Dr. Zaius

K. Rool is one of the main characters and the main antagonist in the Donkey Kong Country animated series, where his name is pronounced "Kuh-Rool", rather than "Kay-Rool". In the show, his personality is relatively the same as in the games: bossy, megalomaniacal, and slightly clumsy; despite this, however, he is not without a soft side, as seen in episodes such as "Baby Kong Blues" and "Four Weddings and a Coconut".

His voice is radically different from the games, such as Donkey Kong 64. He is constantly bragging about his brain and emphasizes this by using long and sophisticated words. King K. Rool often, with the aid of his henchmen Klumpand Krusha, attempts to steal the mystical Crystal Coconut and use its power to rule Kongo Bongo Island and possibly the world. He seems to be always hatching plans to steal the coconut; however, a combination of the stupidity of his troops and the resourcefulness of the apes always leads to failure. K. Rool has a very low tolerance for the incompetence of both Krusha and Klump, to the point where, in one episode, he mutters to himself "Do I really want the Crystal Coconut this badly?" while Krusha and Klump try to decode a message they themselves wrote. When not scheming to take the Coconut, he otherwise plans to eliminate Donkey Kong, who is the Coconut's main protector, or to take over the Barrel Works to manufacture exploding barrels. His various other plans varied from episode to episode: for example, during a heatwave, he plots to take over Donkey Kong's "Coconut Chill" business to keep himself cool.

In the animated series, King K. Rool's physical appearance is slightly altered from his video game counterpart. His tail is gone and one eye is not bloodshot, unlike in the games, though it does bulge to large proportions when he is excited or irritated. His eyes also are not connected as they are in the games, and instead are separated. K. Rool's wrist bands are more detailed, instead of being plain gold, as is his crown. King K. Rool's cape is also much shorter in length in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon.

The series also expands King K. Rool's backstory slightly, with the episode "Best of Enemies" revealing that he was once friends with Cranky Kong and that the two were nefarious pranksters; another episode entitled "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights" also has King K. Rool mentioning both his mother and various, unnamed siblings. The Donkey Kong Country cartoon also introduces a Kremling rival of sorts to King K. Rool, a pirate named Kaptain Skurvy, who also wishes to obtain the Crystal Coconut.

In a possible alternate timeline seen in the episode "It's a Wonderful Life", in which Donkey Kong sees what Kongo Bongo Island would be like if he did not exist, King K. Rool is portrayed as a somewhat timid freedom fighter in a feud with Diddy Kong, who is portrayed as a power-hungry tyrant. He is called by General Klump as "King K. Rool Sir".

He was voiced by Ben Campbell.