Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers - Television Tropes & Idioms

All for one and one for all!

A direct to DVD feature from Disney that for once isn't a sequel to a much better film or a TV episode compilation. As the name suggests, it's the stars of the Classic Disney Shorts in the roles of The Three Musketeers, or at least a story similar in nature.

Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy are three janitors who dream of becoming musketeers, but Mickey's size, Donald's cowardice and Goofy's intelligence (or lack thereof) are handicaps from their goal. However, they get their chance when Princess Minnie demands bodyguards from Captain Pete. Since said captain is planning to take over the kingdom, he decides to promote the three, hoping they'll be bungling enough not to ruin his plans.

The story is told by the Troubador, a singing turtle who is supposedly narrating it on live television. (Though not given a real name in the film, Word Of God has it that the Troubador is an updated version of 1930s Disney character Toby Tortoise.)

Considering it's a DTV movie, it's actually quite an improvement on previous sequels which were mostly excuses to try and kick off (bad) television series. In other words? Better Than It Sounds.

A world based on the film, called Country of the Musketeers appeared in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

This movie contains the following tropes.

Adaptation Decay: Admitted by the movie.
- Bizarrely, it seems to be a sort-of sequel to the original Three Musketeers, as the four Musketeers show up at the beginning to inspire Mickey.
Amusing Injuries
Anachronism Stew: Several examples.
- This movie seems to take place in 17th century France, pre-revolution. And the opera, Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, wasn't around until 1879.
- Don't get started on the fast food Minnie and Daisy are eating as they discuss romance.
- Indoor plumbing (seen in the opening), Electric lights (during Pete's crowning) and high-quality seamwork (seen on Mickey's and Donald's traditional apparel) certainly were not in vogue during this time.
Angrish: Donald, naturally.
Aside Glance
At Arm's Length: The Beagle Boys to Mickey
At The Opera Tonight: Cut to the poster and cue the fanfare!
Pete: "Where's dat music comin' from?"
Pete: "I do declare dat's startin' to grow on me!"
Berserk Button: "French words make me mad!"
Baleful Polymorph: Donald, despite already being a bird, turns into a literal chicken a few times during the movie to illustrate that he is a coward.
Beta Couple: Donald and Daisy, with Goofy and Clarabelle forming a Gamma Couple.
Bond Villain Stupidity
Breaking the Fourth Wall: The Troubadour does it repeatedly, and Pete does it briefly.
By the Lights of Their Eyes
Call Back: During the first fight with the Beagle Boys, one of them slice through Mickey's musketeer uniform, revealing his trademark outfit underneath. Cue Mickey making his well-known pose before cut to the next frame. Donald is also shown wearing his trademark sailor suit under his uniform when he decided to quit being a musketeer.
Changed My Mind, Kid: Donald, after hearing the Troubadour berate him.
Chekhov's Gun: The Disaster Dominoes sequence.
Continuity Cameo: The Musketeers from the book save Mickey, Donald and Goofy when the latter were children. They even autographed Mickey's hat, which has the correct number of four signatures.
Cowardly Lion: Donald
Cue the Flying Pigs
Direct-to-Video: One of the better films in this category.
Disaster Dominoes
Distressed Damsel: Minnie and Daisy
The Dragon: Clarabelle.
Dressed In Layers: Mickey dresses in at least two layers, and Donald dresses in at least three, judging by the way they rip off their clothes to reveal either Musketeer uniforms or their classic outfits underneath. Even Pete dresses in at least two layers.
Drowning Pit: Captain Pete tries to off Mickey by locking him in a dungeon in Mont-Saint-Michel, which floods when the tide rises.
Dying Alone: The fate Pete leaves Mickey to.
Expy: The Troubador is essentially an updated version of Toby Tortoise from the two Silly Symphonies shorts.
Extreme Omnivore: When Pete is getting the Beagle Boys out of the pit, they are doing things to pass the time (drawing Pete with an arrow though his head for one). One of them was playing with jacks, and when Pete sees them relaxing, he quickly eats all of the jacks and the rubber ball.
Everything's Better with Princesses: Minnie is a princess, though she seems to be the monarch of France and a queen in everything but name. No mention is made of any king or queen existing.
Evil Chancellor
Face Palm: Pete. Understandable, considering that he is Surrounded by Idiots with the Beagle Boys as henchmen.
Fake King
Falling in Love Montage: Mickey and Minnie (obviously)
Framing Device: The film is told through a live recording of the Troubador reading a comic book.
Freudian Excuse: Pete says his reason for being evil is because his mom didn't like him. However, he doesn't seem to mind.
Funny Animal
Furry Confusion: Natch, with Goofy and Pluto in the same movie. Clarabelle and a non-anthropomorphic orange and white cow show up, as do horse-driven coaches.
Getting Crap Past the Radar: For a few seconds in which he is seen falling into a hole, the original narrator (who was a complete dick towards the Troubador) is revealed to be a donkey.
Gilbert and Sullivan: The opera where the climax takes place is basically a Disney version of The Pirates Of Penzance, complete with a Modern Major General parody.
Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Donald
Hammerspace
Happily Ever After: Well, it's Disney, what'd you expect?
Heroic BSOD: A very brief bout.
High Heel Face Turn: Clarabelle Cow
The Hit Flash
Idiot Ball: Because, y'know, I don't care how Badass you think you are - anytime a villain who's three times your size starts saying, "By the power vested in my fist..." that's a good time to run away.
I See London: Subverted when one of the villain's lackeys rips Mickey's clothes to shreds. It instead reveals his familiar red shorts.
Kissing Discretion Shot: As is tradition in classic Disney media. With special thanks to Mickey's hat.
Lemony Narrator: The Troubador
Lovable Coward: Donald
Love at First Sight: Mickey and Minnie
Love Redeems: Clarabelle ends up falling for Goofy while having him executed.
Loves Me Not: Minnie does this in her introductory scene.
Major General Song
Medium Awareness: Pete. "Why'd the music stop?"
- He actually does this twice. When he is bringing The Beagle Boys out of the pit, the scene shifts to the poster for the opera and plays the same music bit again. When the scene shifts back to Pete, he stare at the poster, blinks his eyes a few times and continues speaking.
- He does it a third time when the opera bit happens, saying, "That little ditty's starting to grow on me."
Never Say "Die": Averted. Everyone is open to admitting that people will die, saying words like "Die" "Death" "Kill" (etc) and Donald is put in a Guillotine at one point. Pete and Clarabelle do use (fairly obvious) euphemisms once, but they make the scene much scarier.
Nice Hat: Mickey treasures a hat given to him by the original Musketeers.
Not So Harmless: The little Beagle at first seems like he's incompetent and silly. However it's revealed he's an expert in using the sword, especially a great wicked - looking one.
Oh Crap: Mickey's reaction to the "You Must Be This Tall to Survive this Dungeon" sign when the sewer begins to flood.
Plot Hole: After finding out Pete is the Big Bad, how does Donald know his exact plan, anyway?
- He obviously peeked at the script.
Post-Kiss Catatonia
The Power of Friendship: It's what ultimately enables Mickey and co. to emerge victorious.
Public Domain Soundtrack: The musical numbers are sung to the tune of classical pieces.
- Pete's Villain Song is set to "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg.
- The main theme sung by the Musketeers is set to the Infernal Galop from Offenbach's Orpheus In the Underworld, better known as the Can-Can.
- Some other classical tunes you'll hear are Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss, Jr., and the "Habanera" aria from Bizet's Carmen.
- The Gilbert and Sullivan opera The Pirates of Penzance plays a minor part in the plot. Even though it shouldn't exist yet.
Pit Trap: Pete puts the Beagle Boys in one when he finds out that they were going to kill Minnie, However its subverted in the fact that it is just a few feet deep.
Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Beagle Boys.
Red Boxing Glove: When kidnapping Minnie, the Beagle Boys conceal one in a jack-in-the box to lure Goofy into looking at it. Considering that this is a cartoon, its kind of suprising that the glove isn't oversized.
Running Gag: The same music, which happens to be the chorus of "With Catlike Tread" playing everytime the opera poster is shown.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Donald. Don't worry, he comes back around eventually.
Shout Out: To The Lion King and The Mickey Mouse Club, among others.
- Pete refers to Minnie as "Princess What's Her Name" at one point.
- A Shout Out to Gilbert and Sullivan is also made during the opera scene. They're seeing The Pirates of Penzance, and the songs With Catlike Tread and Modern Major General are heard.
- The multiple Goofy clones appearing is undoubtedly a reference to the recurring use of this phenomenon in his original theatrical cartoons.
Shown Their Work: The three protagonists being rescued by four musketeers, as there was in the original book: Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and d'Artagnan.
Shut Up, Hannibal!: The Toby Tortoise Expy incites Donald into this by singing "This is the end"—to the tune of a classic Beethoven song.
Slapstick Knows No Gender: Pete did warn Clarabelle about the bricks at least.
Star-Crossed Lovers: Minnie is forbidden to date Mickey since he's a commoner. This just attracts Minnie more.
Surrounded by Idiots: Pete
That Reminds Me of a Song: Justified in some places, since the Troubadour openly admits to wanting to pepper the narration with songs that he wrote; in other parts, not so much.
Villain Song: "Petey's King of France"
Villain with Good Publicity: Pete.
World of Funny Animals
Would Hit a Girl: Mickey Donald and Goofy pile on Daisy Duck, mistaking her for a bad guy.
- In the comics adaptation, an earlier scene has Mickey tell Donald about recent threats to the kingdom. It seems "Prince Gimlet" was murdered by a royal waitress with an hors d'oeuvres knife. Hapless Daisy appears to be about to pull off a similar crime.