Kong: The Animated Series was an American-Canadian television series for children that follows King Kong, the monster of the 1933 film of the same name. Kong was created to compete with Godzilla: The Series, and first aired on BKN in 2000. In May 2001, Fox Kids began airing reruns of the first 13 episodes. Then, Jetix began airing reruns on September 9, 2005, as a prelude to the release of Peter Jackson's King Kong. Additionally, two direct-to-DVD movies based on the series were released: Kong: King of Atlantis, where Kong fights to save the mythic island from a vicious snake sorceress (and which also contains three musical numbers; the only Kong film to do so) in 2005 and Kong: Return to the Jungle, where poachers capture Kong and other animals from his island to sell to a zoo, in 2007.
When King Kong fell from the skyscraper upon being taken down by the biplanes, a scientist named Dr. Lorna Jenkins took DNA samples from him which she used to recreate Kong with the help of the DNA of her grandson Jason. Many years later, Dr. Lorna Jenkins sends an E-Mail to her grandson where he and his friend Eric "Tan" Tannenbaum IV are invited to Kong's home on Kong Island. What they didn't know is that their university professor Ramone De La Porta had tampered with the E-Mail so that he got invited as well. Upon meeting the native girl Lua, the group is taken to Dr. Lorna Jenkin's lab where Ramone's true colors are shown. Upon getting access to the Cyber-Link technology, Ramone uses it to steal some of the Primal Stones in a plot to take over the world. The Primal Stones were used to keep the demon Chiros in his prison. With his Cyber-Link that can merge him with Kong, Jason and his friends must work to reclaim the Primal Stones from Ramone De La Porta and his followers while fighting the forces of Chiros.
Main characters
Kong (vocal effects provided by Scott McNeil) - One of the main protagonists of the series. He is the genetically engineered clone of the original King Kong created by Lorna Jenkins by using the DNA of the deceased original Kong and from her grandson's DNA. Because of that, he has a younger brother relationship with Jason, signified by Jason calling Kong "Bro". He is known as The Protector, using his strength and the Primal Stones to protect the world from the demon Chrios. Through the use of the Cyber-Link, Jason can combine with Kong and when angry can grow to twice his size. Both have strong wills so Kong can only stay in Jason, or vice versa, for a short period of time before causing each other harm. He has heightened instincts, able to tell if something is wrong or if someone is not who they say they are. Because Kong cannot speak, the others assume he is overreacting.
Jason Jenkins (voiced by Kirby Morrow) - One of the main protagonists of the series. Jason is the orphaned grandson of Dr. Lorna Jenkins and "older brother" to Kong. With his DNA, Lorna was able to clone Kong after the original died from falling from the skyscraper upon being taken down by the planes. He is an archeology major at a university and best friend to classmate Tann. He is also a high level martial artist. After being tricked by Da La Porta and losing the Primal Stones, Jason, along with Tann, Lua and Kong searches for them all over the world while thwarting De La Porta's attempts of activating them for evil purposes. It is obvious Jason has feelings for Lua. In the final episode, Lua and Jason confess their feelings for each other and nearly kiss, but Kong splashes them before they can. Jason occasionally merges with something other than Kong. In "Hidden Fears" Jason merges with Soara the Pteranodon and a Tyrannosaurus when Kong is incapacitated by a giant spider's venom that was used by Harpy. In "DNA Land," he merges with a Fennec Fox to get into Howling Jack Crockett's DNA Land animal park, and later an eagle to get Kong out of there. In "The Renewal," Jason merges with a Pteranodon and then a Triceratops to stop a lava flow while Kong is busy fighting Ominous in a parallel world.
Eric “Tann” Tannenbaum IV (voiced by Scott McNeil) - Best friend to Jason and fellow college student. He is apparently Jewish. Though he is very muscular he is a kind person who will go out of the way to help his friends. He also takes martial arts and trains with Jason, but is not as good as Jason as he was not accepted to a martial arts tournament. His parents are very wealthy and he always likes to buy new gadgets which often become very useful later on. With the trust fund his grandfather left him, he is wealthier than his parents. He is an accomplished pilot, always seen flying a plane (or any other vehicle). He has a strong love for pizza and is often seen eating it with pineapple as a topping. He often states his toes are itchy if he believes something bad is about to happen (albeit it could also be an allergic reaction to pineapple pizzas). In "Framed," it is revealed that he became a godfather to his friend's new child.
Dr. Lorna Jenkins (voiced by Daphne Goldrick, later by Kathy Morse) - A scientist who is Jason's grandmother and the one who cloned Kong from the DNA of King Kong. She is in the midst of researching the different species on Kong Island as well as the Primal Stones when Da La Porta steals them in the first episode. During the missions, she stays back on the island giving information from her research lab in a hidden cave. She is able to help the team with her vast amount of friends in the archeological world to get the information they need. Lorna is seen to be very attractive to her male friends as they often flirt with her when they chat.
Lua (voiced by Saffron Henderson) - The female native shaman of Kong Island and the last of her kind. She knows many secrets on Kong Island and helps Dr. Jenkins with her research as she knows Dr. Jenkins only wishes to help. She takes her position very seriously even though she is only at the beginning level, keeping the Island secrets from the group and several times risking her life. She has a pet smilodon named Chondar. Because she has lived on the island her entire life, she is quite naive about the outside world. It is obvious she has feelings for Jason, as she always gets jealous when the mention of a past female friend of his comes up or another woman shows interest in him. In the final episode, Lua and Jason confess their feelings for each other and nearly kiss, but Kong splashes them with water before they can. In Kong: Return to the Jungle, Lua's sabretooth tiger, Chondar, is revealed to be female and has become the mother to a cub called Kip (short for Kipling; after the critically acclaimed author of Jungle Book).
Antagonists
Professor Ramon De La Porta (voiced by David Kaye) - One of the principle antagonists of the series. He is apparently of Hispanic origin. He and his men tried to steal scientific secrets from Lorna Jenkins while in stealth suits. An encounter with Jason and Kong resulted in him accidentally getting his right hand into a hot chemical when trying to reach for his gun. He and his henchmen escaped and he received a robotic prosthesis. Twenty years later, Ramon gets a job as a professor at the university which Jason and Tann attend. He is shown wearing gloves with one of them hiding a cybernetic hand to replace the one he lost. When Lorna Jenkins sends an e-mail to her grandson, Ramon hacks into it to make it say that he should be invited as well. Once on Kong Island, Ramon reveals himself to Dr. Jenkins as he steals one of the Cyber-Links and merges with Lua's smilodon Chon-Dar. Kong fends Ramon off. Ramone later managed to kidnap Dr. Jenkins in order for her to lead her to the Primal Stones. Kong gives chase and fends him off, this time as he merges with a Cave Bear. When Ramon discovers the temple where the Primal Stones are, he manages to steal them even when defeating Kong while merged with a Gigantophis. Jason manages to recover two from him. During the series, Ramon uses the Primal Stones for his own purposes in different locations, even modifying the Cyber-Links he stole to merge with anything that resembles an animal or merge with two animals to form a hybrid. In the end, his life force is sucked out by Harpy as part of the ritual to free Chiros. It is returned to him once Chiros is reimprisoned, but his life force is nonetheless broken by the ritual. He is later hospitalised. Ramon has used the Cyber-Link to merge with animals ranging from Chon-Dar, a Cave Bear, a Gigantophis, a wild boar, a cat and a scorpion to form a Manticore, a Tyrannosaurus statue at the La Brea Tar Pits, a jaguar, an eagle, the Loch Ness Monster, a cockatoo, a spider monkey (when De La Porta had a tribal invisibility gem), a dog, two German Shepherds to form a two-headed humanoid version of them, and even a strand of Jason's hair to become a clone of Jason.
Omar (voiced by Scott McNeil) - He is a tall African American and De La Porta's second in command. He is last seen in the second to last episode trapped on Kong Island and his ultimate fate is never revealed, though he is either presumably killed or arrested alongside the other goons. Throughout the series, Omar uses the Cyber-Link to merge with a lion and an eagle to become a Griffin, a Triceratops statue at the La Brea Tar Pits, a giant anteater, a rat, a dog, a mandrill, a coyote, and a lizard.
Frazetti (voiced by Kirby Morrow) - A muscular man with a blonde cow-lick hairstyle who works for De La Porta. He is presumably of Italian heritage. He is last seen in the second to last episode. Throughout the series, he has used the Cyber-Link less than the other henchmen as he used it to merge with a hyena, a Stegosaurus, and a quetzal and a rattlesnake to become the show's version of Quetzalcoatl.
Giggles - A large fat man that works for De La Porta. His real name is never revealed, but his nickname comes from the fact he often giggles. He is last seen in the second to last episode. Throughout the series, Giggles uses the Cyber-Link to merge with a Komodo dragon, a crocodile, an eagle, a tarantula, a coyote, and a Stegosaurus.
Tiger Lucy (voiced by Nicole Oliver) - An art dealer that once helped Tann's parents and seemed to grow a crush on Tann. However, she later teams up with De La Porta and is complicit in many of his schemes. She does not care what he wants to do as long as she gets paid. Though she once used the Cyber-Link to become a monstrous cat, she does on one occasion use it to merge with her own cat.
Rajeev - A one-time henchman of De La Porta who appears in "Top of the World." He is of Indian descent. He and his allies assisted De La Porta in obtaining an ancient parchment from a Himalayan Monastery. He uses the Cyber-Link that De La Porta gave him to merge with a giant Yeti that Kong befriended. Kong manages to defeat Rajeev by freeing the Yeti from Rajeev's control.
Wu-Chan (voiced by Scott McNeil) - A one-time Chinese henchman of De La Porta who appears in "Curse of the Dragon." He aids De La Porta in kidnapping Jason and Lua in China where Jason was invited to compete in a karate tournament. He and De La Porta force Jason into going into the Tomb of China's First Emperor near the Great Wall of China to retrieve a parchment that will reveal the secrets of the Primal Stone of Life and Death in exchange for Lua's safety. It was mentioned that Wu-Chan couldn't do the job because he is claustrophobic. Tann (who uses Jason's Cyber-Link to reverse-merge with Kong) manages to catch up to Jason and help him retrieve the parchment. Once it is retrieved and given to De La Porta, Wu-Chan is ordered to attack as he uses the Cyber-Link that De La Porta gave him to merge with a Kingsnake and the Pekingese that De La Porta had with him to form a Chinese Dragon. Jason merges with Kong and defeats Wu-Chan.
Chiros (voiced by Paul Dobson) - One of the principal antagonists of the series. He was once a Shaman who sought more power and tried to steal the Primal Stones and was ultimately transformed into an ancient demon. He was sealed away by the original Kong and his shaman companion. After De La Porta steals some of the Primal Stones, Chiros is slowly released from his imprisonment. Unable to leave where he is imprisoned, he usually has Harpy handle some jobs he gives her. To combat Kong, Chiros often sends Ominous to fight Kong. In the final episode, he is released and fights Kong, but is eventually defeated when Lua casts a spell and Kong throws him into the portal, reimprisoning him. His stone is then destroyed by Kong.
Harpy (voiced by Pauline Newstone) - She is Chiros' devoted servant and second in command. She is a female gargoyle-like demon. Unlike the rest of Chiros's gargoyle army, she appears more human and is able to think for herself, though she is completely devoted to Chrios' cause. In the final episode, Harpy is turned to stone after being thrown into the spell Lua recites.
Ominous - A demon who is Chiros' strongest warrior who is able to match even Kong in strength.
Rakhir (voiced by Kirby Morrow)-A poacher of Arab descent who travels to Africa to hunt gorillas. He and his men then capture Kong and Lua before Jason and Tann defeat him and free their friends with the help of the other jungle animals.
Andre (voiced by Ron Halder) - A firearms dealer who sells weapons to terrorists. His first encounter with Jason, Tann, Lua, and Kong occurs when Giggles (who merged with a Komodo dragon) steals some weapons on behalf of De La Porta. Andre and his henchmen raid De La Porta's hideout and kidnap him and the Komodo dragon. Once at his hideout on an offshore oil platform, Andre interrogates De La Porta about how the Cyber-Link works. De La Porta demonstrates for him by having the Cyber-Link merge Andre with the Komodo dragon. As De La Porta gets away, Kong fights Andre. After Kong defeats Andre, the authorities are contacted and Andre and his men are arrested. In "Blue Star" Andre returns when he and men are poaching humpback whales in the frozen parts of Greenland. When his men are stopped by Kong, he learns of this and pursues them to a lost city hidden in the ice. He manages to steal Jason's Cyber-Link and return through an underwater passage where he uses Jason's Cyber-Link to merge with a polar bear (which his henchmen had captured for Andre's attack). Kong manages to defeat the Andre, but he and his henchmen get away. In "Interview with a Monkey" Howling Jack Crockett interviews Andre in prison about his encounter with Kong. It is revealed at some point that he sold Crockett a laser that is seen in "DNA Land", which Crockett tries to disavow to the public.
Primal Stones
There are 13 Primal Stones, Now 13 had their names revealed. These were the mystic stones that kept the demon Chiros locked in his imprisonment. The Primal Stones that are mentioned and/or used are:
After the series ended, two direct-to-DVD movies were produced: Kong: King of Atlantis, released in 2005 and Kong: Return to the Jungle, released in 2007. The first movie was produced to try and cash in on the 2005 King Kong remake and that same year, Toon Disney's "Jetix" would air not only this movie but the original series as well to also take advantage of the 2005 movie's release.
Video games
Two video games were released based on the series, both on the NintendoGame Boy Advance. The first, called simply Kong: The Animated Series, was released by Planet Interactive in 2002. The second was released by Majesco Games in 2005, and was based on the direct-to-video film Kong: King of Atlantis.
