* Pete makes a whole point to the Beagle Boys that he wants to ''kidnap'' Minnie instead of ''killing'' her. I mean, WHY ? If the only thing he does once he has got the kidnapped Minnie is to lock her up in a place where no one will ever find her, wouldn't killing her do the job easily ? It can't be scruples, not from ''Big Bad Pete'''s part.
** In theory, he needs her alive. Pete (the Captain of the Musketeers) is nowhere in the line of succession -- if Princess Minnie dies or is ruled dead, the throne passes to someone else. In order for him to rule, he would need to present himself as her spokesperson, handing down "the Princess' orders" while keeping her locked up against the need for a signature or forced appearance. Admittedly, this may be overthinking the plot, but still...
** Well, that could be a justification… But apparently, Pete's plan is to get her out of the way and use a ''disguised Midget Beagle'' to play Minnie's part when needed. It's true he needs to make the people believe that their princess willingly gave the power to Pete and is still okay with any reform he could make, but he never mentions wanting to oblige Minnie to play this role: he uses his Midget Beagle. So still why ?
** But I [[FridgeHorror just remembered]] something quite unsettling: in the original shorts of the 30's, Pete was often trying to [[RapeTropes kiss Minnie by force]], having apparently something of a crush on her. [[FridgeHorror Is keeping her locked away in a place only him knows related in any way to that ?]]…
** Pete can't just kill a "former" ruler. If Minnie dies too soon after abdicating, several people may [[ThereAreNoCoincidences refuse to dismiss it as a coincidence]]. He probably intended to wait until people got used to live under his rule and he could have her killed at a time he secured enough power to neutralize anyone asking too many questions.
* Donald's characterization in this movie. Cowardice has never been his biggest flaw, or even a huge part of his personality. Not that he hasn't shown cowardice, but no more than any of the other characters. His major trait has always been his temper, and it only is really displayed in one scene in this movie (when Troubadour sings his BreakingSpeech song). It's not like it couldn't work as a believable flaw (it had been working for over half a century till that point), Pete could say he's too much of a loose cannon, that he flies off the handle at any slight (except, you kno, the way Pete would say), and that Musketeers need discipline.
** Maybe they thought that a constantly angry character wouldn't be fun to watch. Or that he would be a too good fighter by always charging in...
** Actually, this is a bit of FridgeBrilliance: Donald being a coward is an established part of his character; it's just that this particular trait is more a staple of the Donald who appears in [[ComicBook/DisneyMouseAndDuckComics comic books and strips]] than Donald in animation -- and this movie is narrated from a comic book!
*** [[DependingOnTheWriter It varies from story to story]] just how cowardly he is, though a fair rule of thumb is that if there's another character with him who can play the brave hero (like Mickey or Uncle Scrooge) Donald is usually portrayed as a bit of a coward as a contrast; he's all gung-ho as long as there's no actual danger involved, but when things get scary he's just as likely to lose his nerve. For a good example of a "cowardly Donald," you can check out the classic Floyd Gottfredson comic, ''The House of Seven Haunts'' from 1936.
*** In Fantagraphics' collected Gottfredson volumes, the ''Musketeers'' director is actually quoted as referencing "Seven Haunts" as his specific inspiration for Donald in the ''Musketeers'' film: that cinches it.
*** And yet the Floyd Gottfredson comic "House of Seven Haunts" (where Donald is significantly younger and smaller than even Mickey) was inspired by the episode "Lonesome Ghosts" (which was still in production by the time the comic came out) in which all three characters show a level of fear but Donald is the only one to punch a ghost...which makes the choice of a cowardly role for Donald in both the comic and movie as ironic.
*** Yes, it most certainly does [[DependingOnTheWriter vary between comic book authors]]. The example of Floyd Gottfredson isn't a very good one since he's always been credited more of a Mickey Mouse author rather than a Donald one so of course, his Mickey would be the hero. But there are plenty of Barks' and even some of Don Rosa's comics (and Don Rosa is usually notorious for making Donald even more unlucky and "cowardly" than Barks' or his animated counterpart ever was!) where Donald demonstrates bravado like [[http://www.zocoi.com/books/209-scrooge-mcduck-the-black-knight-glorps-again "The Black Knight Glorps Again"]] where Donald almost sacrifices himself in trying to stop a thief with armour that acts like a black hole which destroys everything it touches! There are also examples of Donald's bravery in the newer European comics. And let's not forget that it was his incarnation in the comics that gave us Donald's avenger/superhero alter ego, [[ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures Paperinik/Duck Avenger]] as well as his secret agent alter ego, ComicBook/DoubleDuck! So although his cowardice might show up more in the comics than in the cartoons, he's only scared when there's actual danger, not at the drop of a hat like they portrayed him in the movie! And even then, he usually does still face his fears head on!
*** Like I said: Varies from story to story. If one story demands that Donald be a FearlessFool, then he will be. If the story demands that he's a LovableCoward, he will be that. The great thing about Donald is that his personality is flexible enough that he can play both these roles and not come across as OOC.
*** Except that it ''does'' comes across as OOC, especially when the majority of his other cartoons and many of his comics don't usually portray that side of him and that's why so many of his fans have called Disney out on this! In fact, in many Italian comics concerning medieval times, he's often portrayed as a OneManArmy or MasterSwordsman and has been shown to ''single-handedly defeat whole armies'' and perform incredible feats of strength including '''lifting up an entire catapult and hurling it at the Beagle Boy army!''' These comics included: [[https://www.scribd.com/doc/251816397/1-Paperino-Il-Paladino-Topolino-0247-0248 "Paperino Il Paladino,"]] [[http://www.comicartcity.com/immagini/griglia/2011/12/16/bottaro-paperac-jpg-1.jpg "Paperin de Paperac,"]] [[https://www.scribd.com/doc/251816396/2-Paperin-Furioso-Topolino-0544 "Paperin Furioso]] and [[http://duckcomicsrevue.blogspot.com/2014/01/donald-fracas.html "Paperino Fracas"]] and this last one is a good example of how he's capable of feeling fear, but still chooses to aggressively charge headfirst and fight since his aggression has almost always been a part of his character ever since his second appearance in "Mickey's Orphans' Benefit" (1934)! And the best part is that most of these examples ''weren't'' AllJustADream. "Paperino Il Paladino" was set in that time period, "Paperin Furioso" had Witch Hazel send him back in time, and "Paperino Fracas" actually gave him that experience via magic! This means that Donald really ''is'' that strong and brave and good a warrior!
*** And those are examples of stories where Donald ''is'' portrayed as brave. There are still a lot of comic stories where he ''isn't.'' I grew up on Disney comics in the 80s and 90s, and I read more examples of the latter than the former (maybe I just read the wrong stories), so to me Donald usually came across more of a LovableCoward but with a number of LetsGetDangerous moments. (I tend to view the Duck Avenger and Double Duck stories as alternate continuities... [[NegativeContinuity insofar as there is a continuity at all in the]] ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse.) I'd say it's more CharacterExaggeration than a case of OOC, because I recognized Donald in the movie. His cowardice was exaggerated for comic effect, and his temper downplayed perhaps a bit too much because it would clash with his flaw-of-the-movie, but I still hold that Donald's cowardly streak is not something unique to this movie and has been one of Donald's traits in many other stories.
*** I don't recognize this overly cowardly character as Donald and I'm glad quite a few fans didn't either. He's almost always has been TheBerserker of his friends (see "Mickey and the Beanstalk" for just one example) so it doesn't make a lick of sense that in one of the few movies with the three that does call for a lot of fighting, that the one with the most experience and temperament in fighting was given the cowardly role. Donald has never been any more of a coward than Mickey or Goofy (both of whom who have also shown to be cowards in various other media) and the episode "House of Seven Haunts" was based off was "Lonesome Ghosts" where Donald is the only one of the three to punch out a ghost! So Donald does seem to be greatly OOC in this movie. He should've been TheBerserker as he's usually been in almost every other Disney media.
** [[http://thekingmickey.tumblr.com/post/86463675845/denisetremont-01-ruthc93-scroogerello-if This]] tumblr post actually neatly, [[TearJerker if depressingly]], solves the issue. While Donald being a coward played a small role in him leaving, his main reasons were "I'm useless" and "If Goofy fell to Pete when he and you are perfectly capable of fighting bad guys without me, it doesn't matter if I stay." In other words, Donald was leaving because he genuinely believed Mickey didn't need him, a not unreasonable fear all things considered.
*** Except they DID need him since it's doubtful that Goofy alone would've been able to break or pull out the chain that held Mickey down in the dungeon thus saving Mickey from drowning. But they should've done a better job showing that they needed Donald like having a badass moment where he could've beaten up bad guys by himself when he saw the bad guys try to hurt his friends during the scene where he lost his temper at the tortoise instead of just getting on the boat. This movie shafted Donald and his usual abilities as a fighter which is ironic considering this movie centered on sword-fighting and Donald is usually the fighter of the group.
* When Mickey says "en garde," his Beagle Boy opponent exclaims, "French words make me mad!" But how did he know Mickey was speaking French? For all he knew, Mickey could have been saying "on guard," which is pronounced the exact same way and means the exact same thing.
* So in the DrowningPit, Donald and Goofy dive in and break the chain holding Mickey under. But how in the world did they all get out of the flooding dungeon cell? I doubt they could have just climbed up the walls. Did they wait for the water to rise high enough to reach the point they dove off of? Or did they find an underwater passage (perhaps the one letting in all the water) and swim out through it? The film cuts away after the chain breaks, so it’s a bit of a mystery.
* I have some FridgeBrilliance. According to the Disney Wiki, Minnie is seemingly the daughter of King Louis XIII. There was an issue around that time with France: the rulers of France were selfish, and most civilians were poor. This was the cause of the French Revolution, right? Well, by marrying Mickey, who is a commoner that lived in poverty for most of his life before he became a musketeer and, as such, knew what the problems were, Minnie prevented the French Revolution! And all because she wanted to marry for love!
** The movie never states that Mickey and Minnie married.
*** First of all, if Mickey and Minnie have a MaybeEverAfter, they will get married. Second, this movie is canonically part of Mickey's backstory in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', a game series where Mickey is indeed King and Minnie's husband.
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