Dogtanian And The Three Muskehounds Vol.1 - Episodes 1-9 (DVD)

...the Musketeer trilogy of books. Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds adopts the basic plot, premise and main characters from the book and moulds them into the greatest children’s animated series of all time.


The Story



The story evolves around our lead pup, Dogtanian (a comical mock up of Dumas D’Artagnian) and his quest to fulfil his dream of being a muskehound (musketeer). Setting ...
...to the core plot of Dogtanian aiding Monsieur Trevilles Musketeers/hounds (including the heroic Porthos, Athos and Aramis) fighting Cardinal Richelieu’s guards over who should have the right to protect the king.


Episode index

1. Dogtanians journey
2. Dogtanian meets the Black Moustache
3. Paris, city of dreams
4. The three invincible Musketeers
5. Monsieur Tréville, Captain of ... more

I was just mooching about HMV the other day and I came across this so I thought I would write a review on……. Actually that’s utter crap. I love this, I’ve loved it since I was yay high, I got all excited when It came out, I bought it, and I still love it – enough of your condescending looks and groans, you all loved Shreks Puss-In –Boots didn’t you? He’s just a blatant cat form rip off of the brave and dashing lead in this, with his cute little hat and boots.

Judging by the picture accompanying the category I am in fact reviewing the first volume, the first 9 episodes of the series. Although the category title seems quite general I will keep the review within these parameters so not to incur the wrath of Ciao.

So how do you go about turning one of the greatest novels of the 19th Century into a children’s story, to keep them interested while attempting to relay all of the points and principles of the book? Easy, just turn all of the lead characters into cute little dogs and puppies. I am a big fan of Alexander Dumas and have read most – excluding the love stories – of his books. Its fantastic the way he portrays honour, friendship and chivalry, that clear as the sky battle between good and evil during 19th century France and this is done nowhere better than in the Musketeer trilogy of books. Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds adopts the basic plot, premise and main characters from the book and moulds them into the greatest children’s animated series of all time.

The Story

The story evolves around our lead pup, Dogtanian (a comical mock up of Dumas D’Artagnian) and his quest to fulfil his dream of being a muskehound (musketeer). Setting off from his home town of Bearn the early episodes chart Dogtanians journey to Paris as he travels with his yellow pony Sandy through the country. His passage is filled with adventure as he meets his arch enemy, The Black Moustache, the mysterious Milady and his love interest Julliette and involves plenty of action, drama and tears, setting the scene for the rest of the series. The DVD goes on to show Dogtanians early experiences in Paris before settling down to the core plot of Dogtanian aiding Monsieur Trevilles Musketeers/hounds (including the heroic Porthos, Athos and Aramis) fighting Cardinal Richelieu’s guards over who should have the right to protect the king.

Episode index

1. Dogtanians journey
2. Dogtanian meets the Black Moustache
3. Paris, city of dreams
4. The three invincible Musketeers
5. Monsieur Tréville, Captain of the Musketeers
6. Dogtanian meets his match
7. Dogtanian meets the King
8. Juliette's secret
9. Juliette kidnapped

The Characters

Dogtanian – Our lovable hero and the centrepiece of the story. I have no idea what type of dog he is, probably thanks to his weird looking mother but he certainly is a volatile pup with a talent for swordplay. The cheeky scamp looks so cute in his floppy hat and boots, though his like of clothing on the bottom half looks slightly dodgy, maybe that’s why Julliette liked him.

Sandy – Dogtanians faithful horse – a pretty rubbish yellow pony with a few bonuses – he can track by smell and he lifts Dogtanian onto his back with his teeth.

Porthos – The Porthos and Athos characters have been swapped in the cartoon meaning Porthos is now the leader of the Muskehound trio. Being the daddy he is a strong gallant and brave German shepherd.

Athos- A big fat St Bernard who is as hard as nails, he likes his food and pop and is always nice to his friends but ferocious to his enemies.

Aramis – The thinker of the group, a smooth looking hooch who’s always good with the bitches.

Julliette – Quite literally a fox, she’s a stunner who I used to have slightly confused feelings for when very small. She is the love in Dogtaniens life and makes his nose flash red when he is aroused.

Cardinal Richelieu – The bad guy in the series, he a shifty looking pooch who used to scare the bejesus out of me

Count Rochfort (The Black Moustache) and Widdemere – Richelieus bitches – one smooth and devious the other witless and cowardly they form, along with there guards the main opposition for our heroes.

Milady – Obviously written by a dog lover this mysterious little bitch is infact a cat. A master spy she is enigmatic and irresistible, though doesn’t feature strongly in this volume.

The DVD

The DVD itself is fairly good quality. The picture is in 4:3 and so some of the pictures are a little drained but some of the later episodes do look quite vivid. It certainly maintains a distinction that bequests its years though it may look dated if released today. The audio quality is again adequate – its hard to judge because, since the original version of the show was in Spanish some of the dubbing has always looked slightly dodgy but generally it is passable. I’m happy to say though it takes nothing away from THAT theme tune, you know the words, everyone does.

The Extras

The extras are what really surprised me on the DVD being actually really good – something unheard of on children’s DVD’s (so I’ve heard). There are personality profiles of the main characters along with card animation, language translation, song lyrics for that theme tune and a documentary on the legendry Alexander Dumas and how faithful the cartoon is to the book(s). There is also a section set aside for the awards the show was given, none of which I have ever heard of before but impressive none the less. A fitting tribute to the show.

What I think.

I’ve always found that, when watching some of my favourite TV shows from yesteryear a lot of them disappoint on second viewing. Its hit home so many times – The Flumps, Mr Ben, Bagpuss, The Clangers, Dangermouse, He-man, Dungeons and Dragons, Hong kong Phooey, Thomas the Tank Engine, The L:ttlest Hobo, Rainbow, Pigeon street, She-ra, Thundercats- although they will live on long in my memory they just aren’t very good to watch anymore. I don’t get that from Dogtanian – I can still watch it now and enjoy the story line and action almost as much as I did back in the day. Much of this would be down to the fact that it is based on such a good book and that the characters are all so cute. Its also a lot to do with the quality of animation, its not like some of the Japanese esque tat you get nowadays, the colour, the detail and the effects really help add to the show making it colourful and charming. Its also good to see a children’s show with all these morals and ethics, the one for all and all for one mentality as the cartoon remains faithful to the novel throughout. But most importantly of all this is a funny and exciting show, there are some genuine laugh out loud moments and the action scenes are actually really well done, its all very clever kids entertainment.

The series was made in 1981 by BRB international, who also created the animal version of 80 days around the world, and was split into 26 parts and was first aired in the UK in 1985.

The first nine episodes were released on April 28th 2003 in the UK

Running time : 3hrs 45mins

I'd like to namecheck www.muskehounds.com as I used a bit of information and all of the theme tune lyrics from the site, theres no way I would have known all of the dog breeds without it. Ta.

It costs just £4.97 from Amazon.co.uk – whats £4.97 to not just relive all those childhood memories but to enjoy a superb action and humour filled cartoon.

….and the review would n’t be complete without …..

One for all and all for one
Muskehounds are always ready.
One for all and all for one
Helping everybody
One for all and all for one
It's a pretty story
Sharing everything with fun
That's the way to be.
One for all and all for one
Muskehounds are always steady.
One for all and all for one
Helping everybody
One for all and all for one
Can sound pretty corny
If you got a problem chum
Think how it could be!
La-la-la la-la-la
They cross their hearts and pray
La-la-la la-la-la
They cross their swords night and day
La-la-la la-la-la
They drink their beer and swear they're faithful to their King.
La-la-la la-la-la
No matter what you say
La-la-la la-la-la
They're never far away
La-la-la la-la-la
They're always ready to fight - or to sing.
One for all and all for one
Muskehounds are always ready.
One for all and all for one
Helping everybody
One for all and all for one
It's a pretty story
Sharing everything with fun
That's the way to be.
One for all and all for one
Muskehounds are always steady.
One for all and all for one
Helping everybody
One for all and all for one
Can sound pretty corny
If you got a problem chum
Think how it could be!
La-la-la la-la-la
They like to make jokes and tricks
La-la-la la-la-la
They fight with swords or with sticks
La-la-la la-la-la
They have a beer and swear they're faithful to their King.
La-la-la la-la-la
They will defend you, save you
La-la-la la-la-la
They'll always come to rescue
La-la-la la-la-la
And on their horses they fight - or they sing!

 

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