Super Mario Bros: Why is Donkey Kong named after a…donkey?

In Super Mario Bros., in theaters this week, the famous mustachioed plumber and his brother Luigi are far from the only characters from Nintendo’s famous games to grace the big screen. Indeed, in the cast of the animated feature film signed by Illumination studios, we also find the wonderful Bowser, Princess Peach, the charming Toad, but also the famous gorilla… Donkey Kong.

Sometimes an adversary, sometimes an ally of Mario, this monkey, born in 1981 on an arcade machine (while also being a mascot for Nintendo) has a very strange name. Because yes, if we can easily imagine that Kong is a direct reference to Universal Studios’ giant monster (King Kong), we have a hard time understanding the choice of his name, Donkey, which literally means “donkey” in English.

At first glance, it is difficult to discover the relationship that can exist between the impressive primate and the donkey. But to see a little more clearly, it is necessary to return to the beginning of the character.

In the late 1970s, when Nintendo was trying to establish itself in the United States, the developers of the Japanese firm imagined an arcade game based on the famous Popeye, a character well known to the American public. The principle is simple: the spinach-eating sailor at the bottom of the screen will have to climb a series of stairs and avoid the barrels thrown by the evil Brutus on top of the building in order to deliver. his beloved olive.

Problem ? Shigeru Miyamoto, who is responsible for the development of the game, ultimately does not get the rights to the Popeye license. So he decides to introduce his own characters. The main character becomes a small mustachioed carpenter named Jumpman, due to his recurring role in the game, but it doesn’t take long to find a new name to become the most famous character in video game history: Mario.

Her nemesis, as imposing and fearsome as Popeye’s Brutus, is now a giant gorilla, Jumpman’s pet, who has escaped and captured her beauty. Miyamoto chose to call him Donkey Kong, a name that would even become the title of the game.

A translation error or a simple word? The origin of this surname is still debated. Did the famous Nintendo developer confuse the words “donkey” (“donkey”) and monkey (“monkey”)? He seems to have deliberately chosen this term to support the stubborn and somewhat silly side of the character.

A huge success in the United States and Japan, the game Donkey Kong quickly became a major figure in the video game landscape. Even if his opponent ends up taking the lion’s share, Gorilla will still have a thriving career and many solo games like the Great One. Donkey Kong Country. It’s enough to earn him a spot on the poster for the feature film Super Mario Bros., in theaters April 5.

(re)discover an excerpt from the film…