Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Of 2025Holiday Watch GuideGotham AwardsCelebrity PhotosSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Donkey Kong

  • Video Game
  • 1981
  • E
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
Donkey Kong (1981)
Kong
Play trailer0:38
1 Video
29 Photos
Action

Arcade video game and the first in the "Donkey Kong" series in which Jumpman (later retconned to be Mario) runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and re... Read allArcade video game and the first in the "Donkey Kong" series in which Jumpman (later retconned to be Mario) runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and rescue Pauline from a giant gorilla, Donkey Kong.Arcade video game and the first in the "Donkey Kong" series in which Jumpman (later retconned to be Mario) runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and rescue Pauline from a giant gorilla, Donkey Kong.

  • Director
    • Shigeru Miyamoto
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    2.4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Shigeru Miyamoto
    • 24User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Kong
    Trailer 0:38
    Kong

    Photos28

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 22
    View Poster

    User reviews24

    7.32.3K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    Op_Prime

    Outdated? Maybe. A classic? Definitely.

    This game came out twenty years ago and remains one of the most important video games ever. Due in part because it was the first to have a real story. However, it is mainly because this was the first appearance of the most famous video game character, Mario. Of course, he's known as Jump Man, a carpenter, in this game.

    In the game, you play Jump Man and have to rescue a girl from Donkey Kong. Of course, you have to dodge all sorts of traps along the way. The graphics are vastly outdated compared to today's standards, but this game totally rocks. Thumbs up!
    9rasmus-9

    The game that started it all

    Back in 1981 Nintendo was on the verge of bankruptcy. So the hired this unknown man called Shigeru Miyamoto to do a game for them.

    The game was called Donkey Kong and starred a little carpenter called Jump Man who would later change his name to Mario and become the most famous videogame-hero of all time.

    The game itself was a the time revolutionary. Not only was the first real platformer, but it was also the first game with a story of some sort.

    Today the game is of course outdated, but it still stands as one of the most important games ever.
    MovieAddict2016

    Classic video game

    The first time I played "Donkey Kong" was on N64 believe it or not - it was included as an easter egg no "Donkey Kong 64" which was, like "Mario 64," a 3-D Kong adventure.

    At one point in the game, playing as Kong, you get to activate an old arcade game and play the original 1981 version of the video game.

    It's actually a great deal of fun, and very hard at times to progress. You play as Jumpman (Mario before he was given a name I suppose), a little guy in a red cap who jumps up and down a lot. You have to progress through levels jumping over objects that Donkey Kong throws at you. Your object is to rescue the girl he is holding hostage. (Ah, a nice King Kong homage.) Overall this is a very fun classic video game that still holds up to this day despite its poor graphics. A must-play for any gamer!
    cornflake101

    This game was a giant stepping stone to Mario's success!

    Many people think that the only thing about Nintendo is consoles and games. Actually, only about 70% of it is. In 1890 Nintendo was founded by a Japanese man named Fusajiro Yamauchi, and they were a successful card company. By the 1950s their company had expanded and by the 1970s they were selling toys. Due to the popularity of video game consoles they decided to make their own. They hired Nintendo's soon-to-be-top-man Shigeru Miyamoto in 1977 and they created the Game-And-Watch device. It failed miserably and Nintendo were starting to run out of money. So in 1980 Shigeru promised to make things right when he started developing his new game, DONKEY KONG. The game was finished by 1981 and released on arcades worldwide. Unbelievably the game was a massive success and Miyamoto had saved Nintendo. This game starred Jumpman the carpenter (soon to become Mario the plumber), a giant, stupid ape called Donkey Kong, and Mario's girlfriend Pauline. Jumpman has to climb a giant construction site to save Pauline, but Donkey Kong has planned many tricks and traps which Jumpman must get past. The game is very fun and a huge revolution for Nintendo. Yes, it is over 20 years since the excitement began and now gamers of today would laugh in the face of this game, it is definitely one of the greatest classics ever to come from the greatest game company of all time.
    marshottentot

    In Regards To The Ridiculous Saturday Morning Cartoon...

    During the 1980's video games became an incredible phenomenon in America. Kids went crazy and stole any quarter they could find (much to your Stormed-The-Beaches-At-Normandy-Grampa's dismay), parents loved the empty house (time to make with the 'Whoopie'), One guy even shot some poor fool for cutting in line to play Pac Man!! Needless to say, the children's entertainment market paniced!! How can Scrappy Doo possibly compete with Mr.Do? They did what any business would and assimilated the form. In so doing, they effectively shot themselves in the head with a slow motion Gatling gun filled with video game rounds. It would take a year and a half to make the kill.

    Donkey Kong was one of these lethal rounds! Your basic idea was this: Mario (I'm not sure if he was called Mario or not) is an evil zookeeper who chased the fun loving Donkey Kong around. Donkey Kong would always escape and cry in triumph "Don-KEEEEE*KONG!!"

    That's it. AWFUL!

    More like this

    Super Mario Bros.
    8.8
    Super Mario Bros.
    Mario Bros.
    7.3
    Mario Bros.
    Duck Hunt
    7.1
    Duck Hunt
    Tetris
    8.5
    Tetris
    Space Invaders
    7.5
    Space Invaders
    Excitebike
    7.0
    Excitebike
    Galaga
    7.7
    Galaga
    The Legend of Zelda
    8.5
    The Legend of Zelda
    Donkey Kong Country
    8.6
    Donkey Kong Country
    Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
    8.5
    Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
    Castlevania
    7.8
    Castlevania
    Contra
    8.2
    Contra

    Related interests

    Bruce Willis and Taniel in Die Hard (1988)
    Action

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The game was originally designed as a Popeye game but the rights expired in production, so new characters were made with the same characteristics of a giant taking away the girlfriend while being chased by the small hero.
    • Goofs
      There is a bug in the game that randomly occurs when Jumpman jumps over a barrel, and is not awarded any points for it.
    • Quotes

      Introduction screen: How high can you get?

    • Connections
      Edited into Animal Crossing (2001)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 2, 1981 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Japan
      • United States
    • Languages
      • None
      • English
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Donkey King
    • Production companies
      • Nintendo R&D1
      • Nintendo
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.