I'm not really sure why I'm reviewing another episode of Donkey Kong Country, as I felt I said all I needed to when I critiqued "Kong for a Day." However, this is another episode that stuck out to me from back in the day when I watched this show. It's your standard time capsule episode, you know, where characters contribute something special that will be sealed away for future generations to find. Perfect excuse to pour on the sentimental schmaltz, and you wanna bet the fine hairy primates of Kongo Bongo will try and do the same? Well, let's find out in "To the Moon, Baboo." Now, upon hearing that title, what does it make you think of? That the characters go to the moon? Well, they don't, but I wish they did as it would have made a much more exciting story. Though we don't actually go to the moon, it does serve as the location of where the characters' time capsule will go. It all began one night when Cranky was trying to view the moon through his telescope, but Donkey and Diddy keep bugging him by telling him about a movie they saw which featured monkeys going to the moon and finding a time capsule from their own planet which included pictures of robots... because they're not really monkeys, they're robots. Sounds riveting, excuse the pun. Then, Donkey Kong suggests how great it would be if they send a picture of themselves to the moon, and Cranky thinks that's a great idea, though unfortunately, he wasn't being sarcastic. He liked the idea of a time capsule filled with artifacts from Kongo Bongo to enlighten future generations... and it will be on the moon. Okay, this raises a few questions, like why bother sending it to the moon? Who's going to find it there, and how? And why should anyone care about a capsule full of items from some remote jungle island? What could they possibly do with that information? Well, one thing to keep in mind about this show is that you don't need to overthink its overly simplistic ideas and concepts. God knows the writers hardly put any thought into them. So as Donkey and Diddy go about spreading the word about their cheesy moon time capsule, they're shocked to learn that Bluster had been put in charge of the project. As you may have noticed, Bluster didn't originate from the games; he was created for this show, because I guess they needed to pile on as many vain, obnoxious and annoying characters as possible, and Bluster fits all of that to a tee. The first thing he does is put down Donkey, saying he could never donate anything worthwhile, however DK accepts that challenge and gets to work, all the while King K. Rool was spying on them, because... the script says so. He's angry that they didn't invite him to participate in the time capsule. Well, that's because you're the villain! If they did this concept on the Saturday morning Sonic the Hedgehog series, you think Sonic and Sally would ask Robotnik to contribute to their time capsule? No. Anyway, K. Rool hatches a diabolical scheme to include his own contribution to the time capsule, to make him look better than the rest. Yeah, your highness, that'll really hit'em where it hurts. Man, everybody was having an off week, it seems.
Diddy has found his contribution: bongo drums, which he uses to play and sing a really bad song. Okay, so those future apes will unearth a capsule teaching them that Kongo Bongo had zero taste in music. Very good lesson. Candy and Dixie have contributions as well, and at first, Bluster seems to take the job seriously, acting very professionally, but then he starts badgering Donkey Kong over his attempt to contribute bananas, as although these fruits are a symbol of their island, a great delicacy, and are instrumental in Donkey's strength and curing his hunger, it's pointed out that they will rot after so much time. Well, why not make some wax bananas and include them? Hey, what did Candy and Dixie donate? We never find out, as when Jerk-Ass tries to open their box, Candy threatens him with bodily harm, saying he'll have to open his shirt to eat. Um, he doesn't wear a shirt. I also like how Candy sees the bunch of bananas DK is holding and asks him what they are. Is she blind or something? Well, despite the threat to be breathing down his invisible shirt, Bluster still denies Donkey's donation of bananas. In response, he throws a temper tantrum and points out the time capsule was his idea, and he complains about it to Cranky, who informs him the only reason he appointed Bluster in charge was that he had a rocket ship and barrels to transport their crap to the moon, and then Donkey Kong just lets it go. Anyway, what's that old geezer going to donate? Home movies, of course, detailing the many, many times King K. Rool and his Kremlings got bested by the Kongs, showing just what big, bumbling idiots they are, and how utterly useless and ineffectual King K. Rool is as a villain. Look, I've played the original Donkey Kong Country games, and K. Rool and his adversaries were not to be taken lightly. I can't tell you how many times I died on the final boss battles in DKC 2 and 3 alone. But on the show, they made him a bungling idiot. General Klump and Krusha watch from the window as Cranky plays "K. Rool's Greatest Hits", and they recall the bruises and concussions they sustained very well. So, now that all the apes have their contributions... Funky donated his surf board, by the way... what will Donkey donate? He sees the Crystal Macguffin and gets an idea... ooh boy, and I'll come back to this one later on. Come nightfall, Donkey gets one over on Bluster and adds his contribution, just as Klump and Krusha arrive to try and delay liftoff, only Donkey stops them and adds a few more bruises to their empty heads, then he and K. Rool embark on a mine cart race for no other reason than to pad out the runtime, and even though it's supposed to be night, this part is set during the day. Good one, animators. Meanwhile, Cranky and Diddy discover the coconut is gone, and come to the conclusion that Dumbbell put it in the rocket ship. They all arrive at the launchpad too late, the barrel rocket with all their paraphernalia took off toward the moon. Turns out, Donkey didn't send the coconut, he just hid it somewhere while he made up his contribution: he wrote a song. Everybody rise for the Kongo Bongo National Anthem. Why did they think it was a good idea to turn this show into a musical? These songs are horrible! So after the rocket dropped off its payload, it flew back down to earth and crashed into King K. Rool's hideout because... we needed to go out on a laugh. Well, we don't.
To sum it up, this episode was not very good. The writing was bad, the animation was bad- I swear, every time the characters talk, they look like they're having a stroke. I admire them for using CGI to match the games, and I don't expect Pixar levels of perfection, but this looks really bad even for the time it was made. The voice acting for this show is horrible, except for the guy who sings for Donkey Kong. You gotta wonder why that guy got stuck doing this show instead of being on broadway. But the rest of the cast leaves much to be desired. I guess when you can't afford Jim Cummings, Frank Welker or Rob Paulsen, that's what you get instead. But gripes aside, did I like anything about this episode? Short answer: no. What purpose do these time capsules actually serve anyway? People in 100 years open them up and find all these things that meant something to somebody, but those who find it have no clue about any of it. It only holds meaning for the people who buried it, not those who dug it up. In closing, I don't recommend "To the Moon, Baboon," and as for Donkey Kong Country, it's not a bad show. Some episodes do have genuine laughs and are entertaining, but a lot of them are rotting bananas. It was only made to capitalize on the games, which I suggest playing instead. If some network ever wants to erect a time capsule to represent bad TV, they can donate this episode.
Diddy has found his contribution: bongo drums, which he uses to play and sing a really bad song. Okay, so those future apes will unearth a capsule teaching them that Kongo Bongo had zero taste in music. Very good lesson. Candy and Dixie have contributions as well, and at first, Bluster seems to take the job seriously, acting very professionally, but then he starts badgering Donkey Kong over his attempt to contribute bananas, as although these fruits are a symbol of their island, a great delicacy, and are instrumental in Donkey's strength and curing his hunger, it's pointed out that they will rot after so much time. Well, why not make some wax bananas and include them? Hey, what did Candy and Dixie donate? We never find out, as when Jerk-Ass tries to open their box, Candy threatens him with bodily harm, saying he'll have to open his shirt to eat. Um, he doesn't wear a shirt. I also like how Candy sees the bunch of bananas DK is holding and asks him what they are. Is she blind or something? Well, despite the threat to be breathing down his invisible shirt, Bluster still denies Donkey's donation of bananas. In response, he throws a temper tantrum and points out the time capsule was his idea, and he complains about it to Cranky, who informs him the only reason he appointed Bluster in charge was that he had a rocket ship and barrels to transport their crap to the moon, and then Donkey Kong just lets it go. Anyway, what's that old geezer going to donate? Home movies, of course, detailing the many, many times King K. Rool and his Kremlings got bested by the Kongs, showing just what big, bumbling idiots they are, and how utterly useless and ineffectual King K. Rool is as a villain. Look, I've played the original Donkey Kong Country games, and K. Rool and his adversaries were not to be taken lightly. I can't tell you how many times I died on the final boss battles in DKC 2 and 3 alone. But on the show, they made him a bungling idiot. General Klump and Krusha watch from the window as Cranky plays "K. Rool's Greatest Hits", and they recall the bruises and concussions they sustained very well. So, now that all the apes have their contributions... Funky donated his surf board, by the way... what will Donkey donate? He sees the Crystal Macguffin and gets an idea... ooh boy, and I'll come back to this one later on. Come nightfall, Donkey gets one over on Bluster and adds his contribution, just as Klump and Krusha arrive to try and delay liftoff, only Donkey stops them and adds a few more bruises to their empty heads, then he and K. Rool embark on a mine cart race for no other reason than to pad out the runtime, and even though it's supposed to be night, this part is set during the day. Good one, animators. Meanwhile, Cranky and Diddy discover the coconut is gone, and come to the conclusion that Dumbbell put it in the rocket ship. They all arrive at the launchpad too late, the barrel rocket with all their paraphernalia took off toward the moon. Turns out, Donkey didn't send the coconut, he just hid it somewhere while he made up his contribution: he wrote a song. Everybody rise for the Kongo Bongo National Anthem. Why did they think it was a good idea to turn this show into a musical? These songs are horrible! So after the rocket dropped off its payload, it flew back down to earth and crashed into King K. Rool's hideout because... we needed to go out on a laugh. Well, we don't.
To sum it up, this episode was not very good. The writing was bad, the animation was bad- I swear, every time the characters talk, they look like they're having a stroke. I admire them for using CGI to match the games, and I don't expect Pixar levels of perfection, but this looks really bad even for the time it was made. The voice acting for this show is horrible, except for the guy who sings for Donkey Kong. You gotta wonder why that guy got stuck doing this show instead of being on broadway. But the rest of the cast leaves much to be desired. I guess when you can't afford Jim Cummings, Frank Welker or Rob Paulsen, that's what you get instead. But gripes aside, did I like anything about this episode? Short answer: no. What purpose do these time capsules actually serve anyway? People in 100 years open them up and find all these things that meant something to somebody, but those who find it have no clue about any of it. It only holds meaning for the people who buried it, not those who dug it up. In closing, I don't recommend "To the Moon, Baboon," and as for Donkey Kong Country, it's not a bad show. Some episodes do have genuine laughs and are entertaining, but a lot of them are rotting bananas. It was only made to capitalize on the games, which I suggest playing instead. If some network ever wants to erect a time capsule to represent bad TV, they can donate this episode.