It’s crazy to think that DK was called anything other than Donkey Kong, but there was a time when Nintendo considered other possibilities, including some wild swings.
Back in the 1980s, Nintendo and Universal went head-to-head in a lawsuit with the former accused of basing DK on the big screen’s iconic ape, King Kong.
According to a court document from the 1983 case, Nintendo had a bunch (hehe) of ideas for potential Kong names before settling on the Donkey variety.
The documents, which were scanned by gaming historian Norman Caruso in 2020 before resurfacing recently thanks to Mario Supper fan account Mario Broth, detail just some of the names Nintendo had on the cards, including “Bill Kong,” “Steel Kong”, “Steel Kong”, “Kong Holiday” and, hmm“Kong Dong”…
You know what, this is a list that has to be seen to be believed. Here are all of Nintendo’s suggestions listed, followed by the document itself from Caruso:
Funny Kong, Kong the Kong, Jack Kong, Funky Kong, Bill Kong, Steel Kong, Giant Kong, Big Kong, Kong Down, Kong Dong, Mr. Kong, Custom Kong, Kong Chase, Kong Boy, Kong Man, Kong Fighter, Wild Kong, Rookie Kong, Kong Holiday
There’s a lot to unpack there, isn’t there? Sure, we probably dodged a bullet with “Kong Dong” failing to make it to training camp, but we can’t be the only ones laughing at people’s names there – coming next year, ‘Bill Kong Country Returns HD’. Also, what name is “Funky Kong”? Good job that never appeared again…
The documents also include Miyamoto’s doodle from a 1981 meeting for Donkey Kong. Surely that wasn’t supposed to be a monkey, was it?
Universal apparently lost the court case, with the presiding judge concluding that the two Kongs (the Donkey and the King) were quite different. Another document shared by Caruso contains the following comparison from Judge Sweet:
The farcical, childish and non-sexual Donkey Kong makes a humorous impression by jumping up and down and lunging back and forth to tease Mario. Therefore, Donkey Kong the gorilla is quite different from King Kong, a ferocious gorilla in search of a beautiful woman who goes on a rampage, chases people, crushes them with his feet or throws them to the ground, and fights with dinosaurs, giant snakes, airplanes and helicopters, like everything this ended in his tragic and bloody death.
We have to admit he has a point. Billion dollar movies and theme parks would suggest that Nintendo and Universal are now beginners again, but these documents are still an interesting look at what once was.
Kong Dong Country may never have been a thing – and we can all be thankful for that – but Donkey Kong Country is, and we’re getting an all-new HD release on Switch next January.
