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Does the redesigned Donkey Kong smoke weed?

How chill do we think the new DK is?

Donkey Kong as he appears in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. He looks like Donkey Kong normally does, with a red necktie — but his face is narrower and more mischievous. Perhaps...evil Image: Illumination Entertainment/Nintendo
Joshua Rivera (he/him) is an entertainment and culture journalist specializing in film, TV, and video game criticism, the latest stop in a decade-plus career as a critic.

It’s always important to remember where you came from, which is why I suppose the second trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie emphasizes both Brooklyn (where Italians come from) and Donkey Kong — where Mario made his first video game appearance. Like most of the characters in the film, the king of swing has gotten redesigned for his big-screen debut, and while it’s certainly faithful — he is, in fact, a gorilla in a necktie — it’s also the first time DK has been redesigned since Donkey Kong Country.

According to Miyamoto himself, the new design is meant to give DK a “comical personality,” ostensibly to match famous funnyman Seth Rogan’s vocal stylings. This simple fact is the tiny domino that tips over to create a cascade of thoughts in my mind, resulting in the single biggest mystery presented by the new Mario movie trailer: Does this new Donkey Kong smoke weed?

Follow my breadcrumbs:

  • He’s played by Seth Rogen
  • Seth Rogen famously smokes weed
  • Seth Rogen also loves playing characters that smoke weed
  • Seth Rogen even sells weed
  • Also, this guy smokes weed:
donkey kong

Tell me he doesn’t.

My theory? The new Donkey Kong does not smoke weed. Yet.

Got to leave something for the sequel, you know?

The next level of puzzles.

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