One of the stand-out features of the Mario Kart World trailer was the redesign of Donkey Kong. Since then we’ve had Donkey Kong Bananza announced, plus Shigeru Miyamoto has provided some context behind the redesign. Today I’m going to look at the Donkey Kong redesign, plus we get a look at Diddy Kong too.

Before we get into things we should take a look at Donkey Kong’s previous design. Nintendo collaborated with Rare in 1994, and DK’s design has stayed pretty consistent since 1994. That includes classic games like Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong 64 and more recent entries like Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze. 

We first saw a new Donkey Kong design in the Super Mario Bros movie released in 2023. Earlier in 2025 we had confirmation that Donkey Kong’s design was changing. Eagle-eyed fans noticed during the reveal for Mario Kart World Donkey Kong looked different. 

Shigeru Miyamoto recently explained DK’s new design and the reasons why. Epic Universe recently opened in Florida, featuring a Donkey Kong Country expansion to Nintendo World. 

Here’s what Miyaamoto had to say: 

“So when it comes to character creation and working with characters, I still take an active role in that. And looking back to the first generation Donkey Kong Country, we worked with Rare to create Donkey Kong Country. What can we do with the design to make it more expressive?”

“When we were talking about trying to create new versions, evolving Donkey Kong, we created the game called Jungle Beat. We worked together with the team that made 3D Mario. With the technology that was available at the time, we were able to make Donkey Kong more expressive. And going back to the design that Rare came up with, we reevaluated; what can we do with the design to make it more expressive? And then when it comes to the movie, we decided to move forward with this new generation Donkey Kong design.”

We can certainly see Donkey Kong’s new expressive nature in the upcoming Donkey Kong Bonanza. While the overall design is similar to the DK we know and love, his brow is less furrowed, he looks less angry, plus he’s pulling a lot of faces in the upcoming game Donkey Kong Bonanza. 

As well as Donkey Kong Bonanza and Mario Kart World Nintendo is rolling out a whole new line of Donkey Kong merch to go along with the redesign. Nintendo’s Japanese website can be seen filled with the new design, plus Nintendo’s recently opened store in San Francisco. Donkey Kong also features at Nintendo’s theme parks in Japan and the US with the Donkey Kong Country expansion, so it’s a busy time for DK and the crew. 

The original designer behind Rare and Ninttendo’s Donkey Kong, that was the design of the character for 30 years is seemingly in support of the redesign. Kevin Bayliss said on X:

“Unfortunately, when I designed him, because he basically had Battletoad eyes, it was hard to give Donkey Kong any expression other than ‘annoyed,’“This is something I take a little more into consideration when creating characters today!” said Bayliss.

Diddy Kong has also got a make-over, albeit a minor one compared to Donkey Kong. Similar to DK’s redesign, he’s looking similar to the movie version of Diddy Kong. Diddy Kong’s redesign now includes teeth, plus he has more realistic looking toes. Diddy Kong’s redesign is closer to the Rare design than the movie version. 

While Diddy Kong hasn’t yet been confirmed for Donkey Kong Bonanza, it’s likely he’ll feature in the game so we get to see his redesign in all its glory. 

Donkey Kong Bonanza is due to release on 17th July 2025 for Nintendo Switch 2. 

Let me know what you think of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong’s redesign in the comments.