Kong: The Animated Series

Kong: The Animated Series is an American television series for children that follows King Kong, the antagonist 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 in 2005 and Kong: Return to the Jungle in 2007.

Kong: The Animated Series is set after the events of the 1933 movie, many years later as evidenced by the presence of computers and other technological advancements, though it is never explicitly stated. In the opening two-part episode “The Return”, a brilliant female scientist named Dr. Lorna Jenkins takes DNA samples from Kong’s body and creates a clone of him. Dr. Jenkins is able to do this through researching genetic manipulation, with the implied aid of a collection of ancient, powerful artifacts called the Primal Stones (which are part of the same island home the original Kong came from). While still in his infancy, this new Kong is befriended by Dr. Jenkin’s young grandson, Jason.

However, Dr. Jenkins’ research falls under the attention of an ambitious man named Ramon De la Porta, an archeologist driven by greed and lack of morals, as well as the need to make himself a success in the scientific world. De La Porta and his men (disguised in a stealth costume) try to force Dr. Jenkins to share her discoveries with him, but when she refuses he later tries to sneak into her lab and steal them. However, he is discovered by Dr. Jenkins, resulting in a struggle during which De la Porta is splashed with a chemical that dissolves his right hand. He flees Dr. Jenkins’ lab, while a fire burns it to the ground.

Dr. Jenkins and Kong both escape the blaze, but in order to keep Kong safe, she spirits the young ape back to his former home on Kong Island, where she sequesters herself for nearly 20 years while she continues to raise and protect Kong, and continues her research on the Primal Stones. She does keep in touch with her grandson Jason, who she swears to secrecy about her location.

20 years later, Jason Jenkins is attending a seminar at college with his school mate and best friend, Eric “Tann” Tanenbaum, which is being taught by a professor (who is actually De la Porta) who has befriended Jason to some degree. He convinces Jason to take him to see his grandmother, who along with Tann (who provides the aircraft transport) travels with Jason to Kong Island.

Upon arrival on Kong Island, Jason, Tann and De la Porta are confronted by a native girl named Lua, who is the local Shaman and protector of the island. She takes the others and De La Porta to a hidden cavern, where Dr. Jenkins has been continuing her research. It is there that De La Porta is outed by Dr. Jenkins, but not before De la Porta manages to get control of the quartet, after revealing that his right hand is a cybernetic replacement for his original that was dissolved.

He takes one of Dr. Jenkins’ newest inventions, called the Cyberlink, a headset that allows for access to the Internet, two-way communication and an additional effect of being able to merge the wearer with another creature on a genetic level resulting in the formation of a massive, hybrid creature. When Jason uses the Cyberlink to merge with Kong, it is revealed that when Kong gets angrier he grows in both size and power, becoming "Mega-Kong", although the more obvious benefit of the merge is that Kong acquires Jason's knowledge of hand-to-hand combat for use against his adversaries. It also works in reverse, allowing Jason to merge Kong into himself to transport the massive ape more easily, although the strength of will of the two sides means that the merges can be difficult as the two sometimes struggle for control.

De La Porta tries to make Dr. Jenkins reveal the location of the Primal Stones, but Kong, now grown to a massive size, intervenes and sends De la Porta scrambling for his life. Jason is forced to use the Cyberlink to stop De La Porta, but the evil scientist escapes, with the promise to return one day to take his revenge and capture the Primal Stones for himself.

The series follows the further adventures of Jason and Kong, who are aided by Tann, Dr. Jenkins and Lua in their battles against De la Porta and his henchmen Omar, Frazetti, Giggles, and Tiger Lucy. Through the course of the series, Jason learns that the Primal Stones that De la Porta stole are part of a mystical seal that holds an ancient evil being named Chiros "The Destroyer", who is trapped underneath a temple near a massive volcano on Kong Island. The original Kong was tasked with keeping the balance of the Primal Stones, so the Chiros would never rise to threaten the world. Chiros has an ally in the sub-human creature named Harpy, who strives against Kong to upset the balance and free Chiros. He also has a powerful demon named Ominous as one of his minions, who battles Kong.

All the while, Jason, Kong and their friends deal with other larger-than-life threats to the world, and travel the globe to save humanity, a feat made easy thanks to the Cyberlink’s ability to reverse-merge Kong into Jason’s body, allowing him to carry Kong anywhere they may need him and keep him contained until he is required, although the process can be uncomfortable due to the strong wills of both parties resulting in the occasional conflict for control.

Besides the threat of De la Porta, Jason, Kong, Tann, and Lua have some encounters with a firearms dealer named Andre. On other occasions, movie director Howling Jack Crocket tries to prove to the world that Kong still exists.

The relationships between Jason, Tann, Kong and Lua are the foundation for their success against their foes. Jason treats Kong as a larger brother, signified by him calling Kong "bro", and he and Tann have been best friends for years. Lua, as the island Shaman has befriended Kong as part of her training and her duty to keep the island safe. Both Jason and Lua have some vested feelings for each other, hinting at a possible romance between them.

In what is chronologically the final episode (but isn't shown or listed as the final, as the last few episodes are mixed up^{[citation needed]}), Kong, merged with Jason, throws Ominous into quicksand. De La Porta and Harpy use the Primal Stones to free Chiros, but De La Porta's life force is sucked out of him as part of the ritual. Harpy is defeated by Tann and killed when Lua uses the Primal Stones to strike her with lightning. Lua opens up a portal, and Kong defeats Chiros and throws him in, sealing him back inside the rock. Kong destroys the rock, and De La Porta's life force returns to him, though it has been broken by the ritual, leaving him permanently incapacitated.

• Kong: 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. 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 he can combine with Jason 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, however because he cannot speak the others assume he is overreacting.

• Jason Jenkins (voiced by Kirby Morrow): 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 sky scraper. He is an Archeologist major in college and best friend to fellow 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. 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 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" he becomes a godfather to his friend's new child.

• Dr. Lorna Jenkins (voiced by Daphne Goldrick): Jason's grandmother and the one who cloned 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. She 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 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 before they can.

• Ramon De la Porta (voiced by David Kaye): One of the principle antagonists of the series. He and his men tried to steal scientific secrets from Lorna Jenkins. 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 twenty years later, Ramon gets a job 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, but he does managed to kidnap Dr. Jenkins in order for her to lead her to the Primal Stones. Kong gives chase, and fends him off once again, 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 giant snake. 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. Ramon has used the Cyber-Link to merge with animals the anging from Chon-Dar, a Cave Bear, a giant snake, a wild boar, a cat and a scorpion to form a Manticore, a Tyrannosaurus statue at the La Brea Tar Pits, ajaguar, an eagle, a cockatoo, a spider monkey (when De La Porta had a tribal an invisibility gem), a dog, two German Shepherd Dogs 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 the island, and his ultimate fate is never revealed. 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 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. He and his allies assisted De La Porta in obtaining an ancient parchment from a Himalayan Monastery. I one episode he uses the Cyber-Link that De La Porta gave him to merge with a giant Yeti that Kong befriended. Kong manages to defeat Rajeec by freeing the Yeti from Rajeev's control.
  • Wu-Chan (voiced by Scott McNeil): A one-time henchman of De La Porta. 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. 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 snake and the dog De La Porta has 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, ultimately transformed into an ancient demon who 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 Chrios' devoted servant and second in command. She is a female gargoyle and unlike the rest of Chrios'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, after being thrown into the spell Lua recites, Harpy is turned to stone.
  • Ominous: Chiros' strongest warrior, who is able to match even Kong in strength.

• Andre (voiced by Ron Halder): A firearms dealer. 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 poachingHumpback 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.

(all the information about this article was taken by http://en.wikipedia.org)