Donkey Kong is probably the closest character Nintendo has to an alpha male.  Part of this is undoubtedly because he is a male ape, but solving problems through sheer strength and determination has always been Donkey Kong’s way and I think Jakks Pacific tried to capture this in the 2.5″ figure.  This was an interesting and challenging figure to review, because Donkey Kong looks better in person than he does in photographs.  I did my best to bring you quality pictures of the figure and will explain this aspect of the figure as well as I can.

Articulation – DK has more articulation than other 2.5″ figures I have reviewed so far, but unfortunately some of the articulation is not very useful.  Both of his arms can rotate 360 degrees which as you can imagine looks silly the more you rotate it.  You can create a couple different poses that differ from how he looks in the package which are pictured below.  Surprisingly, Donkey Kong’s feet are also articulated and while you could perhaps make it look like he is lifting something really heavy over his head but by messing with the feet, he probably won’t be able to stand up if you do.  In fact, DK is a little hard to stand up even with his feet down which is a little disappointing.

Pose – No matter how you try to pose Donkey Kong, the one thing that is unusual is that his head is tilted upwards a fair amount.  In person, when you look at this figure from above, it looks great, but for some reason when I took pictures it was hard to find a good angle to show you exactly what DK looked like.  This figure is a rare example of one that probably looks better in person than in the pictures I took.

Paint/Details – The good news is that Donkey Kong has a really nice paint job.  There is a spot or two on his hands that could use just a bit more paint, but other than that he really does look perfect.  I especially like his tie which is a softer, rubbery plastic, but can’t be moved or posed.  DK’s grin looks great and matches the games really well.  My DK’s eyes are slightly cross-eyed which is perhaps the only major detail Jakks didn’t nail with this figure.  DK’s fur is essentially little bumps on the exterior to give it just a little bit of texture.  I don’t think I like this fur as much as on the Amiibo, but it is better than being totally smooth.  Overall, Donkey Kong is a pretty well done figure.

Closing Thoughts – I bought Donkey Kong because I am a big fan of Donkey Kong Country and I have a display in mind using World of Nintendo figures.  If you aren’t a fan or you already own the DK Amiibo, I wouldn’t say that the World of Nintendo figure is necessarily better or more exciting to own.  Part of this is because how the little you can do with his articulation.  Of course, at $5, this is a very affordable figure and excellent for anyone on a budget.  I had fun reviewing DK and he fits in with other World of Nintendo figures I own really well as you can see below.