Bad Hair Day

"Bad Hair Day" is the first episode of the Donkey Kong Country TV series produced and the first to air in France, the show's country of origin. However, it was the third episode to air in North America.

This episode was produced first, making it the pilot episode. As such there are a few inconsistencies with the rest of the show. Krusha is less simple-minded in this episode, and the lighting in King K. Rool's lair is much darker. King K. Rool's name was pronounced two different ways during this episode. First, he was referred to as "King Kay-Rool", and then "King Kuh-Rool" shortly afterwards. However, after this episode, he was never referred to as "Kay-Rool" again. Cranky breaks the fourth wall much like in the games, something he almost never does in the animated series.

Plot synopsis
The episode starts with the camera zooming in on Cranky's Cabin. Cranky Kong is then shown playing an organ inside Cranky's Cabin. Cranky Kong sings "'Cause I'm Cranky". He then acknowledges the audience and tells them about the Crystal Coconut, Donkey Kong, and King K. Rool. King K. Rool approaches Cranky's Cabin with several Kritters and General Klump. King K. Rool then orders General Klump to obtain the Crystal Coconut. General Klump order the Kritters to prepare their Klap-Blasters. The camera zooms inside a Klap-Blaster. A Klaptrap exclaims that they have a large target, and another exclaims "How could we miss". General Klump tells the Kritters to not aim at him, and runs to the side. The Kritters fire the Klaptraps at Cranky's Cabin. The Klaptraps begin to chew through the roof of Cranky's Cabin. Cranky Kong yells at the Klaptraps, telling them to leave. He then yells, asking where Donkey Kong is.

At a nearby hut, where Donkey Kong asks why he has to start a day with a difficult decision. He is shown selecting which of his identical ties to wear. Diddy Kong tells Donkey Kong that he is at the elevator, and after Donkey Kong puts on a tie, tells him to get into his elevator. Diddy Kong says that he is nervous to get in, "after what happened last time", and Donkey Kong says that it was fixed, and says that he will buzz Diddy Kong up if he enters the elevator. Diddy Kong tells Donkey Kong to go easy and that he is sometimes goes out of control. Donkey Kong then pounds the button to send the barrel up, which destroys it and causes a piece of metal above the elevator to fall downwards. He asks Diddy Kong if he is okay. Diddy Kong says "yeah... down here". Donkey Kong then hears Cranky Kong call for him. Donkey Kong asks Diddy Kong if he is going to help and Diddy Kong says that he is right behind Donkey Kong, and follows him while under a piece of metal.

Cranky Kong yells for Donkey Kong, and Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are shown swinging across vines. Donkey Kong tells Cranky Kong to hang on and that they are coming. In front of Cranky's Cabin General Klump orders the Kritters to follow him and they march across the bridge towards the entrance of the cabin. Donkey Kong yells "Banana Slamma", and Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are then shown falling towards Cranky's Cabin. Diddy Kong tells Donkey Kong to mash and crush the Kremlings and General Klump. General Klump then says that mercy should not be given and that it is his finest hour. Donkey Kong lands on a Trigger Barrel. Planks on the bridge fling to the side, flinging away several Kritters and General Klump. Diddy Kong then lands on a Trigger Barrel, saying "Banana Slamma", which causes a part of the bridge to flip into a diagonal position, which flings several Kremlings upwards and causes several to fall. A part of the bridge is shown falling out of the bridge. Several Kremlings then march into the hole. Donkey Kong then jumps onto three Trigger Barrels while yelling. Several Kremlings are then shown being launched upwards. King K. Rool then runs to the edge of the bridge, looking downwards. Diddy Kong then asks King K. Rool "what's up". King K. Rool then acknowledges Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong and says that they had a good match, that they won and he lost, says "good sportsmanship and all that", that he is an "underprivileged reptile", and talks about genes. While talking he turns around and jumps off the platform. Diddy Kong then tells Donkey Kong that he saved the Crystal Coconut. Cranky Kong then asks them to fix his roof before King K. Rool returns.

At his lair, King K. Rool yells that he needs the Crystal Coconut, and that he is a "lonely lizard, a prehistoric throwback!" King K. Rool then orders General Klump to eliminate Donkey Kong. While talking to General Klump King K. Rool presses a button which moves the elevator in King K. Rool's lair upwards. General Klump says that Donkey Kong defeated the entirety of King. K. Rool's army, and calls Donkey Kong invincible. King K. Rool says that bananas make him invincible, as the elevator stops at another room. King K. Rool then suggests casting a curse on him, and he pushes another button. A set of bookshelves lower from the ceiling and a book falls off the lowest shelf to where General Klump is standing, which causes him to run to the side. The book opens from falling. King K. Rool says "yes a curse: it is...", picks up the book, and reads from it. The book says to "curse your way to the top, success through voodoo.", asks if the reader is "tired of looking like a goof, sick of those pesky hunks showing you up, time and time again?" and says to the a curse. After reading this, King K. Rool says yes. He reads that while cutting the "obnoxious lout"'s hair, by chanting "Snip clip power-slip; you're a wimp and that's it", the person will be "as weak as a baby". King K. Rool then laughs. He then reads that the person's strength only returns when their hair regrows. King K. Rool the yells that that is it and that before Donkey Kong's hair grows back he will obtain the Crystal Coconut. General Klump walks back and asks who will cut his hair. King K. Rool states that who it is is obvious, with the person being the one person Donkey Kong will allow close enough to him. He tells General Klump that he would not recognize a good plan if it hit him in the head. General Klump says that he would, if it hit him in the head. King K. Rool then throws the book at General Klump.

The exterior of Donkey Kong's house is shown again. Diddy Kong says that Donkey Kong looks fine, and asks him "what's up". The interior of Donkey Kong's house is shown, where Diddy Kong is with Donkey Kong who is admiring himself in a mirror. Donkey Kong says that he has to look good. Diddy Kong says "you do?", and Donkey Kong says that he has to look "especially smooth" as he is going to see Candy Kong, as it is her birthday. Diddy Kong then says her name repeatedly, that she is a girl, and that fun cannot be had fun with a girl like the fun had with them. Donkey Kong then says that she is the girl of his dreams while looking at a picture of her. The picture winks an eye at Donkey Kong. Hearts appear next to Donkey Kong and he says "If only I could get her away from...". A conveyor belt at Bluster Barrelworks is shown, with Cranky Kong saying the name Bluster Barrelworks. Cranky Kong is shown riding on the conveyor belt and falling into Bluster Barrelworks. Cranky Kong says that they make Barrels in Bluster Barrelworks. Two machines trap Cranky Kong in a Barrel. Cranky Kong says that Bluster Barrel Works is run by Bluster Kong. A machine puts a lid on the Barrel that Cranky Kong is in. Cranky Kong says "when it comes to Candy, Bluster is Donkey Kong biggest competition. She's got a soft spot for DK." While Cranky Kong is speaking Candy Kong is shown pressing buttons on a machine. Bluster then emerges, giving Candy a birthday cake (which he tells her is banana cream). Candy rejects the cake, though Bluster continues to flirt with her. In response, Candy pushes a button on the control panel, sending the cake down the rejected barrel conveyor belt to be destroyed by a pair of gears. However, Bluster manages to push a button, deactivating the conveyor belt at the last second. He then tries to ask her out, which only results in her stating that he made plans with Donkey Kong, who is riding on the conveyor belt carrying a bunch of bananas on a stick for her as a present; however, as soon as Donkey Kong stops moving, the cake flies into Candy's face. She then angrily sends him down the rejected conveyor belt (DK asking, "I guess this means our date's off, huh?")

K. Rool once again enters the upper chamber, asking how his latest plan is coming along. Klump and the three Kritters working on it then move to reveal a nearly completed Candy Kong robot, the head on a nearby platform. K. Rool introduces himself to the robot's head, and asks for her name; the head and body respond appropriately to his comment, despite the head not being attached to his body. The king then orders for the head to be attached to the robot, and the Kritters do so. Upon seeing the completed robot, he believes that nothing will go wrong with the plan.

Donkey Kong is then at his cabin once more, sulking over loosing his date with Candy. Diddy attempts to cheer him up, stating that he has already messed up "a million kajillion times!", before he hears the Candy robot, whom he believes to be the real Candy, at the door. He then excitedly lets her in, once again pounding the door to the elevator. The impact of the elevator causes Candy to tell him that he "doesn't know his own strength," and recites the curse. Donkey Kong is confused by this, but Candy rewords what she just said, convincing Donkey Kong to allow her to cut his hair. By the time she is done, Candy has cut all the hair on top of Donkey Kong's head off. DK is concerned with this at first, but Candy tells her that he will get used to it before leaving. Donkey Kong tries to push the elevator button, but cannot, and both Donkey and Diddy are surprised by this. Candy then tries, and successfully pushes the button. She then tells him to "take it easy" while the elevator is going down. DK tells Diddy she is right, that he feels tired. Diddy questions this, but Donkey Kong doesn't know what happened either.

At Cranky's cabin, K. Rool has returned, and calls Cranky outside. Cranky sarcastically asks if he ever gives up, and King K. Rool has his minion Krusha go to steal the coconut. Cranky, however, calls for Donkey Kong. The ape aptly arrives, and the two confront each other. He delivers several punches to Krusha, though it is not working, and he becomes tired. Krusha then punches the Kong, knocking him into the case containing the Crystal Coconut and releasing the artifact. Cranky tells Donkey Kong to wake up, but K. Rool and Krusha simply walk in and take the coconut. A confused Cranky asks what happened as a still somewhat dazed Donkey Kong exits the cabin and explains what happened during Candy's visit. Cranky instantly figures it out, and tells Donkey Kong that she has cursed him. Funky Kong then flies in and lands on the bridge, and asks if K. Rool really gained the coconut. DK confirms this, and Funky tells him that he can fly him to the Mellow Yellow Plantation, the banana plantation. Donkey Kong believes that the bananas will help him, and decides to go. Cranky, believing that the bananas breaking the curse is ridiculous, enters his cabin and begins to work on a potion.

At the plantation, Donkey Kong eats banana after banana, though he is not strong again. Back at Cranky's cabin, Cranky presents his potion, which he called the "voodoo undo", to Candy and Bluster. He then tells Candy to get Donkey Kong to drink the potion, stating that only the person who cast the spell can undo it. It is only when Candy tells them that she didn't cast the spell and Bluster confirming that she was at the barrel factory the whole day that Cranky figures out the one who cast the spell was a Candy doppelganger, but he tells them that the potion will still work and sends them off.

King K. Rool is now addressing his troops back at his cave, telling them that, with the Crystal Coconut in his hands, Kongo Bongo Island is now his to rule. However, Klump then tells him that Cranky Kong has created an antidote that will reverse the curse placed on Donkey Kong. At that moment, Bluster is flying with Candy in his barrelcopter. Candy asks where Donkey Kong could be when the copter's propeller suddenly stops; Klaptraps had eaten most of it, and what was left cannot support the helicopter's weight. As the vehicle falls, Bluster and Candy leap out of it and into the jungle. After a while of walking, Bluster begins complaining, and demands that Candy hand him the potion so he can drink it. However, Bluster does not care if the island is doomed at the hands of K. Rool as long as Donkey Kong is out of his life. He then takes the potion and pours it onto the ground, only for a giant banana tree to suddenly sprout out of the ground.

Donkey Kong wakes up from a nap to see an excited Diddy exclaim that more bananas have grown at the plantation. Donkey Kong feels like he cannot eat another, though Diddy forcefully feeds it to him. The banana causes his hair to grow back, as well as his strength to return. Just as Krusha is given the order by K. Rool to put the coconut into his vault, Donkey Kong falls in, landing in front of Krusha. The large lizard is confident that he can defeat Donkey Kong, but both he and K. Rool are surprised when DK kicks the coconut out of Krusha's hand, through the hole in the lair, and very high into the sky. The coconut falls into Cranky's cabin and ricochets off the walls, support beams, and floor before finally landing back in it's proper position, with Cranky exited that his potion worked and that the coconut has returned. In the meantime, Donkey Kong has left Krusha in a dazed state and leaves K. Rool to go to Candy's birthday party, the Kremling king disappointed that his plan had ultimately failed.

At the docks, Candy Kong walks up to Donkey Kong carrying a present, stating that she is giving it to him "for being such a big hero." However, a second Candy then walks up to him, carrying a present looking the exact same and saying the exact same thing as the other Candy. The two try to convince Donkey Kong that they are the real Candy until he interrupts, stating that he can tell them apart easily. He then instantly selects one of the two, leaving the other to scorn him and throw her present at him. The Candy DK stated to be false leaves, and just as the other Candy attempts to kiss him, she starts to short circuit, and eventually she explodes, the robot's head flying off and landing a short distance away.

Characters

 * Donkey Kong
 * Diddy Kong
 * Cranky Kong
 * Candy Kong
 * King K. Rool
 * Candy Clone
 * General Klump
 * Bluster Kong
 * Krusha
 * Funky Kong

Quotes

 * Cranky: *about Donkey Kong* Our protector, and future king!  Got a lot of muscle mass, but uh... not so much brain mass.
 * Klap Traps: *as they're accidentally aimed at Klump* Oh boy, nice fat target!  How could we miss?
 * Donkey Kong: *looking at identical ties* Hmm... why do I always have to start the day with a tough decision?
 * King K. Rool: *reading from a book* "Curse Your Way To The Top:  Success Through VooDoo."
 * King K. Rool: You wouldn't know a good plan if it hit you in the head! Klump:  I would too!  ....If it hit me in the head.
 * Bluster: Hey, Candy. Surprise! Candy:  A birthday cake.  How original, Bluster. Bluster:  Yes, I am a thoughtful son-of-a-gun. Happy birthday! Banana cream, your favorite! Candy: Rejected; I'm watching my figure. Bluster:  Don't bother, I'm watching it for you.
 * K. Rool: *about the Candy robot* Bravo! She lives, she lives! She could fool any idiot! Klump: Fooled me!
 * Donkey Kong: I blew it. She's never gonna talk to me again! Diddy: Ah don't sweat it. You've blown it a hundred times, a thousand times, a million kajillion times!
 * Candy Robot: *after riding Donkey Kong's strength-powered elevator* You don't know your own strength.  We'll have to fix that...
 * Candy Robot: *after the haircut* There, all done!  That wasn't so bad was it?  Do you like it? Donkey Kong:  *feeling his bald head* Smooth... too smooth... Diddy:  Oh no, geek alert!
 * Donkey Kong: Step back!  I'm gonna give ya one last chance to make a run for it!  OK, here it comes! *starts punching Krusha* Krusha:  Ooh, you're tickling me...
 * Diddy: *as they're about to take off in Funky's plane* Y-You know, maybe I should sit this one out- Funky:  Too late!
 * Diddy: It's a miracle, an omen, a sign from a sign-place!  Look!  More bananas! Donkey Kong:  *with a belly full of bananas* No!  Not another bite!
 * Diddy: Look, it's your head!  Your hair's growing back! Donkey Kong:  So are my muscles!

Trivia

 * The concept of a hero losing his strength because of a trusted loved one cutting his hair is based on the biblical story of Samson and Delilah.
 * The book that K. Rool reads does not have any actual words in it, just random groups of letters.
 * When activating the elevator for Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong performs a punch similar to his Giant Punch move in the Super Smash Bros. games.
 * When Donkey Kong's hair is cut, his scalp appears in the same shape as his hairstyle, due to the model itself not being changed other than a simple retexture.

Donkey se fait des cheveux