Funky Kong

Funky Kong is a Kong inhabitant of Donkey Kong Island and member of the Kong Family; one of the hero Donkey Kong's best friends and allies, Funky Kong first appears in the game Donkey Kong Country and has made various subsequent appearances since, often selling or offering some service to his friends, but he occasionally appears as a playable character in spin-off games.

Donkey Kong Country
Funky Kong first appears in Donkey Kong Country as the proprietor of Funky's Flights, an airplane service. Found in every area of Donkey Kong Island, Funky would allow both Donkey and Diddy Kong] to utilize his Jumbo Barrel to travel to areas of the island they have previously cleared of King K. Rool's operatives.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest


Funky Kong returns in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, where his role is relatively the same as his debut appearance. Found in Funky's Flights II, which is located in every area of Crocodile Isle except the Lost World, Funky will allow Diddy and Dixie Kong to use his Funky Barrel to fly to areas of Crocodile Isle that they have previously visited; although, unlike in Donkey Kong Country, the Kongs will need to pay a certain number of Banana Coins to use the Funky Barrel, with only the first trip on it being free.

Funky Kong's role is expanded upon in the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Here, Funky, instead of owning the Funky Barrel, has a Gyrocopter, which he will allow Diddy and Dixie to borrow for their adventure if they succeed in beating a mini-game with it. Additionally, at the various Funky's Flights II on Crocodile Isle, Funky will give Diddy and Dixie DK Coins if they beat his mini-games. Funky also appears at the ending of the game, planting a bomb on Kaptain K. Rool’s Flying Krock and rescuing Diddy, Dixie, Donkey and Cranky Kong from it before his bomb detonates.

Donkey Kong Land 2
In Donkey Kong Land 2 for the Game Boy, Funky Kong’s role is exactly the same as in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, with him allowing Diddy and Dixie to use his Funky Barrel to travel, for a price.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Funky Kong runs Funky's Rentals in the Northern Kremisphere; at the beginning of the game, Dixie Kong must visit Funky in order to pick-up her cousin and partner throughout the game, Kiddy Kong, as well as the Motor Boat. As Dixie and Kiddy progress through the game, they can gain various items and give them to Funky, who will use them to create new, more powerful vehicles for them to use and reach new locations.

Throughout Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, references to Funky working on a "secret project" are made by the Brothers Bear; if Dixie and Kiddy confront Funky about this, he will acknowledge that he is working on something, also saying that for a down payment of every DK Coin in the game, he will let the Kongs see what it is and let them use it. If the Kongs do bring Funky all the DK Coins obtainable, he will give them his Gyrocopter, which they can use to locate the Banana Bird Queen and her last three children.

In the Game Boy Advance port of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Funky Kong's role is essentially the same as in the original, with the only difference being that he will allow Dixie and Kiddy to play various mini-games in his shop; if the Kongs beat all these mini-games, Funky will reward them with a Banana Bird.

Donkey Kong 64
In Donkey Kong 64, Funky runs Funky's Armory, which, as it's name implies, is a weapons shop which the Kongs can buy weapons and accessories for them, from. Funky Kong will also give away free ammunition if the Kongs visit him and he has nothing available for sale. In this game, Funky is located in every world, except Hideout Helm.

During the ending cutscene of Donkey Kong 64, it is Funky who delivers the final blow to King Krusha K. Rool; as the Kremling King is distracted by Candy Kong, Funky, equipped with a rocket launcher, fires a boot at him, which knocks King Krusha K. Rool through the ceiling of his arena and on to K. Lumsy Island.

DK: King of Swing
Funky Kong’s role in DK: King of Swing is largely minimal, with him appearing only in the opening cut scene, after King K. Rool steals all the Jungle Jam Medals. Though he does make his first playable appearance in the game’s Jungle Jam mode, where his partner is Dixie Kong.

DK: Jungle Climber
In DK: Jungle Climber, Funky, along with the bulk of the Kong Family, go on vacation to Sun Sun Island; when Donkey, Diddy, Cranky meet the banana alien Xananab and decide to help in his quest to reclaim his Crystal Bananas, Funky will reopen Funky's Flights. If the Kongs and Xananab collect a certain amount of Oil Barrels, they can give them to him to power his Barrel Plane, which can fly them to a smaller version of the island they’re on. Funky Kong is also playable in the game’s VS. Mode.



Other Appearances
Funky Kong appears as a playable character in the Japan-exclusive game Donkey Konga 3; he also appears as an unlockable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, where he is one the most physically powerful characters in the game, but so-so in other stats; his main rival in Dnkey Kong Barrel Blast is the Kremling Kludge.

Physical Appearance
Funky Kong has the same general build as fellow Kongs such as Donkey and Kiddy Kong, being both large and fairly muscular; Funky's fur is brown in color, though the shade of it varies in his appearances and artwork, being either light or dark. In all of his appearances, Funky wears a pair of sunglasses which conceal what his true eyes look like; Funky's sunglasses were originally black in color in Donkey Kong Country, but virtually all subsequent appearances depict as being purple tinted.

In Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2, Funky Kong's attire is essentially the same, with him wearing a red, white polka-dotted bandanna, a medal around his neck ("bling") and sandals.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! radically alters Funky's appearance, having him discard his medals and replace them with tools slung from a tool belt; Funky also wears a white muscle shirt, blue shorts and black boots in this game. Donkey Kong 64 has Funky changing clothes again, with him wearing blue and black commando gear in this game. More recently, Funky's appearance has remained consistent, being virtually identical to his attire from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, with his tool belt being replaced by a regular one.

Television
Funky Kong was a major character in the Donkey Kong Country television series. In the show, Funky Kong has noticeably tan fur as opposed to the brown fur he is traditionally depicted in. Funky Kong (like in the video games) loves to surf (but is never seen surfing) and runs an airline service. However, this Funky Kong is also very spiritual as he is often talking about karma. Funky is (of course) the best dancer on Kongo Bongo Island. He was portrayed by Damon D’Oliveira.