Why is Donkey Kong called "Donkey"?

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532

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Hey guys, I was just curious and wondering that one of the most popular Nintendo characters, Donkey Kong does not look anywhere near like a Donkey. Donkeys do not like to eat bananas, Donkeys cannot jump like Monkeys can. They do not bang on their own chests like Donkey Kong does. And the Donkey Kong sounds sound nowhere near than that of a Donkey. Then why is he called "Donkey"? This is what I think: Niintendo might have misspelled Monkey in the first game, and that forced them to call him Donkey Kong. :giggle:
Or they were intending to call him King Kong but they did nt due to copyright infringement.
What do you guys think? How did Donkey Kong get his name in the first place? I would love to hear what you think.
 
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Hey guys, I was just curious and wondering that one of the most popular Nintendo characters, Donkey Kong does not look anywhere near like a Donkey. Donkeys do not like to eat bananas, Donkeys cannot jump like Monkeys can. They do not bang on their own chests like Donkey Kong does. And the Donkey Kong sounds sound nowhere near than that of a Donkey. Then why is he called "Donkey"? This is what I think: Niintendo might have misspelled Monkey in the first game, and that forced them to call him Donkey Kong. :giggle:
Or they were intending to call him King Kong but they did nt due to copyright infringement.
What do you guys think? How did Donkey Kong get his name in the first place? I would love to hear what you think.
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hahaha:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: yup you are right maybe they should name it monkeykong? because it's a monkey? or an gorilla? don't know bout this..:whistle::whistle::whistle:
 
hahaha:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: yup you are right maybe they should name it monkeykong? because it's a monkey? or an gorilla? don't know bout this..:whistle::whistle::whistle:
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Yes, they should have called him Monkey Kong or gorilla Kong :p
 
Didn't found the answer in Wikipedia. I found another thing yet: due to its popularity in US, Universal Studio once sued Nintendo but failed because DK has no relation to King Kong :D
 
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I don't know where I picked this up but I've had for a while the idea that I read that Miyamoto called him "Donkey" not for the animal but for his dumb nature.
 
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Kaynil is pretty close - He's called Donkey because DK is stubborn as a mule. I have no source to back this up. Nevertheless, it is the truth. Someone more ambitious than me can surely confirm this, and hopefully expound upon it.
 
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I don't know where I picked this up but I've had for a while the idea that I read that Miyamoto called him "Donkey" not for the animal but for his dumb nature.
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Kaynil is pretty close - He's called Donkey because DK is stubborn as a mule. I have no source to back this up. Nevertheless, it is the truth. Someone more ambitious than me can surely confirm this, and hopefully expound upon it.
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Oh really? That was cool. Has a lot of mystery behind it but don't you think that A Gorilla is also as stubborn as a donkey or a mule? I have heard that once they get their mind on something, They will not give up until their situation is fulfilled.
 
It seems I was on the right track after all, I found an old interview in which Miyamoto is asked about DK's name. Here's his answer:
Miyamoto said:
For Donkey Kong I wanted something to do with 'Kong' which kind of gives the idea of apes in Japanese and I came up with Donkey Kong because I heard that 'donkey' meant 'stupid' so I went with Donkey Kong. Unfortunately when I said that name to Nintendo of America nobody liked it and said that it didn't mean 'Stupid Ape' and they all laughed at me! But we went ahead with that name anyway.
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In another cached page of a supposed Interview, the interviewer states that " Miyamoto said he had confused the word [Donkey] with '<censored>', thinking it meant someone stupid. He assumed to an American audience, 'Donkey Kong' would clearly mean 'big stupid ape'. He said Nintendo laughed when he suggested the name, but it ultimately stuck."

I take the Miyamoto supposed quote and call it a day. It sounds credible enough to me that a person could mistake a slang word in a different language for its actual meaning, or just plain ignore its real meaning, which seems to be what happened "Big Stupid Ape" where "Kong" was already popular to bring to our heads the "Gigantic Ape" idea.
 
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Nice Kaynil.

Here is a quote from another article ...

The fact is, as DK creator Shigeru Miyamoto explained in an interview with Nintendo Online Magazine, "donkey" came from looking up manuke (Japanese for "stupid") in an English dictionary. A similar explanation appeared years earlier in the book Game Over by David Sheff, on pages 48-49:

"They [Miyamoto and Nintendo's export manager] decided that kong would be understood to suggest a gorilla. And since this fierce but cute kong was donkey-stubborn and wily (donkey, according to their Japanese/English dictionary, was the translation of the Japanese word for stupid or goofy), they combined the words and named the game 'Donkey Kong.'"
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Full article here
 
  • #10
But if you believe those Game Theories that say (please don't take this offensively, I didn't come up with this.) Mario is a communist, you can make a claim that "Donkey" has something to do with democracy. If this is true, maybe it was meant to be a joke made by Miyamoto.
 
  • #11
beacause its a japenese word for stubborn
 
  • #12
I think I read somewhere Donkey Kong was a typo and it was supposed to be Monkey Kong but it was to late and they already shipped the game when the typo was made, but don't quote me on this
 
  • #13
I think because he acts stupid sometimes and maybe who knows Nintendo may just have liked the name they gave to the banana throwing kong.He gets me mad in Mario kart.
 
  • #14
I don't know. I've always wondered myself. The reasoning that @Shamymyamo gave actually makes sense though. Maybe it was a typo, but the name may have just stuck because of familiarity. :)
 
  • #15
Nonononono you all got it wrong

Donkey Kong was suppose to be the Original Yoshi. Mario was suppose to ride Donkey kong like he rides Yoshi. You see how Yoshi eat those red fruits in Super mario advanced 2? They were originally supposed to be bannanas..

Also in Yoshi story you eat fruits too, and one of the fruit is bananas.
Also Yoshi looks like a Donkey..he was supposed to be named Donkey Kong, While DK was supposed to be named Yoshi. Since King Kong the movie came out, Nintendo went it for the monkey. and used Yoshi as the pet dinosaur.


j/k just my theory before I read the interview -.-
 
  • #16
In another cached page of a supposed Interview, the interviewer states that " Miyamoto said he had confused the word [Donkey] with 'a**', thinking it meant someone stupid. He assumed to an American audience, 'Donkey Kong' would clearly mean 'big stupid ape'. He said Nintendo laughed when he suggested the name, but it ultimately stuck."
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This makes sense why Cranky Kong always treats Donkey Kong like an idiot. I always blamed him being well cranky...
 
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  • #17
I really never thought of that... It's pretty strange when you realise it for the first time XD
Though I like the origin of Donkey Kong's name :D
 
  • #18
I thought it was because they wanted him to have a "e" sound at the end of his name like his friends..Diddy King, Dixie Kong, Wrinkly Kong etc.
 
  • #19
I thought it was because they wanted him to have a "e" sound at the end of his name like his friends..Diddy King, Dixie Kong, Wrinkly Kong etc.
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Well, Donkey Kong existed long before any of them, so I kind of doubt that's why...
 
  • #20
That's true :D
 
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