Pauline

Pauline in Donkey Kong GB.
Pauline
Species	Human
Hair color	Brunette
Eye color	Blue
Debut	Donkey Kong

Pauline was Mario's girlfriend in the original Donkey Kong game, and was the first damsel-in-distress Mario rescued onscreen.

Background

Pauline appeared in Donkey Kong, where she had been kidnapped by the mad ape Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong held her at the top of each level, but Mario constantly chased Donkey Kong down. Eventually Mario defeated Donkey Kong and was reunited with Pauline in what seemed to be the Mushroom Kingdom. There Pauline tossed Mario what may have been his first Super Mushroom.

After a long absence, Pauline reappeared in Mario Vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. She was described as "Mario's glamorous friend" and appeared as the guest of honor in the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Super Mini Mario World. However, Donkey Kong instantly became infatuated with her and kidnapped her as he (or his ancestor) had done before. This time Pauline was saved by the Mini Mario toys. Donkey Kong kept her safely in a room atop the tower with presents, and after the Mini Marios rescued her, Donkey Kong felt remorse which led Pauline to kiss the Mini Donkey Kong toy to make him feel better.

She also appears in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, which follows an altered version of Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2's storyline; when Mario and the Mini Marios reach the top of the tower, Donkey Kong turns the lights off and runs off with Pauline again. The chase then continues, until the Mini Marios reach Donkey Kong and Pauline at the end. It was revealed that Pauline and Donkey Kong had only staged the whole kidnapping in order to test the Mini Mario toys.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Mario and Pauline also make a cameo appearance together in the Bonus Stage of the NES game Pinball.

Other Media

• Pauline appeared in the Donkey Kong segments of the Saturday Supercade cartoon. The cartoon version eliminated Mario and Donkey Kong's love triangle with Pauline by making Pauline Mario's niece. Pauline accompanied Mario in his hunt for Donkey Kong, but she wound up being saved by him several times. She was played by Judy Strangis.

Trivia

• In the original version of Donkey Kong, she had blonde hair. The Game Boy remake changed her hair color to brown, presumably to avoid confusion with the blonde Princess Peach.
• The Japanese version simply calls her "Lady". The name of Pauline probably comes from a 20's movie serial, "The Perils of Pauline", where the title character was constantly in distress. However, it is also said that she was named after Polly James, the wife of Don James, who was Nintendo of America's warehouse manager when the game came out.
• A sticker of Pauline being captured by Donkey Kong appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.