Micky, Donald, Goofy - Die drei Musketiere

Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy have been appearing together in animated skits for the better part of eighty years and have gone through a number of hilarious, and sometimes touching misadventures. I personally am very fond of "Mickey's Trailer," the 1938 Technicolor short in which the three of them made a somewhat haphazard journey taking their mobile home over a mount, especially when Goofy, who was driving, left the motor running as he ran inside to get breakfast. They've also been in a lot of humorous contemporary adventures, so it is rather surprising that their first feature-length movie together is not all that impressive. It's not a bad movie, although there were some things in it I genuinely hated, and its sixty-minute length makes it easily durable, but I really wanted this movie to hit harder. I wanted more laughs, more heart, more of that wonderful sensation that great animation can give us.

In the movie, the three mishaps stumble through predicament after predicament not as window-washers, not as locksmiths, not as painters, but as Alexandre Dumas's Three Musketeers. That is, loosely. To the movie's credit, it makes the appropriate choice of meshing the novel's 18th century setting with contemporary elements: the palace Mickey, Donald, and Goofy tend to is equipped with running water; a trio of hooded villains unsuccessfully attempt to assassinate Princess Minnie Mouse with an iron safe; Donald Duck tears off his uniform to reveal his traditional sailor attire. In the midst of their attempts to protect Minnie, the story is narrated by a singing turtle with a French accent, who stops in now and then with a few too many songs. The songs are a bold move, as they are set to the pattern of classical music. The one I liked the most was "Wings of Love," set to the Johann Strauss masterpiece "Blue Dunabe." I even got a chuckle out of a berating song toward Donald with Beethoven's Fifth thumping in the background. I was not, however, appeased by the opening and closing Musketeer themes—modeled after "Orpheus In the Underworld"—and could not stand for a second "Chains of Love" in which villainous Clarabelle Cow and affable Goofy fall instantaneously in love.

This segues into another problem I have with the story. It does not have much heart or sense of place, because it frequently twists its plot with left-field tricks. One of the movie's lamest gimmicks regards Donald Duck. At the beginning, he's supposed to be a coward, and when faced with danger, instead of losing his famous temper, he physically transfigures from a duck into a chicken. Literally. His beak shrinks down, he grows a red plumage, and he goes "Buck-Buck!" Ignoring the fact that I personally don't like it when Goofy gets a love interest, the romance that sparks between him and Clarabelle is out-of-the-blue, underwritten, and utterly pointless. To just have him escape her by slipping on a banana peel or driving her bonkers with his usual naivety as she attempts to throw him off a bridge would have been far more effective. The chemistry between Donald Duck and Daisy Duck is absolutely nonexistent, making their finale together even more useless. These two characters have worked together very well in the past, in the cartoons, when they are given time to work and play off each other. Not here.

But most saddening is how little is done between Mickey and Minnie. These are two of the cutest, most likable animation couples in history, and the screenplay gives them very little to do. Everything seems forced, as if the filmmakers threw it in because they were expected to. The scene where they first meet, where Mickey arrives as one of Minnie's new bodyguards, starts off charming and then slides into syrupy kitsch. They have a handful of smaller moments, but the big one in the middle still left me wanting more. As much as I liked the "Wings of Love" song, which plays behind them as they bond on a trip back to Paris, I would have preferred to see them banter and charm each other. Yes, they've been doing exactly that for more than seventy years, but that formula has not yet run out of steam. Not for me, at least.

There were some things I did enjoy. I really liked the directing by Donovan Cook; he does a terrific job at staging his animated sequences in wide-screen. Not everything is framed as though for a square screen. The defining moment is where Peg-Leg Pete (playing, obviously, the bad guy) is told that he needs to recruit bodyguards for Minnie. He looks past her and sees our three heroes bungling as they try to wash windows. The shot is brilliantly set in extreme-wide focus, so we see everything. A lesser director would have done it comic-strip style, cutting from Pete to the Musketeers, then back to Pete, then the Musketeers, and so forth. Mr. Cook toggles between wide and close shots very deftly, and his misc en scenes I appealing. I also really liked the usual Disney animation with its plethora of glorious colors in a world that really seems alive with detail. And I did enjoy most of the movie's beginning, with our heroes dreaming about becoming musketeers.

The second half of the movie, however, completely thuds, especially in its limp finale at an opera where the Musketeers battle with Peg-Leg Pete and the hooded figures whom I believe were modeled after the Beagle Boys from "Duck Tales." The twists and turns just do not play out well. Why, if Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are given a feature-length movie, does it have to be so brisk? Why not give them a full 90 minutes? This version of "The Three Musketeers" is not bad per se, but I really wanted something special when Mickey, Donald, and Goofy made their big-time debut together.

When people hear the words direct-to-video, they groan, though actually most of them aren't that bad. Two or three of them are awful, like Cinderella 2, but this one belongs up there with one of the more entertaining films.

The animation is not that bad at all. Most of it is very colourful, though in the more sinister bits it is a little flat. I liked the songs also, with some very funny lyrics(and random in some of them)set to the works of classical composers like Beethoven and Grieg.

The story, while not very faithful to the classic tale, is very nice, and goes at a fast pace. Although, the film could have done with being 5 to 10 minutes longer. The plot has some funny twists, with Captain Pete plotting to kidnap Princess Minnie and take over as ruler. A bit over-familiar, but it is decorated with some very funny sword fights, and a very funny scene in the opera house.

The voice talents are top notch, especially Jim Cummings as Pete. In fact all the characters were very well-done, but the short duration didn't allow the script to fully develop.

Anyway, despite the flaws, I really liked it, so I will award a 7/10, for the humour and the characters. Bethany Cox.

Everything in this movie forces you to be utterly impressed; seeing the old heroes ride - together - again, the colors, the drawings, the animation, the wit, and the songs, especially the songs. As a musical, it's very distinct. Rare to watch a movie where the melodies or the songs are from older ballet, opera, or symphony. It's like relating the past with the present, new dealing with the classics, and - most importantly - a way to make the kids, or the less caring about music viewers, know about classics, getting used to them.

Look at the list this time: "All For One and One For All" (from Orpheus in the Underworld). "Love So Lovely (from The Nutcracker, and Romeo and Juliet Overture). "Petey's King of France" (from In the Hall of the Mountain King). "Sweet Wings of Love" (from Johann Strauss's Blue Danube). "Chains of Love" (from Carmen). "This Is The End" (from Beethoven's 5th Symphony). "L'Opera" (from The Pirates of Penzance). I wrote it as I read it in Wikipedia, since the IMDb doesn't have a full, more accurate, list of the original sources.

Making the songs from other older works didn't give us interesting soundtrack only, it rather brought back golden ages in music, and saluted Disney's milestone Fantasia. Having that apart is a delight, so how about its colorful time too. Director (Donovan Cook) has done a perfect job. I can't see anything wrong with the movie. (David M. Evans) and (Evan Spiliotopoulos) wrote a wonderful script (loved the narrator / troubadour turtle touch in particular). Maybe old-fashioned a bit, but with some amount of fun. I don't know about you, but the movie's traditionalism did enjoy me. On one hand, the "good old" Disney's feature cartoon films are so missed since years (The Pixar effect no doubt). And on the other hand, this innocence and simplicity are forever. In a word, here.. Traditional wins!

The nostalgic creation, concerning reusing, remixing, or reproducing classic songs or pieces of music, can be noticed through the last 15 years in movies. Remember (Everyone Says I Love You - 1996), (Moulin Rouge! - 2001), (Happy Feet - 2006), (Across the Universe - 2007), (Mamma Mia! - 2008), and obviously there was (Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers - 2004) in between. However, the thing to bother is that why that last one wasn't released in theaters worldwide instead of that shy, or embarrassed, V release?! According to the level of many straight-to-video movies; V could refer to "vile" more than "video" by the way!

It could be a lot of reasons; it's an old story (AREN'T ALL OF THEM?!), it should have used some hip touches, or more action for that matter?. There was no star involved, naturally due to the signature voices of the used leads, so you can't bring (Tom Cruise) to do Goofy (or you can?!), and there weren't other characters to have stars for them in the first place. Moreover, it's a cartoon in a world that has gone graphic, having - in their makers' viewpoints of course - no chance in front of movies like (Finding Nemo) in the same year. Clearly, the look at it as pure mercantile project deterred it from owing a release. I hope it's a production matter, not a contemptuous manner which labels some heroes as outdated or old news!

V or not, this is a great movie. It's a tribute to the classic Disney, the classic music, and the classic novel of (The Three Musketeers). Some perfumes don't drain away. And a portion of "classic" is so needed in the nasty noisy world of 2000s. It's just the feeling of sorry that I didn't, don't, and won't have the pleasure of watching it on big screen ever!

It's a refreshingly short animated movie and if you are in love or like Donald, Mickey and Goofy already, you may have some plus points or head start when it comes to enjoying this, than others have. Having said that, the story should be very well known, except we throw beloved (and not so beloved, see cat) characters at it.

The humor works, the quirks of the characters is there. You get some music and singing too, which may qualify this as musical to some (for better or worse). Animation is ok, jokes are decent too. Nothing too surprising but solid overall

Walt Disney's classic cartoon characters are back for a feature-length adventure. This hour-long direct-to-video 'toon features longtime Disney favorites Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto, as well as Peg-Leg Pete and even Clarabelle Cow. These characters all started way back in the 1920s and 1930s, and it's nice to see them dusted off and brought to life on-screen these days, and not merely used to adorn merchandise.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (2004) is not, as one might expect, an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's classic story (previously adapted by Disney in live-action in 1993), but is an original adventure that uses Dumas as a jumping-off point. (Mickey, Donald, and Goofy aspire to be musketeers after a childhood encounter with the Dumas heroes.) Set once upon a time in seventeenth-century France, the movie's got Mickey, Donald, and Goofy as misfit musketeers trying to protect Princess Minnie while the duplicitous Captain Pete plots to become king.

The film is fast-paced and cartoony, with lots of gags to keep kids' attention. There's swashbuckling action and some peril, but the henchmen are as hapless as the heroes in this cartoon, so it's entirely kid-friendly stuff.

The music is conspicuously recycled from old classical tunes and other pre-existing (public domain?) songs, including several straight-up Gilbert & Sullivan songs in the climactic scene at the opera house ("Pirates of Penzance"). It seems like a cost-cutting measure for a direct-to-video release. As this movie is clearly aimed at children, one wonders how many of them would realize that the songs are set to famous classical tunes. (And does that matter?) Maybe this will be their first time hearing the music, and they'll forever afterward think of these lyrics. But on the other hand, maybe it's a fun way to expose young audiences to classical music for the first time.

There's an air of postmodernism about the way the film handles Disney's classic cartoon gang, to freshen them up for today's kids. For example, while scribbling "Mickey + Minnie Mouse" in her diary, a lovestruck Minnie realizes that she and Mickey have the same last name. (It's fate!) And, in another scene, Mickey confesses that he doesn't understand a word that Donald says. There's even a scene with Minnie and Daisy eating fast food in the royal carriage.

As the three unlikely musketeers, Mickey is "too small", Donald is "too cowardly", and Goofy is "too dumb". Mickey, primarily a corporate mascot at this point in his career, is bland, bland, bland. Scaredy-cat Donald and idiot Goofy are marginally more interesting, but Pete steals the show as the fourth-wall-breaking villain. Daisy Duck is given a modernized edge as dreamer Minnie's wise and more pragmatic lady-in-waiting. Clarabelle is a henchwoman, for some reason (probably just lucky to be included), but she's got personality and is fun to watch. A French-accented turtle acts as singing narrator throughout the story, and is annoying.

While it's encouraging to see Disney put its classic characters to use, this particular film is rather limp. The breakneck comedy seems designed to entertain antsy children, and it may well do so, but for more seasoned audiences, the gags fall flat and the "all for one" story is not very compelling.