Sonic, Tails, Knuckles: The Three Musketeers

***Sonic, Tails, Knuckles: The Three Musketeers*** (also known as simply *The Three Musketeers*) is a direct-to-DVD animated adaptation of the novel *The Three Musketeers*by Alexandre Dumas. As the title suggests, it features Sonic o Ouriço, Miles Tails Prower e Knuckles o Equidna as the three musketeers. This film was directed by Donovan Cook, produced by Disneytoon Studios, and released directly to VHS and DVD in 2004 by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

## Contents

[hide]#Plot

1. Cast
2. Other media
3. Soundtrack
4. Reception
5. Gallery
6. Trivia
	1. Breaking The 4th Wall
7. External links

## Plot Editar

The movie opens with Manic a Usa-speaking Hedgehog who loves songs, reminding a television-show narrator that he had promised Manic one of his songs would be used in the show that day. The narrator silently breaks his promise and walks away from Troubadour. He does not look where he is going and falls in a hole in the floor as the show is about to begin. Consequently, Troubadour is ushered in to tell the audience the story at the last minute, and he chooses his comic book of The Three Musketeers.

"Our story begins in the gutter", he says, where Sonic The Hedgehog, Miles Tails Prower, Knuckles the Echidna,  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 janitors 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, Amy Rose, princess of France, and her lady-in-waiting, Cream The Rabbit, are in a palace discussing Amy's obsession with finding her "one true love". Cream says that she must marry someone who is of royal blood, and  insists that she cannot marry someone she does not love. Amy says she will know that he is "the one" when he makes her laugh. Amy 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 Shadow, 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 Shadow mentions the opera, a poster of the opera is shown, and an operatic voice sings.) Just then, Shadow s lieutenant, Vanilia The Rabbit, tells Shadow that Princess Amy requests his presence. Shadow goes to the princess, who tells him that she wants musketeer bodyguards. Pete, knowing that skilled musketeers would jeopardize his kidnap plans, appoints Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to protect her. When the three "musketeers" meet Princess Amy, she instantly falls in love with Sonic. The boys are so caught up wanting to make a good first impression that when Cream comes in with a tray of cheese for Amy and they see the accompanying knife, they tackle Cream, thinking her a villain.

While Amy and Cream, protected by Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, go on a journey, they are ambushed by the Beagle Boys. Tails hides and is eventually thrown off the carriage, and Knuckles is easily defeated, leaving Sonic to fight the intruders. Sonic is also defeated, leaving the three heroes stranded. Sonic encourages his friends not to lose hope and they rush to rescue Amy and Cream. At the entrance to a tall tower, Goofy tells his fellow musketeers to stand back so he can break down the door, but Sonic opens it before he can stop, which sends Goofy rolling past the Beagle Boys and out of the tower. Outside, Knuckles 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 Sonic and Knuckles are trapped with the Beagle Boys, Knuckles gets the idea to do the same thing again with Mickey and they manage to knock the Beagles out of the tower and rescue Amy and Cream. After Sonic unties Amy 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 appear before Tails, capture him, and try to do away with him, but he escapes and tells the whole story to Mickey before running off, leaving Sonic by himself. Sonic is then captured by Shadow, who chains him up in a dungeon in Mont Saint-Michel that will flood when the tide comes in.

Meanwhile, Vanilia is about to throw a chained up Knuckles to his death off a bridge. Knuckles 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 Tails's boat instead. Knuckles tries to convince Tails that they have to save Sonic but he is too scared to try. An insulting song by Manic however, makes him change his mind and they rescue their friend just in time. Outside the Paris Opéra, Amy is captured by the Beagle Boys and the smallest one poses as her, announcing to the public that she is handing the crown over to a gleeful Pete. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles arrive and battle Pete onstage, finally defeating him and saving the Princess. Sonic and Amy finally declare their love for one another, while Tails win's Cream's heart, and Knuckles wins that of Vanilia. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are dubbed royal musketeers.

## Cast Editar

* Michael Keaton as Knuckles o Equidna
* Tony Anselmo as Sonic o Ouriço
* Bill Farmer as Miles Tails Prower
* Jim Cummings as Captain Shadow
* Russi Taylor as Amy Rose
* Tress MacNeille as Cream a Coelininha
* April Winchell as Vanilia a Coelininha
* Rob Paulsen as Manic o Ouriço
* Kimiko Glenn as Cosmo a Planta

## Other media Editar

In promotion of the original video release, Gemstone Publishing put out a 32-page comic book adaptation.

*Sonic, Tails, Knuckles: The Three Musketeers* also served as a world in *Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance*, making it the first production by Disneytoon Studios to be represented in the series. This world is known as the Country of the Musketeers.

*Sonic, Tails, Knuckles: The Three Musketeers* was re-released as a 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy on August 12, 2014.

## Soundtrack Editar

Each of the songs is sung to the tune of a classical piece.

1. "All for One and One for All (The Gallop from Orpheus in the Underworld)" - Troubadour (Rob Paulsen) and the Musketeers
2. "Love So Lovely ("Dance of the Reed Flutes" from The Nutcracker, and "Romeo and Juliet Overture")" - Manic (Rob Paulsen)
3. "Shadow's King of France ("In the Hall of the Mountain King")" - Shadow (Jim Cummings)
4. "Sweet Wings of Love ("Blue Danube")" - Manic (Rob Paulsen)
5. "Chains of Love ("Habanera" from Carmen) - Tails and Vanilia (Bill Farmer and April Winchell)
6. "This Is The End (Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5")" - Manic (Rob Paulsen)
7. "L'Opera (excerpts from "The Pirates of Penzance")" - Ensemble
8. "All For One (reprise)" - Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, The Musketeers (Michael Keaton, Tony Anselmo, Bill Farmer, and ensemble)

## ReceptionEditar

*Sonic, Tails, Knuckles: The Three Musketeers* received generally mixed reviews from critics, earning a 33% approval rating from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

## Trivia Editar

* Artwork from an earlier "Mickey and the Three Musketeers" film project was shown at the "Mickey's Lost Adventures" panel at the 2018 Destination D event. These character sketches feature many other classic Disney characters in different roles: José Carioca was to be a Musketeer, Honest John and Gideon were to be featured as Cardinal Richelieu and a henchman, and J. Thaddeus Toad would have played the role of King Louis XIII.
* On Disney Channel and Disney Junior airings, the clip where one of the Beagle Boys puts the jacks in his mouth when Pete is about to release them from the pit and the clip where Donald pokes Pete in his eyes (during the film's climax) were removed as a safety precaution. Both Disney Television networks were concerned that kids might imitate either of those scenes at home.
* The 2004 DVD of the movie was the first Disney DVD to have FastPlay.
* This movie is set in the 17th century, yet Minnie and Daisy are seen with fast food products, which didn't exist yet in real life.
	+ The same goes with "The Pirates of Penzance" by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan which premiered in 31st December 1879.
	+ A similar trait happens in the Silly Symphony cartoon *The Golden Touch.*

### Breaking The 4th Wall Editar

Not counting the musical acts where it is common the character to look at the camera and sing directly to the viewer, the movie follows conventions of breaking the 4th wall:

* Troubadour constantly talks to the viewer as the narrator he is.
* The Beagle Boys refer to the viewer a couple of times.
* Every time Pete mentions the Opera Night, the camera turns to the poster while the main part of the song plays in the background. After the 2nd and 3rd time, Pete actually notices it and comments how the "little ditty is starting to grow on (him)."
* When singing his own song "Petey's King of France", his last note lasts a few beats longer than the instrumental, prompting Pete to ask "Why did the music stop?"
* When ripping off his Musketeer outfit, Donald reveals his original (and mostly, out of the story's time) sailor outfit underneath.
* When Mickey is fighting the Beagle Boys on top of Minnie's coach, one of the Beagle Boys slices at Mickey's Musketeer outfit with his sword. The outfit comes off, showing Mickey in his trademark red shorts and yellow shoes, in which he responds by making his signature pose at the camera.

## External links Editar

* Official website
* Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers at Wikipedia
* Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers at the Internet Movie Database

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