Season 1; Episode 4: Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel

Season 1; Episode 4: Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel

Hello again! It's time for look at Donkey Kong Country! This time, we'll be going over episode 4! This episode is kind of a mixed bag for me, but let's get this reel on the seal.

We open up to Donkey Kong's Treehut, and hear Donkey sighing. We head inside and see that DK is feeling a tad negative about his apperance.

Actually, DK. I think the 'uglies' you have are genetic.

Diddy tells Donkey that he's looking rather swell, but DK still feels that he could use a touch up on his fur. Diddy playfully ridicules DK for thinking such thoughts.

"You know, DK, you might want to actually wear clothes for once. Maybe that will help."

Donkey Kong groans, and tells Diddy that he had promised Candy that they would have a formal lunch together. He feels as though he should look more refined, and less like a robust, rough looking ape.

Also, going by the mirror's reflection, DK has taken up ventriloquism.

"Maybe talking without my mouth moving will impress Candy!"

Diddy explains to DK that he is a big, tough gorilla, and that he should just be himself. The two agree upon it, and have a good laugh about it.

This entire scene is nice. Donkey Kong takes some reflection on his character, and is worried over how his girlfriend will assimilate this when they are put in an unfamiliar setting. Diddy reassures him that Candy will like him for who he is, and that he should not worry over such details.

Makes you wonder how long Candy and Donkey have been going out. That is never really explained in this show, but it's hinted to be over a year.

Banana Fanna Fo Fanna

We follow up to this scene with the lunch that was aforementioned. Since it would probably be too much work to actually create models of exquisite foods, they just use bananas.

"Yummy! A banana!"

Candy Kong seems to be enjoying this luncheon, while Donkey Kong is fawning over her from across the table. Kind of creepy.

"I see bananas when I look in yo- Oh wait. Wrong episode."

DK comes to his senses and tells Candy that the dish they're having is...Banana something. I can't quite make out the second word DK says. It's supposedly foreign!

Candy can't hear DK, so she yells over. We then get some back-and-forth dialogue of Donkey trying to tell Candy the name of the dish, and Candy unable to hear him. It's pretty amusing.

"SPEAK UP DONKEY KONG! I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THIS BANANA!"

Donkey finally gives up on trying to tell Candy the dish from afar, so he gets his plate and walks over to Candy. Turns out, the table they were eating at stretches out as long as DK's treehut. Clever.

Ahah. Get it?

Donkey Kong sits down next to Candy, and is about to tell her the dish, but he gets cut off by the sound of a propeller.

"It's Banana B-"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???"

The two look above, and see that Bluster is dropping in with his Barrelcopter. DK is upset over his arrival. Candy is also bothered over her interrupted luncheon.

Bluster struts over, very strangely, and mocks Donkey over attempting to be formal. Candy questions why Bluster is here, and Bluster responds by telling Candy that her lunch hour is over, and to come back to work. Or at least, it can be presumed that her lunch hour is over. Bluster really just tells Candy to get back to work.

However, Bluster offers Candy a second option; To ditch work with Bluster, and go to a concert.

Banana Slammers? Did DK get his catchphrase from them?

Candy is disgusted by this offer, and tells Bluster that she is going to finish her lunch with DK. Donkey Kong is delighted.

Bluster is unable to see what Candy sees in Donkey Kong, phrasing him as a 'Big, Hairy Ape'.

Candy gets up and tries to muster up some reasons as to why she goes out with DK. Pffft.

"Well...he's....Marketable?"

Candy finally comes up with a reason, and that reason being the same words that Bluster used to describe him. I would say that's impertinent, but DK himself has very few positive traits, so I'll let it slide.

"Is this bitch serious."

Bluster flies away in his Barrelcopter, peeved over how Candy didn't want to go along with his plans. I would be more peeved over having two wasted tickets at your disposal, but alright. He can probably afford it.

Bluster takes Candy's words up for suggestion, and decides to reinvent himself to sweep Candy off her feet.

We transition to the Barrel Works, where we see Bluster walking over to the doors, talking over his new look, and how it will impress Candy. He walks in, and Candy is horrified with-

Oh sweet lord, what is he wearing?!

It looks like a dildo.

Candy asks what exactly he's wearing on his head, to which Bluster tells her that it's a wig; The Banana Flip. He tells her that all rugged apes have this sort of hair, but Candy isn't impressed. She denies Bluster's second asking, and explains that she already goes out with the future ruler; Donkey Kong.

The way she phrases it, makes it seem that it's the only reason she goes out with him. Whether or not it's true, is up to personal opinion.

Bluster mopes over how Candy doesn't want none of his love, and just why Donkey Kong is just so darn special. As he approaches the door, he realizes that it is the Crystal Coconut that defines DK's rulership. Oh no.

We cut over to Cranky's bridge, at night, and start our first musical number. Bluster is sneaking over to Cranky's Cabin to steal the Crystal Coconut, just to gain all the power and impress Candy. Desprateness at it's finest.

He creeps into the Cabin, with Cranky asleep. Cranky taps his cane, triggering the Crystal Coconut Safe to open, which allows Bluster to steal it easily. Why doesn't King K. Rool's goons do this?

Aaaaaah!!! Attack of the 40-foot gorilla!

Just as our song ends, with Bluster stealing the jewel, we cut to Donkey Kong who has awoken from a bad dream. He decides to go to Cranky's to tell him about his nightmare; About the Crystal Coconut being stolen. Oh, and Diddy is there also.

"Well, you see- OH GOD MY NECK."

Cranky tells DK that his dream is just what he said; dumb. He says that the Coconut is safe, and steps out of the way to show him. Of course, the Coconut is not there, which suprises the bunch of them.

Donkey is impressed over his cosmic dreaming, and Cranky quickly blames King K. Rool for this theft. Donkey Kong finds a buisness card on the floor, and Diddy swipes it and reads it out:

Bluster Barrel Works: Bluster Kong - President

Seeing as Bluster is too much of an idiot to realize the danger he has putten the Kongs in, Cranky orders DK to get the Coconut back.

The next day, we see Bluster, still sporting that ridiculous wig, go up to Candy. and shows her the Crystal Coconut. Candy proclaims the Coconut as a fake, and Bluster inexplicably gets on the conveyor belt, and gets the Coconut knocked out of his hands by the stamping machine.

And just HOW did this even happen?!

The Crystal Coconut is going toward the reject belt, and Bluster tries to rush over to save it. Candy prevents his efforts, rather harshly.

How does one set of buttons make so much happen?

Donkey and Diddy barge in, looking for the Coconut, and Diddy spots it on the belt. Diddy runs over to it and hops on belt, kicking the Coconut away to DK.

"Don't worry big buddy! I got it-"

"AAAAHHORRGAGHHHH!!! MY SPINE!!!"

Donkey Kong catches the Coconut, with Bluster coming in for a charging tackle. Donkey Kong tells Candy to catch the Coconut, and passes it over to her, before being brought down by Bluster.

Candy is caught off guard, and allows the Coconut to pass by her, and onto the conveyor belt. The Coconut gets pressed into a barrel.

"BANANA BURGENLAGUH"

The Coconut gets stuffed into the numbered barrel, the only numbered one mind you, '007'. Obvious reference is obvious. The spy music pretty much gives it away.

"The name's Barrel.
James Barrel."

Bluster tells us that the barrel is scheduled for transport, and we see the barrel go into the Delivery Service Rocket. Donkey and Diddy rush outside, but Diddy stops and tells DK that it's too late to stop it. Donkey Kong ignores Diddy and goes towards the bottom of the rocket. The rocket takes off.

"Oh boy! Third-degree burns!"

We fade to black, and after a commercial break, we join back to see the rocket still in the sky. Diddy is distraught over the loss of the Coconut, and Donkey Kong is covered in soot.

"Maybe going towards the rocket engine was a bad idea."

Donkey Kong tells Diddy that he's fine, then Diddy does his bonus-losing animation while being upset over how it's all Bluster's fault for losing the Crystal Coconut. Donkey reminds Diddy that they have to get the Coconut back, to which Diddy questions how. DK tells Diddy that the rocket will have to come down sometime, and then we transition to K. Rool's lair.

We see that King K. Rool is hammering something off-screen, as General Klump marches over to tell him the results of their mission. Seeing as they didn't successfully get the Coconut, K. Rool tells Klump to get it, since he needs it to provide a power-source for his new invention.

Oh right, the Coconut is also the ultimate power source to practically everything. Cranky mentioned that, right? Personally, I would just make wishes to power myself up, but whatever floats your boat, K. Rool.

Klump tells King K. Rool that the Crystal Coconut is missing, and that his spies have told him that the Coconut was last seen leaving the Bluster Barrel Works via Rocket Barrel. It's current destination? Unknown.

K. Rool has a fit and tells Klump to go find where it's going and get there first. He then explains his new invention: A Barrel Satellite. It would be designed to be the ultimate spying machine. Not exactly sure why he would need that, since he would have the Crystal Coconut in his possession. Plus, his current spies seem competent enough, seeing how fast they relayed the information of the Crystal Coconut's whereabouts.

It's a giant barrel with herpes.

Klump goes off from King K. Rool's orders, and we rejoin our protagonists at the Barrel Works, with Donkey and Diddy trying to get answers from Bluster. Bluster is unwilling to cooperate, to which DK tells Bluster if he doesn't want to tell him where the Coconut is, he'll beat the shit out of him.

Okay, on one hand, Donkey Kong is being an unlikable jerkass. On the other, Bluster is an irregularly-likable jerkass. This is seriously one of the worst things about this show; Everyone either ranges from unlikable, to uninteresting, to just being okay. More often than not, I find myself rooting for another character, rather than the main protagonist. It's troubling, if you get what I'm saying.

Some characters have better episodes than others, but that's not really enough to compensate for the entire series.

I'll only side with DK with this one, since Bluster's the entire reason this episode even happened.

Bluster then exclaims that if he helped Donkey Kong get the Coconut, he would make DK and Diddy look big heroes, and him like a jerk. Candy tells Bluster that he already is one, and goes on her break.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Candy. Too bad you'll be gone the remainder of this episode.

Diddy tells Donkey that they're just wasting time, and the two walk off. Donkey reminds Bluster that this is all his fault, which finally gets Bluster to give a hint to the Coconut's location. A tiny hint; Check the beach. Donkey Kong sarcastically thanks Bluster, since the beach is practically the entire shoreline of the island. Donkey and Diddy leave the Barrel Works.

Not even 5 seconds after they leave, Klump and two Kritters walk through the other door. Bluster gets scared, and reluctantly asks what they want with him. Klump asks for the Crystal Coconut's location, to which Bluster refuses telling.

It's the curse of the gray-tongue again!

After being threatened with Klaptraps, Bluster gives in and picks up the clipboard to stall the goons. Klump swipes the clipboard, and reveals the trajectory of the Rocket Barrel: Funky's Flights, at the beach. With the location in mind, Klump orders his Kritters to march with him to the beach.

After a cutaway to Funky's place, with Diddy telling us that they've already searched the entire beach, and is unsure on what to do now. Donkey tells him that they should drop in on Funky, since he is hungry. Donkey Kong calls for Funky, and Funky tells them to wait a moment.

I really love the design of Funky's place.

It's probably not secure, but it's still pretty cool.

Donkey and Diddy come right in, and DK asks Funky what he's doing. Funky shows a picture of his new invention: The Couch Potato Cruiser.

That's great Funky, but I'm pretty sure that's not safe.

Donkey Kong is looking around in Funky's fridge for bananas, to which Diddy penalizes DK for even thinking of curbing his hunger at a time like this. Funky replies to Donkey that his banana barrel had gotten delivered, but that the barrel was in bad condition. Donkey and Diddy have started to speculate about Funky's barrel, and Diddy asks if the barrel had a number on it. Funky dimwittingly responds that the barrel had two 'O's, and a '7'.

Diddy realizes that this barrel is the one they were looking for, and asks Funky where it is. Funky had apparently hauled the barrel back to the Barrel Works, because of the bad condition of it. Diddy is disheartened to know that Bluster has his hands on the Coconut again, but Funky actually takes back what he says, and tells the two that the barrel had fallen out of his plane, while he was preforming one of his stunts. Funky Kong tells them that the barrel had landed in the White Mountains, and Diddy is upset further, since the White Mountains is where a character named, 'Eddie the Mean Old Yeti', lives.

Fade to another scene with the trio in Funky's plane, ready to take off to the White Mountains. We see the plane go off the pier, and Funky does some crazy maneuvering, while DK and Diddy panic. He eventually gets the plane on the right path, and we later see him flying over the Banana Plantation. From the trees, we can see a Barrelcopter pop out, with Bluster as the pilot. He apparently has plans to follow DK and Funky right to the Coconut.

Wait, how did Bluster find out that Funky was flying Donkey and Diddy to the coconut? Was he just waiting in those trees by the off-chance that Funky might fly over him so he could high-tail them? Bah. Nevermind.

Also, why is he still wearing that ridiculous wig?

The Kong trio have arrived at the White Mountains, and Donkey and Diddy go search for the barrel. Diddy asks Funky to stay and wait for them, but Funky declines and leaves to go get his banana supply.

"Hahah! I'mma leave these suckas to freeze!"

After Funky leaves, Donkey hears some loud thudding in the distance. Diddy takes this sound as Eddie the Mean Old Yeti. Donkey Kong notes that the sound is coming from a nearby cave.

Here, we get introduced to another original character for this show: Eddie. He is also a retextured Donkey Kong.

Almost as dumb as Krusha. I like him more in Season 2.

Eddie is banging the barrel with a stick, but then stops as Diddy and Donkey approach him. After making some small-talk, Donkey Kong asks Eddie for the barrel, to which Eddie refuses. It had apparently bonked him on the head, once Funky dropped it before. Therefore, it is his barrel. Donkey Kong then says that he only wants the contents of the barrel, Eddie still declines, and runs off with the barrel.

"So that's Eddie the Yeti?"
"Yuh-huh. And he's got the Coconut."

After a very small chase sequence, the three make it back to the same cave that they were before, as Eddie continues beating the barrel. We then get into our second musical segment: A song about Donkey and Diddy trying to strike a deal with Eddie. A match stick, for the barrel.

After lighting the match, and succumbing to the fire, Eddie agrees to the trade. Eddie tosses the barrel to DK, and Diddy asks about Eddie's surname. Eddie doesn't know why he's called the Mean Old Yeti, and then right after, he gets burned from the match, triggering his rage.

That flame is paper thin.

Eddie yells in anger, making Donkey and Diddy run away. They run across the Mountain top, before blindly falling into a pit, dropping the barrel above as they fall. Bluster appears and has the barrel in his hand. He looks down in the pit, with Diddy asking for Bluster to help them out. Being the jerk he is, Bluster turns down their need, to go off and be the hero.

Oh piss off.

Before Bluster can disembark, Klump and his Kritters appear from across the pit. How they managed to find the Kongs, is a mystery on it's own. Klump orders Bluster to hand over the barrel. Bluster at first refuses, but promptly does so once threatened. Klump is assured since he no longer has to say, 'Fire', but upon saying so, the Kritters idiotically commence firing.

There might be tons of us, but we all share the same brain capacity.

Klump orders them to stop. The Kritters stop briefly, but continue shooting once Klump mentions the word 'Fire' again. Klump doesn't even bother trying to stop them, and mopes about how King K. Rool won't need his services once the barrel satellite is finished. Donkey and Diddy can see the Klaptrap shootings from above, and come to the conclusion that King K. Rool is not far from them. Meanwhile, Bluster is hiding from behind the barrel, and he gets his wig chomped away from Klaptraps.

Where's the joke?

Once Bluster no longer has his wig, he runs off, accidently kicking away the barrel into the pit. Say bye to Bluster, since he's no longer relevant to the episode after this.

The barrel falls into the pit, and Eddie dashes in to catch it. Diddy asks him why he could just take the crucial jewel to the entire island, in which Eddie responds by restating his name. He then runs off.

"This Eddie the Yeti guy is getting on my nerves."

Back with Klump, he is currently monologuing over how upset King K. Rool is going to be when he comes up empty handed. He then decides to blame the Kritters for the loss. He then orders his troops to march back to the lair.

We join with DK and Diddy, trying to find the way where Eddie went, since they have reached a cross-road in the mine tunnels. Diddy decides their routes to find Eddie, but suddenly, Eddie appears on the tracks, running from something.

He is actually running from a minecart with two Kritters, that were with Klump, chasing after him. They head into a tunnel off-screen, and Eddie restates his name once more, before getting the bananas beaten out of him. The Kritters have gotten the barrel, and they head back to K. Rool's lair. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong make haste to catch them.

Gotta go fast!

Back with King K. Rool, he is asking Klump where the Crystal Coconut is. General Klump starts making up a story, and then the two Kritters come in yelling that they have retrieved the Coconut. King K. Rool questions Klump again as to what is going on, and Klump explains that the barrel contains the Crystal Coconut. K. Rool tells the Kritters to attach the barrel to his satellite, so that he can finally launch it and reign supreme across the island. Some Kritters cheer, and one Kritter places the barrel on top of the satellite. It's not really attached, so I'm not sure how the barrel is supposed to lift off.

Silly Kritter. That's not attached.

Donkey and Diddy peep from one of the tunnel entrances, and see that they are in King K. Rool's Factory. They somehow sneak over to a minecart, and King K. Rool tells his troops to get ready to transport the barrel over to the desert. Apparently Kongo Bongo Island has a desert, and it's right outside K. Rool's lair!

Diddy notes that if K. Rool launches the barrel into orbit, that it will be the end for them all. By the end, Diddy really just means that there won't be anymore bananas. He repeats this three times, just to make sure it gets through to DK.

"Durrr.....bananers...."

The minecarts holding the Kremlings, the satellite, and the Kongs, start up and go toward the entrance of the factory. After a fade-away, we see the barrel satellite is all set up, and K. Rool and his goons are ready to launch in one minute. Donkey and Diddy appear from behind the satellite, and King K. Rool tells his Kritters to get them, while he continues the countdown. Diddy tells Donkey Kong to deal with the Kritters while he gets the Coconut, and the duo do just that.

That was easy!

Donkey and Diddy make off with the Coconut, and King K. Rool just lets them go. He actually didn't even need the Coconut at all, since he says that he another power-source to work off of.

Oh, so the entire plot of the Kremlings trying to get the Coconut for the power supply was a complete waste? Okay. I suppose it's better than watching DK and Diddy chase after Eddie for the remaining 4 minutes.

The countdown timer on the barrel reaches zero, and the launch begins! That is, if the barrel actually worked properly. The barrel satellite starts to deconstruct itself, and we see that the whole thing really was just a bunch of barrels stapled together.

There was literally nothing in that barrel.

Klump exclaims that the entire malfunction was neat looking, and tells K. Rool that he'll probably need his services again. He then dashes off, and K. Rool realizes that his entire project was sabotaged by Klump, and chases after him.

"I don't know how you did it, but I'll have you decommissioned once I get my claws on you!"

With the Coconut safely back with Cranky, Donkey Kong smartly suggests that Cranky should find a safer place to keep the Coconut. Cranky doesn't take DK's good advice, and just says that he'll whack anyone with his cane if they try to get the Coconut. Since that totally worked out in the past 3 episodes.

Eddie the Mean Old Yeti then barges in through the door, with a large club at hand, and then starts a skirmish inside the cabin, as we watch from afar.

"EDDIE HIS OWN CHARACTER! NOT RECOLOR!"

We fade to black on that cliffhanger, and that's the end of the episode! Hurrah!

This episode is pretty jumbled, and I really have mixed feelings towards most of the story. It started off pretty decent, but then it just got brought down with all the elements thrown in. Every episode has to have the Kremlings incorporated into the plot, one way or another, and this episode kind of forces them in. Not as badly as last episode, but still. If they went more into the plot of Bluster, rather than throw him under the bus at the last minute, this episode could've actually had something to it.

But, I suppose we can't always get what we want. Bluster and Eddie were seriously a pain in this episode. Thankfully, Bluster actually does get more amusing from here on out. Eddie as well, but more so in Season 2.

Until next episode! The next one really is quite something.