DKC Atlas Forum

[Qyzbud]

I've never actually seen Return of the Jedi, but a little while back, I found an image of an Ewok Village which really caught my attention:

ewok_village.jpeg (62.97 KiB) Viewed 33942 times

Seems pretty likely to me that this environment inspired DKC's tree-tops archetype.

Colour-modified Tree Top Town scene:

Spoiler!

(colours modified slightly to closer resemble Ewok Village scene)

tree_top_town_like_ewok_village.png (54.69 KiB) Viewed 33942 times

Same scene without colour modifications:

Spoiler!

tree_top_town_normal_colours.png (41.94 KiB) Viewed 33942 times

Katastrophy Kong hinted at the likeness once or twice in previous conversations, but the sheer number of similarities weren't apparent to me until I saw that picture up top. Seriously, look at it; the strut-supported platforms... the wooden rope bridges and rickety stairways... the towering conifers... the thatch-roofed huts with glowing entrances... everything about that Ewok village scene gives me a Tree Top Town vibe. Although I suppose it's really more of a Rope Bridge Rumble vibe, due to the background colour.

What do you guys think? Are they a close match or what?! Seeing that pic really makes me want to watch Return of the Jedi!


Does anyone know any other possible inspirations for levels in the DKC trilogy?


More Ewok village pics...

Spoiler!

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bright_Tree_Village

Ewok_village.jpg (71.51 KiB) Viewed 33940 times

http://frankordaz.blogspot.com/2009/01/star-wars-wednesday.html

Ewok Adventure.jpg (90.14 KiB) Viewed 33940 times

[The Guy]

Possibly. After all, the image shown alone is enough proof.

[Cyclone]

The "Village in the Trees" theme I'm sure has been around much longer then Starwars. Couldn't they just be borrowing ideas from a same common theme? Maybe there's a famous painting that inspired both art directors.

The above aside. I think there are too many resemblences to that Ewok image to deny that it didin't influence the design of DKC's TreeTop Level. There are even those platforms above the huts in both images. The only thing really missing are the flames/candles... and the Ewok village image doens't have bannanas.

[Jomingo]

I've always noticed the connection, just never mentioned it. Yeah, I figure that the Ewok villages on the Moon of Endor probably were a strong influence in one way or another.

[Gnawzooka]

The "Village in the Trees" theme I'm sure has been around much longer then Starwars.

Yeah, but this is almost identical.

Very interesting, in any case.

[Tompa]

In a soundtrack of the game a friend had, the song for this level was called "Ewok Forest" (Or something similar). I believe it was just a ripped soundtrack with names that the ripper just came up with. A second thought was if it was some sort of translation of the Japanese name for it, which I have no idea what that is, but yeah...

[Sockpuppet]

I found the official Japanese album here. If you click the 'Japanese' tab you can see the tracklist, and there's also some pictures of the album to the right which confirm that that is indeed what it really says on the album. Each track is given a Japanese name and an English name which doesn't match the Jap one. As Tompa said, the English name given to Tree Top Rock is "The Ewok Level." That cancels out the 'fan-name' possibility, but it looks like the tracks were named by the Japanese people who put this version together. Since Donkey Kong Country isn't from Japan, we still don't know how official these names are.

[the_kong_br]

I did an adaptation of this article in a Brazilian Forum of Retrogames, look:


http://forum.outerspace.terra.com.br/sh ... p?t=266324

[Qyzbud]

I recently discovered this beautiful digital artwork created by professional artist Ron Crabb:

"Tree Houses" by Ron Crabb
(click image for full view - 1920 x 1200 pixels)

This was created using a technique called 'matte painting' - before and after images, detailed views, and a daytime version can be cycled through on on this page by clicking the image.

Amazing stuff, I'm sure you'll agree!

[Ribbedebie]

As soon as I saw that screenshot from the movie, I thought; "Tree Top Town!" Yeah, the resemblance is uncanny!

Also, Lake Orangatanga of Donkey Kong Country 3 bears a lot of similarity to Laq de Ste Croix, France (the latter lacks boardwalks, though) where I went on holiday a few years ago. See for yourself;

Spoiler!

Spoiler!

[Ninni973]

Real life Tree Top Town!

Did you know that the Endor scenes were filmed in Californa, Redwood National?

I wonder if Tree Top Town is still up in Redwood National. I would love to visit that place.

Sorry for the HUGE bump.

[Mayo]

No one really know who inhabits Tree Top Town... Maybe it was the Ewoks all along XD

[Tailikku]

The Japanese OST "Super Donkey Kong Game Music CD ~ Jungle Fantasy" confirms the Ewok basis by having Treetop Rock labeled as Forest Refuge - The Ewok Level.