Etone – Donkey Kong Bean Bag Plush

Character Name: Donkey Kong
Series Name: Donkey Kong / Super Mario
Game: Donkey Kong
Company: Etone
Year: 1982

Etone released the very first Donkey Kong plush in 1982, featuring a plush body and a plastic face, hands, and feet. This plush came in a lot of different sizes. Like, a LOT. According to an ad in the September 1982 edition of the toy magazine Playthings, the original release came in 3 different sizes: 9 inches, 11 inches, and 14 inches, and then after the success of that initial run, it expanded into new sizes and variants. This one is one of the smaller ones (but definitely not the smallest!) at around 6 and a half inches or so. There are also variants without the plastic hands and feet, some smaller variants without the Donkey Kong logo on the chest, a version with a suction cup to hang on a window, and even a hand puppet version. The original releases appear to have been under the company’s “Antics” division, and that name appears on the tags of some of these plushes. This one, however, has the “Etone” name on the tag. I’m not 100% sure if the later size variants were released later in 1982 or in early 1983, but I’m sticking with the 1982 date for now since that’s the date on the tag.

Donkey Kong is the only character that got an official release, though prototype versions of Etone’s Jumpman plush have popped up over the years. There may have also been a Donkey Kong Jr. plush in the works, but I’m not sure if a prototype of that one has ever actually surfaced.