Season 1; Episode 9: Cranky's Tickle Tonic
Hoo-Hah! Welcome back to more Donkey Kong Country! This episode revolves around our usual monkey duo, and Krocs, but with the added bonus of Cranky, Funky, and Eddie. Let's just get right into it, shall we?
Our story begins with a shot of the White Mountains, and some banging going on.
And then we quickly transition to Cranky's cabin. With the banging still continuing. Eddie must really be throwing quite the ruckus if his noise can reach the jungle.
Anywho, we zoom inside the cabin, with the doors creepily opening to a sleeping Cranky.
It seems as though Cranky doesn't have a bed, since he's seen sleeping on a lounging chair. All the banging wakes Cranky up in frustration.
As it turns out, it seems as though Eddie the Mean Old Yeti, (You know. From episode 4 or whatever.), has been bothering the living heck out of everyone the past nights. You know, like a dog barking in the middle of night. It's annoying.
Cranky has had enough of it, and goes over to his little lab area, and starts looking in a book: Mr. Bongo's Guide to Curses, Potions, and Spells.
Cranky starts conducting a concoction made up of gunk. And a cherry. For good measure, of course. Cranky is then prompted to add the secret ingredient to the mixture. What exactly is the secret ingredient? Who knows. Either way, I'm pretty sure that all of the things Cranky put in that bottle in not edible, save for the cherry.
Anyway, there is a catch to the vital ingredient. It must be added before it is used, otherwise it will not work, like some medication or something.
Seeing as Cranky's well...Cranky. He decides to try it out on himself first, just so that he can be sure that the drink will work on Mean Ol' Eddie.
Cranky downs the drink, and tosses away the flask. Guess it was just as nasty as I expected.
Banana Transition to the dock, and we see that Eddie's tantrum has gotten to the other residents. Namely, Donkey, Diddy, and Funky.
The trio exchange some words of exhaustion, before Funky finally asks just why Eddie seems to be up all night banging and whacking away with his club. Donkey Kong just explains that Mean Old Yetis just become more meaner as they grow old. So, wait. Does that mean that there are more Mean Old Yetis? That Eddie isn't some mutant snow ape creature? What do you know.
Just then and there, Cranky teleports in, via hologram, and is in a laughing fit. The Kongs are bewildered, as Cranky tries to break in a sentence: For Donkey Kong to get over to his cabin.
We fade to King K. Rool's factory, to where it seems they too are exhausted from Eddie's nightly disruptions.
Also, something worth noting; when it fades into the next scene, you can hear the beginning riff of King K. Rool's lair play, but then immediately cuts off, and gets replaced with another tune. It then reutrns back to the first track afterwards during K. Rool's dialouge. Seems as though someone didn't want to bother with the sound mixing in that scene.
King K. Rool uses the same lines that Donkey, Diddy, and Funky used, as an allusion. Just to show that everyone on the island is suffering from this dilemma. We hear some snoring off screen, coming from none other than General Klump.
King K. Rool prompts Klump to wake up. Being as egotistical as he is, K. Rool declares that no one shall sleep if he doesn't.
Due to all the noise, King K. Rool cannot come up with any new plans to rule Kongo Bongo, and because of this, he had sent General Klump to investigate on the matter. Klump tells of his scouts' findings; in that the source is coming from the White Mountains. You know, just in case any new viewer doesn't know where Eddie the Mean Old Yeti lives.
Klump tells that his scouts' still haven't been able to find the exact source, so King K. Rool orders Klump to go and investigate himself. Klump complies, and then we get a rather awkward frontal view of the factory.
Then a good 3 seconds later, we hear Klump snoring away, and K. Rool screaming at him to get to his mission.
Banana Transition back to Donkey and Diddy, who have gotten over to Cranky's Cabin.
Cranky shows them the potion that will do away with Eddie's mean old mood. Donkey blatantly tells Diddy that Eddie isn't the only one who could use that potion, to which Cranky obviously stating he heard that.
Diddy asks what exactly the plan is, and Cranky tells him that potion is none other than, "Tickle Tonic". Hence the episode name.
It'll have the same effects that Cranky had earlier, and nip Eddie out of his bad mood. Donkey Kong ensures Cranky that he'll bring it over to Eddie, lickity split, but he then gets interrupted by Cranky. Cranky then tells of the secret ingredient that must be added before tonic is ingested, otherwise the potion will not work. So for that reason, Cranky is going to deliver the potion to Eddie himself.
Because having a frail, old ape confront a raging neanderthal for medication would be a much more ideal choice than choosing a burly, yet idiotic ape to do the job.
Wait. None of those options are a good idea. How about we just send Diddy instead? That way, if he gets maimed, we can always have Funky join in as second banana?
Anyway, Cranky is going to flying over to the White Mountains via Funky's Flights. Donkey and Diddy are boggled by the idea, but since there isn't any other reliable method, aside from walking, Cranky has no choice.
Cranky leaves his cabin in the hands of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, and tells them not touch anything. But since this is Donkey and Diddy we're talking about, of course something is going to wrong.
And not even 5 seconds in, Diddy already suggests on looking through Cranky's spell books for a recipe to relieve the two of their exhaustion. Way to go, Diddy.
In case you somehow haven't noticed yet, I don't like Diddy Kong in this series. Which is a shame since he's one of my favorite DKC characters.
Despite Donkey Kong's hesitation on the whole idea, Diddy persuades Donkey to go through a book. Donkey Kong finds a recipe, and despite it not being the recipe that Diddy asked for, Donkey Kong starts our first musical number using the recipe words as the lyrics.
Also, it seems as though the Crystal Coconut's celestial globe has creepily opened.
This song is a combination of what I believe is Salsa, with some Island Sound incorporated. The lyrics are an improvisation, extended version of the recipe that DK found, with Diddy apparently mixing a bunch of unseen ingredients, while waving his arms like a mad monkey. It's a very nice tune, and I'll give props to Pure West for this arrangement, even though I'm not an expert on music or anything. I'll even give the show the added bonus of having a smooth transition into the song, and having the plot advance alongside it, which is how musical scores should be handled in shows like this.
Something worth noting: This is the only time where Donkey Kong's voice actor: Richard Yearwood, actually sings instead of DK's usual singing voice: Sterling Jarvis. He actually isn't too bad, and it certainly does sound less jarring whenever Donkey Kong switches voices during other episodes.
Also... The Crystal Coconut is floating around.
Then after some more shenanigans, our catchy song ends, and the two clink their glasses and get ready to drink...whatever they just made.
And that's when the Crystal Coconut flies straight in front of them.
Being the dimwits that they are, they accidently mistook: "Say One Banana, then Zing-Zang-Zote, then say Coconut, and it should float", as a fancy drink recipe, when in actuality, it was a spell to make the Crystal Coconut literally float.
Oh, and this little exchange between the two over the spell actually working made me laugh a little.
Diddy and Donkey chase after the fleeing coconut, and then stop themselves. Donkey tells Diddy that they messed up, even though it was Diddy's fault in the first place. Diddy looks up to DK for what their next plan of action should be, and Donkey tells Diddy to chase after the Coconut. The two do so, and we go to our first commercial break.
After that, we see that Cranky Kong is ready to fly with Funky on his biplane. Cranky is already having second thoughts in having Funky being his pilot, and while having Donkey Kong being the guard for the Crystal Coconut. Bad news, Cranky,Diddy DK already messed up, so you might as well go on with whatever the writers throw at you next.
Funky Kong tells Cranky to chill and enjoy the ride. Cranky loses his cool and notes that even if Donkey and Diddy screwed up, he won't even be alive to see it.
I seriously love it when Funky and Cranky's character goes right. Funky Kong is just hilarous to listen to and having Cranky as his foil just makes it even worth more while. It's a reason why this episode is one of the better ones of the DKC series.
Fade back to Donkey and Diddy swinging on vines to catch the Coconut. They discuss over how bad their situation is, and Diddy suggests that they need to find a way to do....something. He gets abruptly interrupted by Donkey Kong mid-sentence, who tells him that they don't need no more spells, and that he'll fix the mess he caused his way. Even though, you know. It wasn't Donkey Kong's fault in the first place.
Fade again to Cranky and Funky, who are now in the air. Cranky is yelling at the top of his lungs that Funky's antics are about to make his heart stop. Funky, of course, can't hear a single thing he's saying, due to the plane's engine rotor.
Well, actually, I lied. Funky can hear only faintly to whatever Cranky's saying. Which leads to a hilarious scene where Funky does some extreme moves with his biplane due to miscommunication with Cranky's pleads.
After almost losing the Tickle Tonic, Cranky scolds Funky on his stunting and tells him to not do that again. Of course, Funky only hears the last bit, and Cranky goes hollering once again.
Then, we fade once more to King K. Rool's factory. Oh right. They're also in this episode.
King K. Rool is still struggling to get even a wink of sleep, but since the banging is still occuring, It's very obvious that General Klump hasn't done anything about the source of the problem.
Turns out, he's sleeping on the job.
King K. Rool wakes him up, and Klump tells him that the source is, of course, Eddie the Mean Old Yeti. Hard to believe that we're almost 12 minutes in, and we haven't even caught a glimpse of Eddie.
Klump calls out for Krusha to confirm his findings, but it turns out that even he's sleeping.
Krusha awakens, and King K. Rool demands Klump that he wants Eddie silenced. Klump misinterprets his demand that he wants Krusha to be silenced, instead. King K. Rool snaps at Klump, and then, something interesting happens on the monitor.
King K. Rool then disdainfully asks Klump if he's seem anything else unsual. Klump denies this, and the Crystal Coconut floats all around them. Where is Donkey and Diddy in all of this? Weren't they following the coconut?
Now that the Kremlings know of the floating Crystal Coconut, King K. Rool tells Klump to abandon his mission of stopping Eddie, and to instead chase and retrieve the Crystal Coconut, which seems to be heading toward the Barrel Factory. King K. Rool then makes it his task to go and see to it that Eddie gets taken care of. Well, it took 8 episodes, but it's finally nice to see that King K. Rool is being strategic and on-point for once.
Banana Transition to the Bluster Barrel Works, and we see Donkey and Diddy looking around. Turns out, they lost sight of the Coconut a while back, so that answers my question.
Also, Bluster does not have an apperance in this episode. Neither does Candy for that matter. Which I like. I like very much. It just shows that locations don't have to have a particular character strapped onto it for every episode.
The duo spot the floating Coconut, and Diddy actually gets a good idea to use Bluster's Barrelcopter to fly to it. Since it's there, you know, and Bluster isn't anywhere in sight.
Donkey and Diddy fly after the Coconut, and Diddy retrieves it. However, down below, we see Klump and Krusha ready to deploy some hungry Klaptraps on the Barrelcopter.
Two Kritters fire Klaptraps on the Barrelcopter, and it shortly after plummets down into the jungle.
The Crystal Coconut abadons ship, and flies off, with Klump and Krew chasing after it.
Transition to the White Mountains, where we see that Funky and Cranky are finally almost there. Cranky spots Eddie, and asks Funky to fly them down. Funky Kong still can't hear Cranky very well, and Cranky loses his cool, once again, and asks Funky if there's anyway for them to communicate properly. Seems as though Funky caught that one, and then, this happens:
This scene always makes me laugh.
Onto our second commercial break, and after that, we return to the wreckage of the Barrelcopter, and see Donkey and Diddy wasted on the ground.
Diddy smartly notes that if the cause of their wreckage was from Klump, then that would mean the Crystal Coconut is as good as theirs, and off to King K. Rool as they sit.
Donkey Kong is really down the dumps, and even exclaims that he doesn't deserve to be future ruler.
This leads to a nice moment between Diddy and Donkey. Diddy is in shock that DK just said that, and tells him that even though the Crystal Coconut did say that he was going to be the ruler of all Kongs, it didn't say that it was going to be easy, and or perfect. Donkey takes those words and resolves his self-doubt, and learns that it's how one deals with mistakes is what shapes you to be the better being that you'll soon become. With one final nudge of encouragement, Donkey Kong is back to his joyous self, and the two set off to track down the Kremlings and take back the Coconut.
During some of my first viewings of this episode, this was really one of those scenes that I just didn't like watching, but after looking over it a couple times, I can see just how true it is to each of their characters it is, while also providing a nice moral to the audience that mistakes happen, and that it's how you learn to deal with those mistakes that help you turn into the bigger person in the end. It's a really nice scene in this series, if not for one flaw (Besides the ugly animation and couple tacky lines):
It was still Diddy's fault in the first place.
Fade back to Cranky and Funky, who apparently survived the crash landing, because the biplane never even crashed at all. The two of them are freezing in the snow, and after a short arguement, Eddie the Mean Old Yeti finally makes his apperance in this episode.
Funky Kong tells Eddie the situation, and to stop disturbing everyone on the island. Then, a little exchange among the three of them, involving some word-play, goes on about how Cranky they all are, only to end in Cranky and Funky running away from the club-carrying rampant Yeti.
While that's going on, we return back to Donkey and Diddy, who are outside of K. Rool's factory, ready to steal back the Crystal Coconut from Klump and his cronies. I guess they must've gotten the Coconut off-screen.
Oh jeeze. There's so many things about this episode I love, and this scene is also another one. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are coming up with a plan to get the coconut back, but they didn't really have any sort of game plan, so they decide to go in and wing it. Just like how the actual video games play out. It also leads to a humorous chat between them.
Fade once more to Cranky and Funky, where it seems they've gotten away from Eddie. Funky explains how Eddie's bad vibes are totally messing with his mojo, while Cranky tells us that it'll be next to impossible to get Eddie to calmly take the tonic, and that the solution is already starting to freeze. I suppose having no game plan runs in the family of Kongs.
And with that, Funky actually provides a good idea: To launch a snowball with the Tickle Tonic mixture down the Yeti's throat. Simple, fast, and impractical, but crazy enough to work. Cranky praises Funky on his idea, and tells him to make a snowball, while he adds the secret ingredient.
Back in K. Rool's factory, we General Klump ready to leave on a minecart to inform King K. Rool of the successful capture of the Crystal Coconut. Krusha's job is to stand guard (Or in this case, sit guard.) on the Coconut, alongside the troops of a couple of Kritters. Seems like a fool proof plan. Klump informs Krusha to not fall asleep, and to guard the Coconut with his life on the line.
Krusha tells Klump that he'll make him proud, and Klump races away on the minecart toward the right exit. We see that Donkey and Diddy have infiltrated K. Rool's base, and are currently behind a minecart, not far from the Kremlings. Diddy is now distressed over how they'll no way of getting the Crystal Coconut without any sort of commotion. Donkey Kong that tells him that he actually has a plan, which only makes Diddy even more distressed.
Then, in the next scene, we see that Krusha and the Kritters are asleep. I think that the writers wanted to convey that some time has passed, but they kinda didn't do it right.
Diddy is dying to know the second part of DK's plan, to which he responds that it's up to him to retrieve the Crystal Coconut from Krusha, without waking him up. Easier said then done, DK, but I suppose a simple ape can't come up with anything more than a simple plan. I mean, I can see why he would ask Diddy to do it, since he's more light on his feet and more ideal for stealth.
Diddy is distraught from such task, and we fade (for the dozen time) back to the White Mountains. The two hear something in the mountain mine, and Funky gets ready to fire the single shot of Tickle Tonic, but holds back on it. Turns out, it was King K. Rool in a minecart making the noise. I'm not exactly sure why it's taken King K. Rool this long to get to the White Mountains, but better late than never I suppose.
And just like that, General Klump also comes through the mountain mine track, and relays the good news to King K. Rool. He is delighted by the news, and Cranky is upset with DK for obvious reasons. With hope dying, Cranky jinxes the lot of the them, and Eddie finds them all. Eddie hollers, scaring everyone, and causing Funky to throw the snowball at him. Eddie batters up and swings the snowball right into King K. Rool's mouth. With his tonsils covered in Tickle Tonic, King K. Rool, and then soon, everyone starts laughing.
The entire build up to the moment, with the soundtrack and voices, is what really drives it. What can I say? Laughing is contagious.
However, the laughter and hysterics soon takes it's toll, when it triggers an avalanche. Cranky, Funky, and Eddie take notice and flee into the mountain mines, while the Kremlings are left laughing until the scene cuts off and leaves us with the question as to what happened to the them.
Returning back to Donkey and Diddy, we see that Diddy is struggling to get the Coconut from a sleeping Krusha. After some slight rumbling from the avalanche, Donkey prompts Diddy to hurry. Krusha awakens from this, and notices what's happening.
Our story begins with a shot of the White Mountains, and some banging going on.
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| Ah! Some nice white aurora. |
Anywho, we zoom inside the cabin, with the doors creepily opening to a sleeping Cranky.
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| Wrinkly: "Cranky! I'm hooooome!" |
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| Maybe sleeping on a chair is how Cranky's back got so bad. |
Cranky has had enough of it, and goes over to his little lab area, and starts looking in a book: Mr. Bongo's Guide to Curses, Potions, and Spells.
Cranky starts conducting a concoction made up of gunk. And a cherry. For good measure, of course. Cranky is then prompted to add the secret ingredient to the mixture. What exactly is the secret ingredient? Who knows. Either way, I'm pretty sure that all of the things Cranky put in that bottle in not edible, save for the cherry.
Anyway, there is a catch to the vital ingredient. It must be added before it is used, otherwise it will not work, like some medication or something.
Seeing as Cranky's well...Cranky. He decides to try it out on himself first, just so that he can be sure that the drink will work on Mean Ol' Eddie.
Cranky downs the drink, and tosses away the flask. Guess it was just as nasty as I expected.
Banana Transition to the dock, and we see that Eddie's tantrum has gotten to the other residents. Namely, Donkey, Diddy, and Funky.
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| Hangover City. |
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| "I sure am happy about all this." |
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| "I'll have whatever he's having." |
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| Ugh. |
King K. Rool uses the same lines that Donkey, Diddy, and Funky used, as an allusion. Just to show that everyone on the island is suffering from this dilemma. We hear some snoring off screen, coming from none other than General Klump.
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| Even if he's exhausted, General Klump is always on duty. |
Due to all the noise, King K. Rool cannot come up with any new plans to rule Kongo Bongo, and because of this, he had sent General Klump to investigate on the matter. Klump tells of his scouts' findings; in that the source is coming from the White Mountains. You know, just in case any new viewer doesn't know where Eddie the Mean Old Yeti lives.
Klump tells that his scouts' still haven't been able to find the exact source, so King K. Rool orders Klump to go and investigate himself. Klump complies, and then we get a rather awkward frontal view of the factory.
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| It's still a bunny! |
Banana Transition back to Donkey and Diddy, who have gotten over to Cranky's Cabin.
Cranky shows them the potion that will do away with Eddie's mean old mood. Donkey blatantly tells Diddy that Eddie isn't the only one who could use that potion, to which Cranky obviously stating he heard that.
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| "We're in such close proximity of each other. You could at least try to be subtle you dodo." |
It'll have the same effects that Cranky had earlier, and nip Eddie out of his bad mood. Donkey Kong ensures Cranky that he'll bring it over to Eddie, lickity split, but he then gets interrupted by Cranky. Cranky then tells of the secret ingredient that must be added before tonic is ingested, otherwise the potion will not work. So for that reason, Cranky is going to deliver the potion to Eddie himself.
Because having a frail, old ape confront a raging neanderthal for medication would be a much more ideal choice than choosing a burly, yet idiotic ape to do the job.
Wait. None of those options are a good idea. How about we just send Diddy instead? That way, if he gets maimed, we can always have Funky join in as second banana?
Anyway, Cranky is going to flying over to the White Mountains via Funky's Flights. Donkey and Diddy are boggled by the idea, but since there isn't any other reliable method, aside from walking, Cranky has no choice.
Cranky leaves his cabin in the hands of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, and tells them not touch anything. But since this is Donkey and Diddy we're talking about, of course something is going to wrong.
And not even 5 seconds in, Diddy already suggests on looking through Cranky's spell books for a recipe to relieve the two of their exhaustion. Way to go, Diddy.
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| The look of a chimp who has no idea what he's doing. |
Despite Donkey Kong's hesitation on the whole idea, Diddy persuades Donkey to go through a book. Donkey Kong finds a recipe, and despite it not being the recipe that Diddy asked for, Donkey Kong starts our first musical number using the recipe words as the lyrics.
Also, it seems as though the Crystal Coconut's celestial globe has creepily opened.
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| "Soon. I shall have my revenge on those dimwitted apes!" |
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| "Ả̢̨̩̘̜̦̲̣͚͔͍̣̇ͭ̽͑͌̚Ḧ̶̶͈͖̮̺̰͓͕̬̭̪̻̤̱̱̫̣̠̦́͛͗̐͆͂͛͂̒̑̿̿́A̴̭̟̤̜̟̠̳͙̻̰̥͆̎̀̓̒̇͆͐ͨͦͯ̊̕ͅḪ͎͚ͧ͆̂ͬ͊̋ͦ̄͛̉͗͌͆̅́̚͝A̴̡̱͖̹͌ͭ̎́̕͘ͅͅH́ͮ͊̀̽ͮ̇͂̈́ͧ̈́̑҉͏̫͕̯̭̣̜͕̝̲̱̞̹̠̠̖̹̥̫͇A̴ͧ̍̌͑ͬͧͣ̂͑ͣͬ҉̬̫͚Ḫ̜͙͈͇͍̘̭̺̝̈́͗̐ͤ̎ͯ͂̄̍̓͋͊̓̕͢͝ͅA̢̺̮̙̗̜̍ͥ̊̅ͤͮ̆͌͑ͧ͛̓̓͞H̴̡̼̻͙̜͓͎̣͓̺̭̼͉̹͓͍͛̓̉̿ͣͩ͋͛ͨ̂̐́́ͅA̭̺͓̹̻̥̮̜̻̖͛̑̆͛̈́̐̀͞H̶̴ͮ̏ͮ̔̃̈́̑̽͊̏͜҉͎̩̰̖̻̫̝͈͈͡A̷̷̝̰̜̙̪̻̘̫̗̮͇͙ͪ̉̿̉̓̓ͦͨ̄̇ͥ͜͠H͌ͣ̊̈ͮͥ̏̈̅̽̃͂̓͗̿̔ͬ̇͠͏̀͞҉̹͉̜̥̬̱̻̞̰̱A̢̢̝̙̣̹̯̫̤ͮ̏̔̃̊͒̒ͮ̈ͮ̀̚͠͠ͅḢ̱̜̮̹̲̂ͥ̂̚͢͢A̵̢ͭ̋͂̀̉̋̈̍̾́̑҉̩͉̙̜̖Ĥ̴̸̡̛̪̲̟̱̖͕̟̞̣̠͔̏̎̑͛̓̇ͦ͂̃̚Ä͍͕̳̣͙͓́̋̔̋̀̕͞A̵̡̳͚̞̮̲͈̜̟̦ͣͬͮͩ̀̍ͮ̒ͥ͊̈́̓̾ͫͧ̂ͭ̎̀H̢͎̣̥̻̩͎̞̳͉̖͇͎̫̲͙͙̘ͮͯ͆̇͂ͬ̓ͤͩͩͨ͛͟Ą̵͓̫̰̼̙̝͈̅̑̈́ͥͨ̋ͫͦͪ̔̆͐́̀́̚H̶̨̦̪͙͚͋̒ͫ̐̈́͆̏͊ͧ̎͑̓̎̓H̸͇̬̖̯̳̰̰͔ͦͥ̓ͨͤ̾ͪ͌̏̒͊̋̓ͩͦ͘̕͠A̡̢͓̹̟͚̫̲̲̦̭̼͔͇̝̠͍͉͇̟̰̎ͩͨͤ͌̅͂̐ͭͧ̈ͭͪ̋̅ͪ̿͘͜H̴̶͔͙̟̬ͯ̍̉ͣ͒͐ͫ̀̎ͣ̏ͧ̍̾ͩ̂̇͗A̛̗͙̙̭͙͉̟̱̺͕̖̯̼̎̈͗͆̌͜ͅH͎̮̮̬͉̣͖̽̔͗̔̔̔͗̌̌ͪͮͭͯ̈́͆́̂͟͝ͅḀ̸̖̠̦̝̝̳̹̻̳̼͙͖̬̻̦̮̪̰̏ͪͣ̌͒̎͆̎̍́̆ͫ̚͜H̡͈̤͔͓̭̰̹̥̮͉͍̯̙͔̥͓̦ͬ̎̆ͩ̒̀ͅ!̴͕͖̯̺͆̿ͪ͒ͫ̌ͯͨ͌͋ͦ͂ͬ͆̐̚͠͝͝͝!̡ͤͬ̓ͤ̈͛͒̆̆̉ͨͦͪͥ̐͑̚͏̛͔̗̹͈̝͓̗̫͉̖̞̙̯̦̲͜ͅ!̷̢͕͙̯͉̭̟̩̻̟̝̲̝͎͔̞͙̭̐̽̄̑͆ͩ̃̕" |
Something worth noting: This is the only time where Donkey Kong's voice actor: Richard Yearwood, actually sings instead of DK's usual singing voice: Sterling Jarvis. He actually isn't too bad, and it certainly does sound less jarring whenever Donkey Kong switches voices during other episodes.
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| "Grahahaha! You fools! Now I am free!" |
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| "Wow, little buddy! What'd you put in this stuff, anyway?" "I have no idea, DK." |
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| "Hey look, there's something over there." |
Oh, and this little exchange between the two over the spell actually working made me laugh a little.
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| "And It worked!" Classic idiot humor. |
After that, we see that Cranky Kong is ready to fly with Funky on his biplane. Cranky is already having second thoughts in having Funky being his pilot, and while having Donkey Kong being the guard for the Crystal Coconut. Bad news, Cranky,
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| "I was actually considering flying with Bluster, but then we might've brought Candy into this episode." |
I seriously love it when Funky and Cranky's character goes right. Funky Kong is just hilarous to listen to and having Cranky as his foil just makes it even worth more while. It's a reason why this episode is one of the better ones of the DKC series.
Fade back to Donkey and Diddy swinging on vines to catch the Coconut. They discuss over how bad their situation is, and Diddy suggests that they need to find a way to do....something. He gets abruptly interrupted by Donkey Kong mid-sentence, who tells him that they don't need no more spells, and that he'll fix the mess he caused his way. Even though, you know. It wasn't Donkey Kong's fault in the first place.
Fade again to Cranky and Funky, who are now in the air. Cranky is yelling at the top of his lungs that Funky's antics are about to make his heart stop. Funky, of course, can't hear a single thing he's saying, due to the plane's engine rotor.
Well, actually, I lied. Funky can hear only faintly to whatever Cranky's saying. Which leads to a hilarious scene where Funky does some extreme moves with his biplane due to miscommunication with Cranky's pleads.
After almost losing the Tickle Tonic, Cranky scolds Funky on his stunting and tells him to not do that again. Of course, Funky only hears the last bit, and Cranky goes hollering once again.
Then, we fade once more to King K. Rool's factory. Oh right. They're also in this episode.
King K. Rool is still struggling to get even a wink of sleep, but since the banging is still occuring, It's very obvious that General Klump hasn't done anything about the source of the problem.
Turns out, he's sleeping on the job.
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| D'aww. |
Klump calls out for Krusha to confirm his findings, but it turns out that even he's sleeping.
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| Oh, hi Krusha. I don't remember you being in this episode. |
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| "Crystal Coconut Photobomb!" |
Now that the Kremlings know of the floating Crystal Coconut, King K. Rool tells Klump to abandon his mission of stopping Eddie, and to instead chase and retrieve the Crystal Coconut, which seems to be heading toward the Barrel Factory. King K. Rool then makes it his task to go and see to it that Eddie gets taken care of. Well, it took 8 episodes, but it's finally nice to see that King K. Rool is being strategic and on-point for once.
Banana Transition to the Bluster Barrel Works, and we see Donkey and Diddy looking around. Turns out, they lost sight of the Coconut a while back, so that answers my question.
Also, Bluster does not have an apperance in this episode. Neither does Candy for that matter. Which I like. I like very much. It just shows that locations don't have to have a particular character strapped onto it for every episode.
The duo spot the floating Coconut, and Diddy actually gets a good idea to use Bluster's Barrelcopter to fly to it. Since it's there, you know, and Bluster isn't anywhere in sight.
Donkey and Diddy fly after the Coconut, and Diddy retrieves it. However, down below, we see Klump and Krusha ready to deploy some hungry Klaptraps on the Barrelcopter.
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| "What's for lunch? I'm starving!" "Sounds like helicopter blades." "Yum!" |
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| I just remembered how frequent Bluster's Barrelcopter gets destroyed in this show. |
Transition to the White Mountains, where we see that Funky and Cranky are finally almost there. Cranky spots Eddie, and asks Funky to fly them down. Funky Kong still can't hear Cranky very well, and Cranky loses his cool, once again, and asks Funky if there's anyway for them to communicate properly. Seems as though Funky caught that one, and then, this happens:
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| "..." |
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| "Alright! So. Let's communicate." "What did you do?" "Turn the engine off." "Then, what's holding us up?" |
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| "Like. Nothin'." |
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| "SAAVE THE TICKLE TOOOONIIIIIICCC!!!!" |
Onto our second commercial break, and after that, we return to the wreckage of the Barrelcopter, and see Donkey and Diddy wasted on the ground.
Diddy smartly notes that if the cause of their wreckage was from Klump, then that would mean the Crystal Coconut is as good as theirs, and off to King K. Rool as they sit.
Donkey Kong is really down the dumps, and even exclaims that he doesn't deserve to be future ruler.
This leads to a nice moment between Diddy and Donkey. Diddy is in shock that DK just said that, and tells him that even though the Crystal Coconut did say that he was going to be the ruler of all Kongs, it didn't say that it was going to be easy, and or perfect. Donkey takes those words and resolves his self-doubt, and learns that it's how one deals with mistakes is what shapes you to be the better being that you'll soon become. With one final nudge of encouragement, Donkey Kong is back to his joyous self, and the two set off to track down the Kremlings and take back the Coconut.
During some of my first viewings of this episode, this was really one of those scenes that I just didn't like watching, but after looking over it a couple times, I can see just how true it is to each of their characters it is, while also providing a nice moral to the audience that mistakes happen, and that it's how you learn to deal with those mistakes that help you turn into the bigger person in the end. It's a really nice scene in this series, if not for one flaw (Besides the ugly animation and couple tacky lines):
It was still Diddy's fault in the first place.
Fade back to Cranky and Funky, who apparently survived the crash landing, because the biplane never even crashed at all. The two of them are freezing in the snow, and after a short arguement, Eddie the Mean Old Yeti finally makes his apperance in this episode.
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| "ME EDDIE. THE MEAN OLD YETI." |
While that's going on, we return back to Donkey and Diddy, who are outside of K. Rool's factory, ready to steal back the Crystal Coconut from Klump and his cronies. I guess they must've gotten the Coconut off-screen.
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| Ready to make the heist of their life. |
Fade once more to Cranky and Funky, where it seems they've gotten away from Eddie. Funky explains how Eddie's bad vibes are totally messing with his mojo, while Cranky tells us that it'll be next to impossible to get Eddie to calmly take the tonic, and that the solution is already starting to freeze. I suppose having no game plan runs in the family of Kongs.
And with that, Funky actually provides a good idea: To launch a snowball with the Tickle Tonic mixture down the Yeti's throat. Simple, fast, and impractical, but crazy enough to work. Cranky praises Funky on his idea, and tells him to make a snowball, while he adds the secret ingredient.
Back in K. Rool's factory, we General Klump ready to leave on a minecart to inform King K. Rool of the successful capture of the Crystal Coconut. Krusha's job is to stand guard (Or in this case, sit guard.) on the Coconut, alongside the troops of a couple of Kritters. Seems like a fool proof plan. Klump informs Krusha to not fall asleep, and to guard the Coconut with his life on the line.
Krusha tells Klump that he'll make him proud, and Klump races away on the minecart toward the right exit. We see that Donkey and Diddy have infiltrated K. Rool's base, and are currently behind a minecart, not far from the Kremlings. Diddy is now distressed over how they'll no way of getting the Crystal Coconut without any sort of commotion. Donkey Kong that tells him that he actually has a plan, which only makes Diddy even more distressed.
Then, in the next scene, we see that Krusha and the Kritters are asleep. I think that the writers wanted to convey that some time has passed, but they kinda didn't do it right.
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| Oh, Krusha. You're already letting General Klump down. |
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| So are you three, Moe, Curly, and Larry. |
Diddy is distraught from such task, and we fade (for the dozen time) back to the White Mountains. The two hear something in the mountain mine, and Funky gets ready to fire the single shot of Tickle Tonic, but holds back on it. Turns out, it was King K. Rool in a minecart making the noise. I'm not exactly sure why it's taken King K. Rool this long to get to the White Mountains, but better late than never I suppose.
And just like that, General Klump also comes through the mountain mine track, and relays the good news to King K. Rool. He is delighted by the news, and Cranky is upset with DK for obvious reasons. With hope dying, Cranky jinxes the lot of the them, and Eddie finds them all. Eddie hollers, scaring everyone, and causing Funky to throw the snowball at him. Eddie batters up and swings the snowball right into King K. Rool's mouth. With his tonsils covered in Tickle Tonic, King K. Rool, and then soon, everyone starts laughing.
The entire build up to the moment, with the soundtrack and voices, is what really drives it. What can I say? Laughing is contagious.
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| Of course, Cranky isn't laughing. Which just makes this scene even funnier. |
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| K |
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| "...Mommy?" |
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| "Uhh...Aw..It's okay, heh heh, go back to sleep." |
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| "Hey! You're not Mommy!" |
Krusha orders the Kritters to attack, but since they were asleep, they don't react in time. Diddy hops into the minecart and asks if the earth tremor was part his plan, to which DK replies, "No.". However, what was part of the plan was to ride away quickly, which he does. The two get away with the Crystal Coconut, leaving poor Krusha to have to tell the King and General the bad news.
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| "...I'm a bad boy..." |
Peel-Transition back to the White Mountains, where we see that King K. Rool actually did survive. Ableit gettin covered in snow and possibly dying from the sheer cold of it all, but the Kremlings are still alive! And King K. Rool is still laughing, through it all!
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| Don't worry. He'll be up and ready by the next episode. |
Funky's biplane flies overhead, and we then fade to the Cranky's Cabin, to the Coconut's pedestal. Cranky Kong says another rhyme, similar to the one that made the Coconut float, and the Crystal Coconut finally stops floating and returns back into the Celestial Globe.
It's nighttime on Kongo Bongo, and everyone is exhausted from the long day. And the days before those. Donkey Kong gets ready to apoligize for the mishap they did, but Cranky tells them to not even bother, since he's just too tired to snap at them, and says that all that matters is that the Crystal Coconut is back to where it belongs, and everything is back to normal.
Diddy promises they won't goof up again (LIES), and Cranky tells everyone to leave so that he can get some sleep while Eddie's smile lasts. Donkey, Diddy, and Funky go off to do the same, and after leaving, Cranky is ready to hit the hay. Or in his case, the chair.
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| "Ahhh..." |
That is, until some distant, echoing Yeti laughter is heard.
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| "OH NO." |
And now, instead constant banging, Kongo Bongo now has to deal with constant laughing. It's like irony or something.
Cranky groans, and we get one final shot of the White Mountains, while Eddie laughs away.
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| Ah! Still some nice white aurora, even 2 years later. |
Fade to black, and that's the episode!
What are my thoughts?
Well, this is probably one of the best episodes of the entire series. Or at least in Season 1. The entire episodes does well from getting from point A, to point B. What makes it even better is that it gives three routes for the viewer to follow, which all lead to them joining in at the end, which to me is good storytelling. Best of all, every character is on-point in this episode. And it's not even the bad kind of personality; the annoyance I usually feel from these characters throughout these episodes. Every character is interesting to watch, and yes, even Diddy. Donkey Kong is not too bright, but he still tries to right the wrongs he may do. The Cranky and Funky dynamic in this episode is just hilarious to watch, and even the Kremlings have their moments. Eddie also!
You may have also noticed, but there was only one musical segment in this episode. It's a pretty catchy song, and it actually moves the story along, which is something that show is really bad at with their songs.
But, of course, with every episode in this convoluted series, this episode isn't without it's downs. The constant switching between perspectives is really noticable throughout the episodes, and it doesn't really follow a pattern. Have you noticed how often I have said, "fade" in this review? Again, it's not a huge problem, but it is just a nitpick.
And of course, the most prevalent problem with this episode, that I've been saying so much: It was Diddy's fault for losing the Coconut in the first place. Sure, you can argue that Donkey Kong was the one at fault for joining in the first place, but it was Diddy Kong who prompted Donkey to take action in the first place. It's not even the fact that Donkey Kong made this mistake, it's the fact that Diddy was the one that started the issue and gets out of it, just because of DK's misblame.
Actually, if you were to switch Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in that spell scene, nothing in the story would change, and in fact it would make even more sense as to why DK feels so down later down the road.
Again, this might be a nitpick, but dang it, It's really the only problem I have with this episode.
Until next time, fellow Kongo Bongians.
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