I received a copy of Donkey Kong Country and promotional items from Phase 4 Kaboom to facilitate this review. My opinions are my own.
It’s 80s flashback time! Does anyone remember the Donkey Kong Country television show? It seems like there was a time when all the popular games were turned into Saturday Morning cartoons. I remember a Pac-Man and Q-Bert show too! Sure, the graphics in the games weren’t as advanced as they are now, but that was part of the charm. Donkey Kong was extremely popular when I was little. I remember playing the game and trying to jump all those rolling barrels.
Over the years, Donkey Kong has gotten some major makeovers. At some point, he stopped being that crazy ape who tried to knock you down with barrels and became a peace-loving monkey! Donkey Kong Country celebrates that phase of the franchise. The show originally aired back in 1996, but since Donkey Kong is really a product of the 80s at heart, it was more fun to have an 80s flashback night instead!
Flashback to the 80s with Donkey Kong Country!
Along with the DVD, we received some fun 80s swag to help us get in the right mood. Jacob took to this idea right away. He even sported a pair of ripped jeans to complete the ensemble!
The Donkey Kong Country DVD contains 4 episodes that run for 90 minutes total. These episodes include:
Bad Hair Day
Ape Foo Young
Booty and the Beast
Barrel, Barrel, Who’s Got the Barrel
In the episodes, Donkey Kong and his sidekick Diddy Kong are constantly defending the Crystal Coconut against the nasty, villainous King K. Rool and his minions. The shows are fun and humorous. Parents will love the reminder of their own youth while kids will get a kick out of the characters. It’s a great show to watch together. I love any opportunity that allows me to connect with Jacob by sharing a piece of my own youth.
Jacob has already watched the entire DVD a good four times since we got it. I was surprised that he was so into it at first. He’s very fickle. Then again, it’s Donkey Kong! How could he not be into it?
Want to host your own 80s flashback party? Dig through your treasure trunks! If you were a child of the 80s, chances are you still have some goodies left over from that time period. Search for those jelly bracelets, ripped jeans and hairband t-shirts! Can’t find them? The 80s are making a comeback (scary thought), so you should be able to find the goods in party stores now. Then grab your copy of Donkey Kong Country on DVD at a retailer near you! The price is right at $9.99!
What was your favorite Saturday Morning Cartoon as a kid?
Ha ha. Oh, my.
I have to tell you, Nicole, this post of yours brought back a lot of fond memories. Currently, I’m 17, and I was always a Donkey Kong enthusiast. As early as five years of age, I would show kids my older brother’s Donkey Kong Land cartridge for his game system that still was incapable of producing color. I asked my peers if they were familiar with D.K. and they told me, “Well… I’ve seen the t.v. show.”
In my head, I was thinking, “What? There’s a T.V. show? Which channel is it on!” But, I just pretended that I knew what they were talking about and moved on.
A few years later, when I was your son’s age, eight or nine, I started to discover the Internet, and I was still obsessed with recent editions of the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. So, I decided to do a little bit of a Google search. Was there really a DKC television series? Back then, there was no Youtube, not a single episode online, hardly any photos, but there were episode guides.
It was almost an epiphany. “Oh, my gosh! There IS a Donkey Kong TV show!”
Instantly, I searched throughout the entire television. Surfing channel after channel trying to find it, but alas, the show had already been cancelled for a few years. This didn’t stop my Internet hunt, and after I while of searching, I, this nine year old American kid, discovered that there was a DVD for this series in the United Kingdom that would be coming out in a few months.
I begged my parents to purchase it. And in the time prior to its release, it was all what I would talk about.
The episodes on that DVD were the exact same ones on the recent American one, so it’s great to see another late generation being able to put some more life in the Donkey Kong animated series.
Had no idea there was a show from the 80s! One of the best Nintendo games of all time, possibly one of the best period!