Donkey Kong Country's 90s cartoon is now free to watch on YouTube if you fancy seeing the peak of musical cartoons and early motion-captured CGI

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Forget Fallout and The Last of Us.

Donkey Kong with prominent buttcheeks sitting on a boardwalk
(Image credit: Nintendo / Nelvana)

When you talk about video game TV show adaptations, you may look at the likes of Fallout, The Last of Us, and Twisted Metal and think we're in the midst of a golden age. But in reality the golden age of gaming adaptations was between 1997 and 2000 when the Donkey Kong Country cartoon was on the air. And you can now relive that golden era as the entirety of the series is free to watch on YouTube as we speak.

When you think of Donkey Kong cartoon, you probably think it's some action/adventure series about fighting King K. Rool and protecting his bananas, and while that is an element of things, the series is also a musical, with multiple songs per episode. And it's what a coward would describe as "cursed," but those of us strong enough to embrace it can see what it truly is, art.

One of the series' songs Pirate's Scorn was actually covered by beloved nautical rock band Alestorm. And these are all bolstered by DK somehow having an angelic singing voice, best seen in the emotional ballad "I'm Nobody's Hero". The DK and K Rool voice actors are so beloved, fans brought them back for the brilliant fan animation Return to Krocodile Isle over 20 years later. When I think about it, this probably explains all of the musical numbers in Donkey Kong Bananza.

Outside of the tunes, the series was actually notable for furthering tech – just like the SNES game it was based on. For the first season, the animation was done through motion capture technology, making it one of, if not the first, TV shows to do so. And if you want to experience what real art is like, you can now watch the entire series on YouTube, thanks to the Treehouse Direct UK channel, making it free to watch.

Donkey Kong Bananza is bringing back the DK Rap, but after going uncredited for the seminal hip hop classic in the Mario Movie, the song's composer wasn't aware it was returning in the Switch 2 game.

Scott McCrae
Scott McCrae
Contributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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