrel when need be, but he's lost virtually all his old mass.
• Sword Plant: Uses his cane to do this in the air. It also bounces him higher in the air than just jumping.
• Took a Level in Kindness: In the later games Cranky becomes far less grouchy and more openly supportive of DK and Diddy. And his comments have become more good-natured.
• Virtuous Character Copy: As stated above in the modern Donkey Kong's entry, Cranky Kong technically counts as this per his original identity as the Donkey Kong of the Arcade games. Not only was he a less menacing and more mischievous antagonist than King Kong, he also functioned as a more likable villain than his other inspiration, Bluto. While he waxes nostalgically about his days as a smirking brutish villain, Cranky now is a completely different character whose brutishness and kidnapping tendencies are now occasionally present in his otherwise laidback grandson. and he's moved on from kidnapping to taking a wife and mentoring his family. Essentially, he's a version of Popeye's eternal rival who's has traded his brawn for wisdom in old age and put his famous rivalry behind him.
• When I Was Your Age...: Frequently indulges in this trope.
  Cranky: Back in my day, we used to have REAL gameplay... we didn't have any of this fancy 3D stuff!
• Would Hurt a Child: He had no qualms about hitting Diddy Kong on the head with his cane whenever he visited him in the first Donkey Kong Country Game. In DKC3, he would also sometimes throw a ball into Dixie and Kiddy's faces if he lost a throwing game round at Swanky's sideshow.

Funky Kong

"Lookin' good, Kongs! Buckle up and blast off, you're outta here!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country

Voiced by (English): Damon D'Oliveira (Donkey Kong Country)

Voiced by (Japanese): Banana Ice (Japanese dub for animated series), Toshihide Tsuchiya (video games, 2007-present)

Voiced by (Latin-American Spanish): Luis Alfonso Mendoza (Donkey Kong Country)

Voiced by (French): Emmanuel Curtil (Donkey Kong Country)

One of Donkey Kong's pals from DK Isle, Funky Kong hates leaving the safety of his garage, but gladly helps out Donkey and friends from the sidelines. He's a first-class gearhead who's invented a wide variety of vehicles and artillery to aid his friends, and often shows up at the last minute to throw a monkey wrench (pun intended) into King K. Rool's plans. When not at work, Funky loves surfing, drumming, and kart racing.

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• Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: In the first two games, Funky wears only his bandana, shades, a gold medallion, and a pair of sandals to further the surfer theme.
• The Ace: Not only is he a skilled inventor and pilot who dealt the final blow to K. Rool in 64, but his playable appearance in the Updated Re-release of Tropical Freeze shows that he is more than capable of throwing down as well as the other Kongs, featuring superior durability and the skills of all of them combined.
• All Your Powers Combined: Essentially features all of the abilities of the playable Kongs in the Updated Re-release of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Switch.
  • He features the same build as Donkey Kong and can roll infinitely on his own, unlike DK, who needs the assistance of another Kong to do so.
  • He can hover with his surfboard in a similar fashion to Diddy's jetpack.
  • His double jump and the previously mentioned hovering essentially grants him the same airtime as Dixie.
  • He is immune to spikes on land thanks to his surfboard, similar to Cranky's cane allowing him to hop on spikes.
• Bamboo Technology: Funky builds vehicles and weapons out of barrels and fruit.
• Barefoot Cartoon Animal: Starting after Donkey Kong 64, Funky's outfit switched to a variation of his clothes from Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. He wears his white tank top, blue shorts, red bandana and purple sunglasses, but unlike in DKC3, he no longer has on black boots.
• Big Damn Heroes: He shows up in the nick of time at the end of both Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong 64 to give the heroes a helping hand with some high explosives.
• Breakout Character: Originally serving as the flight rental Kong, he eventually went on to become the tertiary face of the franchise alongside Dixie, to the point that he was Promoted to Playable in Mario Super Sluggers and Mario Kart Wii, as well as getting his own dedicated mode in the Switch port of Tropical Freeze.
• Brilliant, but Lazy:
  • He's pretty smart and an excellent mechanic, but doesn't have the ambition to go on adventure like the other Kongs do. He instead provides them with his helpful services.
  • The Tropical Freeze Updated Re-release for the Nintendo Switch best exemplifies this, where Funky, who is now playable, displays all sorts of abilities that allow him to breeze through levels, basically turning him into the game's Mercy Mode.
• Cloudcuckoolander: At times, but mainly in the cartoon series.
• Cool Board: His surfboard has changed appearance over the years. In Tropical Freeze, he can hover with it!
• Cool Shades: Funky's worn several pairs of them. In his debut up through DKC3, he wore a traditional black pair. In the cartoon, he wore round silver sunglasses. Ever since his modern redesign, Funky typically wears purple wraparound sunglasses.
• Expressive Mask: In the cartoon, his glasses would often bend to match his facial expressions.
• Expy: He bears more than a passing resemblance to Thrilla Gorilla of T&C Surf Designs fame, especially since he was usually seen with a surfboard in the original Country trilogy.
• Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal:
  • In DKC3, Funky wears a white wifebeater, jorts, shades, a bandanna, and a pair of boots. In his modern design, though, he foregoes the shoes.
  • In DK64 he wears combat boots and the bottom half of navy fatigues, along with a matching navy camo tank top and accessories.
• Finishing Move: He gives the boot to K. Rool at the end of Donkey Kong 64 (literally).
• Gadgeteer Genius: He gadgeteered the jet barrels that let you move from one level to another in DKC and DKC2, tried his hand at being a mechanic for other kinds of vehicles in DKC3 and took on weapons manufacturing in DK64.
• Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: At least some of the official art for the original game gives him a pair of swim trunks in addition to his bandanna, shades, medallion and sandals.
• Head Swap: According to Steve Mayles, his model was originally just an edit of Donkey Kong's in the first Donkey Kong Country.
• Hot-Blooded: But too lazy to go adventuring.
• Hunk: In newer games.
• Idle Animation: He'll sometimes eat a banana and shine his surfboard with the peel. Sometimes he'll dance around with his surfboard, and then twirl it around on his finger. Leave him in the water and he'll do a front flip in place. If you leave him on the map while playing co-op, he twirl his surfboard while player 2's Kong dances on it.
• Improbable Weapon User: He fights with a surfboard. He even uses one as a bat in Mario Super Sluggers.
• Manly Tears: He cries like this in Mario Kart Wii if he gets 6th place or lower in a race.
• Mascot with Attitude: In spades. It only truly gets brought to the forefront when he becomes playable in Tropical Freeze's Updated Re-release, outright mocking his adversaries when he encounters them.
• Mellow Fellow: Famously laidback, even moreso than Donkey Kong, to the point where he prefers to aid his family on the sidelines rather than adventure with them directly.
• Mighty Glacier: Leans more into this than Donkey Kong himself.
  • In DK: King of Swing, he has the second worst jump in the game, but the second highest attack stat in the game, being a less extreme example than King K. Rool.
  • In Barrel Blast, he has fantastic speed, but his other stats are poor. In Mario Super Sluggers, he has great batting and good fielding stats, but he is quite slow.
  • In Mario Kart Wii, he's notable for being the fastest character because of his top speed bonus.
  • In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, he's one of the fastest and heaviest characters alongside Wario and Dry Bowser.
• Mr. Fanservice: Being one of the few clearly grown men, er, Kongs of the DK crew. Unlike Donkey Kong's character design who puts emphasis on the ape aspect, Funky's design leans more towards "surfer dude who happens to be an ape".
• New Job as the Plot Demands: Funky goes from transportation mogul in the SNES trilogy, to arms dealer in DK64, to shopkeeper in Tropical Freeze.
• Non-Action Guy: If you need a vehicle built or fixed, he's your Kong. He's not usually much of a fighter, though. He even admits to not liking adventure in the manual backstory of Donkey Kong Country 2.
• The One Who Wears Shoes: Early on, it was sandals or combat boots, but he's dropped the habit.
• Palette Swap: Aside from the clothes, sunglasses and lighter shade of brown fur, Funky looks almost exactly like Donkey Kong.
• Promoted to Playable: The Tropical Freeze Updated Re-release turns Funky, who was originally just a shopkeeper, into a full-blown playable character.
• Purposely Overpowered: In his playable debut in Tropical Freeze's Switch Updated Re-release, he's basically an "easy mode" character, carrying the abilities of all three partner Kongs and having a 5-point Life Meter compared to the other Kongs' two hearts.
• Put on a Bus: He's absent for the first time in a Donkey Kong Country game in Donkey Kong Country Returns, and his absence is lampshaded by Cranky. He returns in Tropical Freeze. He was also missing between Mario Super Sluggers and Tropical Freeze, a gap of 6 years (2008-2014).
• The Rival: To Kludge in Barrel Blast.
• Secret Character: In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Super Sluggers.
• The Smart Guy: He may look like a goofy surfer dude, but he's the Kongs' source of vehicles, weapons, and other gadgets.
• Super Not-Drowning Skills: In Tropical Freeze, he throws on some diving gear when he goes underwater and thus cannot drown, unlike the other four Kongs who all have an Oxygen Meter.
• Surfer Dude: Most definitely, dude. Almost never seen without his surfboard and shades, and definitely talks with the lingo you'd expect from one. He even brings it out whenever he does a trick in the Deluxe port of Mario Kart 8.
• Took a Level in Badass: In DK64, where he gains a sudden proficiency in designing artillery.
• Totally Radical: Just listen to the way he speaks.
  "Radical Kong! How're ya holding up? I wish I could give you a lift home, but I need coins for gas money."
• Warp Whistle: Funky's Flights serves this purpose in the first two DKC games.

Candy Kong

"How would you like a quick spin in my save barrel?"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country

Voiced by (English): Eveline Novakovic (video games, 1999-2002)

Voiced by (Japanese): Mika Kanai (Japanese dub for animated series): Satsuki Tsuzumi (video games, 2007)

Donkey Kong's girlfriend — along with Swanky, one of the only two Kongs never to be a playable character. She was going to be one of the playable characters in Diddy Kong Pilot, replacing Redneck Kong, but that game was unpublished by the time Rare was bought by Microsoft. Candy provides a variety of services around the DK Isles, including running save points and minigames.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: Her fur was lightened up in the cartoon to the point that she can almost be mistaken for an orangutan.
• Adaptational Jerkass: In the cartoon, she became a massively short-fused Tsundere.
• Barefoot Cartoon Animal: Her 64 and cartoon designs avert this, though her original and current designs play it straight.
• Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: Though she covered her midriff in the original game, she started wearing crop tops in the cartoon, and has stayed since DK64. She's one of the most feminine-looking Kongs with a humanoid body shape.
• Big Damn Heroes: At the end of Donkey Kong 64, she shows up to distract King K. Rool so Funky Kong could blast him with a rocket launcher.
• The Bus Came Back: After appearing in DKC she didn't receive so much as a mention until DK64 several years later reintroduced her.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Her part of defeating King K. Roll was to distract him by flaunting her body.
• Double Entendre: "Stand a little closer, Donkey/Diddy/Tiny/Lanky/Chunky... and I'll show you how to use your instrument."
• Dude Magnet: Donkey Kong, Funky Kong and even K.Rool have all been confirmed to be interested in her.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A typical trait among female Kongs.
• Hotter and Sexier: Her appearance in every game seems to reflect this.
• Hourglass Hottie: The only female Kong to have this figure.
• Humanoid Female Animal: Originally the only female Kong that was this. Tiny's Fanservice Pack adds another Kong to this trope.
• Implied Love Interest: The original manual for Donkey Kong Country states that everyone believes they'll be married one day, but that Candy thinks DK isn't ready to settle down just yet. Her absence from recent games and DK's occasional crush on Pauline leaves their relationship status largely in limbo.
• Informed Attractiveness: Is apparently so attractive that the mere sight of her is enough to overcome King K. Rool with lust at the climax of the final battle.
• Ms. Fanservice: Parodied to an extent, especially in Donkey Kong 64. She also went from wearing a pink form-fitting dress to wearing shorts and a tank top.
• New Job as the Plot Demands: She's the most important Kong to visit in the first DKC, since she saved your game. In later media, she works at Bluster Barrelworks (in the cartoon), sells musical instruments and expands your lifebar (in Donkey Kong 64), runs a challenge shack (in the Game Boy Color port of the first game and in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast), hosts a dance studio (in the first Game Boy Advance port), and is Swanky's assistant (in the other GBA ports).
• Official Couple: With Donkey. The show touches on this relationship more than the games, which officially state that she is merely the "rumored banana of Donkey Kong's eye."
• The One Who Wears Shoes: Wore sneakers in Donkey Kong 64 and Diddy Kong Pilot. Sandals in the cartoon.
• Pink Means Feminine: Her original outfit was a pink leotard, and she traded it in for a pink halter top.
• Sexophone: She had one playing in her music shop in Donkey Kong 64.
• Statuesque Stunner: She towers over every protagonist in Donkey Kong 64, except for Chunky.
• The Tease: Mostly in Donkey Kong 64.
• Tsundere: She only has this trait in the cartoon, and its ratcheted way up.
• Visual Innuendo: In Donkey Kong 64, she increases your health bar with large, round melons. The fact that your health bar is made up of actual watermelons doesn't change the fact that it's a buxom ape that's handling them.

Wrinkly Kong

"Why, if it isn't Donkey — or is it Funky? No — Diddy!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Voiced by (Japanese): Miho Yamada (video games, 2007)

Cranky Kong's wife and Donkey Kong's grandmother (or mother?), Wrinkly used to run the Kong Kollege on Crocodile Isle, where she provided a haven and place of education for good Kremlings, as well as helpful tips for Diddy and Dixie on their quest to rescue Donkey. After the island sank, she retired to the Northern Kremisphere, where she spent her days enjoying her sunset years and caring for the local Banana Birds. Sadly, she died of old age not long after, but that didn't stop her from helping out the Kongs — she's now a ghost, and spends as much time with her family as ever.

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• Affirmative Action Girl: Wrinkly, along with Dixie Kong, was introduced in the second game so the cast would have more female faces than just Candy.
• Back from the Dead: Well, not exactly Back From The Dead...
• Cool Old Lady: In life, Wrinkly enjoyed aerobics and playing on the N64. Even after her death, she is a very capable racer in Barrel Blast.
• Cool Teacher: She saves your game in her classroom in ''DKC2, and the fact that she was able to keep King K. Rool in line while he was her student stresses this even further.
  Wrinkly: (to Diddy and Dixie) I hope you're better behaved than those reptiles. Why, I even caught one sharpening his sword in class yesterday!
• Death Is Cheap: Downplayed. Wrinkly is legitimately dead and is one of the canonically dead main characters in the greater series, but that clearly hasn't stopped her from still aiding the rest of the Kongs as a ghost.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Cranky can mention her in the original DKC, although she's only referred as Mrs. Kong.
• Friendly Ghost: Even after her death, she remains as friendly as she always has been.
• Intangible Man: Averted in Barrel Blast, were she can get hurt by barrels, items or attacks by other racers and ride an Animal Friend, toboggan or a minecart like everyone else.
• Like an Old Married Couple: Before King of Swing, she was never seen spending time with Cranky, only badmouthing him to the other Kongs (while he did the same.)
  Wrinkly: If you bump into Cranky, tell him to stop wasting his money on Swanky's bonus games.
• The One Who Wears Shoes: Wore sneakers in DKC3. Has forgone footwear since her death for obvious reasons.
• Only Sane Man: She's much more sensible and temperate than Cranky.
• Pink Means Feminine: In DKC3, she was wearing a pink aerobics outfit.
• The Rival: Kopter in Barrel Blast. Both having the best turning ability in the game, but the rest of their stats equal to balanced characters like Donkey Kong and Kritter.
• Secret Character: In her only two playable appearances to date, the first being DK: King of Swing and the second Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.
• Spirit Advisor: After the third game. In King of Swing, she teams up with Cranky to help teach Donkey Kong the basics of the game.
• Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Between 3 and 64, she dies offscreen. It doesn't stop her from coming back as a ghost to lend a hand to her family.
• When I Was Your Age...: She rarely indulges into this trope, unlike Cranky.
  Wrinkly: All these new fangled toys you play with these days. In my day we had a box and a stick... and we'd be happy!"

Swanky Kong

Would you buy a used car from this ape?

"Give them a big hand folks!"

Debut: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

A flashy show-ape with all kinds of expensive bling, a bad afro, and an unhealthy preoccupation with polyester, Swanky runs a variety of games and sideshows that give the other Kongs a chance to win some beaucoup cash and prizes. Like Candy (his occasional assistant), Swanky Kong has never been playable. Although he is a member of the Kong family, it is unknown if he is related to anyone in it. Like Kiddy and Chunky, he never made any physical appearance in games not developed by Rare.

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• Ambiguously Related: While many of the Kongs are this, it's implied that Swanky isn't quite as close to DK compared to the others, not even meeting up with them when they realize that DK was kidnapped in the manual backstory of the second Country game.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He hasn't made an appearance since Donkey Kong Country 3 (which was released over 20 years ago — not counting the Game Boy Advance remake). The most he's got since then was his sideshow tent outside DK's field, as well as a billboard, in Mario Superstar Baseball.
• Conjoined Eyes: Something he doesn't share with DK, despite using his model.
• Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Averted in his debut appearance in DKC2, but played straight since DKC3. He's currently the only male Kong to be this.
• Palette Swap: Swanky uses the same model as Donkey Kong, but unlike DK, he has Conjoined Eyes.
• Rhymes on a Dime: In DKC3, but only when introducing his games for the first time.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Proved by the fancy suit he wears since his redesign in DKC3, as well as the many gold rings around his fingers. In his debut in DKC2, he only wears a blue coat, but he has the rings on his fingers.
• The One Who Wears Shoes: In his second appearance.

Cartoon-only Kongs

Bluster Kong

"I'm just one sneaky, peeping, two-bit step away from becoming an even richer richest ape on Kongo Bongo Island - and that's rich."

Voiced by: Donald Burda (English), Daniel Lesourd (French, Season 1), Patrice Dozier (French, Season 2), Daiki Nakamura (Japanese dub for animated series)

The boss of DK Island's barrel factory (owned by his mother), and Donkey Kong's rival for Candy's affections. Appeared in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: He's infatuated with Candy, who can't stand him.
• Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: He only wears cuffs and spats (plus shades and a gold necklace as Leo Luster).
• Accidental Hero: One episode has him get the drop on K. Rool only because he was hiding the mine kart K. Rool would use to escape. He also only rescued the Crystal Coconut because Klump threw it at him.
• Big Bad Ensemble: He's not completely evil but he's frequently an antagonist as the Token Evil Teammate. In the pilot he even says he doesn't care if K. Rool wins if it means getting rid of DK. To this effect, he shares the role of main antagonist with K. Rool and Skurvy.
• Butt-Monkey: Bad stuff happens to him a lot.
• Combat Pragmatist: One time, he threatened K. Rool with one of the Kremlings' own guns.
• Dirty Coward: 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!
• Entitled to Have You: He believes that Candy deserves to be in love with him over DK and he'll do anything to make her attracted to him.
• Expy: He looks similar to Uncle Kong, a character found in the Japanese strategy guide for Donkey Kong Country 2.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: He's quite the Momma's Boy.
• Foil: To Donkey Kong. DK is laid-back, usually fearless, and tries to be noble while Bluster is hardworking, egotistical, and spineless.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: On his best days, he's this due to Proximity (he lives on the Island) and Control (he's Candy's boss and son of the owner of the barrel factory). On his worst days, he's Hated by All.
• Furry Baldness: A literal example. He has a hairless head (with only a mustache and toupee) on an otherwise hairy ape body.
• Hated by All: He's despised by nearly everyone on the island for his Jerkass personality. It's to the extent that in "Vote of Kong-Fidence", when running against DK for the position of future ruler of Kongo Bongo, even his own mother voted against him.
• Hero with an F in Good:
  • 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.
• Hidden Depths: It was only in one episode, but when they need Leo Luster's power to save the day but are out of the serum that turns Bluster into Leo, DK makes a guess that Leo Luster was always inside Bluster and just needed to be brought out, and Bluster manages to switch to Leo without the serum, proving that deep down he wants to be a cool stand up guy. Unfortunately, Bluster's negative traits are too strong to allow him to stay a good person.
• Jerkass: 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.
• Large Ham: This guy chews the scenery a lot.
• Mean Boss: When he's not trying to woo Candy, he's overworking her or otherwise making unreasonable demands on her.
• Meaningful Name: Fittingly, Bluster is nothing but a windbag at his core.
• Miles Gloriosus: He boasts about his greatness a lot, but is a pathetic coward.
• Mistaken for Dying: Happens with him in the episode "From Zero to Hero", which prompts him to start doing as much good as possible before he "dies".
• Momma's Boy: He loves his mother.
• Odd Name Out: Out of the Kongs' Theme Naming.
• The Rich Want to Be Richer: In "Buried Treasure". Despite already being the richest ape on the island, he seeks the treasure so he can become rich enough to buy the island itself and make everyone work in his factory.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Bluster sure is arrogant, but for all he can muster, it's clear he's not a fighter at all.
• Super Mode: He gains one in one episode in the form of Leo Luster, who can mind control anyone through sheer cool and charisma.
• Token Evil Teammate: Though not outright evil, he was the resident Jerkass of the group and even stole the Crystal Coconut in one episode.
• Took a Level in Badass: In one episode, he manages to accidentally create a super-hip and impressive alter-ego for himself in the form of Leo Luster.

Eddie the Mean Old Yeti

"Me Eddie, the Mean Old Yeti!"

Voiced by: Damon D'Oliveira (English)

A white-furred Kong living up in the snowcapped White Mountains of the Donkey Kong Country cartoon. Armed with a big club and the distinction of being even dumber than DK, Eddie is a wild force in Kongo-Bongo Island.

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• Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: As his name suggests, he is a yeti.
• The Cameo: He appears on one of Peach's posters in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the first time he's ever been officially acknowledged outside of his cartoon of origin.
• The Dreaded: When he's in a bad mood, most of the cast is terrified of him. Even K. Rool.
• Dumb Muscle: He's dumber than even DK, but his strength is also even greater than DK's.
• Go Mad from the Isolation: It doesn't seem like he was very smart or stable to begin with, but it's heavily implied that living alone in the White Mountains has driven him crazy, which is why he acts so strange.
• Hulk Speak: "Me Eddie, the Mean Old Yeti!"
• Mood-Swinger: Despite the epithet, he's usually somewhat friendly, if odd. But that can change on a dime.
• Non-Indicative Name: He only occasionally lives up to the mean part of his name. He's also not really shown to be older than the "middle-aged" Kongs, like DK. Eddie himself acknowledges this in one of his songs.
  Eddie: Me not so mean. Me not even old.
• Outside-Context Problem: We know absolutely nothing about him. We don't know if he's The Exile, or just a crazy hermit, or if he represents some lost branch of the Kong clan.
• Palette Swap: He looks exactly like DK, only with white fur and with a bobble-hat instead of a necktie. Ironically, DK would get a Palette Swap that looks similar to Eddie in Donkey Kong Country Returns, only with a blue tie.

Kong Fu

"I'm the kung fu master, so mean and tough! I'm so bad, I scare myself!"

Voiced by: Richard Newman (English)

An ape trained in kung fu, and Donkey Kong's opponent in the Donkey Kong Challenge, fighting as King K. Rool's proxy.

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• The Ace: Fu being recruited to help K. Rool usurp DK is met with shock and dismay by the other Kongs, implying a reputation that supports his Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy posturing. Not only is he strong and skilled, but he's intelligent enough to baffle the Kremlings with his grasp of advanced mathematics, later winning the Contest of the Mind. He would've trounced DK in the Contest of the Body as well, were it not for the Kremlings provoking a Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal.
• Absurd Phobia: It's not the phobia that's absurd as much as his reaction to it. When he's in the dark even briefly, he huddles up and whimpers like a puppy dog.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Natch. For starters, his Establishing Character Moment is him singing about how wonderful he is.
• Blatant Lies: One of his claimed accomplishments in his "I Am Great!" Song is "outrunning an avalanche in the dark". Then we find out that the dark is the one thing he fears, which does not work with said boast unless the dark somehow made him run faster.
• Canon Foreigner: He doesn't have a game equivalent. That being said, karate-themed kongs would eventually become a thing in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. One of them, Karate Kong, is literally called Kong Fu in French and Japan.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: He easily trounces poor DK in both the Contest of the Mind and almost the Contest of the Body. The only reason he loses is because 1) the Convenient Eclipse happens before he could land the finishing blow, 2) DK couldn't bring himself to beat him up while he's trembling in fear of the dark, thus winning the Contest of the Heart, and 3) K. Rool and his cronies making fun of him for his fear leads him to forfeit.
• "I Am Great!" Song: "I'm the Kung Fu Master", where he boasts about his accomplishments what an awesome fighter he is. For the record, an instrumental version of this song was used many times before and after his episode.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: He's set to win the Donkey Kong Challenge handily, but when the Kremlings mock his fear of the dark during a Convenient Eclipse, Kong Fu forfeits the contest in disgust and ruins K. Rool's plan.
• One-Shot Character: Appears only in the episode named after him and nowhere else.
• Punny Name: Kong Fu? Kung fu? You get it.
• Reused Character Design: He recycles Bluster's character model with some different colours, no mustache, a different hairstyle, martial leggings and more serious eyes.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: The dark. Shut off the lights and he freezes up.

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