Donkey Kong (character)

Donkey Kong is an ape-like character from Nintendo that appeared in many video games since 1981. He is also the star of the Donkey Kong series. Donkey Kong was created by Shigeru Miyamoto.

The exact origins of the name "Donkey Kong" are unclear and debated. The most common explanation of the name is that it was created by Shigeru Miyamoto as a combination of the word "Kong" from King Kong, and "Donkey", a word which Miyamoto (with his loose understanding of English) believed was a general synonym for "stupid." Another similar version of the story said that Miyamoto used the word "Donkey" to represent the stubborn aspect of the ape's personality. It is believed by many that the name "Donkey Kong" was the result of a typo on the original cabinet's art work for "Monkey Kong", but this has been denied by Miyamoto and others.

DK first appeared in a self-titled game (Donkey Kong) that featured him as the main villain. He was originally designed as just a large, cartoony King Kong-like gorilla, until Rareware got hold of the license and gave him a redesign. This redesign featured a much more distinct looking gorilla with a strange tuft of hair at the top of his head, along with a red tie bearing his logo. It has been confirmed that this redesigned Donkey Kong is Donkey Kong III, the son of Donkey Kong Jr. and grandson of Cranky Kong orignal Donkey Kong.

The character Wreck-It Ralph from the hit 2012 Disney movie of the same name was inspired by Donkey Kong.