Lanky Kong

"Cool move, DK! Gotta get some fresh air. I’ll help you by collecting blue bananas."

- Lanky Kong

Lanky Kong is a character from the Donkey Kong franchise. He is an ally of Donkey Kong and the Kong family. Despite his bizarre appearance and personality, he is a capable fighter thanks to his abnormal body and lengthy arms. His first appearance was in Donkey Kong 64.

Donkey Kong 64
In Donkey Kong 64, Lanky is one of the four Kongs imprisoned by the Kremling Krew at the start of the game. Lanky is found in the Llama's temple in the area Angry Aztec, where Donkey Kong and his Coconut Shooter are needed to release him from his imprisonment by the Kremlings.

Once Lanky is released players become capable of collecting Blue Bananas, coins and Blueprints. Lanky Kong fights the boss of Gloomy Galleon, who is Puftoss, when he defeats him, he gains one of the keys to K. Lumsy cage. Also in this level Lanky can transform himself into Enguarde. In Fungi Forest he has to race against a rabbit twice to gain a Golden Banana. Lanky Kong is the only character needed to enter the door to the boss of Creepy Castle, King Kut Out. Lanky Kong is the first one to try to defeat this boss, as all the Kongs need to be shot out of a barrel cannon to defeat him.

During the final battle against King K. Rool Lanky has to make use of the great reach to activate a switch and then a barrel with a banana appears, Lanky next has to throw the barrel so the banana comes out and make use of the Trombone Tremor to make King K. Rool fall with a banana. In one of the cutscenes Lanky appears at Hideout Helm and starts walking around the walls with two kremlings going after him, at the end a kremling tries to walk in the wall and falls.

Throughout the game Lanky gains a variety of bizarre abilities from drinking Cranky Kong's various potions or buying items from Funky and Candy. His first individual ability is Baboon Balloon, while the second is OrangStand, and the third one is OrangSprint. Lanky's weapon is the Grape Shooter. His instrument is a trombone; with this he can use the Trombone Tremor. Aside from this he can learn Simian Slam, Super Simian Slam and Super Duper Simian Slam, which all Kongs use.

Lanky Kong is the only character that can transform into Enguarde, similar to Donkey Kong transforming into Rambi. He is also playable in the game's multiplayer mode. In the mode, he has 3 alternate color schemes, all of which change the color of his overalls. Aside from his default blue color, he can use red, green or purple overalls.

Donkey Kong in When the Banana Splits
He appears in the comic Donkey Kong in When the Banana Splits, where the Golden Bananas are once again stolen by the Kremlings. While the bananas are being stolen, Lanky Kong and the other Kongs notice this and easily pass through the traps in the jungle to reach King K. Rool. Once they arrive, the Kongs beat up the Kremlings and King K. Rool and win their Golden Bananas back.

N-Gang
He also appears in the N-Gang comic series, but only with minor roles. In the N-Gang comic, N-Gang vs. Nintendo, he teams up with Banjo, Kazooie, Wario, Yoshi, Princess Peach, and Donkey Kong in a soccer match against the N-Gang.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
Lanky briefly appears in one of Funky Kong's minigames in the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. Here, he appears in the water, along with other Kongs, and has to be protected from being taken away by boats with Kremlings on them.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
After eight years of not appearing in games, excluding remakes, Lanky Kong makes a return as a racer in the Wii game Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. In this game he is an unlockable character, unlocked by winning the Topaz Cup as a Kong character. In the game, he is considerably powerful, and is the rival of Klump. He has high speed, below average boost and poor agility. He attacks by clapping his hands in front of him. As with all playable characters, he has the ability of doing Wild Moves.

In the Single Race cutscene he can be seen, along Donkey, Tiny and Dixie, standing in front of their rivals, Klump, Kritter, Kalypso, and Kass. He can also be seen in the Time Trial cutscene racing with Kass, as Kopter counts their lap time with a stopwatch, Diddy Kong cheering for them and Kalypso showing them a sign to tell them which lap they are on. His bongos are blue with white parts, which resemble the colors of his clothes. This game marks his debut in spin-off games.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Although he did not appear in Super Smash Bros. Melee, there is a reference to Lanky on the Kongo Jungle stage, as the DK Rap plays, after Tiny Kong's part, Lanky is mentioned.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Lanky Kong appears as trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his trophy mentions his playable appearance in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast after years of not appearing in games. He also has his own sticker based on his appearance from Donkey Kong 64, it increases the strength of a throwing attack by six and can only be used by Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Lanky Kong appears once again as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Character description
Lanky Kong is an orangutan; he has orange fur, a red nose, blue eyes, and a pair of lengthy arms. His clothing consists of blue overalls, with a white shirt that is too small for him, and on his back he has a red and white patch.

In his recent appearance in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, aside from being updated graphically, he looks slightly bigger and his hair style was changed. His voice also sounds different from other titles.

Abilities
Lanky mostly uses his long reach to attack enemies, he can also swing his arms while running to attack enemies. His long arms allow him to run while doing handstands and was shown in a cutscene to be able to 'stand' on a wall with his hands. In his Donkey Kong Barrel Blast appearance he was given more strength and had the ability to perform Wild Moves.

Abilities he had in Donkey Kong 64:
 * From Cranky's potions:
 * Simian Slam: He can press green buttons with his face on them.
 * Super Simian Slam: He can press blue buttons with his face on them.
 * Super Duper Simian Slam: He can press red buttons with his face on them.
 * OrangStand: With this ability, he can stand on his hands and can climb steep slopes.
 * Baboon Balloon: With the help of his Kong Pad, he can inflate like a balloon and can fly a short distance.
 * OrangSprint: With the help of Crystal Coconuts, he can stand on his hands and run extremely fast.
 * From other Kongs:
 * Trombone Tremor: He uses a trombone which can defeat almost every enemy. This can also make special things happen if he uses it on a Music Pad
 * Grape Shooter: He can shoot grapes to damage enemies and to activate switches.

Donkey Kong 64

 * Potions:
 * Pad Move: Baboon Balloon
 * Barrel Move: OrangSprint
 * Special Move: OrangStand
 * Weapon: Grape Shooter
 * Instrument Ability: Trombone Tremor
 * Color: Blue
 * Boss:
 * Name: Puftoss
 * Location: Gloomy Galleon
 * Bio: This knuckle-dragging Kong looks like a clown, and it's more than just a coincidence. Think of him as a twisted twig on a distant branch of the family tree. Kremlings and Klaptraps may snicker at his goofy gait as he ambles in their direction, but there's nothing funny about a hyper extended sucker punch.
 * Instruction booklet bio from Cranky Kong: "A newcomer to the Kong clan and the joker of the pack. I haven't a clue whom he's related to - must be some distant cousin or something. Those silly stretchy arms give him plenty of potential, but I'm sure he'll be too busy clowning around to be of much use.

German Donkey Kong 64 website

 * Name: Lanky Kong
 * Occupation: Stand-up comedian
 * Hobbies: Blowing the trombone making up jokes
 * Favorite dish: Raisin cake
 * Favorite movie: The Kong Canon 64
 * Greatest hero: Kongo Waalkes

''To the satisfaction of the other Kongs, Lanky has been at home on the DK islands for some time now. Originally he comes from the more distant Utan island, where relatives of the Kongs live.''

''The society there was much too boring and conservative for Lanky, however, so that he was attracted to the slightly chaotic members of the Kong clan.

''Here he feels much more comfortable, since his constant silliness is always appreciated, especially by Chunky and Kiddy. Even a television offer could not move the enthuasiastic comedian to leave the island: he has been dying to experience an exciting adventure for quite some time! As a child Lanky made a bet with a friend, who could hang on a limb the longest.''

Today you can still tell by his arms that Lanky won the bet!

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

 * Unlock method: Win the Topaz Cup with a Kong.
 * Rival: Klump
 * Boost: 2/5
 * Speed: 4.5/5
 * Agility: 1/5

Quotes

 * "Cool move, DK! Gotta get some fresh air. I’ll help you by collecting blue bananas." – ''Donkey Kong 64
 * "Come and find me in the Tag Barrel!" – ''Donkey Kong 64

Trivia

 * According to Donkey Kong 64, Lanky currently holds the record for the longest reach in the world.
 * According to Cranky he is a "twisted twig on a distant branch of the family tree".
 * Lanky's pose on his trophy from Super Smash Bros. Brawl is almost identical to his pose when he finishes a cup in first place in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, the only difference is that on his trophy, he doesn't grit his teeth.
 * Lanky Kong is passed a mere mention at page 18 in the digital manual of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, where his name, along with Candy and Tiny Kong's, appears on a Time Attack leaderboard, screen-captured as an official suggestion of presentation for the game's ranking funcionality. Lanky is placed seventh, beneath Candy and above Tiny.