The Donkey Kong Country video games have been a very big part of my life growing up. I didn't actually play the games as I preferred watching my brother or a friend play them but it was still awesome to the MAX!!!!!!
Now the cartoon show..... It was pretty good! I liked it a lot as a kid and the way Teletoon advertised it. The opening always got me into the banana slama world of DK and company. Most of the characters are presented, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Candy Kong, Dixie Kong, Cranky Kong, Funky Kong, the kremlings King K. Rool, Klump, Krusha, and the rest of the green cronies. It had some new characters exclusive only to the show like Eddie the mean old Yeti, Bluster Kong, Captain Scurvy and his two hench pirates but no Kiddy Kong, or Wrinkly Kong or any of the animal buddies or big boss baddies.
The plot of the show is based around Donkey Kong of tropical Kongo Bongo island, a lovable but dimwitted ape who found a magical crystal in the shape of a coconut with mysterious powers and that can grant any wish. The coconut's seemingly unlimited properties saw good in DK and made him to become Kongo Bongo's future ruler and protector of the crystal which Cranky keeps at house in a dome until he is ready. DK and the gang also visit an ancient temple called Inka Dinka Doo, that holds the mysterious and wise but impatient idol Inka Dinka that helps the characters from time to time. King K. Rool and his hilarious henchmen try everything and I mean EVERYTHING to get it and use it's power to rule the island. Very different than just taking DK's banana hoard eh??
Despite the absence of the rest of the original characters from the games, the show had it's own barrel of laughs! The puns for example I found were funny most of the time and a lot of references to famous apes (listen carefully for them ;). The voice acting was fun and enjoyable to listen to. All the voices suited the characters so well, I could always picture that is the way they would sound, with the exception of Dixie and her character design :( Everyone sings in every episode (sometimes more than once). A lot of people are annoyed by that. I guess having the show be a musical makes a little sense since the games had unbelievable music by the genius David Wise, Eveline Fischer and Robin Beanland and I did like some of the songs- "Pirate's Scorn" "Nobody's Hero" I've got no family tree" "Kung Fu Master" and "Be Bad" to name a few. King K. Rool, Klump and Krusha are my absolute favorites in the show, they are very entertaining to watch and play off one another so well. Diddy's laughter brightens my day and DK's voice actor Richard Yearwood is a great choice, and is a really good singer. King K. Rool's Shakespearean voice is awesome and he sings great too. Scurvy the pirate tries his hand to get the crystal too claiming it to be his birthright in the name of his great, great, great grandpappy.
There's sometimes a pretty decent amount of character development that shows in the 90's like the Mega Man cartoon really lacked. DKC attempts a lot as characters will sing- sometimes in different styles of music, and like the games, a bit of good ol' animated slapstick is present and the pacing of the show can be flexible. The writing can be witty, good morals- sometimes a little rushed but all-around entertaining.
Now here is the problem with the show. Like Cybersix, I think it could have done A LOT more than it did. It had a good set up and a lot of mystery and questions like, who was Scurvy's grandpappy, where did the crystal coconut come from? Did someone make it? Who built the temple of Inka Dinka Doo? I like how K. Rool tries so many different ways to get the coconut or other means of control over the island but I felt it could have gone directions to let's say, the origin of the island and the Kong family and flashbacks of Cranky's days as the original DK batting Mario. I didn't mind that some of the characters are not here as sometimes it works better than adding too many to lose focus on but I did miss the animal buddies. The CGI animation was nowhere near as good as Reboot or Beast Wars but I think it got better in the 2nd season. It definitely was targeted towards kids but I think it could have been JUST as good as Beast Wars had the writers had more fun creating the world of Kongo Bongo and it's denizens.
Overall, I still enjoyed the show a tad more than I did as a lad. It was not a master piece, but memorable and nostalgic. If your interested then grab a banana and swing into Donkey Kong Country!!!
Now the cartoon show..... It was pretty good! I liked it a lot as a kid and the way Teletoon advertised it. The opening always got me into the banana slama world of DK and company. Most of the characters are presented, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Candy Kong, Dixie Kong, Cranky Kong, Funky Kong, the kremlings King K. Rool, Klump, Krusha, and the rest of the green cronies. It had some new characters exclusive only to the show like Eddie the mean old Yeti, Bluster Kong, Captain Scurvy and his two hench pirates but no Kiddy Kong, or Wrinkly Kong or any of the animal buddies or big boss baddies.
The plot of the show is based around Donkey Kong of tropical Kongo Bongo island, a lovable but dimwitted ape who found a magical crystal in the shape of a coconut with mysterious powers and that can grant any wish. The coconut's seemingly unlimited properties saw good in DK and made him to become Kongo Bongo's future ruler and protector of the crystal which Cranky keeps at house in a dome until he is ready. DK and the gang also visit an ancient temple called Inka Dinka Doo, that holds the mysterious and wise but impatient idol Inka Dinka that helps the characters from time to time. King K. Rool and his hilarious henchmen try everything and I mean EVERYTHING to get it and use it's power to rule the island. Very different than just taking DK's banana hoard eh??
Despite the absence of the rest of the original characters from the games, the show had it's own barrel of laughs! The puns for example I found were funny most of the time and a lot of references to famous apes (listen carefully for them ;). The voice acting was fun and enjoyable to listen to. All the voices suited the characters so well, I could always picture that is the way they would sound, with the exception of Dixie and her character design :( Everyone sings in every episode (sometimes more than once). A lot of people are annoyed by that. I guess having the show be a musical makes a little sense since the games had unbelievable music by the genius David Wise, Eveline Fischer and Robin Beanland and I did like some of the songs- "Pirate's Scorn" "Nobody's Hero" I've got no family tree" "Kung Fu Master" and "Be Bad" to name a few. King K. Rool, Klump and Krusha are my absolute favorites in the show, they are very entertaining to watch and play off one another so well. Diddy's laughter brightens my day and DK's voice actor Richard Yearwood is a great choice, and is a really good singer. King K. Rool's Shakespearean voice is awesome and he sings great too. Scurvy the pirate tries his hand to get the crystal too claiming it to be his birthright in the name of his great, great, great grandpappy.
There's sometimes a pretty decent amount of character development that shows in the 90's like the Mega Man cartoon really lacked. DKC attempts a lot as characters will sing- sometimes in different styles of music, and like the games, a bit of good ol' animated slapstick is present and the pacing of the show can be flexible. The writing can be witty, good morals- sometimes a little rushed but all-around entertaining.
Now here is the problem with the show. Like Cybersix, I think it could have done A LOT more than it did. It had a good set up and a lot of mystery and questions like, who was Scurvy's grandpappy, where did the crystal coconut come from? Did someone make it? Who built the temple of Inka Dinka Doo? I like how K. Rool tries so many different ways to get the coconut or other means of control over the island but I felt it could have gone directions to let's say, the origin of the island and the Kong family and flashbacks of Cranky's days as the original DK batting Mario. I didn't mind that some of the characters are not here as sometimes it works better than adding too many to lose focus on but I did miss the animal buddies. The CGI animation was nowhere near as good as Reboot or Beast Wars but I think it got better in the 2nd season. It definitely was targeted towards kids but I think it could have been JUST as good as Beast Wars had the writers had more fun creating the world of Kongo Bongo and it's denizens.
Overall, I still enjoyed the show a tad more than I did as a lad. It was not a master piece, but memorable and nostalgic. If your interested then grab a banana and swing into Donkey Kong Country!!!