Not to be confused withKremlin.

This article is about the crocodilian species from theDonkey Kong franchise. For other uses, seeKremling (disambiguation).

Kremling
Kaptain K. Rool along with several Kremlings fromDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
First appearance	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Latest appearance	Donkey Kong Bananza (2025)
Variants Bazuka Kackle Kasplat Klaptrap Klinger Kloak Klobber Klump Knocka Kobble Koin Kopter Kosha Kremling cop Kritter Krockhead Krook Krusha Kuff 'n' Klout Kutlass Kroc Re-Koil Rock Kroc Shroom
Notable members K. Lumsy Kalypso Kass Kerozene King K. Rool Kip Klubba Kludge Krunch Krushy Kudgel Resident demon

“Good thing these Kremlings are dumber than tree stumps.”

—Donkey Kong,Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle

TheKremlings (also known as theKrems,^[1] theKrocs,Reptiles,^[2]Lizards,^[3] andCrocodiles^[4] in production literature for theDonkey Kong Country television series) are a race of crocodiles, first appearing inDonkey Kong Country, where they stealDonkey Kong's prizedbanana hoard. Kremlings come in many different varieties and most of them have names that begin with the letter "K" (to the point where some names use real words beginning with "C" with the initial replaced with "K", such asKalypso from "calypso"), along with many locations and inventions of theirs also following this naming scheme, such asKastle Kaos and theKing Kruizer IV. Most Kremlings are part of theKremling Krew (withK. Lumsy being a notable exception). Kremlings also made a few appearances in various sports titles in theSuper Mario franchise; they are seen in the background of theDK Jungle Court inMario Power Tennis and take on the role of goalies inSuper Mario Strikers andMario Strikers Charged, while inMario Super Sluggers, they appear as team players.

In theDonkey Kong Country animated series, they are never referred to as "Kremlings"; instead, they are referred by various generic terms, such as "lizards" and "crocs", as well as "Kritters".^[5]

The Kremlings originate from a canceled Mac/PC adventure game byRare namedJonny Blastoff and the Kremling Armada.^[6] The idea of Kremlings came fromKevin Bayliss,^[7] whileSteve Mayles adapted them into theDonkey Kong franchise^{[citation needed]} by removing their high tech weaponry.^[8] Most of theKremling Kreeps inDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! were designed byMark Stevenson.^[9]

Origin[edit]

The Kremlings appear to originate fromCrocodile Isle, an island close toDonkey Kong Island that disappeared from the map during the events ofDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. According to that game's manual, it is rumored that theLost World is the source of the Kremlings.^[10] However, various ruins on Donkey Kong Island, such as the ones inMillstone Mayhem, depict Kremling visages, potentially meaning they have some history there as well.Kremlantis is a semi-submerged complex that also features several temples with Kremling visages.

Biology[edit]

A Kritter and a Klaptrap inDonkey Kong 64

In a similar manner toKoopas, Kremlings are depicted with multiple body shapes and statures, the most common being bipedal and humanoid. Some, however, such asKlaptrap, are quadrupedal, with a tail dragging behind them like real-life crocodiles. Bipedal Kremlings, such asKritters, often have distinctly humanoid torsos with pectorals, navels and distinct shoulders; some even have external ears and hair among other humanoid traits. Many Kremlings are quite large, rivaling the size of Donkey Kong; still others are much larger, such as K. Lumsy andKerozene. Kremlings appear in a wide variety of colors, such as blue, red, grey, purple, and orange; however, the most common colors seem to be the various shades of green. Although primarily based on crocodiles, some members of the species, particularlyKalypso,Kass, and to a lesser extentKasplat andKlump, are depicted with more mammalian traits such as hair, as well as both breasts and nipples.

The Kremlings are known to enjoy eatingbananas, with King K. Rool himself being known to enjoy overripe rotten bananas. Klump is also seen eatingoranges;^[11][12] coincidentally, this trait is shared with real-life crocodiles, which have been shown in more recent research to occasionally eat fruit.

In the originalDonkey Kong Country trilogy, the majority of Kremlings shared the same defeat voice clip as Krusha, with varying pitch levels.Klaptraps,Klobbers,Kabooms,Kudgel,Krumples,Bazukas, andKuff 'n' Klouts do not follow this trend, however.

Society[edit]

The Kremlings seem to have some level of government, as evidenced byKing K. Rool as ruling monarch. While certain Kremlings such asKlump have been shown to care about their king,^[13] comments made byKlubba about how Kremlings are "miserable" under K. Rool indicate that at least some Kremlings are not happy under his leadership.KAOS apparently acted as a replacement for K. Rool, though he was secretly controlling it. It is unknown how this process came about, or if the Kremlings were aware of K. Rool's plans and went along with it.

Kremlings are known to be rather apathetic regarding industrial safety; this can be seen withKremkroc Industries, Inc.,Krazy Kremland,Mekanos,K3,Frantic Factory,Ghost Island, andChill 'n' Char Island, the factories making up the first of these being referred to by theDonkey Kong Country manual as "The Kremling's crowning industrial achievements."^[14] From this, they tend to cause large amounts of pollution, as seen withPoison Pond, and show general neglect for the environment, as shown in theirdeforesting in Mekanos for the sole purpose of defeating the Kongs.^[15] This contrasts with the Kongs, who are typically shown to be in harmony with nature.

In contrast to other intelligent animal species that are technologically primitive, the Kremlings possess relatively advanced resources, includingrobots,airships,submarines,warships,spaceships, andpowerful weapons.

InMario Super Sluggers's Challenge mode, the Kritters along with King K. Rool have their dialogue written in regular text unlike the Kongs, who are portrayed as speaking in monkey noises with their speech translated in parentheses, implying the Kremlings speak "normally" (or are at least capable of it). However, inDonkey Kong Bananza, the Kremlings vocalize in generic animal grunting like the game's other animal characters and unlikePauline.

The Kremlings seem to be a marauding and conquering race, as evidenced by their thievery, kidnapping, take-over of theNorthern Kremisphere, and most commonly piracy, as shown in the events ofDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, by their frequent usage of pirate ships such asGangplank Galleon, possession oftreasure chests and valuables, and the Kremling Krew emblem. It is also possible that they showed similar sides in the unseenKremean War, which they are assumed to have fought in.

Wrinkly Kong attempted to teach Kremlings at aschool in Crocodile Isle; however, they displayed low intelligence, as evidenced by the incorrect sums on the blackboard, while another attempted to bring his sword to class.

Not all Kremlings are bad, as demonstrated byK. Lumsy, and to a lesser extentKrunch and Klubba.

Profiles[edit]

Donkey Kong Country[edit]

• Instruction booklet:Kremlings, Kremlings everywhere! Kremlings are the tribe of reptilian rascals who have ripped off Donkey Kong's banana horde. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and shades:^[16]
• GBA Player's Guide:The largest enemies you'll encounter are the Krocs that work for King K. Rool. The Krocs come in many shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common-their number-one directive is stop the Kongs. Some of the tough-skinned reptiles can be a bit much for Diddy, so be on your guard.^[17]

Notable[edit]

Types of Kremlings[edit]

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Kritter

• 

  Klaptrap

• 

  Krockhead

• 

  Early proposal byPaon featuring some playable Kremlings characters forDonkey Kong: Barrel Blast

• 

  A concept artwork of a character, Kaptain Krash

• 

  A Kritter and a Klaptrap inDonkey Kong Country

• 

  Two Krockheads inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

• 

  Super Donkey Kong (Manga Boys Comics Special)

Sounds[edit]

Kremling grunt (1) - Used by various Kremlings with different pitches and speeds (voiced byChris Sutherland)[18]

File info ​

Kremling roar - Used byKlobbers,Krunchas, andKudgel

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Kremling grunt (2) - Used byKrumples,Baron K. Roolenstein, andKuff 'n' Klout

File info ​

Help:Media file •Having trouble playing?

Names in other languages[edit]

Notes[edit]

• Upon entering hisshop inDonkey Kong Country Returns andDonkey Kong Country Returns 3D,Cranky Kong sometimes greetsDK by ironically asking him "who hasn't stolen [his] bananas at this point", thus indirectly referencing how the Kremlings were involved in the theft of thebanana hoard before theTiki Tak Tribe was. He also sometimes tells him, "See you later, alligator!" (in spite of the Kremlings actually being crocodiles) before chuckling to himself when he leaves.

See also[edit]

• Tiki Tak Tribe
• Snowmads

References[edit]

• Kremlings
• Kremling Krew
• Club Nintendo

• Articles with dead external links
• Articles with unsourced statements
• Pages with audio files
• Articles with unsourced foreign names