Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers
Encyclopedia
Mickey · Donald · Goofy: The Three Musketeers (also known as simply The Three Musketeers) is a direct-to-video
animated
film adaptation
of the novel
The Three Musketeers
by Alexandre Dumas, père
. As the title suggests, it features Mickey Mouse
, Donald Duck
, and Goofy
as the three musketeers. This film was directed by Donovan Cook
, produced by DisneyToon Studios
, and released directly to VHS
and DVD
on August 17, 2004, by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
, Donald Duck
, Goofy
, and Mickey's dog Pluto
are street urchins
, who, while being robbed by masked bandits (played by the Beagle Boys
) and are saved by the Royal Musketeers, Athos
, Aramis
, Porthos
and d'Artagnan
. Afterward, Athos gives his hat to Mickey as a souvenir. The urchins are inspired to be great musketeers some day. Years later, the three are working as janitor
s in the palace, still dreaming of becoming musketeers, despite their flaws: Donald is a "coward" (who turns into a chicken whenever he is frightened), Goofy is a "doofus", and Mickey is "just too small", according to Captain Pete
of the Royal Musketeers. This leaves the three downhearted.
Meanwhile, Minnie Mouse
, princess of France
, and her lady-in-waiting
, Daisy Duck
, are in a palace discussing Minnie's obsession with finding her "one true love". Daisy says that she must marry someone who is of royal blood, and Minnie insists that she cannot marry someone she does not love. Minnie says she will know that he is "the one" when he makes her laugh. Minnie then takes a walk in the palace garden and barely escapes with her life when the Beagle Boys attempt to drop a safe on her.
The Beagles run to tell their boss, Captain Pete, that they were not successful in dropping the safe on Minnie. Pete gets upset, because the assignment was to kidnap the princess and keep her "safe" before the opera
The Pirates of Penzance
, which is when he plans to take over the kingdom. (This is accompanied by a running gag: whenever Pete says "...before the opera" or "...at the opera"or "...the opera's tomorrow night", a poster of the opera is shown, and an operatic voice sings.) Just then, Pete's lieutenant
, Clarabelle Cow
, tells Pete that Princess Minnie requests his presence. Pete goes to the princess, who tells him that she wants musketeer bodyguards. Pete, knowing that skilled musketeers would jeopardize his kidnap plans, appoints Mickey, Donald, and Goofy to protect her.
While Minnie and Daisy, protected by Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, go on a journey, they are ambushed by the Beagle Boys. Donald hides and is eventually thrown off the carriage, and Goofy is easily defeated, leaving Mickey to fight the intruders. Mickey is also defeated, leaving the three heroes stranded. Mickey encourages his friends not to lose hope and they rush to rescue Minnie and Daisy. At the entrance to a tall tower, Goofy tells his fellow musketeers to stand back so he can break down the door, but Mickey opens it before he can stop, which sends Goofy rolling past the Beagle Boys and out of the tower. Outside, Goofy bounces off a tree, gets kicked by a cow and is thrown by a windmill back into the tower, and goes rolling past the Beagle Boys again. When Mickey and Goofy are trapped with the Beagle Boys, Goofy gets the idea to do the same thing again with Mickey and they manage to knock the Beagles out of the tower and rescue Minnie and Daisy. After Mickey unties Minnie and makes her laugh, the two fall in love. Pete is furious that the Beagle Boys failed in their task and realizes that the three protagonists are more of a threat than he originally anticipated. While on night duty, Goofy is lured away from the palace by Clarabelle. The Beagle Boys capture Donald, but he escapes. Donald discovers that Pete is actually trying to kidnap Minnie and rule France. He tells Mickey Pete's true personality and leaves him by himself. Mickey is then captured by Pete, who chains him up in a dungeon in Mont Saint-Michel
that will flood when the tide comes in.
Meanwhile, Clarabelle is about to throw a chained up Goofy to his death off a bridge. Goofy flirts with her, and wins her heart with his "numbskull charm". She pulls him up and they kiss. The two plummet towards the river, but land on Donald's boat safely. Goofy tries to convince Donald that they have to save Mickey but he is too scared to try. An insulting song by Troubadour, however, makes him change his mind and Donald decides to rescue Mickey before he drowns and they manage to rescue their friend. Outside the Paris Opéra
, Minnie is captured by the Beagle Boys. The smallest one poses as her, announcing to the public that she is handing the crown over to a gleeful Pete. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy arrive and battle Pete onstage, finally defeating him and saving the Princess. Mickey and Minnie finally declare their love for one another, as do the others. Mickey, Donald and Goofy are dubbed royal musketeers.
. John J. Pucclo of DVDTown.com stated in his review, "The whole thing feels like an old Disney short subject than the full length movie it's advertised to be."
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
film adaptation
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
of the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
by Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
. As the title suggests, it features Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
, Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
, and Goofy
Goofy
Goofy is a cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck...
as the three musketeers. This film was directed by Donovan Cook
Donovan Cook
Donovan R. Cook III is an American film director and animator, best known for creating, directing and producing the animated series 2 Stupid Dogs and directing the Disney animated features Return to Never Land and Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers.Donovan Cook was born in Antioch,...
, produced by DisneyToon Studios
DisneyToon Studios
DisneyToon Studios is an American animation studio owned by The Walt Disney Company, responsible for producing direct-to-video and occasional theatrical films for Walt Disney Studios....
, and released directly to VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on August 17, 2004, by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
Plot
Mickey MouseMickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
, Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
, Goofy
Goofy
Goofy is a cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck...
, and Mickey's dog Pluto
Pluto (Disney)
Pluto, also called Pluto the Pup, is a cartoon character created in 1930 by Walt Disney Productions. He is a light brown , medium-sized, short-haired dog. Unlike Goofy, Pluto is not anthropomorphic beyond some characteristics such as facial expression...
are street urchins
Street children
A street child is a child who lives on the streets of a city, deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old.Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself...
, who, while being robbed by masked bandits (played by the Beagle Boys
Beagle Boys
The Beagle Boys are a group of fictional characters from the Scrooge McDuck universe. Created by Carl Barks, they are a gang of criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first appearance was in Terror of the Beagle Boys, in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #134,...
) and are saved by the Royal Musketeers, Athos
Athos (fictional character)
Olivier d'Athos de la Fère, Comte de la Fère is a fictional character, a Musketeer of the Guard in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père....
, Aramis
Aramis
C. René d'Aramis de Vannes is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père...
, Porthos
Porthos
Porthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers Athos and Aramis are friends of the novel's protagonist, d'Artagnan...
and d'Artagnan
D'Artagnan
Charles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard and died at the Siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalized account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of...
. Afterward, Athos gives his hat to Mickey as a souvenir. The urchins are inspired to be great musketeers some day. Years later, the three are working as janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
s in the palace, still dreaming of becoming musketeers, despite their flaws: Donald is a "coward" (who turns into a chicken whenever he is frightened), Goofy is a "doofus", and Mickey is "just too small", according to Captain Pete
Black Pete
Pete, also called Peg-Leg Pete, and Black Pete among other names, is a cartoon character created in 1925 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. He is a licensed character of The Walt Disney Company and often appears as a villain in Mickey Mouse universe stories...
of the Royal Musketeers. This leaves the three downhearted.
Meanwhile, Minnie Mouse
Minnie Mouse
Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an animated character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney. The comic strip story "The Gleam" by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse. Minnie has since been a recurring alias for her. Minnie is currently voiced by actress Russi...
, princess of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and her lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
, Daisy Duck
Daisy Duck
Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1940 by Walt Disney Productions as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. Like Donald, Daisy is an anthropomorphic white duck, but has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers to suggest a skirt. She is often seen wearing a hair bow, blouse, and shoes...
, are in a palace discussing Minnie's obsession with finding her "one true love". Daisy says that she must marry someone who is of royal blood, and Minnie insists that she cannot marry someone she does not love. Minnie says she will know that he is "the one" when he makes her laugh. Minnie then takes a walk in the palace garden and barely escapes with her life when the Beagle Boys attempt to drop a safe on her.
The Beagles run to tell their boss, Captain Pete, that they were not successful in dropping the safe on Minnie. Pete gets upset, because the assignment was to kidnap the princess and keep her "safe" before the opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
, which is when he plans to take over the kingdom. (This is accompanied by a running gag: whenever Pete says "...before the opera" or "...at the opera"or "...the opera's tomorrow night", a poster of the opera is shown, and an operatic voice sings.) Just then, Pete's lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, Clarabelle Cow
Clarabelle Cow
Clarabelle Cow is a Disney fictional character within the Mickey Mouse universe of characters. Clarabelle Cow was created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks in 1928. Clarabelle is one of Minnie Mouse's best friends and is usually depicted as the girlfriend of Horace Horsecollar, although she has also...
, tells Pete that Princess Minnie requests his presence. Pete goes to the princess, who tells him that she wants musketeer bodyguards. Pete, knowing that skilled musketeers would jeopardize his kidnap plans, appoints Mickey, Donald, and Goofy to protect her.
While Minnie and Daisy, protected by Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, go on a journey, they are ambushed by the Beagle Boys. Donald hides and is eventually thrown off the carriage, and Goofy is easily defeated, leaving Mickey to fight the intruders. Mickey is also defeated, leaving the three heroes stranded. Mickey encourages his friends not to lose hope and they rush to rescue Minnie and Daisy. At the entrance to a tall tower, Goofy tells his fellow musketeers to stand back so he can break down the door, but Mickey opens it before he can stop, which sends Goofy rolling past the Beagle Boys and out of the tower. Outside, Goofy bounces off a tree, gets kicked by a cow and is thrown by a windmill back into the tower, and goes rolling past the Beagle Boys again. When Mickey and Goofy are trapped with the Beagle Boys, Goofy gets the idea to do the same thing again with Mickey and they manage to knock the Beagles out of the tower and rescue Minnie and Daisy. After Mickey unties Minnie and makes her laugh, the two fall in love. Pete is furious that the Beagle Boys failed in their task and realizes that the three protagonists are more of a threat than he originally anticipated. While on night duty, Goofy is lured away from the palace by Clarabelle. The Beagle Boys capture Donald, but he escapes. Donald discovers that Pete is actually trying to kidnap Minnie and rule France. He tells Mickey Pete's true personality and leaves him by himself. Mickey is then captured by Pete, who chains him up in a dungeon in Mont Saint-Michel
Mont Saint-Michel
Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches...
that will flood when the tide comes in.
Meanwhile, Clarabelle is about to throw a chained up Goofy to his death off a bridge. Goofy flirts with her, and wins her heart with his "numbskull charm". She pulls him up and they kiss. The two plummet towards the river, but land on Donald's boat safely. Goofy tries to convince Donald that they have to save Mickey but he is too scared to try. An insulting song by Troubadour, however, makes him change his mind and Donald decides to rescue Mickey before he drowns and they manage to rescue their friend. Outside the Paris Opéra
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
, Minnie is captured by the Beagle Boys. The smallest one poses as her, announcing to the public that she is handing the crown over to a gleeful Pete. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy arrive and battle Pete onstage, finally defeating him and saving the Princess. Mickey and Minnie finally declare their love for one another, as do the others. Mickey, Donald and Goofy are dubbed royal musketeers.
Reception
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers received generally negative reviews from critics, earning a 33% approval rating from review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. John J. Pucclo of DVDTown.com stated in his review, "The whole thing feels like an old Disney short subject than the full length movie it's advertised to be."
Soundtrack
- "All For One and One For All (The Galop from "Orpheus in the UnderworldOrpheus in the UnderworldOrphée aux enfers is an opéra bouffon , or opéra féerie in its revised version, by Jacques Offenbach. The French text was written by Ludovic Halévy and later revised by Hector-Jonathan Crémieux....
")" – Troubadour (Rob Paulsen) and the Musketeers - "Love So Lovely ("Dance of the Reed Flutes" from The NutcrackerThe NutcrackerThe Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
, and "Romeo and Juliet Overture")" – Troubadour (Rob Paulsen) - "Petey's King of France ("In the Hall of the Mountain KingIn the Hall of the Mountain KingIn the Hall of the Mountain King is a piece of orchestral music composed by Edvard Grieg for the sixth scene of Act II in Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt, which premiered in Christiania on February 24, 1876....
")" – Peg Leg Pete (Jim Cummings) - "Sweet Wings of Love ("Blue Danube") – Troubadour (Rob Paulsen)
- "Chains of Love ("HabaneraHabaneraHabanera may refer to:*"Habanera" , an aria from Bizet's Carmen*Habanera , a 1984 Cuban film*La Habanera , a 1937 German movie...
" from CarmenCarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
)" – Goofy and Clarabelle (Bill Farmer and April Winchell) - "This Is The End (Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and best-known compositions in all of classical music, and one of the most often played symphonies. It comprises four movements: an opening sonata, an andante, and a fast...
")" – Troubadour (Rob Paulsen) - "L'Opera (excerpts from "The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
")" – Ensemble - "All For One (reprise)" – The Musketeers (with Mickey, Donald and Goofy)