Barbie and the Three Musketeers

Barbie and the Three Mustketeers
DVD cover
Directed by	William Lau
Starring	Kelly Sheridan Amelia Henderson Kira Tozer Willow Johnson Dorla Bell Tim Curry Mark Hildreth (actor)
Distributed by	Artisan Home Entertainment (DVD)
Release date(s)	September 15, 2009 (2009-09-15)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Barbie and the Three Musketeers is a 2009 computer animated direct-to-video film and part of the CGI Barbie film series. It was released on DVD on September 15, 2009.^[1]

Plot

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Corinne is a country girl from Gascony who dreams of being a Musketeer, protectors of the French royal family, just like her father, D'Artagnan. Now seventeen, Corinne asks her mother to let her go to Paris to become one. Though worried about the dangers, her mother supports her and gives Corinne her blessing, as well as a letter to Monsieur Treville, the captain of the Musketeers and an old friend of her father's.

The next day before leaving, Corinne's mother reminds her about what her father used to say: "True courage is pursuing your dream, even when everyone else says it's impossible." Hugging her mother goodbye, Corinne sets off for Paris with her kitten, Miette, and Alexander, D'Artagnan's old horse.

Arriving in Paris, Corinne watches four Musketeers displaying their skills. She tells them about becoming a Musketeer herself and asks them where to find Treville. They tease her while a mean dog, Brutus, knocks her down and steals her letter of introduction. In an attempt to get it back, Corinne and Miette chase him into the Musketeer headquarters, where Treville is talking to Philippe, the kingdom's regent, Prince Louis's cousin and Brutus' owner. When hearing why she is there, Philippe scoffs at Corinne's dream to be a Musketeer, saying girls don't possess the proper skills. However, she is invited inside.

Feeling triumphant at first, she is disappointed when Treville says she's not ready for active duty, but he encourages her to continue practicing, telling her that if she needs anything, to come to him. After leaving, Corinne sits outside with Miette when Brutus sneaks up on them again and chases after Miette. While in pursuit, Corinne literally bumps into three other girls: Viveca a great fashionista, Aramina an elegant dancer, and Renée, a violinist.

She chases Miette and Brutus to the royal kitchen, where the cruel overseer, Madame de Bossé ( Miette calls her "Madame Bossy"), mistakes her as a new maid. Corinne is then introduced to three other maids, who turn out to be Viveca, Aramina, and Renée. Due to Corinne's earlier rampage, all three arrive extremely messy and disheveled, getting them in trouble with Madame de Bossé, who punishes them with extra work. Due to this, the girls have a sharp dislike for Corinne and give her the extra work while ignoring her in the process. However, by the end of the day and through her various good deeds, the three see Corinne has a good heart and the four of them become friends.

One day, while the four clean the great hall, Corinne meets Prince Louis, who is about to be crowned king. As he begins to leave, a chandelier crashes down from the ceiling. As the debris flies towards them, each maid skillfully defends herself. Philippe and the Musketeers rush to Louis while Hélène, who was watching from the balcony, looks at the four girls approvingly, apparently impressed with their skills. Philippe escorts a shaken Louis out of the hall, ordering that an incindent like this never happens again.

Madame de Bossé comes in and orders the four to clean up the now messy hall. While removing the mess, Corinne notices a red ruby sparkle on the floor and thinks to herself that the chandelier rope appears to have been cut. When Corrine comes back, the three other girls asked Corinne where she learned to move the way she did. She then tells them about her dream of becoming a Musketeer. Shocked, all three also reveal their own ambitions of becoming Musketeers themselves. Upon hearing this, Hélène has them follow her through a series of secret passages, built for the king's safety, arriving in a forgotten hidden chamber beneath the palace. She explains that the Musketeers used to train here before Treville moved them to the larger headquarters. She displays her own fighting abilities as she tests each girl, judging their level of skill. Afterwards, Hélène tells the girls that they are skilled, but they each still have a long way to go. After pleading for her to teach them, Hélène begins training the four.

That night, a furious Philippe confronts the captain of his guards. It is revealed that Philippe plans to have Louis assassinated so he can take over the kingdom and that the guard had indeed cut the chandelier rope - his dagger is missing a ruby. Philippe orders the captain to sabotage Louis' hot air balloon, which the prince is planning to test the next day.

Louis prepares to launch the balloon when the safety ropes, cut by the guard, snap and the balloon floats away. The force of the jolt knocks the prince out of the basket, causing his foot to become stuck in the balloon's ladder. Corinne, busy washing the windows, sees Louis dangling upside-down from the balloon ladder as it floats towards the towertop, which is sharply pointed. She rushes onto the balcony and jumps into the balloon, preventing it from hitting the tower's spire. After Corinne rescues him, Louis appears to have fallen in love with her, but she doesn't see it. As they continue flying, the two realize they have a lot in common, especially the desire to pursue their dreams no matter what. Louis tells Corinne that he longs to make inventions that will help people, but his biggest dream is to show the world that men can fly. Now, he fears he will have to give up his dreams when he becomes king. Corinne comforts him, saying that he can still make his dreams come true even if he is king and shares her own aspiration of being a Musketeer. But the prince, like other people, thinks that girls can't be Musketeers, which angers her. After they land, she storms off, and Louis is clearly sorry for hurting her feelings. Meanwhile, an infuriated Philippe watches from the palace.

Later, down in the hidden chamber, Hélène and the girls are training while Corinne walks in and tells them what happened. As she retells the events, she begins to notice a pattern with the accidents, especially the severed ropes, as Renée adds, "Yesterday the chandelier, and today his flying machine?" It quickly becomes evident that a scheme of sabotage is in motion. Corinne shows the others the ruby she found and saying she believes someone is trying to get rid of Louis. The girls think they should tell Treville, but Hélène tells them that until they have proof of a plot against the prince, they trust no one and they need to stay on their guard.

Going home late one night, the four come across Philippe's captain and several of his men as they start opening crates full of fake decorative swords for the prince's upcoming masquerade and ceremonial sword dance ball. Shocked, the girls overhear the men plotting to sneak the real swords into the ball and murder Louis. Corinne also notices the captain's snake-headed dagger is missing a ruby in the hilt.

The four friends rush back to the palace and find Treville speaking with Philippe in the ballroom. Not knowing that Philippe, too, is in on the assassination plot, they tell the men what they saw and heard. The regent immediately claims that any plot against the prince would be impossible and that the girls made up the story in an attempt to be made Musketeers. Trying to prove their case, Corinne opens a crate of the party swords to show them the real swords concealed inside, but all the swords are fake. Without any solid evidence, Treville believes Philippe and that an assassination on Louis would be impossible.

Philippe banishes them from the castle, threatening to throw them in the dungeons if they cause any more unnecessary trouble. They are then fired as maids by Madame de Bosse. Back at their home, the girls are thoroughly depressed and consider giving up, but Corinne points out that even though no one believes them, they can't just walk away from everything they've worked for. Inspired by her courage, the other three agree and make plans to sneak into the ball.

After the masquearde starts, Philippe's men take out Treville and the Musketeers on guard duty while a disguised Philippe and more men get the real swords, which are hidden in the secret tunnels. Elsewhere, the girls also use the tunnels to enter the ballroom. Once there, the four friends and Hélène keep their eyes open for trouble. When the fireworks begin, it holds everyone's attention so that the assassins can start their plan. But, Corinne sees Philippe about to stab Louis with a sword. She quickly cartwheels in between them and disarms Philippe. Philippe alerts everyone that the sword Corinne is holding is real.

Realizing what's happening, the girls strip off their dresses, revealing their own Musketeer uniforms and weapons as they face off against the henchmen. As the battle starts, the terrified guests scatter while Philippe, who pretends to be on his side, drags Louis into the passageway telling him it was build to protect the king. The girls hold their own against the assassins with Hélène and Miette's help, but they are soon overwhelmed as more henchmen arrive. Thinking quickly, Viveca uses a smoke bomb made by Renée, blinding the guards and enabling the girls to escape into the tunnels and look for Louis.

The prince soon realizes Philippe was behind the plot and runs when he tries to stab him. While searching for Louis, the girls find Treville and the other Musketeers tied up and free them. Corinne goes after the prince.

Corinne and the Three Musketeers.

Louis, trying to escape Philippe, runs to the top of a tower and is cornered on a narrow ledge. As he slowly edges the prince towards the edge, Philippe tells Louis he's just a starly-eyed inventor who isn't fit to be king. Corinne arrives, and swings towards the men on a banner. Philippe and Corrine engage in a fierce sword fight and with Louis' help, she is able to defeat him just as Treville and the others arrive. Philippe, his men and Brutus are all arrested and taken away. Louis thanks the girls and Treville apologizes for not believing them.

After his coronation, the newly made King Louis rewards Corinne, Viveca, Aramina, and Renée for their bravery. As Louis was about to confess his love for Corinne, she leaves on another mission. To end the movie, They held their swords and head high and shouted the famous quote for musketeers, :" All for One & One for All!"

Allusions to the original story

• Hot-blooded Dangry when people tell her that girls can’t be Musketeers.
• Roommate was Constance. In the novel, Constance Bonacieux is the woman that D'Artagnan falls in love with.
• One of the guests at the masquerade ball is introduced as the Countess De Winter, who was one of the antagonists from the original story.
• Monsieur Treville, the captain of the Musketeers in the film, is named after the captain in the original story, Monsieur de Treville.
• The part when Corinne accidentally falls on each of three girls and makes them angry alludes to the beginning of the novel where D'Artagnan accidentally runs into each of the Musketeers, unintentionally upsetting each man and earning himself a challenge to a duel.
• Corinne’s hometown is Gascony, which is the name of D’Artagnan’s family estate in the novel.
• Prince Louis is Time Out.
• Tim Curry, who voices Philippe in the film, also played the villainous Cardinal Richelieu in the 1993 Disney version of The Three Musketeers. The film also stars Charlie Sheen as Aramis, Kiefer Sutherland as Athos, Oliver Platt as Porthos and Chris O'Donnell as D'Artagnan.
• The famous fleur-de-lis, which was branded on the villainess Milady de Winter in the story, is on the front of the tunics worn by the Musketeers in the film.
• Aramina appears to be named after Aramis, another protagonist from the novel.
• However, Aramis' first name was Rene, so Renee appears to have been named after him, too.
• Paris, which is France’s capital city and the center location of the original story, is also the location for the film.
• In the original Destroyed Corinne's Farm House

Characters

• Corinne - a 17-year-old country girl from Gascony. Brave, confident, determined and resourceful, she aspires to become a musketeer. Her signature color is pink, and her chief weapon is a sword.
• Viveca - a 17-year-old fashionista. Very stylish and trendy, she also displays a sense of humor, and can also speak French. Her signature color is purple, and her weapon is a pair of ribbons, which can also be used as whips.
• Aramina - a 17-year-old dancer. Imaginative, graceful and romantically poetic, she also thinks Prince Louis is dreamy. Her signature color is teal, and her weapon is a pair of fans.
• Renée - a 17-year-old violinist. She is strong, smart and level-headed. She also has great aim. Her signature color is blue, and her weapon is a sling.
• Prince Louis - Philippe's 18 year old Cousin who loves the thought of new ideas and inventions, and later he falls in love with Corinne.
• Monsieur Treville -a good friend of Corinne's father. He is a brave, strong Musketeer.
• Philippe - the main antagonist. He plots the kill of the Prince and to make himself king.
• Madame de Bossé - boss of Corinne, Viveca, Aramina and Renee when they are maids.
• Hélène - trainer of Corinne, Viveca, Aramina and Renee. Currently the boss of Madame de Bossé
• Corrine's mother - mother of Corinne. Wife of D'Artagnan.

Reception

Reviews

CommonSenseMedia's review gave the movie three stars out of five and concluded: "A pretty good try, but this Musketeer misses the mark...Barbie does all kinds of acrobatic moves, which flaunt her girlishness, but putting a sword in her dainty little hands seems to be a stretch."^[2]

DVDverdict's review said the CGI was not spectacular and adults would not find much to cheer about. However, children would find it "fine and dandy. It has no offensive material, and promotes the idea girls can be anything they want if given a chance and the right accessories."^[3]

DVD Talk's review rated the content worth two stars out of five (but three for video and audio) but advised "Rent it" due in part to the songs. "Unfortunately, some distasteful songs run throughout this speedy retelling of the Dumas classic, so be forewarned...Not only are the lyrics ugly, they're senseless."^[4]

Reception

The movie was released on DVD on September 15, 2009 and opened at #2, selling 399,000 units which translated to $5.6 million in sales. By early October, it had dropped to #24 in rank. A total of 629,178 DVD units had been sold, representing total sales of $9.9 million.^[5]

Cast

• Kelly Sheridan as Corinne
• Kira Tozer as Viveca
• Willow Johnson as Aramina
• Dorla Bell as Renée
• Saffron Henderson as Miette
• Ashleigh Ball as Jose
• Kathleen Barr as Helene
• Mark Hildreth as Prince Louie
• Tim Curry as Philippe
• Bernard Cuffling as Monsieur Treville
• Bryan Dobson as Brutus
• Merrilyn Gann as Madame de Bosse
• David Kaye as Alexander
• Nicole Oliver as Corinne's Mother

References

External links

• Official website