Let's make "DONKEY KONG" a movie

Whoever made this image, you're awesome!

For those of you who don't know, its also about Mario

Donkey Kong is a legendary video game. When young gamers hear Donkey Kong they will immediate conjure up images of a gorilla with a necktie, but only real gamers would know that it is the game that introduces the world to Mario. Well...sort of. He wasn't called Mario originally but instead referred to as "Jumpman" as a way to compete with Pacman. But for all intents and purposes this is the game that introduces the world to these two iconic characters.

Didn't they make a movie already?

The shot answer to this is yes and no. Yes, Buena Vista Pictures made a film adaptation of Super Mario Bros. back in 1993 starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the video game icons Mario and Luigi. The general consensus of that film among the video gaming community is... "act like it doesn't exist." Which is a shame because Bob Hoskins is a brilliant actor...but then again brilliant actors occasionally do bad films that they probably had no idea would be bad.

So, am I asking for a remake? Not really. Because then the title would be "Let's remake Super Mario Bros." Where I'm going with this is making a straight forward film adaptation of the original video game.

So how exactly would one were to do that? Well, the idea I have in mind, is probably not the one people want:

Dark and Gritty - The way no one wants to see....unless

Just hear me out. The term dark and gritty usually gets associated with "The Dark Knight." It is a term used to describe something that is real and grounded. Well to me Dark and Gritty means something else. When I think of Dark and Gritty, The Dark Knight does come to mind but so does a film that people seem to forget is Dark and Gritty: The X-Men Film Franchise. People don't seem to realize how dark the film is in terms of subject matter, but it may also have to do with the touches of lightness coming from the need to relieve the serious tension. This is a style that could pose a threat to a movie going experience. Do it right (X-men, The Dark Knight, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and you got a great movie. Do it wrong (Cowboys and Aliens) and that's when debates will start triggering of whether it was the right decision. And believe it or not, the storyline of the original Donkey Kong game can be interpreted as pretty dark.

The Story

The storyline of the original Donkey Kong game is about a pet gorilla that has suffered abuse and mistreatment by his owner for several years. Fed up with the abuse, the gorilla kidnaps his owner's girlfriend and holds her hostage in the owner's factory. Now, obviously the gorilla is the titular Donkey Kong. But who is this abusive owner? Jumpman, or better known today as MARIO! 

That's right, the hero of the video game is the cause for the trouble of the video game. While this plot was really created just to give it an edge against other games that came out at the time, if one were actually to delve into the deeper meanings then you'd realize that you're playing the villain. Our knowledge of Mario is that he's the hero. This is mainly attributed to the later video games that would paint him as the true hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. This can play to people's expectations of Mario in the film.

It could be a small scale rendition of the storyline told in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. But have the James Franco character be a dick and change the setting to the fantasy world of the Mushroom Kingdom then it makes total sense why someone would have a gorilla as a pet. Or how about making the gorillas Mario's workforce for the factory that he runs? He keeps it out of the public eye that he is abusing these animals and instead makes it looks like he takes good care of them. Hell, he could be secretly the villain of the story. Donkey Kong can be his main gorilla who takes the most abuse due protecting the other gorillas from Mario. It would play into Donkey Kong's plan in Kidnapping Mario's girlfriend, Pauline. Yes, Pauline, not Princess Peach. The story would then borrow that element of King Kong with the seemingly villainous ape kidnapping the beautiful woman. Of course this is where that revelation would dawn her about the truth of Mario.

The film can end with Mario being exposed and loses his business, with Donkey Kong and his gorilla comrades being released into Donkey Kong Country by Pauline. As for Mario, he is forced to work with his younger brother Luigi as a plumber.

See what I did there? I left Mario in a bad place while also setting him up for a potential sequel that would serve as his redemption story to being a true hero. Clever huh? Well, maybe anyone can come up with that. But doesn't that sound cool?

The Downsides to making it that way

• People might be turned off by making it kind of serious and a little bit dark with the animal abuse subject matter that some would claim wasn't there
• The title Donkey Kong would be misleading as it is also a Mario movie so a studio might call it Mario Vs Donkey Kong or Mario Origins or something lame to get the public more interested and less confused when they see Mario
• Most people don't know this storyline so it would turn people off to have Mario painted in such a negative light
• Video game adaptations have a history of being bad so that could detract from the number of people who would see it

The Plus sides of making it that way

• It would make the subject matter stronger and the drama really intense
• It would have great action scenes that would all take place in one location, kind of like The Raid but in a factory
• The first big screen adaptation of Donkey Kong and the second stab at making a good Mario Flick
• It would add more depth to characters who are pretty straight forward in all their other games
• It could potentially open the doors to a Nintendo Cinematic Universe (I did say it ends with Donkey Kong Country being introduced and Mario becoming a Plumber)

Final words

Yes, that is the movie I'd want to see. And it may sound crazy to some. But again, any movie idea can be good if done right. What type of Mario adaptation would you want? Something like Marvel that is filled with comedy and moments of character development? Or my approach where it looks dark but it can also be light.