Cranky Kong

"You young apes wouldn't know a real adventure if it jumped up and bit you on the nose!"

- Cranky Kong

Cranky Kong is an elderly Kong and one of the main supporting characters Donkey Kong franchise. He is both the grandfather and paternal figure of Donkey Kong. While Cranky technically makes his debut appearance in Donkey Kong Country, he is actually the elderly form of the original Donkey Kong from the Donkey Kong arcade game and the father of Donkey Kong Jr.. Cranky is a widower, as his wife Wrinkly Kong has been deceased since after the events of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!.

Cranky is argumentative, old, bad-tempered, and often rambles, especially about how things were better during the days when the Donkey Kong arcade game was new and popular. Cranky often breaks the fourth wall in his statements, especially in the Rare-developed Donkey Kong games.

Background
During his youthful prime, Cranky Kong (then known as Donkey Kong) kidnapped Pauline, was kidnapped and trapped in a cage by Mario, and battled Stanley in a greenhouse in the games Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Donkey Kong 3, respectively. In one of his lectures to Donkey Kong, Cranky said that his kidnapping of Pauline was consistent enough that he did so "seven days a week." Cranky retired after he relinquished the name "Donkey Kong" to his grandson.

Donkey Kong Country
Cranky's first appearance as "Cranky Kong" was in Donkey Kong Country, in which he lives in a slightly rundown shack named Cranky's Cabin. From here, Cranky gives randomly selected advice on the game's various items and locations, mostly pertaining to the earlier levels, to both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.

Cranky also appears in the opening cutscene before the title screen of the original SNES version, where he operates a phonograph, playing the theme song from the NES version of Donkey Kong on a phonograph, atop a construction site. Donkey Kong disrupts his session by knocking him aside and dancing to a remixed version of the song on a boombox he drops nearby, then the scene turns to a jungle. Cranky, irritated by this interruption, hurls a TNT Barrel at Donkey Kong's boombox, destroying it.

In the game's instruction booklet, Cranky provides various commentary to try and discourage potential players from the game, such as claiming that the characters and items listed do not exist. Despite this, the back of the manual has a section titled "Cranky's Advice" where he gives some basic tips on the game.

In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country, each time when the Kongs win at a boss battle, Cranky appears to comment on the boss and tell the Kongs the next world to go to.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Cranky sets up his own location on Crocodile Isle, named the Monkey Museum. Once again, Cranky provides information to Diddy and Dixie, although most of the tips are for a fee, and have to be selected from a menu. In this game, Cranky also scatters several DK Coins throughout the game's various levels. Once Kaptain K. Rool is defeated Cranky will tally Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong's "hero status" by how many DK Coins they have collected. The game marks the debut of Cranky's wife, Wrinkly Kong, who similarly

In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2, Cranky's role remains relatively the same as in the original game, although it was slightly expanded with the inclusion of the Expresso Racing minigame. Cranky bought a racing ostrich he named Expresso, which the Kongs can bulk up using Golden Feathers and race against other ostriches to try and achieve trophies in exchange for rewards from Cranky. Like in Donkey Kong Country's Game Boy Advance version, Cranky appears whenever the Kongs defeat a boss, though specifically once they have collected the Kremkoin, to briefly comment on the boss and to tell Diddy and Dixie which world they should go to next.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Cranky's appearances have been reduced. In Swanky's Sideshow, Cranky Kong acts as Dixie and Kiddy Kong's opponent in various ball throwing minigames. Cranky also appears at the end of the game to criticize Dixie and Kiddy's victory over KAOS and Baron K. Roolenstein, resulting in Dixie and Kiddy Kong approaching him ominously while he tries to avoid an inevitable beating by putting on glasses. At the end of the post-game cutscene, Cranky will appear in the background doing a few water-skiing tricks behind Funky Kong, who pulls him with a motorboat. He eventually falls in water, but comes back to the surface holding up a sign which says "THE END" in runny ink. He is also top of the All-Time Greats list at the end of the game, having beat the game in 04:22 with 103%. If the player beats the game with the TUFST code activated, thereby attaining 105%, they will get a trophy of Cranky Kong in a black belt's outfit and will be named "Immortal Monkey!"

In addition, a picture of Cranky Kong over a white background hangs from a wall in Wrinkly's Save Cave.

In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 3, Cranky's role is different in that he runs several dojos, aptly named Cranky's Dojo, to prepare for his self-purported first game, "Cranky Kong Country." In Cranky's Dojo, Cranky stands in one spot, and the goal is for him to use his shield to deflect 30 Bristles. By clearing the minigame, Cranky awards Dixie and Kiddy with a Banana Bird. Like the Game Boy Advance versions for both Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2, Cranky appears whenever the Kongs defeat a boss, providing a brief comment on the boss and then telling them where to go next. Similar to Donkey Kong Country 2's Game Boy Advance version, Cranky only shows up once Dixie and Kiddy collect the item rewarded for defeating the boss.

Donkey Kong Land series
While Cranky does not appear in any of the Donkey Kong Land games, he has a major role in the backstory for Donkey Kong Land, as told from the instruction booklet. It explains that Cranky was jealous of Donkey and Diddy's victory over King K. Rool, so he attracts them into a bet, stating that if they can reclaim Donkey's banana hoard from King K. Rool once again, this time on an 8-bit system, he will admit that they are adequate gaming heroes.

The instruction booklet for Donkey Kong Land 2 states that "Even old Cranky charges for his words of wisdom," despite him not appearing in the game. This line was carried over from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quests instruction booklet, just like a majority of the text in Donkey Kong Land 2s instruction booklet.

In Donkey Kong Land III, Wrinkly Refuge retains the framed picture of Cranky from Wrinkly's Save Cave in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. This technically makes it Cranky's only visual appearance within the entire Donkey Kong Land series.

Donkey Kong 64
In Donkey Kong 64, Cranky appears as Professor Cranky Kong, as he had taken up the role of a scientist. Cranky's Lab can be found in every area of Donkey Kong 64 except Hideout Helm. At Cranky's Lab, the Kongs can pay Professor Cranky for several potions that can give them new powers and abilities. Also, if the Kongs manage to collect at least fifteen Banana Medals, Cranky allows them to play Jetpac. The Kongs must beat the Jetpac game in order to obtain the Rareware Coin. Cranky also acts as the Kongs' coach during their boxing match against King Krusha K. Rool.

Diddy Kong Pilot
Cranky is one of the playable characters in the 2001 version of Diddy Kong Pilot.

In the 2003 Diddy Kong Pilot, Cranky talks to Team Kong and Team Kremling both before and after they start a cup or a new mode. Cranky encourages the former team to win races but criticizes the latter. Cranky is one of the unlockable characters, and he can be obtained after Team Kremling completes every cup and dogfight. The character select screen for Team Cranky erroneously shows four different portraits for Cranky. He has the highest speed and acceleration of the other characters, and is a lightweight character. Cranky was replaced with Bottles in Banjo-Pilot.

Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle
Cranky Kong appears in the 1995 novel Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle, accompanying Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong across the island to reach Big Ape City. At the beginning of the novel Cranky Kong expresses his disapproval about Diddy Kong flying in Funky Kong's barrel plane, complaining that "if apes were meant to fly, they'd have wings", and "there's nowhere any self-respecting ape would want to go that he can't get to on his own two hairy feet". After Funky Kong leaves in his plane, the Kongs find that he has accidentally left his walkie talkie with Donkey Kong. Trying to contact him, the Kongs hear that his plane is being attacked by "flying pigs" near Big Ape City, and that he's going to crash.

Donkey Kong and Diddy immediately decide to travel to the city on foot. Cranky Kong doubts that they are capable, although he wishes to join them so that they don't have to "go off on another adventure alone". After reaching Tree Top Town on the edge of the jungle, Cranky Kong trips over a vine after insisting to take the lead, which triggers an alarm that alerts the Kremlings. Attacking alongside Donkey Kong and Diddy, Cranky uses his cane to slam several Kremlings on their feet, which sent them "hobbling into the bushes". An illustration also shows him swinging on a vine.

After the Kongs are guided through a mountain's caves by Squawks, they reach the skyline of Big Ape City. Cranky says to Donkey Kong that "I haven't been here since I was your age[...] I remember battling a short plumber named Mario", which suggests that Big Ape City is the location of the original Donkey Kong arcade game. They find that the city has been overrun by Kremlings, who are building a large factory. Cranky Kong notably complains several times, being reluctant to continue while they are trying to locate Funky Kong's prison cell. In an illustration, Cranky Kong is even shown to be unimpressed when Donkey Kong uses a TNT Barrel to open the prison door lock.

While battling some Kremlings who had heard the loud explosion, Kritter tries to take Cranky Kong hostage. He shouts "stop your assault or the old ape gets it!" Cranky Kong instead elbows Kritter in the stomach, and says "I was stomping on the likes of you when you were knee-high to a salamander!". After Funky's plane is found in the factory's cargo room, Donkey Kong and Diddy both leave to retrieve a part to repair the plane, and to turn off the factory's defense system. Cranky Kong is left to keep Funky Kong company while he repairs the plane, and Cranky tells "story after story" about his youth. After the plane is repaired, the Kongs all board (although Cranky Kong is reluctant as he "hates" flying), and they escape through a hole in the factory wall created by a TNT Barrel. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong manage to plant King K. Rool's zeppelin with TNT Barrels, which falls and destroys the Kremling's factory. Cranky Kong shares a laugh with the other Kongs as they fly back home to their treehouse.

"Donkey Kong Country"
He also appeared in the Club Nintendo comic "Donkey Kong Country". He is the first one to discover that King K. Rool has stolen the Kongs' banana hoard, which follows the story of the game. Cranky's appearance in the comic differs slightly from his standard look, as he is wearing a blue shirt instead of a gray or brown one.

"Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24"
In the comic "Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24", published in the same magazine, he supported Donkey, Diddy, Dixie and Kiddy on their mission to save the Earth from being pulled away from the sun by a giant UFO. It was his idea to carry on negotiations with the aliens so they would release the Earth. The President of the United States puts a space shuttle at the Kongs' disposal, and Cranky is the one to navigate it. He beams Donkey, Diddy and Dixie into the UFO and stays in the Kongs' space shuttle meanwhile. When their mission succeeds, he navigates the space shuttle back to Earth, where the Kongs are being hailed by the people. Euphorically, Cranky tries to kiss a random girl, much to her disgust. After returning to their jungle, Cranky gets in trouble with his wife Wrinkly because of this. During the events of this story, Cranky did not show much of his grouchy traits as often discovered in the games, but instead appears as a helpful person.

Development
The pitch that would lead to Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong and the Golden Bananas, featured a character named Grandpa Kong, who was a white-furred bearded gorilla who looked very similar to Donkey Kong himself. Due to Donkey Kong Jr.'s presence in the pitch, it seems that the idea of him being the original arcade Donkey Kong had not yet been written. Throughout Donkey Kong Country's development, the character would eventually be retooled to his current appearance, but unused dialogue found in the game's data suggests Cranky was initially written as a more kindly and friendly individual. Cranky Kong's dialogue in the final game and instruction manual was primarily written by Gregg Mayles, with some lines contributed by Tim Stamper.

Physical appearance
Compared to his appearances in the original Donkey Kong and its two sequels (where he greatly resembled the current Donkey Kong), Cranky Kong appears to have become thinner, more diminutive, and much less muscular over the years, with his fur also being slightly darker. He bears facial proportions much like those of his grandson, though his head is smooth on top, his lips are more wrinkled, and he wears thick glasses with black frames. He has also grown a thick, white beard which obscures most of his torso, due to the fact that he always stands with a heavy slouch. Beneath his beard, Cranky Kong wears a taupe sweater-vest as his only garment. Cranky almost always carries an ordinary-looking wooden cane with him. Cranky's abilities and health vary greatly between his appearances, as he sometimes cannot walk without two canes while other times being just as athletic as the other Kongs. His trademark pose involves him standing on both feet with a heavy slouch, his cane in one hand, and the other arm resting on his back.

In both Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3, Cranky's sweater-vest is colored green, and he carries two canes with him.

Personality
Even though he is a supporting character, Cranky is generally depicted as curmudgeonly and bitter, always making sarcastic remarks about various things, pointing out flaws in the other Kongs (particularly Donkey Kong) or even the very games he appears in, and complaining about everything he doesn't like. He is also rather cocky, claiming himself to be among the best video game icons ever, and that he is and always will be better than his grandson despite his old and frail state. His arrogance is countered by his poor sportsmanship however. Aside from this, Cranky Kong is also known to display traits of stereotypical elders, such as constantly demanding sleep. Cranky can be benevolent and heroic when the situation calls for it, such as how he helped his grandson and their friends take back Donkey Kong Island in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Cranky sometimes asks Donkey Kong for help, or allows him take over in situations. Despite his cantankerous manners, Cranky has praised his fellow Kongs on exceptional occasions (more frequently in DK: Jungle Climber, where he is shown less crabby), such as telling Donkey Kong that "he's nearly as good as I used to be" if 101% completion is achieved in the original Donkey Kong Country, or saying of Diddy that "You're as big of a hero as they come." if all DK Coins are recovered in Donkey Kong Country 2.

Identity confusion
Rare created Cranky Kong to be an elderly form of the Donkey Kong from the earlier Donkey Kong games, but his exact relation to the current Donkey Kong has been disputed. Before the release of Donkey Kong Country, footage from a promotional VHS video exclusively for Nintendo Power subscribers named Donkey Kong Country: Exposed called Cranky Kong his "dad or grandfather", yet Cranky Kong refers to Donkey Kong as "Junior" in the review of Donkey Kong Country by UK's Nintendo Magazine System. Upon release, Cranky Kong being Donkey Kong's grandfather was the consistent backstory throughout the SNES series. While this was not explicitly stated in the television series, he acted as a father figure and once said that he considered DK like a son. Rare seemingly started to retcon their relationship in Donkey Kong 64, in which Cranky Kong consistently addressed him as "son" implying a more direct parental role. According to Leigh Loveday in a 1999 online Q&A, their Donkey Kong was intended to be Cranky Kong's son and thus an adult Donkey Kong Jr. as far as he was aware, and requested fans to completely ignore instances claiming Cranky to be his grandfather. Whether or not this statement was intended to be taken seriously, the Nintendo of Europe website for the Game Boy Advance re-release of Donkey Kong Country supported this notion.

After Rare left Nintendo, the issue was left open for some time. Official bios for both Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee implied that the Donkey Kong in the arcade may be the Donkey Kong of today, and the back box cover of Mario vs. Donkey Kong advertised Donkey Kong as Mario's "original foe". However, this was contradicted by Mario Superstar Baseball, which distinguished "his ancestor, the original Donkey Kong". Subsequently, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis suggested that Donkey Kong met Pauline for the first time and became smitten at first sight. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (and, consequently, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) sticks with the story that the original Donkey Kong is the current Donkey Kong's grandfather. Retro Studios' Donkey Kong Country Returns reaffirms the position of Cranky Kong as the grandfather of the modern Donkey Kong.

According to Gregg Mayles, Cranky Kong called Donkey Kong "son" during the events of Donkey Kong 64 because he was so senile by then that he could not remember. Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics seemingly acknowledged both opposing versions of the Donkey Kong lineage. In one section, it is asserted that Donkey Kong Jr. is the father of the modern Donkey Kong; however, in another section, it is concluded that the modern Donkey Kong is, in fact, a grown Donkey Kong Jr. The Prima Games Twitter account has since clarified and elaborated upon the apparent contradiction, stating that the latter is meant to be written as a metaphor for the original design process, whereas the former is indeed the official interpretation of the characters' familial ties.

German Donkey Kong 64 website
"A sharp tongue, lots of hair and loose teeth characterize the video game veteran Cranky Kong. Even if he seldom has anything good to say about his "good for nothing" son, as he calls him, he still supports Donkey and his friends in their exciting adventures with various potions from his laboratory. These wonders from the research lab help the Kongs to turn into true super apes! Whether it's a rocket back-pack, invulnerability, increased speed or becoming the size of a dwarf or a giant - Cranky is just the right one for the purposes of the ape clan. Since one has to pay a price for these helpful abilities, however, it is necessary to have sufficient banana coins on hand when calling on the brightest scientist of the primate world."

Quotes

 * "They can't keep this level of graphics up for much longer! We used to be lucky if we only got three shades of grey, let alone any real colors!"
 * "Look!...look at this!...as I rock, my beard swings! Waste of frames in my opinion!"
 * "Whisking off maidens and throwing barrels around the place seven days a week, I was. That's how I got where I am today, you know. Hard work."
 * "You're only reading this because you're bored!"
 * "Tired of me? You're lucky I'm here to brighten up this boring manual!"
 * "I've never seen so much worthless rubbish! I'm surprised they don't give you a special 'trash barrel' to haul it all around in!"

Trivia

 * In the original Nintendo 64 version of Banjo-Kazooie, Cranky Kong and Donkey Kong's names are each an answer to one of the Grunty's Furnace Fun questions.
 * Cranky Kong admits to being a big fan of Game & Watch games, and he also mentions that he considers playing the original Donkey Kong arcade game when Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are not visiting him.
 * In the Donkey Kong Land 2 coverage of both the 47th and 49th issues of the Australian Nintendo Magazine System, a DK Coin is described as being a prize of "Kranky Kong", [sic] even though he does not appear in the game.