The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a French novel written in 1844 by Alexandre Dumas, père. The novel, set in 1625, recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to become a musketeer. D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis -- inseparable friends who chant the motto "One for all, and all for one".

The 1981 special The Muppets Go to the Movies featured a spoof of the many film versions of the story. Gonzo plays Athos, Scooter is Porthos, and Link Hogthrob is Gummo. The Musketeers are in the castle of the Cardinal d'Escargot, sworn to protect the Cardinal from a rumored kidnapping. A pig assassin sneaks into the castle, and the Musketeers engage in a spirited swordfight. The pig drops a lumpy pumpernickel crumpet from Humperdink's -- a favorite of that simple wimp, the Scarlet Pimpernel. The Pimpernel makes his escape, and Gummo swings on the chandelier through a plate glass window to catch him.

The Muppets' spoof is faithful to the swashbuckling spirit of the movies, but confuses the characters' motivations. In the novel, the Musketeers are sworn to protect the interests of the King, who engages in political struggles with the Cardinal Richelieu. Far from being at risk of being kidnapped, the Cardinal is the one who has others kidnapped -- notably D'Artagnan's mistress, Madame Bonacieux.

Also, The Scarlet Pimpernel is another story entirely. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1905 novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, which is set in 1792 -- more than 150 years after the events of The Three Musketeers.