Kong Family

Kong Family
The Kong Family's symbol.
Leader(s)	Donkey "Cranky" Kong Senior (formerly), Donkey Kong the Third (currently)
Other Members	Wrinkly Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Kiddy Kong, Funky Kong, Candy Kong, Swanky Kong, Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong, Chunky Kong, Manky Kong, Uncle Kong, Fedora Kong, Chained Kong (Not Confirmed).
Base of Operations	Donkey Kong Island, Kongo Bongo Island (in the Donkey Kong Country animated series)
Member Species	Kongs
Enemies	Kremling Krew, Tiki Tak Tribe, Snowmads
Game(s)	Various games

The Kong Family^{[1][2][3][4][5]}(Only related to Donkey Kong himself) also known as the Kong Klan^[6][7] or DK Crew^[8], is the name of all of Donkey Kong's family and friends with his grandpa Cranky Kong as the patriarch^[9]. Though they may share the "Kong" last name ("Kong" is actually akin to a species title rather than a surname like other Super Mario Bros. series species including Toads (such as Yellow Toad and Blue Toad)), not all of them are biologically connected nor directly related via actual bloodlines/familial ties to one another, but instead the name is a sign of their union as a species, like clans and tribes; thus membership appears to be earned. In conclusion, "Kong" is a species name, it's not a family name. There is also speculation that Cranky Kong could have been Baby DK from Yoshi’s Island DS and that they brought back a younger version of Cranky Kong, but that hasn’t been proven.

The Kong Family are usually at odds with the evil Kremling Krew, who are attempting to either steal their banana hoard or kidnap them. They also had confrontations with Wizpig, Cactus King, the Tiki Tak Tribe, and the Snowmads. In some games, they are playable or supporting characters.

Members & Family Trees

Donkey's Generational Family Lineage

• Bink: he is supposedly the oldest known Kong in the family tree.
• Cranky Kong's great-grandfather: He is mentioned by Bazaar in the game Donkey Kong Country 3 to have owned an antique mirror.^[10]
• Grouchy Kong - She is a character exclusively mentioned in the Donkey Kong Country animated series, based on the game of the same name. Cranky's great-grandaunt, she was the one that wrote his spellbook.
• Cranky Kong: He is Wrinkly Kong's husband and elder of the Kongs. He is the original Donkey Kong^[11][12][13] (also known as Donkey Kong Senior) from the 1981 arcade game of the same name; now he goes by his nickname after becoming old and cranky. He is Donkey Kong Jr.'s father, the current Donkey Kong's grandfather^[14], and Diddy Kong's great-grandfather. Cranky resembles a gorilla. As later versions of Donkey Kong Senior, Cranky wears a red tie with "DK" written on it. As Cranky Kong, he sports a long white beard, and wears tiny glasses and a vest, and he is usually seen holding one or two canes. In the Donkey Kong series games, Cranky Kong demonstrates some self-awereness as a game character by frequently breaking the fourth wall^[15] in his dialogues.
• Wrinkly Kong: She is Cranky Kong's wife, the current Donkey Kong's grandmother^[16], and Diddy Kong's great-grandmother. Even after deceased, she still keeps close relationship to the family as a ghost. Wrinkly usually wears glasses with strings. In the game Donkey Kong Country 2, she wears a green shawl. In the Super Nintendo Entertainment System version of Donkey Kong Country 3, Wrinkly wears a pink and white beanie hat, and pink and white shoes and jogger-style clothes. In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 3, she wears a white garb. In later appearances as a ghost, Wrinkly wears a white suit, tiny glasses and a mobcap.
• Donkey Kong Jr.: He is Cranky Kong's son^[17]. He first appears in his own game trying to save his imprisoned father from Mario, and later in Donkey Kong Jr. Math. He also resembles a gorilla, and wears a white tank top with "J" written on it. It is unknown what happened to Donkey Kong Jr. after his all grown-up appearances in the games Super Mario Kart and Mario Tennis for Nintendo 64. There is some speculation that he may had become the unused character dubbed "Fedora Kong" from the game Donkey Kong Land, displayed only in artwork seen in the volume 69 of the Nintendo Power magazine^[18]. The "Fedora Kong" has some resemblance to Donkey Kong, and his fedora could symbolize fatherhood.
• Donkey "Pinky" Kong Jr. II: He is Cranky Kong's second son and the presumed twin brother of Donkey Kong Junior I. He first appears in Donkey Kong Jr Math as the player 2 option, competing against his brother to see who is the better mathematician. He appears very similar to his brother but he does have noticeable differences, the most obvious difference is his pinkish fur and nose color, along with that he is noticeably shorter and chubbier than his brother, He also wears a bib like his brother, however the J on his bib matches his fur, being pink. As he has never appeared in any other game, little is known about him.
• Donkey Kong: Also known as "Donkey Kong the Third", he is the modern Donkey Kong from the game Donkey Kong Country onwards^[19], the grandson of Cranky^[20] and Wrinkly Kong, and presumably, the son of Donkey Kong Jr. He is also Diddy Kong's uncle, best friend, and inspiration for becoming a video game hero in the games Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Land 2. Donkey Kong is Candy Kong's boyfriend and childhood friend. And he is the current ruler of Donkey Kong Island. Donkey Kong resembles a gorilla, and usually wears only a red tie with "DK" written on it. In the 2023 Super Mario Bros. movie, Donkey Kong is Cranky Kong’s son, meaning that this version of Donkey Kong is not Donkey Kong III, but Donkey Kong II instead.
  • Baby Donkey Kong: He is the present day Donkey Kong's younger self. He first appeared in the game Yoshi's Island DS and reappeared in Mario Super Sluggers. Baby Donkey Kong was born as one of the seven Star Children. He resembles a tiny gorilla with a short monkey tail, and wears a red baby bib with "DK" written on it.
  • Baby Kong: He is a character exclusive to the Donkey Kong Country animated series, based on the game of the same name. He only appears in the episodes "Ape Foo Young" and "Baby Kong Blues". In the episode "Ape Foo Young", he was the current Donkey Kong's younger self but his identity was kept secret by Diddy Kong saying he was Donkey Kong's nephew, but in the episode "Baby Kong Blues", he is his own character, however throughout the episode, it never mentions if he is related to Donkey Kong (though some speculate he could be Donkey Kong's nephew, but in "Ape Foo Young", Cranky Kong tells Candy Kong that Donkey Kong does not have a nephew (besides Diddy Kong)). Baby Kong resembles a tiny gorilla and uses diapers.
• Diddy Kong: He is Donkey Kong's nephew^[21] and his little buddy^[6], and Dixie Kong's boyfriend. In the games Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2, Cranky is mentioned as being related to him which makes Diddy Kong his great-grandson^[22], and presumably, Donkey Kong Jr.'s grandson. He is called a "Donkey Kong wannabe" in the Donkey Kong Country Instruction Booklet^[23]. Diddy resembles a spider monkey^[24], and wears a red cap and a red tank top. In the games, after Donkey Kong 64, Diddy is usually depicted carrying a backpack, where he keeps his peanut popguns and rocketbarrels, allowing him to fly short distances.
• Uncle Kong: He is an unofficial character from a Japanese strategy guide^[25] for the game Donkey Kong Country 2 that gives hints to the player in it. Due to his aforementioned name, outfit, a physical appearance and apparent age strikingly similar to both Donkey and Swanky Kong, it is speculated that he is an older brother to Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong's uncle. Uncle Kong does not make any appearances in the Donkey Kong series games. He resembles a gorilla and sports a mustache. Uncle Kong wears an orange suit, a tiny hat, shoes and a brown tie with "UK" written on it.

Dixie's Family

• Dixie Kong: She is Tiny Kong's older sister^[21], Chunky and Kiddy Kong's older cousin, and Diddy Kong's girlfriend^[26]. She resembles a chimpanzee^[27] with a blonde ponytail. In the games, Dixie wears a pink bonnet hat, a pink tank top, and blue earrings. In the Donkey Kong Country animated series, she also has a pink bonnet hat, but wears a blue tank top with a white flower on it, instead.
• Tiny Kong: She is Dixie Kong's younger sister, Kiddy and Chunky Kong's older cousin^[16]. She resembles a chimpanzee with blonde pigtails. In the games Diddy Kong Racing DS and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, Tiny has somehow grown up taller than her older sister, Dixie. As a child, she wears a green and purple beanie hat, white shoes, a white t-shirt under blue overalls with a white flower on it. As a grown-up, Tiny wears the same green and purple beanie hat, jumbo earrings, a blue top with a white flower on it, blue sweat pants and orchid sandals.
• Chunky Kong: He is Kiddy Kong's older brother, Tiny and Dixie Kong's younger cousin. He resembles a baboon, and wears a red cap backwards, a black belt, and a white t-shirt under a blue and flannel vest.
• Kiddy Kong: He is the youngest clan member, co-star of the game Donkey Kong Country 3^[21], and a 3-year-old^[28] baby baboon. He is Chunky Kong's younger brother, as well as Dixie and Tiny Kong's younger cousin. Kiddy wears blue baby pajamas and a pacifier (only in the official artworks).

Friends

• Funky Kong: He is one of Donkey Kong's closest friends and entrepreneur friend^[29] of the Kongs. Any direct relation is unknown. He is speculated to be a brother of Donkey Kong due to a very similar appearance between both the primates^[16]. He resembles a gorilla. Funky usually wears sunglasses and a polka dot bandana, and sometimes, is seen with a surfboard. However, only in the game Donkey Kong 64, Funky wears a blue combat uniform with a blue cap.
• Candy Kong: She is Donkey Kong's girlfriend and childhood friend. It is likely that she will someday marry Donkey Kong when she knows that Donkey Kong is ready for it, likely when he gets over his bad table manners and limitless excitement for adventures. Some of her favorite hobbies include all-day sunbathing and shopping.^[30] Candy is a tall primate with blonde hair, and she is the most humanoid of the Kongs, exhibiting a typical adult female figure.
• Swanky Kong: He took after Funky Kong and became the second entrepreneur of the family^[31]. Any direct relation is unknown. Like Funky Kong, Swanky is speculated to be a brother of Donkey Kong due to similar appearances. Swanky is also speculated to be Diddy Kong's uncle. He resembles a gorilla with very shiny teeth. In the game Donkey Kong Country 2, Swanky wears a blue suit and many shiny rings on his fingers. In Donkey Kong Country 3, he wears a black bowler hat, a white shirt under a yellow flannel vest, black pants, black and white shoes, and he holds a classy cane.
• Lanky Kong: In the game Donkey Kong 64, he is described by Cranky Kong as a non-biological distant cousin and "a twisted twig on a distant branch of the family tree". His name and orange Sumatran Orangutan^[32] appearance is very similar to the Manky Kongs which he may to be related to. Lanky wears a white t-shirt and patched blue overalls.
• Bluster Kong: He is a character exclusive to the Donkey Kong Country animated series, based on the game of the same name. He does not appear in any Donkey Kong series games. In the animated series, Bluster behaves as an entitled and arrogant character. He is also in love with Candy Kong and usually tries to interfere into her relationship with Donkey Kong. Bluster and his unseen mother are the owners of the Barrel Works Factory of the Kongo Bongo Island. He resembles a gorilla and sports a mustache.
• Eddie the Mean Old Yeti: He is a character exclusive to the Donkey Kong Country animated series, based on the game of the same name. He does not appear in any Donkey Kong series games. In the animated series, Eddie usually displays low inteligence and tremendous strenght, and can be easily irritated. He lives alone in the White Mountains of the Kongo Bongo Island. Eddie resembles a white gorilla and wears a snow beanie hat.
• Kong Fu: He is a character exclusive to the Donkey Kong Country animated series, based on the game of the same name. He does not appear in any Donkey Kong series games. Kong Fu's first and only appearance was in the episode "Kong Fu". Here he was hired by King K. Rool to beat Donkey Kong in the annual Donkey Kong Challenge – a contest to see if anyone could defeat Donkey Kong in three challenges and become the new ruler of the Kongo Bongo Island. He resembles a gorilla with "samurai bun" haircut, and wears martial arts pants and a headband.
• Helper Monkeys: They are a group of helpful and fun loving monkeys with white fur that aided Donkey Kong on his adventure in the game Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. They are shown playing instruments and helping Donkey Kong throughout levels. They also tally up the bananas at the Sacred Tree. Helper Monkeys have appeared as stickers in the game Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Here, they are called "Party Monkeys".
• Dread Kong: He is the ruler of the Banana Kingdom in the game Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He resembles a gorilla.
• Karate Kong: He is the ruler of the Pineapple Kingdom in the game Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He resembles a gorilla.
• Ninja Kong: He is the ruler of the Durian Kingdom in the game Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He resembles a gorilla.
• Sumo Kong: He is the ruler of the Star Fruit Kingdom in the game Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He resembles a gorilla.
• Rabbid Kong: He is a Rabbid resembling a larger version of Donkey Kong who acted as a boss in the game Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and its DLC^[33] expansion Donkey Kong Adventure. Later, he becomes friends with Rabbid Peach, Donkey Kong, and Rabbid Cranky. He wears a red tie with "DK" written on it, similar to Donkey Kong.
• Rabbid Cranky: He is a Rabbid resembling Cranky Kong who teams up with Rabbid Peach and Donkey Kong in the DLC expansion Donkey Kong Adventure of the game Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. He possesses a white beard and eyebrows, and wears glasses and a vest, similar to Cranky Kong. Rabbid Cranky also holds a cane and uses Beep-O as a monocycle to move around.

Rejects

• Manky Kongs: They apparently used to be members of the Kong Family but they were labeled "Kong rejected orangutans".^[34] They could have been kicked out of the family and became allied with the Kremling Krew, and appearing as regular enemies in the game Donkey Kong Country. Manky Kongs may be related to Lanky Kong. They resemble orangutans.
• Minkeys: Like the Manky Kongs, they are enemies and traitors to the Kong Family.^[35] Minkeys physically resemble both gibbons and white chimpanzees. They appear as invincible enemies in the games Donkey Kong Country 3 and Donkey Kong Land III.
• Cactus King/Ghastly King: He is the true antagonist and actual final boss of the game Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He resembles a horrifying cactus-like gorilla.
• Ba-Booms: They are three high-ranking members of the Snowmads, and the bosses of Bright Savannah world, as well as the third bosses in the game Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. They resemble black baboons, and wear horned helmets and bracelets on arms and legs.

Unknown

• Ukiki/Grinder^[36]: It is an Ukiki resembling Donkey Kong and even wearing his red tie. It is an unused/scrapped beta enemy that was originally going to appear in the game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.
• Guerrillas/Chained Kongs: They are both regular enemy types in the game Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. They are presumed Kong Family members that work under the imprisonment of the Smithy Gang.
• Bink: He is an undead/reanimated skeleton primate, resembling Donkey Kong, appearing in the game Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and a crew member of the ship S.S. Chuckola.
• Ancient Kongs: In the games Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, the Key Temples depict illustrations and statues of an ancient civilization, being implying that they worshipped bananas. The ancient Kong society are strongly implied to have lived contemporary with the Tiki Tak Tribe, as the Key Temples activate in the Donkey Kong Island as soon as the Volcano erupts and the tikis are released over the entire island.

Removed

• "Redneck Kong": The character dubbed "Redneck Kong", also known as “Hillbilly Kong”, was a country bumpkin^[37] Kong from the canceled Game Boy Advance game Diddy Kong Pilot. He was replaced by Candy Kong in later builds of the game. According to a Rare's anonymous source, the developer company of the game, "he has been officially killed off and will not be making anymore appearances".^[38] The character resembles a tall primate with buck teeth, and a single bushy eyebrow. He wears a straw hat and patched overalls.

Allies

• Animal Buddies
• Brothers Bear
• Banana Bird Queen and her children
• K. Lumsy
• Snide
• Troff and Scoff
• Banana Fairy Queen and her subjects
• Banjo & Kazooie
• Conker the Squirrel
• Timber the Tiger and his parents
• Taj the Genie
• T.T.
• Xananab
• Tutorial Pig (also known as Professor Chops) and his family

Gallery

Emblems

DK Barrel's artwork from the games Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D.

DK Flag seen in the world maps of the games Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D after defeating bosses.

DK Emblem activated by ground-pounding a red button inside the temple ruins of the level Button Bash from the games Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D.

The DK Emblem in Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Group

Artwork of the playable Kongs from the game Donkey Kong 64.

Alternative artwork of the DK Crew from the game Donkey Kong 64.

Donkey Kong Jr.'s cameo in the Wii U Gamepad in the background at the end of the level Aqueduct Assault, held high by the statue of the classic Donkey Kong, as seen in the game Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Wii U.

Artwork of Donkey Kong Jr. in Donkey Kong Jr. Math, a Kong representing Nintendo's arcade video game origins and establishing the presence/foundation of the Kong Klan.

DK Lineage from the 2017 Playing With Super Power- Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide, Super Mario Kart 16 Bits Tab by Prima Games.^{[citation needed]}

Unofficial artwork montage of most of the major Kong Family members, with King K. Rool, from various games.^[16]

Several Kongs at the beginning of DK: King of Swing.

Music Themes

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The Kong Family's theme is the first part from the track known as DK Island Swing.^[39]

Names in Other Languages

References