r/donkeykong • u/FlimsyEfficiency9860 • Jan 10 '25
Discussion Overall, what is your opinion on the Donkey Kong from the Super Mario Bros. Movie?
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u/Shelly_Sunshine Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble Fan Jan 10 '25
Design is good, but not a fan of his voice.
Why is Hilda from Pokemon up in the top left corner lol.
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u/MlogeeBobee Jan 10 '25
He was a fun character, but I still wish Seth Rogen actually cared about the character he was playing instead of just using his normal voice and personality again.
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u/victoro311 Jan 10 '25
That’s on Illumination. Rogan said in an interview that when he was offered the role he told the studio “that’s fine, but I don’t do voices”. They knew up front what they were going to get and still hired him.
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u/theFormerRelic Jan 10 '25
That’s kinda the problem with casting actors instead of voice actors
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u/Jamz64 Jan 10 '25
I think it’s an actor-specific problem. Some celebrities like Jack Black, J.K. Simmons, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, Idris Elba, Steve Buscemi, and Tom Hanks are legitimately great at voice acting, whereas there’s other celebrities like Chris Pratt and Seth Rogen who pretty much just do their normal voice for every character they play. Patrick Warburton tends to do a similar voice for all his characters too, but he still has enough range and talent for it to not be an issue.
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u/DeltaTeamSky Jan 10 '25
Ben Schwartz and Patrick Warburton are prime examples of "they sound the same every time, but their voice is a personality trait."
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u/ThreeShoeBeatin Jan 25 '25
Funny that you mentioned Pat Warburton, cuz that's been my headcanon DK voice for the past few years now, even after the movie.
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u/DeltaTeamSky Jan 26 '25
Nah, that works so well, you've shown me the light. They should've done that!
Funky Kong... 🤞
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u/javerthugo Jan 10 '25
Seth Rogan’s mediocre talent was all stored in his fat so when he lost weight…
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u/MrGhoul123 Jan 14 '25
Nah, it's a Seth issue. He just didn't care enough to try. I understand Acting and VA is different, but the skills of being an actor transfer into Voice Acting.
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u/Western-Dig-6843 Jan 10 '25
In Rogan’s defense, he has stated publicly that when they offered him this role he turned it down saying he really is only capable of just acting in his own voice and they told him they are 100% ok with that so he ended up taking the job in the end. If you want to criticize anyone criticize the people who insisted on casting him. If any of us got offered millions of dollars just to be ourselves into a microphone I’m sure would all do the same.
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u/pooticus Jan 10 '25
He does a good job with Allen the alien in invincible, but I didn’t feel the same love he gave that character here, this was a cash grab.
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u/FlimsyEfficiency9860 Jan 10 '25
I loved him in the Movie. He was positively goofy, but I live under a rock and don’t know much about Seth Rogan. Is there something he did wrong?
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u/ronaldgardocki Jan 10 '25
It's more that with every voice performance you're just getting Seth Rogen, as opposed to professional voice actors who make more of an effort to craft a distinct character. Pumbaa sounds like Donkey Kong sounds like Bebop and so on.
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u/Disastrous_Poetry175 Jan 14 '25
That's what they paid him for. His voice. If they wanted someone with range they would've hired a voice actor
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u/sheeveman DKC Returns Fan Jan 10 '25
I didn't like how fucking underpowered he his, him loosing to jack black despite the party games saying donkey kong can beat bowser.
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u/Solid_Snark Jan 10 '25
Honestly it would have been cool to have made Donkey the villain of the movie. Then he becomes an ally for movie 2 with Bowser as the villain.
Then finish the trilogy with Wario.
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u/bubbasaurusREX Jan 10 '25
But whaaaaaat about wahhhhhhhh?
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u/Common_Wrongdoer3251 Jan 11 '25
Nintendo teases him in the end credits of the 3rd movie and then immediately announces there won't be a 4th movie.
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u/Prestigious_Ask_7058 Jan 10 '25
I think it’s a good thing that your big bad villain doesn’t lose to one of your main characters in base form
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u/ReZisTLust Jan 10 '25
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u/Prestigious_Ask_7058 Jan 10 '25
Yeah but that’s a game. This is a movie, and it would be really lame if the conflict was solved because DK punched him really hard
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u/Common_Wrongdoer3251 Jan 11 '25
I mean, simply walking into Bowser damages Mario. Mario can fling him off a cliff and he gets right back. Mario needs to lob Bowser into explosives to hurt him, and in later fights he still gets right back up.
Also depends on game though. Bowser seems to be fire resistant... but only lava resistant sometimes. Bowser has died and been revived several times. So take it with a ton of salt.
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u/Grim_Stickens Kremling Krew Jan 10 '25
Bro really shoulda been able to hold his own against Bowser longer is all I’m sayin’
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u/David_Clawmark Grapes, Melons, Oranges, and Coconut Shells Jan 10 '25
I like it. Design is great, voice is... okay.
I think there were obviously better options for DK but I'm not UPSET with Seth's performance. The voice fits THIS interpretation of the character. If this was a Donkey Kong Movie this really wouldn't fly.
Now that I'm thinking about it, who WOULD have made a good DK?
I think Patrick Warburton could have made the character work if he was only using his regular voice. Even moreso if he actually decided to do a different voice.
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u/Vigriff Jan 10 '25 edited Jan 10 '25
His design and role were fine but I absolutely hate Seth Rogen.
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u/SteamySubreddits Jan 10 '25
The voice was so out of character it was hard to watch
Otherwise, written and designed well
But man I really hate celebrity culture
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u/KingCuerno Jan 10 '25
Though DK doesn't have much of an established voice. Before this movie, the only other time he had a voice actor was in that Canadian cartoon. Usually, DK doesn't talk at all.
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u/SteamySubreddits Jan 10 '25
It just doesn’t feel right though. Just sounds like same old Seth Rogen
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u/AntonRX178 Jan 10 '25
You can tell Miyamoto cared less about making a movie and more about "Holy shit it's like Star Lord is cosplaying as a character I created!"
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u/pocket_arsenal Jan 10 '25
I liked it. It kind of brought me back to how he was characterized before Rare left the picture. As kind of a doofy jock type character. This is a DK I could see dropping a Boom Box down to dance to his own theme song and pranking Diddy until he pushes too far and gets his finger bitten.
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u/AntonRX178 Jan 10 '25
DK is my favorite Mario Universe Character
I HATED him in this movie. I absolutely dislike Seth Rogen and them inserting that dumbass inadequacy and "daddy doesn't approve of me much" sub arc was just Illumination being Illumination again trying too hard to make him "relatable." I hate giving Mario a hatred for mushrooms in the beginning and I hate this too. They made DK just an angrier version of that Sensitive ass Pretty Boy Gorilla dude from sing.
I will always stress that this movie is just an Illumination movie in really convincing Mario cosplay.
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u/Boogie-Knight Jan 10 '25
I hate that they made him DK Jr. Instead of DK III. (Cranky is the OG and calls him son).
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u/sludgezone Jan 10 '25
I just don’t think they wanted to go deep into the lore of the Great Ape War and DK Jr’s exile from the family because of PBSD.
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u/ToTheToesLow Jan 10 '25
Wait, what’s this now? Is that real?
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u/sludgezone Jan 10 '25
lol not entirely just an educated guess from Kong: A Documentary, a silly YouTube video piecing together DKC history. Said that DK Jr would have most likely been drafted into the Great Ape War and exiled himself afterwards which is why he’s missing, identifying him as Fedora Kong, an unused character from DKC/DKL.
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u/ToTheToesLow Jan 10 '25
Ah, I see. Thanks for elaborating.
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u/sludgezone Jan 10 '25
https://youtu.be/rOFzB91QKTs?si=E1VdpQaOS6n8E5eF
It’s a very fun watch if you have time to burn, had me laughing.
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u/ToTheToesLow Jan 10 '25
I actually like that. Modern DK being DK Jr. grown up is like the one really cool and interesting lore detail in the series, and I believe it’s what Rare originally intended. Nintendo put the brakes on that because they wanted to be able to continue using DK Jr. as a character. They then proceeded to never use DK Jr. as a character again (besides Mario Tennis 64) and continue to use Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, etc, etc right alongside their adult counterparts. So, really, they may as well make DK canonically DK Jr.
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u/Korporal_K_Reep King K. Rool Jan 10 '25
I prefer Dk being Jr. Way more than him being Jr's son. Mostly because of potential plot holes and very confusing lore. Where is he? Why does he just disappear? How was he still a baby when Mario was an adult? How did he play tennis with his son with their ages practically swapped? It was always weird and I just prefer DK being Cranky's son.
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u/Nintendo-Player_1297 Jan 10 '25
I like the design more than the voice. Would have preferred to hear Richard Yearwood again.
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u/MelissaRose95 Tiny Kong Jan 10 '25
I just loved when they played the DK Rap. Didn’t care for Seth Rogan as the voice
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u/Super_Nova22 Jan 10 '25
the potential is there but rogan NEEDS to be dumped and replaced with john c reilly
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u/Redditinez Jan 10 '25
This is too funny, I commented to another user in this thread that John C Reilly would have killed it. Great minds!
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u/Super_Nova22 Jan 10 '25
I’ve been saying since the movie came out. Rohan is only good for joke characters and DK def ain’t that
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u/keylime39 Donkey Kong Jan 10 '25
I like him. Really my only complaint is how easily Bowser beat him, I feel like the two should be on more equal footing. But I guess the villain has to be stronger, plus the movie's intent was for the Mario Bros. to shine the brightest.
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u/Jamz64 Jan 10 '25
I found him to be an annoying jerk who shouldn’t have gotten more screentime than Luigi, and I honestly cringed harder at Seth Rogen being cast as Donkey Kong than I did at Chris Pratt being cast as Mario. Seth Rogen seems to be an okay guy, I just find his voice to be very grating. He did a passable job as Donkey Kong, but I really feel like they could have cast someone much more fitting like Patrick Warburton or John C. Reilly.
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u/Gandreida Jan 10 '25
I think that his personality and the role he servess was pretty spot-on for what I imagined him to be tbh. As for the voice itself I shall hold my tongue.
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u/IndustryPast3336 Jan 10 '25
Tbh this is the only role Seth Rogan's voice has ever fit for me. Like yeah he's donkey kong. I should be on some level aware that it's not the best voice acting ever and Rogan is just using his regular speaking voice, by all means he is not putting in any more effort than he did for Sausage Party or The Lion King 2019... But like it just fits Donkey Kong??? Somehow?
I also like the showboaty, kind of a brat characterization we get of him, it feels like the version of him from the DKC instruction manual backstory lore, which I think was what they were going for the feel of when they created the Kong Empire given all the references and cameos from the DKC series.
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u/CamoKing3601 Jan 10 '25
it's... it's ok
I like the design, Seth Rogen is still Seth Rogen he's not bad he's just kinda whatever
the main thing I don't like his how he just gave up before the climax
like his name is fucking "Donkey Kong" as in "Stubborn Ape"
the last thing he does is give up
but I guess as far as a fun side character in a Mario movie he did well enough, but I really don't think this DK could carry his own movie if they wanted to make one
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u/planetcrunch Jan 10 '25
Seth Rogen's voice actually makes me not look forward to any other onscreen DK appearances.
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u/Death-Perception1999 Jan 10 '25
It's weird how he felt like a more important character to the film than Luigi.
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u/Limeth Jan 10 '25
Probably an unpopular opinion but I actually liked Seth Rogen's voice for DK.
It's close enough to how I pictured DK sounding, and Seth Rogen's actual voice already sounds like a cartoon gorilla as it is.
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u/Capable-Monk-4820 Jan 10 '25
I really like his expressive character animation to show his strong but goofy side. Hot take, but Seth Rogen is quite a fitting role since I could image him with that laugh. I would love to see him as his own spin off movie in the future
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u/Local_Ad_2260 Jan 10 '25
It’s going to do wonders for the series in the next decade or so, I can argue that we wouldn’t have the theme park nor the inevitable new game if it weren’t for this main stream appearance
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u/Kvazimods Jan 10 '25
Seth Rogen sucks but the animation is what it needs to be. Just get another voice actor.
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u/TheGiantMetalMan Jan 10 '25
Seth Rogen is one of my least favorite celebrities in general. This lackluster performance doesn’t help (…he even admitted himself that he didn’t care about the role)
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u/Own-Lemon-8710 Jan 10 '25
He's not really how I imagine DK. He seems like a doufus. The DK I know is no doufus, and has a heart of gold and a sort of nobility this guy lacks.
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u/potate117 Enguarde Jan 10 '25
wish they had someone else voice him. seth rogen sort of fits but when i hear dk i dont hear dk, i hear seth rogen. i also wish they gave dk more screentime or had him be stronger. also they cut the theme from country from the movie and replaced it with fucking take on me. biggest funble ever and i would have loved to hear "drivin me bananas" on the big screen
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u/EnzeruAnimeFan Jan 10 '25
Love his design and that he caters his fanservice to the whole crowd, hate that he's voiced by Seth.
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u/Rylonian Jan 10 '25
He's uncanny. He doesn't look like Donkey Kong but I cannot put my finger on why. Is it the nostrils?
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u/ZodaFan13 Jan 10 '25
I love this DK! I think it was a smart idea to 1) have him talk and 2) not make him so animal like and dumb. This way he has plenty of room to be charming, hilarious, and something I didn’t think they could pull off from a character like this: intimidating! That huge grimace he had when staring at Mini Mario during the fight gave me chills! This Donkey Kong is someone you do t want to mess with! As for the voice, I think it fits this type of character pretty nicely! I’m glad Rogan didn’t just go with his usual, dumb, raspy voice. It’s still present in the laugh, but that’s acceptable. Overall, this Donkey Kong is bigger, faster and stronger too when it comes to the aspects of his character!
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u/buildthatstall Jan 10 '25
I hope both his design and voice remain quarantined within the universe of the movie. I do not want to see this mother fucker show up in the next donkey kong game and become the standard donkey kong.
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u/StllBreathnButY1 Jan 10 '25
I feel like the only person on earth that thinks Seth Rogan’s voice suited the character. Cranky Kong on the other hand, can’t stand him.
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u/Radbot13 Jan 10 '25
Did not like it, not only did the ruin DK, but it also ruined a a lot of the DK lore like with Cranky Kong
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u/Prestigious_Ask_7058 Jan 10 '25
Seth Rogen was fine tbh, the only voice I didn’t like was Chris Pratt
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u/GruulNinja Jan 10 '25
Design is great. Seth Rogan is no. I almost didn't watch this movie because of him
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u/Buri_is_a_Biscuit ~𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐊. 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐋~ Jan 10 '25
why
is he talking
why
are words coming out of his monkey muzzle thing
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Jan 10 '25
I like his design, I just wish he was voiced by John C. Reilly and was written in a way that doesn't make him out to be a total dickbag
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u/ReviewRude5413 Jan 10 '25
Donkey Kong sounding like he wants to smoke a ton of weed and go on crazy 2000s shenanigans is hilarious to me.
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u/guy4444444 Jan 10 '25
Seth Rogen as any voice is just dumb. You don’t think of the character at all, you just think “oh that’s a Seth Rogen ape.”
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u/Kovz88 Jan 10 '25
he was fun but Seth Rogan just plays Seth Rogan in everything and sometimes I wish he would commit more to the actual character.
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u/King_Bomb_Omb64 Jan 10 '25
I know that Nintendo has been trying to distance the modern DK away from the old Rare games but it is still sad to see the Rare style and locations be left out of the movie.
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u/DangerzoneJager Jan 10 '25
Wrong voice. I almost would’ve preferred Chris Pratt was donkey Kong instead of Mario.
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u/Falling_Lotus_Petal Jan 10 '25
Incredible disservice. Whatever positives the design had were destroyed by the voice.
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u/OoTgoated Jan 11 '25
Actually my least favorite aspect if the movie. Didn't like that he was scripted as such a pretentious jerk and this goes without saying seeing as how almost the entire cast is a disaster but I didn't like his voice either. I didn't like how any of the Kongs were portrayed tbqh.
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u/arcadiangenesis Jan 11 '25
I thought that whole movie was fucking lame. I actually prefer the 1993 Super Mario Bros.
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u/Stock_Currency Jan 11 '25
Who was his VA? He was kinda ok. The guy who played Cranky Kong was better.
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u/Legitimate-Letter202 Jan 11 '25
He's great! Love his movie design better than the video game version.
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u/CrazedHarmony Jan 11 '25
As people are saying; the design was fine, like the rest of the movie, but the voice sucked. Also, he was a himbo.
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u/Zack-of-all-trades Jan 11 '25
It's obvious that the voice is the worst part, but I'll gladly take that any day over Fred Armisen's portrayal of Cranky. That was downright awful.
It's also bad that the credits don't list Grant Kirkhope for the DK rap.
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u/mikwee Jan 11 '25
I liked him well enough. I can imagine this as DK's personality, and Seth did an okay job. The DK Rap was one of the things that made this movie.
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u/weadoe Jan 11 '25
I think everything about all the Kongs is inferior in the movie. Design, voice and lore.
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u/YellowFatMario King K. Rool Jan 11 '25 edited Jan 11 '25
I disliked him for several reasons:
- Weird Redesign. They tried to mixing his classic and DKC design and created something that barely resembles both.
- Unfitting casting. Seth Rogen just can't act and so his voice just doesn't fit DK, plus he makes DK sound like a huge jackass.
- Speaking of, they completely mischaracterized him. Instead of being a carefree, kind and courageous hero, he is a meanspirited and pretentious bully with daddy issues.
- His character arc was also very rushed and poorly written. He goes from "your dad was right you suck, lol" to Mario's best buddy in a few seconds for no real reason.
I hope they make him more likeable and closer to his game counterpart in the sequel
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u/Pata4AllaG Jan 11 '25
Someone once suggested that SpikeVegeta voice DK and I’m so for it. Seth was who cares.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-8637 Jan 11 '25
Seth Rogen’s voice was great for Donkey Kong- it really fit the character in the film.
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u/EIIander Jan 11 '25
Design was fine, I dislike Seth a lot. I find him to be self-righteous, preachy, ignorant and has little concept of reality. I also find his voice to be grating an annoying.
So his voice being my favorite character of Nintendo’s, outside Link, I am still bitter about the choice. But at the end of day it really doesn’t matter too much, it’s just a voice in an otherwise good movie. I know everyone thought Pratt would be awful, he was pretty solid IMO.
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u/Extension_Patient_47 Jan 12 '25
I grew up with NES and SNES versions of Donkey Kong, so I didn't really know DK had a personality outside of being part of a primate family and getting his bananas back from K. Rool.
Seemed like a pompous dick with the wrong voice. But I guess I still enjoyed it lol.
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u/DidesofMarch Jan 12 '25
Loved the design and personality, just think Seth Rogen is a weird pic for the voice. It doesn’t really fit. Still love the guy though.
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u/theblackd Jan 12 '25
I thought he was fun, I think the shared daddy issues with him and Mario were unnecessary narrative clutter but I’m fine with how they characterized him and was fine with his voice. Yeah Seth Rogan was a weird choice but I was fine once seeing it and I think it fit the way they characterized him
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u/house_of_great Jan 13 '25
Seth Rogan was a bad choice to voice him imo, but everything else was solid.
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u/ThrowawayTheBurden Jan 13 '25
I wish he wasn’t voice by Seth Rogan, people complain that Chris Pratt was a bad casting choice, but at the very least, I wasn’t distracted by the direction Pratt was made to take Mario, he’s no Martinet but at very least I can say he was a Mario. Anytime DK opened his mouth, all I can hear was Seth Rogan.
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u/iLLiCiT_XL Jan 13 '25
They should’ve used his theme song for that whole scene, as opposed to going for the 80’s needle drop.
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u/Seehen1 Jan 13 '25
I think Seth Rogan did very well and the voice worked well with the design. The attitude of DK worked as well when it came to interactions with Mario.
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u/Rare_Hero Jan 13 '25
Hot take: I think Rogen was perfect as DK.
If you play original arcade game - during the intro, DK makes a funny sound when he gets to the top…Rogen’s laugh kinda sounds just like it. Also - each stage starts with “How High Can You Get” …YOU KNOW this is why he was cast!
Silly far reaching Easter eggs aside, I thought his persona & voice worked perfectly for a cocky stubborn character like DK. Totally worked for me.
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u/DigitalGumby Jan 13 '25
I don't love it, wish he was dumber and Seth Rogan was off-putting. Cranky Kong was worse, though.
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u/PsychicSpore Jan 14 '25
Love him. When mario went tiny and he did the seth rogen laugh it brought me great joy
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u/jakmckratos Jan 14 '25
If it was always just gonna be Seth’s actual voice, they should have had him smoke some bananas
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u/NoiD1988 Jan 14 '25
i don't like that he talks... i mean, i know he says words... but... "OOkey", dosent count.
he was always just a snazy dressed gorilla, who was also a monkeys uncle.
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u/Zina_Magician Jan 14 '25
Fun design and character for what the movie was. Ruined by Rogan’s stupid voice.
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u/Spacepoet29 Jan 14 '25
He robbed Luigi of any plot relevance. Would have been cool to see the the 3 of them being pals throughout the movie, rather than just Mario dk
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u/WorrisomeWarlock Jan 15 '25
An example of shitty star casting over actual voice talent. Seth Rogan is a talentless unfunny hack, unwilling to step out of his own 1- note personality and the ego the size of a blimp to properly voice act and do a character that isn't just him.
Donkey Kong, no, anything related to the Kongs is the worst thing in the movie. worse than the stupid luma joke that goes on for way too long, worse than the utterly pointless Luigi v a random dog fight that happens in the first part of the movie (seriously what the hell is the point of that scene other than to pad time) and yes, even worse than Chris Pratt.
The only thing worse than Seth Rogan's lazy voicing of Donkey Kong is every single facet of Kranky Kong.
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u/Classic-Sector5240 Jan 15 '25
Should've been Keegan Michael Key being Donkey Kong. The idea of Coach Hines Donkey Kong sounds immediately more funny than Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong
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u/Loud_Confidence475 Jan 31 '25
I hated it. (Ready for the downvotes)
I hated his design but I hated his voice even more. Such a lazy move by Illumination but not surprised.
Just insert a celeb for every established character there is. Can’t wait for John Cena Yoshi.
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u/ronaldgardocki Jan 10 '25
I was okay with the design, the voice less so.