Kong Family Album
The following characters were added to Kong's small family of characters that predated Donkey Kong Country.
Cranky Kong
Don't be fooled by his geriatric nature. This old-timer is the original Donkey Kong. Rare decided to expand on the DK mythology, so the first thing it did was bring back the original Mario-hating, Pauline-kidnapping, barrel-throwing Kong. Of course, they couldn't call him Donkey Kong because that would cause too much confusion. So the team at Rare renamed the original Donkey Kong Cranky. If you listened carefully to the grumbling of Cranky Kong during the course of the game, you realized that he indeed was the original DK but was too old and had to step down for the younger generation. This was spoofed in the opening movie of Donkey Kong Country, where Cranky is happily listening to a phonograph, only to be interrupted by Donkey and Diddy Kong, sporting new audio technology. Cranky muttered during the game that even the tiny bananas that Donkey and Diddy Kong acquired throughout the game possessed more frames of animation than the entire original game of Donkey Kong way back in '81.
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Donkey Kong
The son of Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong is who the game is all about. Donkey Kong wears shades, pounds the ground, rolls through his opponents like they're bowling pins, and rides mine carts - all while suffering from a serious potassium deficiency.
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Diddy Kong
Diddy Kong is the third generation of the Kong family, though sources argue as to whether he's Donkey Kong's son or nephew. Regardless, he's quicker than Donkey Kong and much quicker than Cranky, who doesn't get out much these days. He can cartwheel through his opponents, but he has trouble with some of the larger guys because he doesn't have as much mass as they do. In these situations, he calls on his elders. Notice the subtle brand placement on his ball cap.
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Funky Kong
From the same generation as Donkey Kong but not nearly as heroic, Funky Kong is too busy styling and riding waves to care about anything else. He also runs a small airline for Donkey and Diddy Kong to expedite their travels. Funky is just a good-looking prerendered ape.
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Candy Kong
Aside from being the love interest of our hairy hero (every great story has one), Candy proved herself to be an expert in the martial art of Kong Fu. Though it's not apparent in the game, this can be the only explanation for her having an active role in the game. Clearly, King K. Rool tried to kidnap her and, having failed, settled on Donkey Kong's banana hoard instead. Aside from her superficial connection to Kong, Candy provided you with special save barrels so you didn't have to start levels over.
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Rambi
One part Sylvester Stallone's Rambo and one part Walt Disney's Bambi, Rambi is Donkey Kong's rhinoceros pal. While riding Rambi, Donkey and Diddy could mow down any opponent that stood in their way, and his horn worked well to open up secret caverns without having to toss barrels every which way.
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