Bluster Kong: The Greatest Villain

[Music] donkey kong country is a very big very important tv series you might have heard of it at some point released in 1997 the teletune debut franchise has gone on to be cemented as one of the greatest cinematic milestones in the history of funny video game adaptations whilst other shows were often seen as cheap cash-ins donkey kong country pioneered the use of motion capture technology in order to create a unique form of children's entertainment where other series reuse simple sitcom concepts with an adventurous theming donkey kong country bravely reused them without any kind of theme identity or even consistency it was expressionism in its purest form allowing characters to breathe and become impeccably animated legend it was far from an overnight success originally having its episodes broadcast in a random order but found great acclaim winning the publicly voted seven to d'aor award for best animation and youth program and being so popular in japan as to receive both a manga and a card game to fuel the donkey kong madness with enough time donkey kong country was regarded as a pioneer of the children's television industry being held in utter reference every time it is dared mentioned with legions of fans crying out in pure joy it's two iconic words banana salad if you do not get this amazing new generation of donkey kong madness you are stupid yes i know that's insulting but it's also the truth but i need not tell you the sheer quality of the show you can see it right before you instead i wish to dissect one of its more intriguing aspects to limit its infinite potential for the sake of millions the donkey kong country cartoon almost exclusively draws from donkey kong country 1 as its inspiration dixie kong is an occasionally recurring character and the design of canon is reused for secondary villain captain scurvy but otherwise the show exists in a unique stop gap between the first two donkey kong country titles from this new characters were born and among them reigns not just a paragon of superiority but a being whose mere existence elevates the rest of the cast for donkey kong country created the perfect foil not just to the character of donkey kong but to the very idea of donkey kong country itself the perfect bully the perfect villain the perfect specimen [Music] hailed as a god spreading joy and love instead of bubbling like a clod bluster the but neverland wins the nobel prize for bringing world peace about in the blink of an eye one might wonder how this unassuming ape might ascend to the pantheon of villainous immortality and they would be fools and right to be laughed at but we'll take pity on them and explain anyway bluster kong serves as the unfriendly rival 2 and bully of donkey kong in the series now a rival is defined by their relationship to their foil both going after the same goal but have in various physical or ideological differences in how to achieve it and bluster kong is utter perfection as donkey kong's more handsome reflection donkey kong is the future ruler of congo bongo island chosen by the ancient one inca dinkadu to lead his people he is lazy unmotivated and exists entirely to seek and indulge in simple pleasures like fishing and eating bananas whenever possible however due to his kind heart genuine concern for others above himself and consistent defense of the island's holy relic the crystal coconut he's very well loved by his peers do you like me like a brother does candy like me does cranky like me does everybody like me sorta as long as i'm me how can i lose [Music] blusterkong meanwhile is the operator of bluster's barrelworks the top supplier of barrels in all of congo bongo chosen by his unseen mother to ensure smooth operations he is shrewd arrogant and exists for the exploitation of others for the sake of profit however due to the technological innovations that the barrel works offer including satellites barrels television rocket ships and barrels as well as the fact that he has more than two brain cells he's begrudgingly tolerated by his peers aren't you a little out of your league donkey kong i'm the boss and the boss says lunch is up [Music] there's an obvious comparison to make between the two both were chosen to rise to positions of power both are given begrudging respect from the rest of the island in spite of their flaws and both relentlessly pursue the hand of the only female within their age range candy kong dk pursues everything with earnest complacency while bluster tries to manipulate everything and everyone to his side through schemes logic and the promise of more donkey kong puts the needs of the many before his own needs a vast majority of the time while bluster exemplifies using the mini for his own self-benefits bolstering them up around his lofty ambitions rather than intentionally so and while the show clearly favors donkey kong's approach is more fulfilling bluster isn't some hapless eternal loser like king karul is bluster turns a temporary fad of dk and diddy selling coconut slushies into a full-blown business operation being the only one of the group who can actually keep up with the stress of manual labor when push comes to shove bluster is able to put his petty differences aside and accept a life debt to donkey kong for saving his hide outsmarting the entire kremlin crew on his own heck he even managed to get dk temporarily ousted from power by suggesting rulership should be decided democratically which everyone agrees with because oh wow nobody actually thought about that before sure he loses by a landslide because cruel ran on a platform that promised both to support women's rights and end racism but bluster made it happen pluster is an ape every bit dk's equal who keeps the titular hero in check in doubt and constantly pushing him forward and through his rejections and physical shortcomings he takes his victories in status with pride he's a big hairy a and you're not ouch but it's not just bluster's excellence when compared to a smash low-tier lifer that defines him go ahead and listen to this line from donkey kong donkey kong an isolationist ape knows what park avenue a manhattan business district is now this would make sense cranky kong used to be from new york big ape new donk city but there comes an interesting wrinkle in the timeline park avenue is distinctly a business concept and the original donkey kong country does not have an economy funky gives you his plane for free cranky's advice is free saving it candies is free incredible generosity all around get in the show's universe set shortly after donkey kong country money has power and who controls all the money yeah baby take a good look bluster is the only economic force on congo bongo island selling the barrels that make self-defense transportation television entertainment film production and many other facets of life possible beyond mere mine carts he even films his own commercials and movies which others aspire to be in and do his bidding for candy kong works directly under him in hopes of getting a raise or a promotion in spite of her seemingly being the only employee underneath him and with all this in mind guess what happens in donkey kong country too here we go suddenly cranky realizes he can make a profit off of his ramblings funky figures out the perpetual midair propulsion isn't an infinite resource and costs money grandma holds your lives hostage for two banana coins after one free sample swanky kong and as the dkc show is a stop gap between donkey kong countries 1 and 2 the only force that could have possibly changed the society from trading to material based something in direct opposition to dk's way of life is bluster call in short bluster call invented capitalism bluster kong is the inevitability that no matter what no matter how kind you are or laid back you become the temptation of business will always march forward that the success of others will always coax all else out of hiding for the good of society and the profit of one that no matter how we may laugh at it in its short-sightedness big business will always endure and find a way to upset the balance of simple life no matter what we all must succumb to the desire to make money [Music] a little drum music if you please get ready for the hippest tape of them all donkey kong country the legend of the crystal coconut now on video hand over the coconuts based on the hit nintendo video game it's the first feature like 3d animated adventure that features all your favorite characters i'm sorry have we met so get ready for a thriller of a gorilla here comes donkey kong you'll go bananas for donkey kong country the legend of the crystal coconut now yours to own on video foreign there is one final piece to this puzzle one final step that shows bluster as the ultimate foil the dk lustre kong is a failed protagonist this is most obvious in it's a wonderful life where donkey kong wishes he never existed magically eddie the mean old yeti transports him to an alternate dimension where there is no donkey kong diddy is a tyrant and bluster is entirely unchanged with the sole exception that he has married candy kong who is madly in love with him without the existence of dk as a rival bluster is able to attain everything he wants the only thing stopping him is the existence of the big ape himself even in an actual timeline with dk out of the picture bluster is able to manipulate everyone around him perfectly in four weddings in a coconut bluster goads candy into pressuring dk to marry her donkey kong looks for every way out of the marriage after accidentally accepting until he traps himself within the temple of inkadinkado able to predict all of this bluster demands candy go back to work with him after she realizes she's been stood up at the altar outraged candy demands to marry bluster on the spot determined to get married to someone that day with the only thing stopping bluster from getting everything he has ever wanted being his own hubris wait a minute not so fast i want to go over that richard poorer part again with my lawyer but there's one technique that bluster can use better than anyone else the power of song in the donkey kong country universe if you sing about something powerfully enough it will happen this is seen all throughout the series including feats such as dk being tricked to think he's a pirate a love ballad getting karul to completely surrender and dk making a bunch of kremlings dance themselves into severe self-injury [Music] but bluster bluster goes one step beyond he steals the crystal coconut with zero effort simply by singing about how sneaky he is something king karool never thinks to do and never gets away with for as long as bluster did he creates a love potion so strong that it defies the laws of species and of course when he really gets going he becomes the most powerful force in all of congo bongo and irresistible is what i am leo luster born from a tonic to restore bluster's hair and confidence to maximum levels this utter beast of a beast is the musical number weaponized with only his voice he is able to stun everyone around him with sheer animal magnetism his entire body radiates with irresistible force which he can contain in a single fingertip to explode with the power of a lightning strike at will he can cause lovestruck women to fly through the air just to be at his side but the most powerful is his ability of absolute domination by firing out all of his hipness by using star transitions and actual laser eyes leo luster can force beings of any intelligence including king karul to submit to his bidding forced to follow his commands through charm alone lustre is far and away the most powerful force in the entire series far above anything donkey kong could ever achieve and the best part is it's just bluster toward the end of the episode bluster is deprived of his serum and has to dig deep within himself in order to find the leo lustre that was inside of him all along and it's proof leo luster is bluster kong's confidence made manifest he could be the greatest force in not just the donkey kong universe but dozens of others held back only by bluster's own insecurities he is the ultimate life form that any ape should wish to be a perfect being the pinnacle of evolution he is bluster's arc completed and only the tragedy that is bluster's natural weakness prevents him from tapping into this power again because man it hurts to be this hip i could go on about the greatness of bluster but that much is evident in every word spoken every breath the ape takes he's donkey kong's shadow he's the darkness of capitalism he's a fallen titan who knows the rules of his world but finds himself too weak to take advantage he is the greatness of donkey kong country modeled into a pretty ugly shell and i love him and i love this show for it donkey kong country doesn't hold up to scrutiny that well or at all it isn't well written it's very 90s and tropes and feel and i mean look at it but it's special there's an earnestness to these performances with some legitimately great singing and over-the-top voice work put in the desire to emulate donkey kong country's technical achievements as a video game through 3d animation and motion capture technology is incredibly admirable and while it's aged rather horribly it's fun seeing all of this wild untrained energy brought to the forefront it has all the love and joy of a community theater production the presentation isn't great not all the cast is seasoned but it's clear that there's a lot of heart and that makes it endearing far beyond quality and that's why a character like bluster kong is still so much fun to talk about he's an archetype seen dozens of times before just fit to be a foil a donkey kong but he exists solely to get laughs out of children and make more fun set pieces to mess around with and the earnestness of his performance has just really stuck with me so thanks for listening to the greatest cartoon villain of all time thanks for listening to bluster kong why did i use up my best material on this [Music] foreign

Channel: Designing For

Views: 204,036

Keywords: Bluster, Bluster Kong, Donkey Kong, DK, BK, Donkey Kong Country, DKC, BKC, Bluster Kong Country, Leo Luster, Designing For, Man It Hurts To Be This Hip, Hunka Hunk Burnin' Bluster, Candy Kong, King K. Rool, King Karool, King K Rool, Cartoon, Animated Series, Animated, CG, Medialab, Diddy Drop Rap, Diddy Kong, Diddy, An Absolute Zero, Character Analysis, Barrel Works, Barrelworks, Kaptain Skurvy, Inka Dinka Doo, Mirror Never Lies, CGI, Funky Kong, Cranky Kong, Vote of Kong-fidence

Id: 8lcMca8E8qo

Length: 20min 22sec (1222 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 29 2021