Cranky's Cabin
| Cranky's Cabin | |
|---|---|
| CrankyCabin.png | |
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Country (1994) |
| Latest appearance | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) |
| Greater location | Donkey Kong Island |
| Owner | Cranky Kong |
- “Who told you I was here? Was it that obnoxious Funky Kong?”
- —Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong Country
Cranky's Cabin, renamed Cranky's Hut in the Game Boy Advance remake, is the home of Cranky Kong in Donkey Kong Country. Donkey Kong and Diddy can visit this location to receive advice and hear ramblings from Cranky.
Cranky Kong would later run the Monkey Museum in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Cranky's Lab in Donkey Kong 64. In the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, he runs his own dojo, titled Cranky's Dojo. In Donkey Kong Country Returns, Cranky runs his own shop, whose design appears to have been inspired from his original cabin. The location's theme is even a rendition of that of Cranky's Cabin's.
Description
Cranky's Cabin is made out of a barrel, with an opening carved in the side for an entrance. The building has a stone-coated metal roof, which a long chimney stems out from. A neon sign of the Nintendo logo is hanging above the entrance, and a Giant Banana is sitting to the left of the cabin. Located to the right is a large crate appearing to be a Rambi Crate, on which a silhouetted emblem of Rambi's face is printed.
Although it appears to be situated in the Kongo Jungle, Cranky's Cabin appears in every area of Donkey Kong Island. Regardless of the current world, Cranky's Cabin is surrounded by jungle foliage. Cranky is often shown sitting at the porch of his cabin.
In addition to his advice, Cranky lives up to his name by complaining, often breaking the fourth wall in the process. He constantly whines about how the games from his glory days (such as the original Donkey Kong) were much better than the newer one. Cranky makes other complaints such as over modern graphics, which he deems as too bright and colorful, or his swaying beard being a "waste of frames" from the game's end.
Occasionally, Cranky says he would invite Donkey and Diddy indoors but the game cannot allocate the memory allowing him to do so. Ironically, in the Game Boy Advance remake, Cranky's Cabin takes place indoors, and it now features new background details referencing other Rare games. The mask of Mumbo Jumbo, a character from the Banjo-Kazooie series, is lying on Steel Barrels right outside the screen. The decapitated head of Sabre Wulf, the main villain of Sabreman, is mounted on the cabin's wall, next to the entrance. Sabre Wulf does not appear to be dead because his eyes continue to blink in spite of his decapitation. To the left of Sabre Wulf's head is a framed picture above a television set with a flashing static screen.
There is an official artwork showing Donkey Kong and Diddy at Cranky's Cabin. It appears to be during the evening, as evidenced from the orange sky. Instead of a Rambi Crate, the scene shows a crate reading "2L84ME" (too late for me) in red text. This text was later included on the Barrel Cannons in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
History
Donkey Kong Country
The Kongs can optionally visit Cranky for level advice, usually regarding animal token and bonus room locations from the first world, Kongo Jungle. The Kongs visit the location in the ending, after defeating King K. Rool in Gangplank Galleon, where Cranky congratulates them for recovering their banana hoard supply.
Once the Kongs defeat King K. Rool and recover the stolen bananas, they will take a trip to Cranky's Cabin, where the old ape will congratulate them, and comment on whether or not they found all of the bonus rooms in the game. Afterwards, he will tell the Kongs to return to the banana hoard, so they can see that it's been replenished.
Unlike Funky and Candy's locations, Cranky's Hut served an identical purpose in the Game Boy Advance remake.
Donkey Kong Land
Although Cranky's Cabin does not appear in Donkey Kong Land itself, the manual has it as the location where Donkey and Diddy make a bet with Cranky over recovering their bananas from the Kremling Krew again on a handheld system.
Other appearances
Donkey Kong Country television series
In the Donkey Kong Country animated series, Cranky's Cabin, instead of being located on the ground, is high in the trees, possibly in the television series equivalent of Tree Top Town. The appearance of Cranky's Cabin was also altered in the cartoon series; it was made rounded and larger and had a variety of booby traps located near it, which could be activated to ward off enemies. The Cabin's interior has a safe located in the center of the hut, and unlike the games also has a piano and potion making equipment.
The safe within the cabin is the holding place of the Crystal Coconut in the show, which Donkey Kong spends much of his time guarding. On several occasions, King K. Rool is able to sneak into the cabin and get the Coconut, and other times, he is able to trick, or even use magic, to get someone else to go in and get it for him (such as when he uses the love potion to get Candy Kong to go in and steal it for him in A Thin Line Between Love & Ape). The walkway to the cabin is booby-trapped with barrels that when jumped on, send anyone unfortunate enough to be standing on it flying or falling. This is featured in several episodes, and is often used to thwart K. Rool from stealing the coconut.
Diddy Kong Pilot (2003 version)
Cranky's Cabin makes a cameo in the 2003 Diddy Kong Pilot, and it also shown in a jungle setting. It is the location where Cranky communicates to the player from during various parts of the game. The iconic Nintendo logo and Giant Banana reappear in the scenery.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Cranky's Cabin makes a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the DK Island subarea of the World of Light, which in itself is a recreation of the Kongo Jungle world map from Donkey Kong Country. Cranky Kong's spirit is fought in this location.
Gallery
Cranky's Cabin in the Game Boy Color remake
The interior of Cranky's Cabin in the Donkey Kong Country TV series
Cranky's Cabin in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | クランキーコングの小屋 Kurankī kongu no koya |
Cranky Kong's Hut |
| French | Case de Cranky |
Cranky's Hut |
| German | Crankys Hütte |
Cranky's Hut |
| Italian | Capanna di Cranky |
Cranky's Hut |
| Spanish | Choza de Cranky |
Cranky's Hut |
Trivia
- Cranky was originally intended to provide more hints regarding later worlds of the game, which is evidenced from unused dialogue hidden in the game's contents.[1]
