Story
In 1625 Dogtanian (voice of Tomas Ayuso) leaves his country home in France and sets off for Paris, determined to join the Muskehounds and restore honour to his family name.
Once in Paris Dogtanian has an unfortunate encounter with the man who framed his father. So instead of being welcomed by The Muskehounds, Dogtanian finds himself agreeing to separate duels with the most famous Muskehounds of all: Athos (voice of Stephen Hughes), Porthos (voice of Stephen Hughes) and Aremis (voice of Julio Perillan). When the group is set upon by the guards of Cardinal Richelieu (voice of Stephen Hughes), trusted advisor of the King, they work together to defeat them.
Dogtanian also helps to rescue Juliette (voice of Karina Piper), the trusted lady in waiting of Queen Anne (voice of Karina Piper). He soon finds himself caught up in a plan to save the Queen’s diamond necklace and a fake letter from falling into the wrong hands and starting a war with England.
The Cardinal bribes Pip (voice of Robbie K. Jones), Dogtanian’s servant, to inform him of every move the Muskehounds make. Meanwhile the evil cat Milady (voice of Elisabeth Gray) steals the necklace and tries, with help from the Cardinal and his guards, to stay one step ahead of the Muskehounds.
When all looks lost, Dogtanian uses his skill with the sword in a final effort to bring back the necklace, save the royal marriage, thwart the Cardinal’s sinister plans for war, and save the kingdom of France.
Themes
Sexism; good versus evil; revenge; political corruption
Violence
Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds has some violence. For example:
- There are frequent sword fights and duels.
- Dogtanian crashes through a tree and lands on a Muskehound.
- The Cardinal threatens Pip. He says that if Pip fails, he (the Cardinal) will make it difficult for Pip to breathe. Later the Cardinal bluntly threatens to kill Pip.
- Milady shoves Dogtanian out of a high window. He crashes to the ground.
- Juliette throws objects at Milady and Milady retaliates with knives. The knives pin Juliette to the ground.
- Milady and Dogtanian fight with swords on roof tops, gangplanks, ship decks and tall masts high above stormy seas.
- Milady makes a chimney collapse on Dogtanian as she flees from a rooftop.
- A Muskehound cuts the pants of his adversaries during a sword fight, leaving his opponents to run off in their underwear.
- Logs roll towards the Muskehounds as they try to retrieve the stolen necklace.
- Flaming wagons rumble down a cliffside after Dogtanian.
- Dogtanian throws food at some soldiers and then collapses a fruit stand on top of them.
- Dogtanian fights his father’s accuser in the palace hallway, defeating him and carving a symbol onto his forehead.
- A guard points a pistol at Dogtanian and shoots him. Pip flies in front of the bullet and his gold coin saves his life.
- Juliette punches Milady in the face.
Sexual references
There are no sexual references in Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Some characters in Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds go to taverns, but the movie doesn’t show them drinking alcohol.
Nudity and sexual activity
There is some mild romance in Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds. For example:
- Juliette kisses Dogtanian on the cheek.
- Dogtanian has some daydreams about being in love with Juliette.
Product placement
There’s no product placement in Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds.
Coarse language
There are some mild insults in Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, including ‘idiot’ and ‘shut up’.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds is an animated adventure based on The Three Musketeers. It features simple cinematography, a predictable plot and a dialogue that some adults might find painful to sit through. Younger children are the target audience for this movie, and they’ll probably enjoy the movie’s cute characters and sense of adventure.
These are the main messages from Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds:
- Believe in yourself.
- Work together for the greater good.
- No matter the challenge, good will prevail.
Values in Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds that you could reinforce with your children include honour, loyalty, teamwork, persistence and courage.
Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds could also give parents the opportunity to talk with your children about real-life issues like:
- the representation of women – in this movie, powerful are presented as bad (Milady) and good females (Juliet and Queen Anne) are presented as helpless or in need of rescue.
- violence as a means to solve conflict
- trust in people who want to do you harm
- the dangers of political corruption.