Funky Kong has something to say about The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Recently premiering in movie theaters to astronomical success, the animated feature film brings to life many fan favorite Nintendo characters from classic Super Mario games, and that even includes the barrel-throwing gorilla Donkey Kong. But Donkey Kong's cousin, Funky Kong (Kenan Thompson), feels left out of all of the fun, as he made clear to Colin Jost when crashing the "Weekend Update" segment of Saturday night's Saturday Night Live. You can watch the special appearance below.
Funky Kong has brought the attitude with him, looking as rad as ever, but the Donkey Kong Country star is clearly not happy about being mostly left out of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. He points to the financial success of the film, noting how it's already far surpassed $600 million at the worldwide box office. Funky Kong highlights a screenshot from the film of him driving durt the go-kart racing sequence, unhappy that this was all he was able to be given for his part in the movie.
"They cut me out, I guess Funky Kong is too real for them," Thompson says as the video game character. "They don't want to hear what I gots to say, and they sure as hell don't want to watch me work... bring it back!"
And with that, Funky Kong stands up and starts grooving, jamming out to a funky tune. It's good that he's not letting his lack of screen time get him down too much, though he goes on to offer his theory as to why he was chopped out of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
"Funky don't wanna be what they want, Colin," he says. "Funky don't throw no barrels. Funky Kong spends his day cruising in my kart, dropping off packages of the sticky icky. And I spend my nights with a glass of banana rum and a bed full of Toads."
When asked if the Toads are male or female, Funky responds, "Funky don't know, Funky don't ask."
Funky Kong then has Jost go through the script over some of the "deleted scenes," which get a bit into NSFW territory, perhaps showing why it's all for the best his screen time was limited.
"Honestly, I can see why they cut you out," Jost notes.
Funky Kong Could Potentially Return in a Sequel or Donkey Kong Spinoff
Given the success of the Mario film, a spinoff focusing on the Kong family is not out of the question. That could potentially allow for Funky Kong to be featured much more, along iwth Cranky Kong, Diddy Kong, Trixie Kong, and other favorites from the original video games. For what it's worth, Donkey Kong voice actor Seth Rogen is all for the spinoff, teasing that Donkey Kong Country could serve as the inspiration for a feature film.
"Donkey Kong Country, I really did love that game," the actor told ScreenRant. "And it's funny looking back on it because its look is not great by today's standards. But at the time, it was mind-blowing, the movement and how fast it was. It felt like a huge leap. I think there's probably more from Donkey Kong Country to mine one day."
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is playing in movie theaters. You can watch the new episode of Saturday Night Live on Peacock.