Donkey Kong Country
Genre: Animation/Comedy/Adventure
Director: Mike Mitchell
Writer: APJ
Based on the Nintendo video game series
Voice Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Skyler Gisondo, Danny Glover, Mark Hamill, Kiernan Shipka, Elizabeth Banks, Dax Shepard, Ike Barinholtz, Fred Armisen
Plot: Morning breaks over Kong Island, the jungle alive with sound. Birds scatter around a massive treehouse built over a glowing gold cave. Donkey Kong (Dwayne Johnson) snoozes atop a throne of golden bananas, snoring blissfully while Diddy Kong (Skyler Gisondo) zips around on a cobbled-together go-kart outside. Diddy revs it up and crashes it through the treehouse deck, waking up DK and his grandfather Cranky Kong (Danny Glover). Cranky scolds DK for sleeping on a treasure his ancestors fought for. DK brushes him off, stuffing a banana in his mouth.
That night, as lightning cracks across the island sky, shadowy figures slip through the trees. Kremlings creep into the hoard cavern with net launchers and crates. Diddy hears something and peeks outside, only to be pounced on by Klaptrap (Fred Armisen), a tiny yapping gator with a mouth too big for his body. DK awakens to find the hoard gone and Diddy dragging himself back, bruised and wide-eyed. Cranky’s face is grim. This wasn’t just theft - it was an attack on the Kong legacy. But DK, still half-asleep, only seems to grasp the scope of it when he sees the empty cave echoing behind him - all his gold bananas gone.
Far offshore, King K. Rool (Mark Hamill) watches from the deck of his rusting pirate ship, The Gangplank Galleon. He holds a banana aloft like a trophy, ranting to Krusha about how this will finally rewrite the balance of the island. The bananas aren’t food—they’re power, legacy, joy. And now they’re his. Back on land, DK straps on his wristbands with new resolve. Diddy clambers onto his shoulder, hooting in excitement. With Cranky grumbling behind them - “Don’t trip over your own ego” - the two launch into the trees. The quest begins.
DK and Diddy plunge into Vine Valley, crashing through exotic jungle foliage and leaping across mossy platforms. Diddy shows off, flipping mid-air. Zingers - large wasp-like threats - swarm in from their hives above, forcing Diddy and DK and swing and dodge their stingers. They fall through a canopy into a field of bouncing drums and must time their jumps to avoid plunging into a pit of snapping plants. After a frantic escape, DK and Diddy finally make it to the safety of a checkpoint shack. Candy Kong (Elizabeth Banks) is already there, sunglasses on. She offers them glowing “banana boosters” - trail snacks that recharge their strength - and tries not to laugh as DK awkwardly flirts, flexing while Diddy makes exaggerated gagging noises. Candy warns them about a flooded canyon on their route ahead. DK says he's not afraid of a little water. Candy then mentions it's the eels he should be afraid of.
Moments later, DK and Diddy are underwater, paddling through the blue waters. Enguarde the Swordfish bursts through patch of seaweed. DK and Diddy grab his dorsal fin and hold tight as he speeds through coral reefs and abandoned mine tunnels, fending off chomping clams with his sword-like snout. They finally surface in a sunken Kremling outpost, where crates marked with the Banana Hoard insignia are being shipped by barge to Crocodile Cove. A Kremlin patrol spots them. DK and Diddy leap onto a mine cart that leads into the Monkey Mines. DK barely fits in his cart and causes sparks with every bounce. Diddy launches ahead, steering like a pro. Behind them, Klaptrap rides a cart half his size, but spins out on a broken rail. The track breaks into three separate paths: one full of fire barrels, one with a rotating gear trap, and one missing entire stretches of track. DK tries to catch up to Diddy, using sheer muscle to lift his cart onto the right path. They narrowly avoid a collapsing bridge and burst through a wall of rock - landing with a thud right in front of dozens of Kremling guards waiting outside the mines. Suddenly DK and Diddy are rescued by Funky Kong (Dax Shepard), who swoops in on his barrel-copter, asking if they need a lift. DK and Diddy leap up to the chopper. Funky flies them to a cliffside above the ocean, explaining the K. Rool is parked offshore at Crocodile Cove and finalizing the launch of a Mega Banana weapon. Funky tells them that they will have to find a way to the shop without him as K. Rool would see his barrel-copter a mile away. With that, Funky flies off, leaving DK and Diddy at the cliffside.
DK scratches his head, trying to figure out the best way to get to K. Rool's ship. Diddy suggests they swim or make a raft, but DK knows the bad guys will see them coming if they try that. DK then discovers an old go-kart in the brush nearby. DK immediately begins inspecting the go-kart and gets it running. DK then tells Diddy that he has an idea. DK and Diddy strap into the go-kart. DK revs the engine. The kart launches over the cliff, landing hard on the Gangplank Galleon's deck, smashing through crates and sliding into a hangar full of Kremlings. Diddy rolls a barrel at them, knocking them over like bowling pins, while DK uses a barrel like a boxing glove and takes out the rest with a massive punch. Klaptrap emerges. DK puts a barrel over his snout, making him unable to open his mouth to attack.
In the brig, DK and Diddy find Dixie Kong (Kiernan Shipka), chewing gum with a group of knocked-out Kremlings around her. DK asks what Dixie is doing there. She says she doesn't like pirates. Diddy then asks how Dixie got past the Kremling defenses to make it to the ship. She says she swam there. Diddy chastises DK, pointing out that swimming would have worked after all like he suggested. DK shrugs. The trio then move through the massive storeroom, where Krusha stands between them and the banana core reactor. Dixie distracts Krusha with insults about his dental hygiene while DK sneaks behind Krusha and slams a barrel over his head. The trio then enter the control room to find K. Rool standing in front of a glowing, pulsing Mega Banana - powered by the banana hoard itself. He mocks DK, calling him a mascot, not a leader. DK stares at the weapon, then at his friends. He cracks his knuckles.
The final fight begins atop the ship’s deck as storm clouds swirl. K. Rool, in full pirate-armor regalia, launches cannonballs from a handheld blaster while the Mega Banana pulses in the background. DK leaps across the deck, dodging explosions, swinging on ropes, and using vine whips to counterattack. Diddy and Dixie help below, sabotaging the power cables while fending off remaining Kremlings. Krusha returns for a final rematch, but this time the three Kongs work in sync. Diddy slingshots Dixie across the deck, where she spins through the air, grabbing DK mid-jump. He launches her at K. Rool’s blaster, knocking it into the Mega Banana. Sparks fly. K. Rool lunges for DK in a final grapple. DK sees the banana hoard glowing behind him. He tightens his grip, lifts K. Rool, and ground pounds the deck, sending his nemesis flying into the sea. The weapon implodes and golden bananas rain from the sky. Cranky Kong watches from the shore, nodding silently. DK smiles at Diddy and Dixie, offers each a fist bump. Funky lands his copter for a lift back to shore.
Post-Credits:
The golden Banana Hoard is back at Donkey Kong's treehouse where it belongs. DK lounges in a hammock outside, wearing sunglasses and slurping a coconut-banana smoothie through a crazy straw. A soft ding-ding rings out from a rusted jungle mailbox perched at the end of a vine-covered path. DK climbs down from his hammock and gets the mail - a single red envelope with a blue kart-shaped stamp is inside. He tears open the envelope and finds an invitation card: "You are officially invited to compete in the Mushroom Kingdom Grand Prix." As DK squints at the card, he slips on a banana peel, and accidentally backflips into the trees.
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