Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers

DisneyToon studios produced a direct-to-video animated adaptation of The Three Musketeers in 2004 called Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers. Starring Wayne Allwine, Tony Anselmo, Bill Farmer, Russi Taylor, Tres MacNellie, Jim Cummings, April Winchell, Jeff Bennett, Maurice LaMarche, and Rob Paulsen. It was also the first direct-to-video feature  to be featured in the Kingdom Hearts series.

In a story told by the Troubador (Paulsen), Mickey (Allwine), Donald (Anselmo), and Goofy (Farmer) are three janitors who dream of becoming musketeers. However, Mickey’s size, Donald’s cowardice and Goofy’s intelligence impedes them from doing so. But they do get their chance when Captain Pete (Cummings), who is planning to take over the kingdom, decides to promote them in the hopes they’ll be bungling enough to not ruin his plans.

This version of The Three Musketeers isn’t great, but it’s somewhat decent. The plot may be thin, but it does have good humor by making fun of some of the usual Disney tropes.

The trio are made musketeers almost immediately after Pete berated them and told them they never would be. Even with their brainlessness, they should feel something is amiss. Princess Minnie also holds an idiot ball, with her readily accepting their incompetence with Pete’s explanation that they’re really good at perceived threats.

On the other hand, the film does poke fun at various running gags found in Disney shorts as well as other conventions. For one, Minnie finds it destiny that she and Mickey are supposed to be together because “they have the same last name.” Also, after cutting to the opera poster with the jingle for a third time, right after a character mentions the opera, Pete mentions the song is starting to get pretty catchy.

Despite a pretty dumb plot with characters that don’t really have a good grasp on anything, Mickey, Donald, Goof: The Three Musketeers is actually pretty fun. 

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