King Kong in popular culture

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An enduring image of American film culture, King Kong is frequently referenced and parodied in popular culture. King Kong, his famous ascent of the Empire State Building, and the characters featured in his debut film, have appeared in a variety of mediums ranging from cartoons, films, literature, television series, comics and video games. King Kong's fame has also led to the creation of other famous film monsters such as Godzilla. The following is a list of such references, organized in alphabetical order. While this page aims to be comprehensive, due to the broad subject matter, it is ever-growing.

Film

Image Film of origin Release date Description
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Beavis and Butt-Head Do America 1996/12/20 Beavis and Butt-Head at one point have a Godzilla-based dream. Butt-Head kidnaps a woman, reminiscent of King Kong, while Beavis breathes fire at military troops, reminiscent of Godzilla. The two of them fight over who wants to have a "go" with the woman before the dream ends.
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The Big Hit 1998/04/24 The main character's inability to return a VHS copy of King Kong Lives to the video store is a running gag throughout the entire film.
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Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie 2017/06/02 George and Harold attempt to stop Captain Underpants from being a so-called hero. He gets on the roof of a building and jumps onto an inflatable purple ape, mistaking it for a "giant ape monster."
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Cats Don't Dance 1997/03/26 King Kong is one of the animal actors on the Mammoth Pictures backlot that Danny and Sawyer cross paths with on their way to the Little Ark Angel set.
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Chicken Little 2005/11/04 During gym class, Fish Out of Water reenacts the climax of King Kong by using paper versions of the Empire State Building and planes. When Fish is struck by a paper airplane and falls to the ground, Runt mentions, "T'was Beauty that killed the Beast".
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Cloverfield 2008/01/18 A freeze frame of Kong atop the Empire State Building can briefly be seen when the camera's footage glitches out.
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Curious George 2006/02/10 While Curious George is in the back of a truck driven by Ted (the Man in the Yellow Hat), an overhead projector amplifies a projection of him onto the streets of New York City, making him appear to be a "40-foot monkey causing unintentional panic" (in the words of a taxi cab driver who casually claims to have seen it before). During the drive, Curious George climbs around in the back of the truck to swat a fly, with his projection conveniently shown on top of a skyscraper as he is seemingly swatting at a helicopter until the projector deactivates; this is very similar to the ending of King Kong.

A central part of the film is a large ape-like idol called the Lost Shrine of Zagawa, which Mr. Bloomsberry dubs "the Eighth Wonder of the World," a title historically applied to King Kong in various appearances.

Free Birds King Kong.png Free Birds 2013/11/01 When Reggie was curiously seeing what the remote is multiple channels end up scaring him, one of them included King Kong on a skyscraper fighting planes.
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I Like Mountain Music 1933/06/14 A parody of King Kong named "Ping Pong" is one of many cartoon characters from various magazines that put on a show.
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Japanese King Kong 1933/10/05
Main article: Japanese King Kong.
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Jurassic Park 1993/06/11 Upon viewing the imposing gates to Jurassic Park, Dr. Ian Malcolm remarks, "What have they got in there, King Kong?"
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King Klunk 1933/09/04 A Walter Lantz cartoon featuring Pooch the Pup, this is one of the earliest known parodies of King Kong.
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The King Kong that Appeared in Edo 1938/03/31
Main article: The King Kong that Appeared in Edo.
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The LEGO Batman Movie 2017/02/10
Main article: King Kong (The LEGO Batman Movie).
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Little Shop of Horrors 1986/12/19 A song in the film sung by Audrey II, "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space", includes the lyric "Don't you talk to me about old King Kong". (See "Songs" below.)
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Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted 2012/06/18 When exploring a model of New York City made out of dirt for his birthday, Alex the Lion climbs up a model skyscraper just as King Kong did to the Empire State Building.
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Mad Monster Party? 1967/03/08 A King Kong-esque giant gorilla, known only as "It", arrives on the Island of Evil in this film's climax and menaces the cast before battling Baron Boris von Frankenstein and his zombie-piloted fleet of biplanes, then is destroyed by the matter-destroying formula that is used by the Baron in order to do so, along with the entire island and (almost) everyone on it. Only the Baron's wimpy and allergy-afficted nephew, Felix Flanken, and his beautiful female assistant, Francesca, survive the explosion by leaving the island via a rowboat.
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The Pet Store 1933/10/28 In this 1933 Mickey Mouse short, Beppo the Gorilla escapes from his cage in the pet shop and decides to imitate King Kong by carrying Minnie up towards a high shelf.
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Ralph Breaks the Internet 2018/11/21 An insecure virus named Arthur replicates Ralph's insecurities, creating a legion of Ralph clones that rampage through the Internet. During the climax of the film, the Ralph clones combine into one giant Ralph named Ralphzilla, although this name is never spoken by the characters. Ralphzilla behaves like King Kong, climbing the Google Building and swatting at a Gmail chain email while carrying Vanelope with him, recreating the ending of the original 1933 King Kong film. The song that plays during this scene is even titled "Kling Kong".
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Ready Player One 2018/03/29
Main article: King Kong (Ready Player One).
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Rio 2011/03/22 Before a group of birds prepare to fight against a group of marmosets, a bird named Pedro calls the leader of the marmosets "Little King Kong."
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Rugrats in Paris: The Movie 2000/11/17 The babies take control of a giant mechanical Reptar called the Reptar Robot and roam through the city causing unintentional destruction, referencing both Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. They also pilot the Robot against Robosnail, a giant purple snail robot with mechanical crab-like pincers, and scale the Eiffel Tower with the Robot holding Angelica in its hand, referencing King Kong. Both mechas are eventually destroyed, with the Reptar Robot having its tail, right claw and head cut off.
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Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 2004/09/17 Kong can be seen climbing the Empire State Building in the background of the giant robot attack on New York. Later, the sunken wreckage of the S.S. Venture, complete with a Kong-sized cage, can be seen in a ship graveyard. Finally, Dr. Totenkopf's hidden island resembles Skull Island, with jungles inspired by the 1933 film and a giant log bridge.
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Space Jam: A New Legacy 2021/07/16 LeBron James lists King Kong as a potential member for his basketball team. Later on, King Kong is among the many fictional characters in the audience watching the Toon Squad compete against the Goon Squad. Al-G Rhythm also says “King Kong ain't got nothing on me", parodying a similar quote by Alonzo Harris in Training Day, much to Kong’s annoyance.
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Training Day 2001/10/05 Detective Alonzo Harris declares, "King Kong ain't got shit on me!"
LA Optimus Primal.jpeg Transformers: Rise of the Beasts 2023/06/09 The Maximal Optimus Primal re-uses the Monsterverse King Kong's roar, albeit altered in order to sound robotic.
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Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 2005/09/04 After having transformed into the Were-Rabbit, Wallace grabs Lady Tottington and climbs up Tottington Hall while escaping from an angry mob, similar to how King Kong kidnapped Ann Darrow and climbed up the Empire State Building. The Were-Rabbit also beats his chest when he howls at the Moon.

Television

Image Series of origin Episode(s) Air date Description
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31 Minutes "The Explosive Wizard" 2004/06/19 In this episode's credits, Dante Torobolino the Explosive Wizard is seen flying through the universe with his jet pack and destroying Ultraseven, King Kong and the Heisei Godzilla.
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The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog "Big Daddy" 1993/09/23 After Coconuts gets fired by Robotnik, Robotnik reveals a giant purple ape named Big Daddy and both plans to use him to take over the world and mind control him much like Dr. Who did with King Kong in King Kong Escapes. Robotnik also plans to give him a giant ray gun and have him climb Mount Mobius; a simulation of the latter has the ape climb the mountain in a manner similar to King Kong climbing the Empire State Building. The ape is later revealed to have a son named Boom-Boom who likely references both Kiko in Son of Kong and Baby Kong in King Kong Lives. At the end of the episode, Sonic frees Big Daddy from Robotnik's control and reunites him with his son, after which Big Daddy turns Robotnik into his son's new rattle.
Test Image.png "Robolympics" 1993/09/14 During a montage of Sonic and Tails doing various things while Professor Turtle slowly explains about a meteor and walking to his laboratory, one of the pair's activities is watching a King Kong-inspired film with a robot ape on the top of a skyscraper, which references Mechani-Kong.
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The Amazing World of Gumball various episodes The character of Hector Jötunheim has a strong resemblance to King Kong.
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The Atom Ant Show "Killer Diller Gorilla" 1966/10/08 Atom Ant fights the giant gorilla Kink Konk in New York City.
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Back at the Barnyard "Plucky and Me" 2011/10/03 When Plucky, a dinosaur, gets on top of the farmhouse holding Mrs. Beady in his hand, a policeman comes in a plane and starts shooting at Plucky, referencing the original 1933 King Kong film. The policeman hits Plucky with a giant ball of cheese and he falls off, pretending to be dead. Mrs. Beady then says, "It was Beauty that killed the Beast".
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Beast Machines: Transformers "A Wolf in the Fold" 2000/09/09 When the Maximals are infected with the Hate Plague by the Predacon Megatron and begin fighting each other, the Maximal Cheetor yells at Optimus Primal, "Who died and made you King Kong?"
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Beast Wars: Transformers various episodes The alternate modes of the Maximal Optimus Primal and the Predacon Megatron are a gorilla and a Tyrannosaurus rex, respectively, paying homage to King Kong's fight with the Meat-Eater.[1]
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Danger Mouse various episodes A recurring character in this animated TV series is a scientist monkey named Isambard King Kong Brunel.
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Donkey Kong Country "From Zero to Hero" 1998/09/27 Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong see a film about a giant ape and a mutant lizard fighting, a reference to King Kong vs. Godzilla; however, unlike in the film the mutant lizard is the one who wins the fight. Diddy Kong mentions the lizard stomping a city to smithereens while the ape climbed up a building with a woman in his hand.
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The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants "The Heartbreaking Havoc of the Haunting Hack-A-Ween" 2019/10/08 George and Harold mention that their favorite TV show, Gorilla Lawyer, was canceled due to the ape going berserk. A scene of the ape standing upon the Empire State Building with planes surrounding him follows this statement.
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The Fairly Oddparents "The Good Old Days!" 2005/10/07 When Cosmo and Wanda are chasing their magic wands in a 1930s-style world, a giant Kong-like gorilla is seen handcuffed and standing by the Empire State Building.
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"Formula for Disaster" 2009/07/07 Poof turns into King Kong and later into a three-headed monster resembling King Ghidorah.
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Johnny Test "Johnny vs. Bling Bling IV" 2010/07/09 Bling Bling creates a giant robot ape who kidnaps Susan Test just so that he can save her by playing a hero who is wearing an armored suit. The giant robot ape climbs up a building while holding Susan in its hand, just as King Kong did with Ann Darrow in the original 1933 film King Kong.
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"Dukey See, Johnny Do" 2014/12/25 A female gorilla kidnaps Dukey after she falls in love with him and climbs up a construction site structure while holding him in her arm, which parodies Donkey Kong. Later, she swats at a jet plane that Johnny is piloting. The female gorilla also parodies King Kong's equally parodic British female counterpart Queen Kong and his British imitator Konga as well.
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Kamen Rider Zero-One "The Bus Guide Saw It! Anna's Truth" 2019/09/22 Isamu Fuwa, known as the hero Kamen Rider Vulcan, obtains his gorilla-based form of Punching Kong, which is clearly named after King Kong.
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Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir "Gorizilla" 2018/03/14 The titular Akumatized villain of this episode is a giant gorilla monster in the image of King Kong and has a name with the suffix "zilla", which references Godzilla.

The episode references King Kong's climb up the Empire State Building and his conflict with the fighter planes at its top. Gorizilla kidnaps Adrien Agreste and climbs up the Tour Montparnasse, similar to how King Kong kidnaps Ann Darrow and climbs up the Empire State Building. The Lucky Charm that Ladybug summons is a remote controller helicopter, which she flies around Gorizilla on the roof of the Tour Montparnasse, which is similar to the biplanes circling King Kong.

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The Muppet Show "Shields & Yarnell" 1979/11/23 An oversized Quongo the Gorilla performs "It's Lonely at the Top" at the top of the Empire State Building.
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"Avery Schreiber" 1976/12/12 Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's gorilla detector resembles the head of the giant robot gorilla Mechani-Kong from King Kong Escapes.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic "Secret of My Excess" 2011/12/10 A giant monstrous version of Spike grabs Rarity, rampages around the town, and then climbs up a mountain as the flying Wonderbolt ponies try to stop him.
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My Love Story!! various episodes The opening credits of this anime TV series feature a recreation of the famous ending of the original 1933 film King Kong, with the protagonist Takeo Gōda in place of King Kong atop the Empire State Building. Ironically, the scene has Takeo's friend Makoto Sunakawa in place of Ann Darrow, and Takeo's love interest Rinko Yamato in a biplane.
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Naruto: Shippuden "Land Ahoy! Is this the Island of Paradise?" 2012/01/05 Naruto encounters a giant ape named King, a reference to King Kong.
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Phineas and Ferb "Attack of the 50 Foot Sister" 2009/02/21 An enlarged Candace climbs up the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building, holding a showman wearing a gorilla suit for what he claims is a "reversal of a familiar theme", parodying both King Kong and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958).
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Sgt. Frog "Tamama Sealing Tamama Impact (Buried-Deep Impact)" 2005/09/23 After swelling up from holding in his Tamama Impact, Tamama grabs Angol Mois and climbs up a tower, occasionally beating his chest and making ape sounds. This is meant to parody King Kong's climb up the Empire State Building while holding Ann Darrow.
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Shaun the Sheep "Supersize Timmy" 2009/12/09 After Timmy grows giant from eating a tomato treated with a "Miracle-Grow" fertilizer, he grabs Bitzer and climbs up the wall of the Farmer's house, similar to how King Kong ascends the Empire State Building with Ann Darrow in various King Kong storylines. On the roof, Timmy tries to catch a duck flying nearby, similar to King Kong swatting at the biplanes on top of the Empire State Building.
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The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror III" 1992/10/29 The "King Homer" segment of this episode is a direct parody of the original 1933 film King Kong, right down to even being made in black and white.
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"HOMR" 2001/01/07 During Homer's fantasy sequence, a giant ape is revealed on stage just like King Kong is in the 1933 film's presentation scene.
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"Jazzy and the Pussycats" 2006/09/17 The couch gag has Homer as a giant ape grabbing Marge and climbing the Empire State Building as biplanes try to shoot him, with a style matching the 2005 King Kong remake.
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"Wedding for Disaster" 2009/03/29 During an argument, Homer calls Marge "Bridezilla" and Marge calls Homer "King Wrong." Maggie then imagines them both as Simpsonized versions of Godzilla and King Kong, respectively, that are fighting each other.
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South Park "Rainforest Shmainforest" 1999/04/07 In Costa Rica, the Yanagopa Tribe attempt to use Ms. Stevens as a sacrifice, with her tied to two tree stumps with torches beside them. From out of the brush, a large beast emerges, which the Yanagopa attempt to sacrifice Ms. Stevens to. This is similar to various King Kong storylines, where Ann Darrow is taken by the native tribe of Skull Island, and they attempt to sacrifice her to King Kong.
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Star Wars: The Clone Wars "The Zillo Beast"
and
"The Zillo Beast Strikes Back"
2010/04/09
and
2010/04/10
The Zillo Beast is attacked with SPHA-T tanks on Malastare, causing him to fall unconscious and then to be brought to Coruscant, much like how King Kong is captured and brought from Skull Island to New York City. In the next episode, the Zillo Beast breaks loose and goes on a rampage in pursuit of Chancellor Palpatine, similar to how King Kong breaks loose and rampages across New York before kidnapping Ann Darrow, only the Zillo Beast pursues Palpatine in an attempt to kill him. The Zillo Beast was blasted in the mouth by LAAT/is with missiles filled with the Malastare, killing him and causing him to fall from the Senate Building, which is similar to the climax of the original 1933 film King Kong where King Kong is killed by machine gun fire from U.S. Army biplanes and falls from the Empire State Building.
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Timon and Pumbaa "Be More Pacific" 1995/12/01 A unspecific magic wish turns Timon into a giant and puts him on top of the Empire State Building with a plane flying past him. The giant Timon annoyingly says, "Well, I am King, Pumbaa. King Kong!"
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Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race "A Million Ways to Lose a Million Dollars" 2015/10/09 Brody says that the "Umpire State Building" was "where that huge gorilla went bonkers back in the day," an obvious reference to the famous ending of various King Kong storylines.
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Total Drama World Tour "Awwwwww, Drumheller" 2010/11/01 After Alejandro frees Heather from a boulder that is wedging her in a hole and picks her up, Heather says, "Now can you cut the King Kong act?"
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The Transformers "City of Steel" 1985/10/17 When the Decepticon Devastator climbs up the Empire State Building (now a Cybertronian tower), the Autobot Wheeljack says that he reminds him of "that big baboon King Kong" as he sends remote control helicopters after Devastator, who swats at them. The Autobot Ratchet comments, "Devastator must have seen that film, too."
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Transformers: RobotMasters "Lio Convoy Storms In" 2005/04/24 Optimus Primal in his gorilla mode climbs up Tokyo Tower, just as King Kong and Mechani-Kong both did in King Kong Escapes, where he attacks Starscream and Wingstun in their jet modes (for other details about this episode and the Japanese-exclusive OVA series that it came from, see the Television section in Godzilla in popular culture).
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Transformers: Robots in Disguise "The Champ" 2015/09/15 The Dinobot Grimlock and the ape-like Decepticon Groundpounder's fight resembles King Kong's several fights with dinosaurs. In the fight, Grimlock uses a move on Groundpounder that is similar to Godzilla's tail-sliding kick in Godzilla vs. Megalon.
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T-Rex: A Dinosaur in Hollywood 2005/10/05 In a tongue-in-cheek look at Tyrannosaurus rex's film career, the legendary film star King Kong is interviewed from his swimming pool at his mansion in Beverly Hills and speaks fondly of his time working with a worthy adversary.
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Turbo Fast "Skidzo-Brainia" 2014/06/27 Skidmark's song in the episode has the lyric "I can be King Kong", accompanied with a hybrid between Skidmark and King Kong that has Skidmark's head and Kong's body on top of the Empire State Building holding a blonde woman in his hand.
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Ugly Americans "The Kong of Queens" 2010/04/28 Mark's latest client Kong (voiced by Jack McBrayer) has run into trouble for illegally climbing buildings, his OCD having driven him to wash the windows of the skyscrapers surrounding him.

In one scene, Kong breaks open the wall of his next door neighbor, Mechagodzilla, who is eating cereal. Kong and Mechagodzilla would later both officially meet and fight each other 11 years later in Godzilla vs. Kong.

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VeggieTales "Larry-Boy! and the Fib from Outer Space!" 1997/04/22 After growing to a large size due to Junior Asparagus constantly telling lies, the Fib grabs Junior and climbs up a water tower, echoing the famous ending of various King Kong storylines.
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We Bare Bears "Adopted" 2018/11/07 Baby Grizz and Baby Ice Bear use an airplane to rescue Baby Panda from Carl the Gorilla on the roof of the mansion.

Video games

Image Game of origin Release date Description
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Angry Birds Seasons 2010/10/21 Level 2-13 of the episode "Piggywood Studios" is clearly based on the famous ending scene of the original 1933 film King Kong, in which King Kong climbs the Empire State Building while holding Ann Darrow.
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Brawl Stars 2021/11/18 (Brawlywood)[2] A skin for the brawler Surge called Kong Surge was added during the Brawlywood season, which obviously parodies King Kong. The skin includes shackles on the wrists, referencing King Kong's escape from Broadway in various King Kong storylines. Artwork associated with the season has Surge Kong atop a skyscraper with Lola, spoofing King Kong's ascent up the Empire State Building with Ann Darrow, complete with airplanes and helicopters surrounding him.[2]
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Dezeni World 1985/12 Both King Kong and Gyaos appear in the game.
276847-donkey-kong-arcade-front-cover.jpg Donkey Kong 1981/07/09 In the first appearance of two of Nintendo's flagship characters, Jumpman (Mario) must climb to the top of an under-construction skyscraper to rescue a Lady (later named Pauline) from the clutches of the massive gorilla Donkey Kong. Spawning numerous sequels and imitations, including a King Kong-themed one, Donkey Kong would become the focal point of a court battle between Universal and Nintendo over concerns of Donkey Kong infringing on Universal's King Kong trademark, which Nintendo ultimately won when pointing out the King Kong character's public domain status.
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1994/06/14 The final boss encounter with Donkey Kong at the top of the Tower world has Donkey Kong consuming several Super Mushrooms to grow into a giant who attacks Mario with his fists.
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Dragon City 2012/05 There is a type of dragon in the game known as Dragon Kong, who resembles a bat-winged King Kong with horns on his head and a dragon's tail.
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Final Order: New Horizon 2020/09/05 The game includes kaiju based on Godzilla Earth, King Kong, and SpaceGodzilla.
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GigaBash 2022/08/05 Gorogong, whose name already invokes King Kong's, has a subspecies called "Gorokong", which features the Titan with brown fur and chains around his arms. Another Titan, Kongkrete, uses the name Kong as part of a play-on-words on "concrete".
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Kid Dracula 1990/10/19 King Kong appears as an enemy in the game.
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The Rampage franchise 1986/08 George is inspired by King Kong, being a large ape-like monster. Designer Brian Colin stated that he is a big fan of Willis O'Brien,[3] who worked on films such as the original 1933 film King Kong and Son of Kong.
Warner Bros. would later distribute a film adaptation of the video games.
Scribbblenaunts Unlimited King Me.jpeg Scribblenauts Unlimited 2012/11/18 In Capital City, if you give the Gorilla a crown, a throne, checkers and other objects, it will grow bigger and fight planes before being killed, referencing King Kong.
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Super Smash Bros. Brawl 2008/01/31 The event match titled "Three-Beast Carnage" has R.O.B. fight giant versions of Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Charizard.
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Super Smash Bros. Melee 2001/11/21 The event match titled "Gargantuans" has a giant Bowser fighting a giant Donkey Kong on top of some buildings.
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War of the Monsters 2003/01/14 One of the playable characters is a giant ape-like monster named Congar, an obvious reference to King Kong.

Books

Image Book of origin Author(s) Publish date Description
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Animorphs #1: The Invasion Katherine Applegate 1996/06/01 When selecting a gorilla as a morph, Marco says to a silverback gorilla named Big Jim, "I liked your work in King Kong vs. Godzilla."
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A Day with Wilbur Robinson William Joyce 1990/04/15 Tallulah Robinson's cityscape-themed outfit includes a miniature-King-Kong-climbing-on-a-miniature-skyscraper hat. While Disney's 2007 film adaptation of the book, Meet the Robinsons, would carry over Tallulah's character design, a pet monkey that would have played the mini-Kong role in it would not make it past the storyboard stage.
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Dinosaur Pet Marc and Neil Sedaka 2012/05/01 On the page with the month of October, the narrator's dinosaur pet wears a gorilla mask and the narrator says, "When we Trick-or-Treat, he goes as King Kong."
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Doctor Who: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street Lawrence Miles 2001/11/05 The Doctor mentions both the 1967 Toho film King Kong Escapes and its character of Dr. Who.
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Kat Kong Dav Pilkey 1993/09/29
Main article: Kat Kong.
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The Odd1sOut: The First Sequel James Rallison 2020/03/17 While listing common fears, the author mentions acrophobia, the fear of heights. He states how movie villains especially should have this fear, "as this is how many of them meet their end." The next page shows multiple villains who died from falling from a great height, with King Kong lying dead at the bottom.

Comics

Image Comic of origin Issue(s) Publish date Description
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Adventure Comics #410 ("The Ruler Without a Planet!") 1971/09 Supergirl compares a rampaging giant ape to King Kong.
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Bizarro "Rich Kids" 2021/09/19 This newspaper comic depicts a hypothetical scenario of King Kong being a successful businessman with a son who falls from a building, parodying King Kong's demise in several King Kong storylines, but instead the son survives because he lives in the lap of luxury.
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"Kong Monarchy" 2023/06/25 The title panel for this one-panel comic has King Kong waiting on people that are seated on a rooftop. The comic depicts the idea of King Kong and a hypothetical Queen Kong.
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"King Korpse" 2023/09/24 The title panel features "Larry King Kong" as a talk show host. The comic depicts a crime scene scenario with a fallen King Kong, referencing his fall from the Empire State Building.
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Blue Devil #15 ("Verner's Vanquisher!") 1985/08 Blue Devil battles a rampaging animatronic Kong at a film studio.
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The Far Side n/a 1981/01/09 King Kong climbs up a building, drawing the ire of a window washer at work.
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n/a 1986 Following a monster attack on a city, the police find a monogrammed handkerchief in the streets as evidence to determine who was responsible. The initials read "KK", which would be the initials for "King Kong." Gary Larson, the cartoonist who made the comic strip, explains in the book The Pre-History of The Far Side that he chose King Kong as the culprit monster since he was the only monster that came to mind that had a first and last name.
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Mad #6 ("Ping Pong!") 1953/08 A seven-page parody of King Kong.
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#94 ("Son of Mighty Joe Kong") 1965/04 The cover features Alfred E. Neuman sitting on top of the Empire State Building, while grabbing at planes being flown by apes. The issue features "Son of Mighty Joe Kong", another parody of King Kong with a title that also mixes in Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young.
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#99 ("Horror Movie Scenes We'd Like to See") 1965/12 A street cleaner swears, as he is forced to clean up the carcass of King Kong after he has fallen off the Empire State Building.
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#192 ("King Korn" / "A Mad Look at King Kong" / "One Night on Skull Island") 1977/07 Released in the wake of the 1976 King Kong remake, this issue features a full-length parody of that film along with other segments that parody Kong.
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#459 ("Mad's Inside Scoop on This Year's Stupidest Holiday Movies") 2005/11 The cover parodies the 2005 King Kong remake while inside, the segment "Mad's Inside Scoop on this Year's Stupidest Holiday Movies" features a page that mocks the film's production.
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Not Brand Echh #11 ("King Konk '68") 1968/12 An 11-page parody of King Kong also features appearances of parodies of several Marvel superheroes.
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Reborn As A Monster various chapters 2023/04/19 In this Chinese manhua the main character, Lin Yuan, ends up being reincarnated as a kaiju with a striking resemblance to Godzilla. He later fights a giant ape, mirroring the films King Kong vs. Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Kong, which is later revealed to be a female ape named Miss Ape. Miss Ape fights small lizards that plague her island, similar to Kong fighting the Skullcrawlers that plagued Skull Island in Kong: Skull Island. Like Kong, she lost her parents when they went to subjugate the main antagonist, the Dead Reptile King, but unlike him she meets them. She likely also parodies Queen Kong, being a female version of the character.
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Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics) #17 ("Gorilla Warfare / The Apes of Wrath") 1994/12 King Gong's name was clearly based off of that of King Kong. Additionally, it was a robot that was created by Dr. Robotnik, which is similar to King Kong's mechanical counterpart that was created by Dr. Who.

This issue is also full of references to various aspects of the King Kong story. After King Gong escaped from Dr. Robotnik and rampaged across Mobius, Robotnik found it on Skoal Island, a clear reference to Skull Island. Robotnik then reclaimed King Gong and brought it to Robotropolis (with the intention of destroying Sonic and the Freedom Fighters), similar to how King Kong was brought to the urban environment of New York City. When King Gong attacked the Freedom Fighters, it fell in love with Sally Acorn, grabbing her and climbing up the Trans-Mobian Trade Center with her in hand; this is similar to how King Kong fell in love with Ann Darrow, and later took her up to the top of the Empire State Building. Similar to the famous ending of the original 1933 film King Kong, King Gong clashed with the biplane Tornado (with Sonic, Tails, and Antoine coming to Sally's rescue), and after Tails rescued Sally, they sprayed the Trans-Mobian Trade Center's top with banana oil, which caused King Gong to fall down from the skyscraper to the streets below and to its destruction.

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Superman #127 ("Titano the Super-Ape!") 1959/02 The cover describes Titano the Super-Ape, a giant gorilla-like ape with green kryptonite vision, as "More fantastic than King Kong!"
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#138 ("Titano the Super-Ape!") 1960/07 The cover features Superman silently comparing Titano to King Kong as the giant ape fires his green kryptonite vision beams at him from the top of the Daily Planet Building.
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The Transformers
(Marvel UK version)
#287 ("Inside Story!") 1990/09/08 A human named Irwin Spoon, when speaking to the Autobot Prowl, compares the combiner Superion to Godzilla or King Kong. Naturally, the Autobot does not understand the reference.

Music

Image Song of origin Artist(s) Release date Description
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"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" Jim Croce 1973/03/20 Part of this song's refrain describes Leroy Brown, the titular character, as being "badder than-a old King Kong."
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"Buvlja pijaca" Riblja Čorba 1982/11/29 The cover art for the album features an edited image of Godzilla from the 1955 Toho film Godzilla Raids Again fighting an edited image of King Kong from the original 1933 film King Kong that was used as an early mockup publicity still (one of many) for the 1962 Toho film King Kong vs. Godzilla.
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"Hall of Fame" The Script, feat. will.i.am 2012/08/20 Part of this song's refrain goes "Yeah, you can be the greatest, you can be the best; you can be the King Kong bangin' on your chest".
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"King Kong" The Jimmy Castor Bunch 1975 A funk / R&B / soul song based on the original 1933 film King Kong from the LP album Supersound (1975).
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"Mean Green Mother From Outer Space" Levi Stubbs 1986 In one part of the song, King Kong is mentioned when Audrey II begins comparing itself to other monsters, "Don't you talk to me about old King Kong".

Miscellaneous

Image Media of origin Description
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Beast Machines YTV promo 2 The Predacon Megatron mistakes the Maximal Optimus Primal for King Kong due to the latter climbing up the side of a building.
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Beast Wars Optimus Primal toy bio The toy's bio directly compares Optimus Primal, the leader of the Maximals, to King Kong and tells King Kong to move over.
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Kaiju Yokai Dai Koshin (怪獣妖怪大行進) Kaiju Yokai Dai Koshin (怪獣妖怪大行進), a special mini-magazine / feature included with the August 1967 edition of Kaiju Magazine (怪獣マガジン), featured an illustrated creature described as The strongest monster in history: a hypothetical combination made from the body parts of other monsters such as Godzilla, Rodan, King Ghidorah, King Kong, Daimajin, Alien Baltan, Red King, Gomora, Ragon, Ganma (a multi-eyed Hyakume yokai from the 1966-67 TV series Akuma-kun), and several unidentified monsters.
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King of Tokyo and King of New York In both the first and second editions of the board game King of Tokyo, The King bears some similarities to King Kong as a large ape-like monster, but with cybernetic enhancements. His design in the second edition of the game undergoes some changes from the first game, but otherwise it is fairly similar.

As part of an expansion pack for both King of Tokyo and its spin-off game King of New York, King Kong himself is a playable monster.

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Magic: The Gathering "Kogla, the Titan Ape", a regular card in the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths set, is a clear reference to King Kong. The card's artwork shows him climbing a towering crystal, a woman in his hand, as war balloons surround him.
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The Miss Piggy Calendar 1980 A King Kong parody, with Miss Piggy in the grip of Kong's hand while Kermit the Frog flies to the rescue in a biplane, was used for the October photo. The photo was popular enough to be reused in later calendars and other merchandise such as jigsaw puzzles.
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Kong Roku City.jpegKong Roku City 2.jpegKong Roku City 3.jpeg

Roku City King Kong is among the many popular culture icons that appear as Easter eggs in Roku City, a series of screensavers for Roku streaming devices. Both versions of the standard Roku City screensaver have King Kong on top of the Empire State Building in reference to the climax of the typical King Kong storyline. The winter 2021 Roku City screensaver featured Godzilla and King Kong fighting, likely as a reference to Godzilla vs. Kong, which had been released earlier that year.
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Typhoon In this arcade ride on its "The Night at the Toy Store" track, a sock monkey is on top of a toy version of the Empire State Building fighting toy airplanes. It also uses the Showa Godzilla's roar.
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Topps You'll Die Laughing trading card Card #87 of the 1973 Topps trading card series You'll Die Laughing features a promotional still of King Kong from King Kong vs. Godzilla holding a huge boulder above his head with both hands with the caption "These vitamins really work!"

The joke on the back of the card is:

Capt. Kerk [sic]: "Where are monsters found?"
Mr. Spock: "Monsters are so big, they rarely get lost!"

Real life

Image Name Date Description
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The World a Million Years Ago,
the Century of Progress Fair,
Chicago, Illinois
1933-1934 In the immediate wake of the original 1933 film's popularity, this exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair by Messmore & Damon included giant gorillas in its cast of mechanical dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts. The head of one of these giant gorillas is now in the personal collection of author Donald F. Glut.
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1971 version
Kong,
Morey's Piers,
Wildwood, New Jersey
1971-1980 (first version at the North Wildwood Pier)
2015-present (second version at the Surfside Pier)
A King Kong-themed airplane spinner ride that also included go-carts at the bottom of it was one of the original rides on, and a fixture of, the North Wildwood Pier at Morey's Piers for nine years (1971-1980) until the Kong figure that topped the central mechanism was broken when it was being moved to New York for refurbishing. The park finally brought the ride back 35 years later in 2015 due to popular demand, this time to the Surfside Pier and now with Kong having a more cartoonish appearance, wearing a yellow sleeveless T-shirt that says "I ♥ W" on the front of it (the T-shirt's full statement was probably "I ♥ Wildwood") and holding on to a lighthouse with his left hand and both of his feet while holding a short string of roller coaster cars in his right hand, as the centerpiece of a Flying Scooters ride.

Gallery

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Dinosaur Land, Winchester, Virginia 1970s-present Originally opened in 1963, Dinosaur Land is home to a giant Kong statue that was inspired by the release of the 1976 King Kong remake, designed as a photo opportunity and allowing visitors to the park to be held in his hand.
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Dinosaur World, Beaver, Arkansas 1976-2005 Originally opened in 1967 under the name "Farwell's Dinosaur Park", the success of the 1976 King Kong remake inspired the park's second owner, Ken Childs, to construct a 40-foot tall Kong statue that was billed as the world's largest Kong statue and, through a friend that knew one of actor John Agar's relatives (Agar having a minor supporting role in the film as a New York City official), to ask permission to rename the park "John Agar's Land of Kong". The park was later renamed again to "Dinosaur World" and then was closed down in 2005, with the site falling into disrepair and the Kong statue toppling over and being destroyed.[4]
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Larry's Giant Subs, various locations in Georgia and North Florida 1982-present The restaurants of this submarine sandwich chain, which are found only in various locations in both Georgia and North Florida, all have a King Kong theme that is primarily centered around the original 1933 film.[5]
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King Kong Restaurants, Omaha, Nebraska and Lincoln, Nebraska 1994-present King Kong is a small chain of hamburger, Philly cheesesteak and gyro restaurants that is found only in the Nebraska cities of Omaha and Lincoln, with Kong being used to describe the large sizes of their hamburgers. Restaurant owner Nick Triantafillou holds the trademark for the King Kong name in the restaurant category,[6] which led to a trademark lawsuit during Burger King's promotional campaign for the 2005 King Kong remake.[7]
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The Boston Museum of Science 1996 A giant inflatable King Kong balloon at one point was placed on top of the Boston Museum of Science in order to promote the stop-motion animation special effects of the original 1933 film, which was being re-released at the time.
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King Kong various Manufactured by the German amusement park ride company Huss, King Kong (alternatively marketed as The Giant) is a flat ride where a giant mechanical King Kong lifts a cart containing guests into the air and shakes it around.[8]

Five amusement parks in Europe and Asia have installed the ride as of this date: Le Pal in France, Bobbejaanland in Belgium, Vialand in Turkey and two amusement parks in China, Shenzen Window of the World and Changzhou Dinosaur World.

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King Kong Cola 2016 RocketFizz Soda Pop and Candy included artwork of King Kong for its King Kong Cola line through a license from DeVito ArtWorks, LLC.[9]
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King Kong: Eighth Wonder of the World 2016 The Francis Ford Coppola Winery released a wine label named "Director's Great Movies", one of which featured artwork of King Kong.[10]
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King Kong spinning roller coaster at Carthageland in Hammamet, Tunisia, Africa 2018/03/18 Developed by EOS Rides, a giant animatronic King Kong serves as the centerpiece of this spinning roller coaster.[11]
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King Kong the domestic water buffalo (Bubalis bubalis) 2025 An unusually large domestic water buffalo bull from Ninlanee Farm in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, who is claimed to stand 185 cm (6.08 ft.) tall at the shoulder and considered to be the largest known domestic water buffalo, was named after King Kong because of his size.[12]

Videos

Nebraska King Kong Restaurant commercial
Bembos Commercial
Volkswagon commercial
Energizer Commercial
1995 Coca Cola commercial
1988 Transamerica commercial
Beast Machines YTV promo 2

See also

References

This is a list of references for King Kong in popular culture. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. "BC2004 Interviews". The Obscure Transformers Website. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  2. 2.0 2.1 @Brawl Stars (18 November 2021). "Yep, that's a banana sword 🍌 Kong Surge is here! 🐵". X.
  3. Rushdy, Alan (May 19, 2020). "Kaiju Video Games – History of Rampage (1986)". Up From the Depths.
  4. https://www.worldrecordacademy.org/2023/7/worlds-largest-king-kong-statue-world-record-in-beaver-arkansas-423300
  5. https://larryssubs.com/commercials
  6. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-mar-25-fi-42526-story.html
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20240426213736/https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/omaha-restaurant-owner-wants-burger-king-to-stop-using-king-kong/article_3fclabba-bc65-5e9d-ad67-7b1cb45c4e4e.hmtl
  8. https://www.hussrides.com/family-rides/the-giant/
  9. "Soda Pop Labels of Fame". Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  10. http://blogs.mercurynews.com/eat-drink-play/2016/08/22/king-kong-wine/
  11. https://blooloop.com/theme-park/news/eos-rides-king-kong-carthageland-coaster/
  12. Newman, Vicki (10 February 2025). "World's tallest water buffalo King Kong is 'like a playful puppy' despite 6-ft height". Guiness World Records.
Real World


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