Barbie and the Three Musketeers

It's doubtful that 19th-century novelist Alexandre Dumas could have envisioned a future in which plastic dolls would be the musketeers in his classic swashbuckling tale. In this computer-animated adventure from the Mattel Company, the titular blue-eyed blonde plays Corinne, the sword-slinging 17-year-old daughter of famed musketeer D'Artagnan. With her widowed mother's support, the country girl travels to Paris with her talking horse Alexandre and feline companion Miette in order to offer up her services as Prince Louis' protector, but the city's male musketeers scoff at her gender-busting ambitions. In short order, Corinne becomes one of the royal housekeepers instead and befriends the color-coordinated staff trio Vivica, Aramina, and Renée, who harbor similar aspirations. When the sympathetic senior housekeeper gets wind of their goal, she secretly helps the quartet hone their fighting skills. The prince is eventually targeted for murder and the girls wind up sneaking into the annual masquerade ball for an action finale, where they prove that a woman can wield a sword just as skillfully as a man (other fighting implements include ribbons, fans, necklaces, and a perfume atomizer). Although her superhuman gymnastic abilities make Corinne seem more like a stylized refugee from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or The Matrix than a distaff musketeer, young fans are likely to enjoy this latest Barbie adventure. DVD extras include a pair of music videos, a Barbie fashion show, and a blooper reel. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (K. Fennessy)