August 17, 2004 – The Direct-to-Video Film Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers is Released
“You see, before their dream can come true, our three heroes must learn the real meaning of the musketeer creed. All for one, and one for all!”
On August 17, 2004, the direct-to-video film Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers was released on VHS and DVD. It was produced by DisneyToon Studios and directed by Donovan Cook. The story is based on The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, and was adapted by David M. Evans and Evan Spiliotopoulos. Vocal talents include Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse, Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck, Bill Farmer as Goofy, Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse, Tress MacNeille as Daisy Duck, Jim Cummings as Pete, and Rob Paulsen as the Troubadour (narrator). The songs of the film are interpretations of well-known classical pieces; the opera in the film is Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.
The story begins with a crew preparing for Masterpiece Theater kind of program, and a turtle is seen sitting in a chair, reading a comic book of the story and singing loudly. He helps to bring the narrator of the show to the set, but when the narrator falls down a trap door, the turtle begins to tell the story from his comic book, of Mickey, Goofy, and Donald, and their goal to become musketeers. Their childhood is in the gutter, and one day as they are attacked, the musketeers save them. Inspired by their bravery, the trio swears they will become musketeers.
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy watch the musketeers as they go through their training drills, dreaming of the day they will join
Years later, the three still dream of the day they will be musketeers, but instead are janitors, constantly getting themselves into trouble, although they always have the best of intentions. Pete, the Captain of the Musketeers, is constantly annoyed with the trio and their accidents, and refuses to ever let them become musketeers. Meanwhile, at the palace, Princess Minnie is sitting and daydreaming about her one true love, while Daisy, her lady-in-waiting, sounds off as the voice of reason. Minnie strolls through the garden, daydreaming about the day she’ll meet him, when she narrowly misses getting hit by a safe. The Beagle Boys, the villains that attempted to crush the princess, report to their boss of their failure – with their boss just happening to be Pete. His plan is to kidnap the princess, then become king in her absence. Fortunately, they weren’t supposed to kill her anyway, but Pete replaces them with Clarabelle Cow.
The Princess calls Pete for a meeting, demanding that he provide musketeer bodyguards. Pete stalls for time, but tells Minnie that she will have bodyguards very soon. He surprises Mickey and his friends with the opportunity they’ve been dying for: to be musketeers. Pete believes that their incompetency will help his plan in becoming king. The trio arrives at the palace, and immediately gets into trouble when Goofy attacks a suit of armor, thinking it’s a bad guy. The door opens to reveal the three trying to put the armor back together again, and the moment Minnie and Mickey see each other, it’s love at first sight. The mood is broken when Daisy enters the room with a snack and, upon seeing the knife she carries, the trio attacks her, thinking she’s a bad guy. Although Minnie is furious at the infraction, she forgives them after hearing Mickey’s apology.
After Mickey rescues the princess, they take a romantic journey back to the palace, with romance blooming between the two
When the trio escorts Minnie and Daisy on a trip through the country, they are ambushed by the Beagle Boys. Mickey fights bravely, but the Princess and Daisy are captured. Goofy cries, thinking they’ve failed, but Mickey rallies their spirits and they track down the girls at a decrepit tower, and launch a brave, if purely accidental, rescue. Romance begins to bloom between Mickey and Minnie as they travel back to the palace, culminating in Minnie giving Mickey a kiss. When Pete sees that his kidnap plan has failed, he switches gears: he needs to get rid of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, picking them off one by one. Goofy is tricked by Clarabelle and taken to drown in the Seine. Donald is scared off by the Beagle Boys, but hides in a suit of armor. When he sees Mickey, he tries to convince his friend that they need to run away. He tries to explain that Pete is the bad guy, but Mickey can’t understand Donald. Finally, he understands, but Mickey refuses to leave his post. Donald, unfortunately, decides to run, too afraid to stay.
While Mickey remains at the palace, Pete captures him and chains him in the basement of a decrepit castle that will fill with water when the tide comes in. Pete then heads to the opera, where he will trick the people of France into believing that Minnie has abdicated and declared him king. Clarabelle, on the other hand, is trying to drown Goofy, when Goofy falls for Clarabelle at first sight. She tries to resist his charms, but she can’t. Quickly, she tells him of how he needs to save Mickey. The bridge they’re standing on breaks, and as luck would have it, Donald is in a rowboat right underneath them.
The trio fights with Pete for the trunk, which contains Minnie and Daisy
The tide has begun to rise in the dungeon, and the Goofy and Donald race to save Mickey. Donald, still afraid, still tries to run away, but Goofy and the Troubadour are able to convince the duck to get over his fears and save their friend. They reach Mickey just in time, and they all race off to save the princess. When Minnie and Daisy arrive at the opera, they are quickly kidnapped by Pete and his henchmen, who lock the girls away in a trunk. One of the Beagle Boys, dressed as Minnie, declares Pete to be the new king. The show begins, and the trio arrives just in time, beginning an epic swordfight onstage during the opera. The swordfight ends with Pete battling Mickey one-on-one. While it looks like Mickey has been beaten, Goofy and Donald reappear and help Mickey defeat Pete and his evil scheme.
It’s a happy ending for all, and Mickey and Minnie have fallen in love, as well as Goofy and Clarabelle. Donald, meanwhile, gives an embarrassed smile to Daisy, who surprises him by taking him in her arms and kissing him. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are made official musketeers, as thanks for saving France. The movie ends with a heroic song and dance with all the musketeers.
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