Albert the Fifth Musketeer



"He's sharp, he's cool, he's nobodys fool, he's Albert the Fifth Musketeer!"

French cartoon very loosely based on the story of the Three Musketeers.

It takes place in early 17th century and centers on the antics of Albert de Parmagnan, a new member of the Royal Musketeers. While the four other musketeers (Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan) are bumbling and incompetent, Albert is short but quick-witted and clever, creating many inventions to get the others out of trouble and save the day by thwarting the Cardinal's evil plans to take over the Kingdom of France.

The series provides examples of:

 * Beard of Evil: The Cardinal sports a grey goatee.
 * Berserk Button: Each time D'Artagnan sees a guard of the Cardinal, his face turns red and exhales steam.
 * Big Bad: Cardinal de Richelieu.
 * Big Good: Queen Anne.
 * Clock Punk: Some of Albert's inventions fall into this. By the way, he has always admired Leonardo da Vinci.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Athos.
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience / Good Colors, Evil Colors: The musketeers dress in blue, the Cardinal's guards dress in red.
 * Da Chief: Monsieur de Tréville, captain of the musketeers.
 * Dark Chick: Milady de Winter.
 * Damsel in Distress: Queen Anne, sometimes.
 * The Dragon: Milady de Winter, to the Cardinal.
 * Evil Counterpart: Each one of the five musketeers has a guard of the Cardinal with the exact same size and haircut.
 * Failure Is the Only Option: The Cardinal's plans.
 * Fat Idiot: Porthos.
 * Fighting Dirty: The Cardinal's guards' favourite strategy against the musketeers. It always works, until Albert arrives.
 * Gadgeteer Genius: Albert.
 * Hair of Gold: Queen Anne.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: D'Artagnan.
 * Historical Domain Characters: King Louis XIII of France, Queen Anne, Armand Jean du Plessis (aka Cardinal de Richelieu), George Villiers (1st Duke of Buckingham).
 * Historical Villain Upgrade: Like in Dumas' novel, the Cardinal is always plotting against Louis XIII. In Real Life, he was one of the French Crown's most loyal (and ruthless) servants.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: What usually happens to Milady de Winter, and sometimes to the Cardinal.
 * Honor Before Reason: D'Artagnan.
 * Hopeless Suitor: The Duke of Buckingham, to the Queen.
 * Idiot Heroes: Arthos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan.
 * Lean and Mean: The Cardinal.
 * MacGyvering: Albert's specialty.
 * Man Child: King Louis XIII of France.
 * Mona Lisa Smile: When the Cardinal calls for Milady, he sometimes finds her camoflaged as a painting, imitating Mona Lisa's pose.
 * Mr. Fixit: Albert.
 * The Napoleon: Louis XIII.
 * Nobody Calls Me Chicken: D'Artagnan.
 * Nobody Here but Us Statues: One of Milady's camoflage techniques.
 * Royal Brat: Louis XIII.
 * Royals Who Actually Do Something: Queen Anne.
 * Save the Day Turn Away: Albert doesn't like medals, he likes to enjoy his victories alone in a green and flowery meadow.
 * The Smart Guy: Albert.
 * Steampunk Gadgeteers: Albert, sometimes.
 * Swashbuckler
 * Trap Door: The Cardinal often calls for Milady this way, and disposes of her this way once his orders have been given.
 * Villainous Breakdown: The Cardinal is subject to these.
 * Weapon of Choice: Albert's blunderbuss. He can charge it with any sorts of projectiles, the most famous being spaghetti with Bolognese sauce.
 * X Meets Y: The Three Musketeers meets MacGyver.