Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds is an animated cartoon adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas story of d'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers. Most of the characters are anthropomorphizations of dogs, hence the title of the cartoon. Exceptions to this are the temptress Milady (a cat); Pip, Dogtanian's sidekick mouse; the avian jewel thief Blue Falcon; Planchet (a bear), Dogtanian's main servant; and some random townspeople and guards of the Cardinal.

Production
The cartoon was created by Spanish studio BRB Internacional and produced in Japan by Nippon Animation. It was first broadcast in Spain (D'Artacan y los tres mosqueperros) and Japan (ワンワン三銃士) (Wanwan Sanjushi) in 1981 (while the show aired in Japan first, the initial dub was Spanish). There was also an Afrikaans adaption that was broadcast on SABC during 1985 and the early 1990s. The name was changed to "Brakkenjan", which has become a popular name for dogs in South Africa. The voice for Brakkenjan in his earliest years, was done by Gerben Kamper during his time of working for SABC.

The partnership between BRB and Nippon Animation worked so well, that they collaborated in another successful animated series two years after Dogtanian called Around the World with Willy Fog in 1983.

Plot
The story follows a young Dogtanian (D'Artacan in the original Spanish version and voiced by Cam Clarke in the English version, and Darutaniyan in the Japanese version and voiced by Satomi Majima) who travels to Paris in the 17th Century in order to become one of the King Louis XIII of France's musketeers (note that they are referred to as musketeers throughout the cartoon and only the title calls them muskehounds). He quickly befriends three musketeers (Porthos, Athos and Aramis) and falls in love with Juliette, a maid-in-waiting for Queen Anne of Austria.

Episode list

 * 1) Dogtanian's Journey
 * 2) Dogtanian meets the Black Moustache
 * 3) Paris, the City of Dreams
 * 4) The Three Invincible Musketeers
 * 5) Monsieur Treville, Captain of the Musketeers
 * 6) Dogtanian Meets His Match
 * 7) Dogtanian Meets the King
 * 8) Juliette's Secret
 * 9) Juliette Kidnapped
 * 10) The Great Getaway
 * 11) Dogtanian's Trance
 * 12) Dogtanian to the Rescue
 * 13) Dogtanian Meets Monsieur Pip
 * 14) In Search of Juliette
 * 15) Dogtanian Saves the Day
 * 16) Daggers and Diamonds
 * 17) The Journey to England
 * 18) The Chase
 * 19) Dogtanian Is Put to the Test
 * 20) Dogtanian and the Blue Falcon
 * 21) The Shipwreck
 * 22) The Jungle Adventure
 * 23) Marco's Mission
 * 24) The Impostor
 * 25) Milady's Revenge
 * 26) Dogtanian's Dream Comes True

DVD release dates
The series has now been released on DVD in the UK in Region 0 format:
 * Episodes 1–9: April 28, 2003
 * Episodes 10–15: August 25, 2003
 * Episodes 16–20: March 22, 2004
 * Episodes 21–26: May 25, 2004
 * Dogtanian- The Complete Series Boxset September 20, 2004
 * The Movie One For All And All For One and the Dogtanian TV Special July 26, 2004.
 * Dogtanian - The Complete Second Series Boxset July 4, 2005.

(Note: The Second Series was only released as a boxset and not as individual volumes. There are 4 disks in the set. However unlike the first series which is in Region 0, the second series was released in Region 2 format. The DVD of the TV movies was also released in Region 0).

Japanese version
The opening title was remade with a new anime segment of Dogtanian, Juliette and the Three Muskehounds as well a new Japanese title theme sung by Maron Kusaka and the Suginami Children's Choir. The ending title was the same as the Spanish show set to the song "So You Onushi Wa" also by Maron Kusaka.

Sequel
In 1990 The Return of Dogtanian was released by BRB Internacional, Thames Television and Wang Film Productions/Cuckoo's Nest Studios. It picks up the story ten years after the original with Dogtanian and Juliette now living together on the outskirts of Paris with their two children, Philippe and Fleur. The Muskehounds are reunited by the Queen when her husband starts acting suspiciously. Cardinal Richelieu is still featured with Milady and Widimer still loyal to him.

The story is loosely based on the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne also by Alexandre Dumas, itself building on the myth of The Man in the Iron Mask.

Dave Mallow, who adapted the original to English, takes over as the voice of Dogtanian. As it was produced in Taiwan by Wang Film Productions, Nippon Animation, the Japanese studio which produced the first series, was not involved in the sequel.

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds

 * Dogtanian - Cam Clarke
 * Porthos - Dan Woren
 * Athos - Mikey Godzilla
 * Aramis - Eddie Frierson
 * Juliette - Rebecca Forstadt
 * Pip - Steve Kramer
 * Monsieur Treville - Richard Epcar (episodes 4 & 5 only)
 * Count Rochefort - Dave Mallow
 * Milady - Edie Mirman
 * Widimer - Michael Reynolds
 * Blue Falcon - Robert Axelrod
 * Narrator, Duke of Buckingham - Tom Wyner

The Return of Dogtanian

 * Dogtanian - Dave Mallow
 * Juliette - Rebecca Forstadt
 * Athos - Michael Sorich
 * Porthos - Doug Stone
 * Aramis - Eddie Frierson
 * Cardinal Richelieu - Kerrigan Mahan
 * Beajeaux - Steve Bulen
 * King Louis - Simon Prescott
 * Narrator - Michael McConnohie

Crew

 * Directed by: Luis Ballester, Taku Sugiyama, Hidetaka Saito, Shigeo Koshi, Tom Wyner, Robert Barron, Byrd Ehlmann
 * Produced by: Koichi Motohashi
 * Executive Producer: Claudio Biern Boyd
 * Written by: Claudio Biern Boyd, Manuel Peiró, Akira Nakahara, Yoshihiro Kimura, Tom Wyner, Jason Klassi, Garry Morris, Melesio Rosales, Dayna Barron, Byrd Ehlmann
 * Storyboard: Akira Nakahira, Yoshihiro Kimura
 * Character Design: José Luis Rodriguez, Lorenzo Ballester, Shuichi Seki
 * Animation: Takao Ogawa
 * Edited by: Soledad Lopez
 * Special Effects: Luis Castro
 * Music: Katsuhisa Hattori
 * Music Produced by: Guido & Mauricio de Angelis
 * Music Edited by: Cabum Magister
 * Music Subpublished by: Southern Pictures Music Inc.
 * Theme Sung by: Popitos, Maron Kusaka, Suginami Children Choir, Hilary Mather, Elissa Mather, Ted Mather
 * Recorded and re-mixed at: Fizz Sound Creation, Intersound Inc.