The Super Smash Bros. Movie

Donkey Kong: The Movie is a 2005 computer-animated fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Chris Buck, produced by Nintendo, written by Terry Rossio and Ron Bass, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFreely, based on the video game series, and the second film of the Nintendo Cinematic Universe (NCU). It stars the voices of John Cena, Chris Tucker, Jack Black, John Witherspoon, Allison Williams, Beyoncé, and Max Thieriot. The film tells the story of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong as they set out on an adventure to retrieve their stolen bananas from King K. Rool and the Kremlings.

The film was released theatrically in Sydney on May 30, 2005, in the United States on June 10, and in Japan on June 23 by Sony Pictures Releasing, as part of Phase One in the NCU. It was also a box office success, grossing $446 million against a $90 million budget, and received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the plot, casting, performances (particularly of Cena and Witherspoon), visual effects, humor, and heart.

Plot
In Kong Isle, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong go through the forest in search of bananas, their favorite snack and delicacy on the island. DK and Diddy fail to collect them and decide to schedule training for later. On their walk home, they come across Cranky Kong, DK's cranky and crabby grandfather, who tells them the tale of the Golden Banana, a mystical relic that created Kong Isle.

The next day, Donkey hunts for more bananas after telling Diddy not to search for the Golden Banana, due to it being a threat to their island if anyone steals it. Unbeknownst to Donkey, Diddy goes after the Golden Banana anyway, hoping to use it for a wishing device to give them all the bananas on the island. Diddy nearly steals it until a group of Kremlings attack him and reveal the Golden Banana to be a made up story. Donkey steals bananas from a group of alligators and returns to his home. He finds Diddy missing and saves him from the Kremlings as they try to sabatoge him. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong return home to their bananas as Donkey scolds Diddy for disobeying him. They sleep hoping that nobody will take the bananas.

That night, the Kremlings return to kill Diddy in his sleep, but notice the bananas and steal them instead. Diddy overhears as King K. Rool, the leader of the Kremlings, is revealed to have sent them to take the bananas. Diddy wakes up Donkey, who goes after Rool to get the bananas back. Rool pushes Donkey off of the device they used to escape and they flee. Donkey and Diddy return home and realize that within the bananas was the real Golden Banana, which is a device that can grant any wishes on the planet. Donkey and Diddy are visited by Cranky, who pleads them not to go after the bananas and goes back to sleep without knowing that Donkey and Diddy are secretly planning to get the bananas back.

Donkey and Diddy are visited by Funky Kong, Dixie Kong, and Candy Kong. Funky Kong aids Donkey and Diddy with an automobile and weaponry to help them defeat King K. Rool while Dixie and Candy disguise themselves as Donkey and Diddy to trick Cranky Kong into believing that they didn't go after the bananas. Donkey and Diddy leave as Cranky wakes up and falls for Dixie and Candy's act, but he eventually overhears them talking about DK and Diddy leaving. Cranky sees through their disguises and he and Cranky decide to go after Kong and Diddy. Cranky, furious over their disobeying, also tags Dixie and Candy along to trick Donkey and Diddy into thinking that Cranky fell for their act.

Donkey and Diddy arrive in the Kongo Jungle, a dangerous jungle covering a large area of the island and is inhabited by a giant Gnawty named Very Gnawty. Kong and Diddy try to sneak past them, but Very Gnawty notices their car and sends a group of Gnawtys after them. Diddy uses his Peanut Gun to push them back, but fails as Very Gnawty arrives and captures them. Kong and Diddy find themselves in an arena where they have to fight him themselves. Diddy is knocked out and taken out of the Tournament as Kong is nearly defeated by Very Gnawty. King K. Rool arrives and breaks up the fight while attacking Kong, with the intent to kill him. Diddy wakes up and tries to steal the bananas back, and Rool catches him. Rool and the Kremlings flee the scene, while also burning Very Gnawty alive.

After an argument, Kong and Diddy arrive in the ruins of Monkey Mines. They find Kong’s old banana hoard from childhood as Rool monitors the mines and attempts to steal the bananas. Kong and Diddy attack Rool, but they are once again defeated as Rool destroys the hatch of the bananas and causes a “Bananalanche” to commence. Donkey and Diddy narrowly escape, barely alive in the process, and Diddy begins to quit. Donkey convinces him to continue as the journey is far from over and Diddy decides to continue on with the journey. Donkey and Diddy then come across the exit of the Mines and find their way out. Cranky, Funky, Dixie, and Candy are also on their tail and preparing to bring them home.

After going through the forests of Vine Valley, the snowy tundra of Gorilla Glacier, and the polluted area of Kremkroc Industries, Inc., they arrive at Chimp Caverns, a humongous cavern filled with mines, including one filled with mist. As Donkey and Diddy search for the bananas, they are spotted by Master Necky, an old ally and current enemy of Donkey. Necky attacks the two as the Gang-Plank Galleon, King K. Rool's ship, arrives and closes the place down. Donkey and Diddy hide as Rool captures everyone in the area and brings them onto the ship, which Donkey and Diddy enter without anyone noticing. Cranky, Funky, Dixie, and Candy also arrive unnoticed. As Donkey and Diddy enter the uncharted area of the ship, Cranky confronts Donkey for going on the mission, causing the Kremlings to overheat their argument. They stop arguing and hide until the Kremlings find and capture Cranky, Funky, Dixie, and Candy without Donkey and Diddy knowing. They are taken to a giant cage, noticed by Donkey and Diddy, where they store their giant load of bananas, including the Golden Banana, which Rool stole to grant his wishes.

It is revealed that the banana only had five wishes on it, and that the last one can be used by Donkey. Rool used the first four on the load of bananas and the vault for them. Donkey searches for the Golden Banana as Diddy goes after Cranky and the others. The Kremlings capture him and bring them to Rool, who plots to use him as bait for Donkey. In the vault, Donkey finds the key out and escapes, only to end up in Rool's lair and discovering everyone else's capture. Donkey fights Rool, only to be badly injured. Donkey remembers a bit of advice that Cranky gave him, that music is Rool's weakness, and Donkey plays his theme song, hurting Rool and freeing the others. Donkey uses his music to become more powerful and transforms into a giant Donkey Kong. Donkey fights Roll and ends up winning, destroying his ship and saving the world. As Donkey shrinks back to his normal size, he apologizes for disobeying Cranky and he gets the Golden Banana from Cranky as thankfulness for stopping Rool. Donkey wishes for the ultimate amount of bananas and they all return home and have an endless supply.

Voice cast
Additionally, Jim Carrey and Tim Curry provide the additional voices for the film.
 * John Cena as Donkey Kong, a gorilla who is friends with Diddy Kong and the archenemy of King K. Rool who searches for his stolen bananas.
 * Chris Tucker as Diddy Kong, the best friend of Donkey Kong and a young gorilla who is an enemy of King K. Rool.
 * Jack Black as King R. Kool, the archenemy of Donkey Kong who steals his bananas for unknown reasons.
 * John Witherspoon as Cranky Kong, the crabby and rambling grandfather of Donkey Kong who is also the mentor of Donkey Kong.
 * Allison Williams as Dixie Kong, a female gorilla and the girlfriend of Diddy Kong.
 * Beyoncé as Candy Kong, a the humanoid girlfriend of Donkey Kong.
 * Max Thieriot as Funky Kong, an ally to the Kong Family who offers services such as his transportation and weaponry.

Development
In June 2001, five years before the release of Super Mario Bros., director Chris Buck announced that a film based on Donkey Kong Country was in development, with new cast signed on to portray their roles as the characters. It was also announced that Jim Carrey and Tim Curry would voice new characters in the film, and that Gregg Mayles, creator of the series, would be producing. He stated that the plot was very “faithful” to the games and that fans would indeed enjoy it.

Animation
In November 2003, it was announced that Nintendo would provide the animation and that filming began in February 2004 and ended in December. It was originally scheduled to be released on May 22, 2005, but it was delayed for the crew to have more time to promote the film.

Soundtrack
A soundtrack album for the film, titled Donkey Kong: The Movie: Music from the Motion Picture, was released on June 7, 2005 on Virgin.

Marketing
The marketing campaign started in full swing on November 30, 2004, when the teaser trailer made its debut, first online at the official Volkswagen website at 8:45 p.m. EDT, then 8:55 p.m. EDT across media outlets owned by NBCUniversal (the parent of Universal Studios), including NBC, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bravo! Bravo!], CNBC, and MSNBC. That trailer appeared in theatres attached to Fat Albert, which opened on December 25.

Box office
Donkey Kong: The Movie grossed $257.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $164.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $600 million, against a production budget of $60 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl in 3-D and The Honeymooners, and was projected to gross around $50 million from 5,725 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates as high as $35 million. It ended up making $80 million over the weekend, finishing first at the box office ahead Sharkboy & Lavagirl ($72 million). The film raised 64% in its second weekend to $446.5 million, finishing second behind newcomer Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

In the UK, Donkey Kong became the biggest family film of 2005, overtaking Pixar's The Incredibles with $634.3 million. Totals from other markets include China ($26.5 million), Australia ($20.2 million), France ($12.3 million) and Germany ($12.1 million).

Critical response
The film received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the plot, casting, performances (particularly of Cena and Witherspoon), visual effects, humor, and heart. On an A+ to F Scale, the film received a 90% score, based on 547 reviews, with an average rating of 8.71 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Donkey Kong continues to raise the bars of the NCU with another fun entry that fans and outsiders are bound to enjoy." On an A+ to F Scale, the film received an "A".

Transcripts
Coming soon