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. Additionally, King K. Rool's name is pronounced in two different ways during this episode, first as "King Kay-Rool" and then shortly afterwards as "King Kuh-Rool", with the former having never been used in the show again after this episode. Cranky Kong also breaks the fourth wall in this episode like he tends to do in the games, which 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 while singing "'Cause I'm Cranky". He then tells the audience about the Crystal Coconut, Donkey Kong, and King K. Rool. King K. Rool later approaches Cranky's Cabin with several Kritters and General Klump, and orders General Klump to steal the Crystal Coconut. The Kritters then begin to prepare their Klap-Blasters, and some Klaptraps begin to talk. General Klump runs to the side, and the Kritters fire the Klaptraps at Cranky's Cabin. The Klaptraps begin to chew through the roof of Cranky's Cabin, causing him to yell and chase out the Klaptraps.

At a nearby hut, Donkey Kong is selecting which of his identical ties to wear. When Diddy Kong arrives at the elevator, Donkey Kong puts on a tie, and tells him to get into his elevator instead. Diddy Kong is nervous because of an incident that previously happened in the elevator, and Donkey Kong says that it was fixed. When Donkey Kong pounds a button to send the barrel up, he accidentally causes a piece of metal above the elevator to fall downwards, which hits Diddy Kong. Donkey Kong then hears Cranky Kong calling for him. Later, he and Diddy Kong then travel via swinging across vines to Cranky's Cabin to save him. In front of Cranky's Cabin, the Kritters are following General Klump as they march across the bridge towards the entrance of the cabin. Donkey Kong yells "Banana Slamma", and he and Diddy Kong then fall towards Cranky's Cabin.

Diddy Kong tells Donkey Kong to defeat the Kremlings and General Klump. Donkey Kong lands on a Trigger Barrel, which causes the planks on the bridge to fling away several Kritters and General Klump. Diddy Kong also lands on a Trigger Barrel, which instead makes a part of the bridge to flip into a diagonal position. This flings several Kremlings upwards and causes several to fall. Donkey Kong then jumps onto three Trigger Barrels while yelling, causing several Kremlings to be launched upwards. King K. Rool runs to the edge of the bridge, looking downwards. King K. Rool then says that they had a good match, and then he turns around and jumps off the bridge. Cranky Kong then asks them to fix his roof before King K. Rool returns.

At his lair, King K. Rool orders General Klump to defeat Donkey Kong. King K. Rool then suggests casting a curse on him, and he pushes another button to cause a book to fall onto General Klump. The book says "curse your way to the top, success through voodoo.". After reading the book, King K. Rool reads a curse that causes Donkey Kong to lose his hair and laughs. He then reads that the person's strength will only return when their hair regrows. After arguing with General Klump, King K. Rool throws the book at him. Meanwhile, Diddy Kong is with Donkey Kong who is preparing for Candy Kong's birthday.

Cranky Kong is then shown riding on a conveyor belt and falling into Bluster Barrelworks, a barrel factory. He then gets trapped in a barrel. Cranky Kong then talks about the factory's owner, Bluster Kong, who is a rival with Donkey Kong. Candy Kong is seen rejecting Bluster Kong's banana cream birthday cake. She later attempted to send his cake down the rejected barrel conveyor belt when he continued to flirt with her, but the attempt fails. Donkey Kong later carries a bunch of bananas on a stick for Candy Kong as a present, but they accidentally fly into her face, causing her to send him to the rejected barrel conveyor belt. At the same time, King K. Rool and some Kremlings are working on a robot clone of Candy Kong, Candy Clone.

Donkey Kong then sulks in his cabin, and Diddy Kong attempts to cheer him up. Candy Clone then appears and begins to pretend to be Candy Kong, and convinces Donkey Kong to allow her to cut his hair. After she leaves, Donkey Kong begins to feel tired. At Cranky's Cabin, King K. Rool has returned with his minion Krusha to steal the coconut. Donkey Kong later arrives, and the two confront each other. He punches Krusha, but it has no effect. Krusha then steals the Crystal Coconut. A confused Cranky Kong asks what happened as Donkey Kong explains what happened during Candy's visit. Cranky then tells Donkey Kong that she has cursed him.

After learning about the news, Funky Kong takes Donkey Kong to the banana plantation. He thinks that Donkey Kong's power will return if he eats lots of bananas, but the plan fails. After this, Cranky Kong presents his potion to Candy Kong and Bluster. He tells Candy Kong to get Donkey Kong to drink the potion, and states that only the person who cast the curse can undo it, but Candy Kong reveals that she did not cast the curse. Cranky Kong then figures out that the curse was casted by a Candy Kong doppelganger, but he tells them that the potion will still work and sends them off.

Back at King K. Rool's lair, general Klump tells King K. Rool that Cranky Kong has created a potion that can reverse the curse placed on Donkey Kong. At the same time, the two Kongs were riding in Bluster Kong's helicopter, but it is destroyed by Klaptraps. After a while of walking, Bluster Kong demands Candy Kong to hand him the potion, and reveals that he just wants Donkey Kong to be out of his life. He then takes the potion and pours it onto the ground, but this causes a giant banana tree to sprout from the ground.

Meanwhile, after eating enough bananas, Donkey Kong's hair grows back, which causes his strength to return. Donkey Kong then attacks Krusha and kicks away the Crystal Coconut which falls into Cranky's Cabin. In the meantime, Donkey Kong defeats Krusha and leaves to attend Candy Kong's birthday party. At the docks, Candy Kong walks up to Donkey Kong carrying a present, but Candy Clone also walks up to him, carrying a present identical to Candy Kong's present. He then picks Candy Clone's present, causing Candy Kong to throw her present at him and leave in rage. Candy Clone then attempts to kiss him, but she starts to short circuit, and eventually she explodes.

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!

Animation and continuity errors

 * 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.

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.
 * When activating the elevator for Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong performs a punch similar to his Giant Punch move in the Super Smash Bros. games.

Donkey se fait des cheveux