''The Three Musketeers'' is a 1986 Australian made-for-television

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

from

Burbank Films Australia Burbank Animation Studios was an Australian film animation production company, formerly named Burbank Films Australia. History The company's first animated productions in 1982 were a series of adaptations of books from Charles Dickens; these f ...

. It is based on

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

's classic 1844 French novel, ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'', and was adapted by

Keith Dewhurst Keith Dewhurst (born 24 December 1931) is an English playwright and film and television scriptwriter. Life Born in Oldham, Keith Dewhurst was educated at Rydal School and Peterhouse, Cambridge, graduating with a B.A. in English in 1953. After wor ...

. It was produced by Tim Brooke-Hunt and featured original music by Sharon Calcraft. Although chronologically the story is followed in Burbank's '' The Man in the Iron Mask'', the latter film was released a year before ''The Three Musketeers''. The

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

for the film is now owned by Pulse Distribution and Entertainment and administered by digital rights management firm

NuTech Digital NuTech Digital, Inc. was a company that licensed and distributed karaoke products, general entertainment films (action-adventure, horror, and comedy), and children's animated films. In 2005, Nutech became focused on producing and distributing ...

.BTECH
article on NuTech and Pulse distribution agreement. This is the only time in any Burbank production that the characters Break the fourth wall. Now and then, the characters suddenly address the audience as if they were in the scene with them.

Plot

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during the mid-17th century,

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

receives a visit from the despicably charming young woman,

Milady de Winter Milady Laurence de Winter, often referred to as simply Milady, is a fictional character in the novel ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) by Alexandre Dumas, père, set in 1625 France. She is a spy for Cardinal Richelieu and is one of the dominant a ...

. Milady brings the Cardinal information regarding the notorious affair between the queen of France and the English

Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham. ...

. Outside their window, the queen's

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Not ...

, Constance Bonacieux, stands watching the conversation between the two characters, when she is attacked by

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

, one of the Cardinal's loyal men. She is rescued by the young musketeer

d'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the ...

and taken away to his abode, where Constance briefly explains her troubles and asks for d'Artagnan's help. Cardinal Richelieu, wanting to convince King Louis XIII that his wife, the queen, is unfaithful to him and in love with the Duke of Buckingham, suggests that he should ask his wife to wear the diamonds he had given her for an upcoming ball. The queen, shocked and dismayed, confesses to Constance that she had sent the diamonds to the Duke of Buckingham, and her confidant goes to d'Artagnan for help. With the help of his companions, three of the finest musketeers in France, Athos,

Porthos Porthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), '' Twenty Years After'' (1845), and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the othe ...

and

Aramis René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), '' Twenty Years After'' (1845), and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, A ...

, d'Artagnan makes his way to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

to seek the Duke himself, so that he may recover the diamonds and restore the queen's honor. Still, when all problems seem overcome, the English Duke of Buckingham plans to invade France, remove King Louis XIII and marry the queen; on the other hand, Cardinal Richelieu and Milady want revenge on d'Artagnan and Buckingham. Milady orders Rochefort to kidnap Constance Bonacieux, and when d'Artagnan learns this he sets off to rescue her. Milady is captured by Buckingham, and orders Felton to guard her. Felton falls in love with Milady; she seduces him and asks him to murder the Duke, which he does. Though she believes herself safe at a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

, Constance receives a visit from her supposed benefactor, Milady de Winter, who poisons her; d'Artagnan arrives at the scene and she dies in his arms. Together with Athos, Porthos and Aramis, d'Artagnan corners Milady and she is captured and sentenced to die for her crimes; Milady is then revealed to be Athos' own wife. The villains defeated and the country's honor restored, the four companions return to their homeland mourning the lives lost but cheering for their triumphs.

References

External links

* *
''The Three Musketeers''
at the

Big Cartoon DataBase The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) is an online database of information about animated cartoons, Feature film, animated feature films, Animated television series, animated television shows, and cartoon Short film, shorts. The BCDB proj ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Musketeers, The 1986 films 1986 animated films Australian children's animated films 1980s adventure films Films based on The Three Musketeers Films set in the 1620s Films set in France Films set in Paris Animated films based on novels Cultural depictions of Cardinal Richelieu Cultural depictions of Louis XIII 1980s Australian animated films Television shows based on The Three Musketeers 1980s English-language films

Plot

See also

References

External links