Barbie and the Three Musketeers

Barbie and the Three Mustketeers
DVD cover
Directed by	William Lau
Produced by	Lori Forte
Written by	Carlos Saldanha Tom Yasumi
Based on	The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas
Starring	Kelly Sheridan Saffron Henderson Kira Tozer Willow Johnson Dorla Bell Tim Curry Mark Hildreth
Music by	John Powell
Production company	Mattel Entertainment Rainmaker Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release dates	September 15, 2009 (2009-09-15)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States Canada
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. The story is based on The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas.

Plot

Corinne (played by Barbie) is a country girl from Gascony who dreams of being a musketeer in France. She goes to Paris with a letter for Monsieur Treville, the captain of the musketeers and an old friend of her father, hoping to be accepted as a musketeer.

But being a musketeer is not easy for Corinne. She is made fun of, and hired as a palace maid, not a musketeer. She meets her coworkers, three other girls who also dream of being musketeers too: Viveca, Aramina, and Renee. The next day when they return to work, a chandelier drops, and Viveca, Aramina, and Renee show off their musketeering skills. Corinne also finds a small ruby and above finds that the rope has been cut.

An old maid named Helen overhears their conversation and takes them through a secret passageway, where she leads them to the old musketeer training room, and agrees to train the four girls to be true musketeers. Soon the four girls are mastering their skills with Helen's help.

One day, while Corinne is cleaning the windows, she spots the prince hanging from his flying machine and runs to help him. The prince thanks Corinne and later falls in love with her. but later, she finds that the rope has been cut, just like the chandelier!

One night, Corinne, Viveca, Aramina, and Renee decide to celebrate their musketeering skills and walk into the dark, quiet streets. They encounter a man who pulls out a knife, and Corrine realises it matches the ruby she found next to the chandelier. They soon discover that the Regent's men were sneaking weapons into the masquerade ball to kill the prince! Finally, Corinne and her friends have a chance to save Prince Louis from his evil cousin with a very clever plan. They wear disguises and sneak into the ball . Prince Louis names them royal musketeers. In the end, Corinne and her three friends ride horses saying, "All for One, and One for All!" and they are very happy.

Allusions to the original story

• Paris, which is France’s capital city and the center location of the original story, is also the location for the film.
• The girls mention a former roommate named 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 home is in Gascony, which is the location of D’Artagnan’s family estate in the novel. Corinne also mentioned to Treville her father, D'Artagnan, who previously was also a musketeer.
• Tim Curry, who voices Philippe in the film, also played the villainous Cardinal Richelieu in the 1993 live-action 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.
• Aramina appears to be named after Aramis, another protagonist from the novel. Aramis' first name was Rene, so Renee appears to have been named after him, too.

Cast and characters

• Kelly Sheridan as Corinne (played by Barbie) - a country girl from Gascony. Hot-headed, confident, and determined, she aspires to become a musketeer. Her signature color is pink, and her chief weapon is a sword. She is Caucasian with fair skin, blonde hair with pink streaks and blue eyes.
• Dorla Bell as Renée (played by Nikki) - a practical, well-headed and skilled fighter and slightly unfriendly violinist. Her signature color is blue, and her weapon is a sling. She is African American with dark skin, dark brown/brown hair with blue streaks and brown eyes.
• Kira Tozer as Viveca (played by Teresa) - a stylish and witty fashionista. She tends to use French in her speech. Her signature color is purple, and her weapon is a pair of ribbons, which can also be used as whips. She is brunette with tan skin with purple streaks and green eyes.
• Willow Johnson as Aramina (played by Summer) - an idealistic dancer. She nurses a crush on Prince Louis, but is delighted when he and Corinne fall in love. Her signature color is teal, and her weapon is a pair of fans. She is Caucasian with light skin, strawberry blonde hair with teal streaks and hazel eyes.
• Tim Curry as Philippe - the main antagonist. He plots the kill of the Prince and to make himself king.
• Mark Hildreth as Prince Louis - a prince who will become the future king. He loves the thought of new ideas and inventions, and later he falls in love with Corinne.
• Bernard Cuffling as Monsieur Treville - a good friend of Corinne's father. He is a brave, strong musketeer.
• Merrilyn Gann as Madame de Bossé - the boss of Helen, Corinne, Viveca, Aramina and Renee when they are maids.
• Kathleen Barr as Hélène - an elderly maid who trains Corinne, Viveca, Aramina and Renee to become musketeers. She later becomes the boss of Madame de Bossé.
• Nicole Oliver as Corrine's mother
• Saffron Henderson as Miette - Corinne's cat
• David Kaye as Alexander - Corinne's horse
• Brian Dobson as Brutus - Philippe's dog
• Nicole Oliver as Fancy dress girl #1
• Kathleen Barr as Fancy dress girl # 2

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."

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."

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."

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.

External links

• barbie.com
• Official website
• Barbie and the Three Musketeers at IMDb
• Barbie and the Three Musketeers at Rotten Tomatoes
• Barbie and the Three Musketeers at AllMovie