Grant Kirkhope, the renowned composer behind classics like Donkey Kong 64, recently shed light on why his name was absent from the credits of The Super Mario Bros. Movie despite the inclusion of the DK Rap. In a candid interview with Eurogamer, Kirkhope revealed that Nintendo had opted not to credit composers for any music it owns, with the exception of Koji Kondo.
Kirkhope detailed the decision-making process, explaining, "They said we decided that any music that was quoted from the games that we owned, we wouldn't credit the composers - apart from Koji Kondo. Then they decided anything with a vocal would get credited, so the DK Rap scores there. But then they decided if we also own it, we won't credit the composers. And that was the final nail in the coffin."
Expressing his disappointment, Kirkhope shared that he had hoped to see his name in the credits, especially since the DK Rap was prominently featured. He noted the irony of the situation, saying, "I said I appreciate you've got your policies and all the rest of it, but by the time the credits roll in the movie to show the songs, the theatre's completely empty, everyone's gone, it's only me and my wife and my two kids sat there going 'look daddy's name!'. I said 'for the sake of a couple of lines of text…', but that was that."
In April 2023, Kirkhope took to social media to voice his frustration, tweeting, "I was really looking forward to see my name in the credits for the DK Rap, but alas as expected it's not there ........ fml."
The DK Rap, which Kirkhope played guitar on and featured vocals from the "lads from Rare," was sampled in a way Kirkhope described as "bizarre," akin to simply plugging in an N64 and looping the track. Despite this, no credit was given to the contributors.
When asked about the potential inclusion of the DK Rap in the Nintendo Music App, Kirkhope speculated, "They have put some of [David Wise]'s stuff on it. They do own it all so it's up to them. I don't think they ever really liked [Donkey Kong 64] that much. That's a rumour we got back through the cycle of whispers from Nintendo when we were at Rare. I don't know if that's true or not."
Interestingly, Donkey Kong 64 is not part of the N64 Switch Online lineup, though elements from the game, like the Rambi theme, are set to appear in Donkey Kong Bananza. For more insights from Kirkhope, including discussions on potential new projects like Banjo Kazooie and Donkey Kong Bananza, you can read the full interview on Eurogamer.
Looking ahead, fans of the Mario franchise can anticipate a new Super Mario Bros. movie set to release in April 2026.
