Over the last month or so, Donkey Kong Bananza has drawn a lot of comparisons to Wreck-It Ralph. The Disney movie features a big lug of a protagonist known for wrecking stuff, and a young girl named Vanellope that befriends him. In Donkey Kong Bananza, DK is joined on his journey by a younger take on Pauline, the “damsel in distress” that Mario had to rescue in the original Donkey Kong arcade game. In a new interview with IGN, Donkey Kong Bananza producer Kenta Motokura was asked about any connection between the two, and it seems any inspiration was purely coincidental.
“No, I wouldn’t say that we drew inspiration from any one particular source like you’re describing, but rather because Donkey Kong has such a long history, we had a lot of different Donkey Kong titles to look at and consider places that we could receive inspiration,” said Motokura.
Motokura went on to note that it was really the use of music in the game that led to Pauline’s role. While coming up with Donkey Kong’s Zebra Bananza transformation, the composer wanted to create an original piece of music to accompany it. The developers liked the result so much, they decided to turn it into a song, which is what “really cemented Pauline’s place.” Singing became one of Pauline’s defining characteristics in Super Mario Odyssey, a game which Motokura previously directed. Fans have been trying to determine if that means the game is a prequel to Super Mario Odyssey, but the developers remain quiet about that possibility.
It’s worth noting that the character of Wreck-It Ralph was clearly inspired by Donkey Kong. The Disney movie paid tribute to a lot of different games, both through character cameos and through fake games based on real ones. Not only was Ralph inspired by Donkey Kong, but his rival Fix-It Felix was modeled on Mario, DK’s original rival. It would have been neat if the Disney movie had then inspired Nintendo’s own creators, but it seems any connection between Donkey Kong Bananza and Wreck-It Ralph is purely coincidental.
Nintendo’s games often have narrative take a backseat to gameplay, so it makes sense that Pauline’s singing is what led to her role here. However, many fans are curious to see if this game redefines certain elements of the established canon. It will be interesting to see how this story aligns with Pauline’s kidnapping, and her eventually becoming the mayor of New Donk City. It’s also possible this is the start of some kind of reboot that takes place in its own continuity, as we often see with Zelda. Thankfully we won’t have to wait too much longer to find out. With Donkey Kong Bananza set to be released on July 17th, we should get a lot more answers to the game’s mysteries very soon.
Did you think there was a connection between Donkey Kong Bananza and Wreck-It Ralph? What collaborations are you still hoping to see? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
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