The Animal Quartet is a Disney film based on the fairy tale, the Bremen Town Musicians, by the Brothers Grimm.
Plot[]
A quartet of musical animals run away from their cruel owners and team up as they head to Bremen to be musicians. Stevenson the donkey, Bruce the dog, Elizabeth the cat, and Miles the rooster find solutions to their problems as they restore the city to its happy, sensational, musical glory while facing the evil Music-meister and his gang of Sour Notes who plan to keep unhappiness in the town.
Characters[]
Stevenson: A donkey who likes jazz music, known to his friends as Steve. After escaping from the cruel miller with a neckerchief given to him by the other farm animals, Stevenson teams up with Bruce, Elizabeth, and Miles to form a band and save Bremen from the Music-meister. Stevenson fights by kicking with his back hooves. Although he somehow loses his neckerchief in the battle, but gets a new one from the miller. Since he likes jazz music, his favorite instrument is the saxophone.
Bruce: A dog who lives for rock 'n roll music. Having been born a hunting dog, he really doesn't like to hunt for some reason. After fleeing from his fellow dogs and the strict hunter, he joins Stevenson, Elizabeth, and Miles to form a band and save Bremen from the Music-meister. Bruce fights by biting with his teeth; as he lives for rock 'n roll, his favorite instrument is the drums.
Elizabeth: A cat who loves country music. Unlike all cats, she prefers to make friends with mice instead of eating them, much to her mistress' dismay. After sneaking away from the bossy rich woman with the mice having disabled the security system, Elizabeth sides with Stevenson, Bruce, and Miles in order to form a band as well as to save Bremen from the Music-meister. Elizabeth fights by scratching with her claws; because she loves country music, the guitar is her favorite instrument.
Miles: A rooster with a love for classical music. After arguing with one of the hens as well as fleeing from the mean farmer and his wife, Miles decides to accompany Stevenson, Bruce, and Elizabeth in order to form a band and defeat the Music-meister to save Bremen from eternal misery. Miles fights by pecking with his beak; his favorite instrument is the piano due to his love for classical music.
Vladimir T. Owl: A great horned owl who the quartet meets in the forest, known as Vlad for short. He informs them that Bremen is the best place for music and gives them advice about the city. When the quartet is imprisoned by the Music-meister while blaming themselves for it, Vladimir reminds them that they should set aside their differences and work together to save the day. Vlad even brings Elizabeth's mice friends to free all the prisoners. In the end, after the four animal heroes become celebrates for saving Bremen, Vlad explains that he knew they could do it all along.
The Farmer and his Wife: Miles' mean owners, they plan to have dinner with the rooster as the main course, but the hens attack them which allows Miles to escape. When the farmer and his wife arrive in Bremen, having finally seen the errors of their ways after hearing about the animals' heroism, they reunite with Miles asking him return to their farm; but when Miles knows that he would be separated from his friends, his ex-owners agree to let him stay with them.
The Rich Woman: Elizabeth's wealthy but bossy mistress. She dislikes mice and cannot tolerate her cat befriending them, so she installs a security system to keep Elizabeth from leaving her mansion until all the mice are to be caught; otherwise she threatens to drown her pet. But the mice disable the security system allowing Elizabeth to escape. When the rich woman comes to Bremen, now knowing she was wrong to treat her pet badly from hearing about the animals' heroism, she reunites with Elizabeth asking her to come back home with her; but when Elizabeth knows that she would be separated from her friends, her former mistress agrees to let her stay with them.
The Hunter: Bruce's nasty master, he wants all of his dogs to hunt wild animals, but Bruce refuses as he prefers to sing. When the hunter finds out about Bruce disobeying him, he threatens to hunt him and add him to his taxidermy collection, but Bruce escapes. When the hunter shows up in Bremen, realizing that the way he treated his dog was wrong after hearing about the animals' heroism, he reunites with Bruce asking him to go back home with him; but when Bruce knows that he would be separated from his friends, his ex-master agrees to let him stay with them.
The Miller: Stevenson's cold-hearted master, when the donkey gets too old for carrying grain sacks anymore, he decides to stick with singing instead; which the miller does not accept and wouldn't if his life depended on it. The miller decides to sell the beast of burden to the butcher while looking for a replacement, but Stevenson flees encouraged by his fellow farm animals who give him a neckerchief, much to his master's displeasure. When the miller appears in Bremen, having changed his ways after hearing about the animals' heroism, he reunites with Stevenson offering to welcome him back home; but when Stevenson knows that he would be separated from his friends, his former master agrees to let him stay with them and gives him a new neckerchief to replace the one he somehow lost in the fight against the Music-meister.
General Mouse: The leader of an army of mice and a good friend of Elizabeth. He and his troops disable the rich woman's security system so Elizabeth can escape. Then they scare the rich woman to get revenge, promising the cat they will join her as soon as they can. When the animal quartet is imprisoned by the Music-meister, General Mouse and his troops arrive to set them and the other prisoners free after being brought there by Vlad who promised not to eat them.
Mouse Troops: General Mouse's army.
Hens: A flock of chickens who Miles stops living with after arguing with one of them who happens to be his own wife. However, when the farmer and his wife try to slaughter Miles, the hens attack them so that the rooster can escape.
Hunting pack: Bruce's fellow dogs who are ordered by the hunter to hunt as well as get rid of Bruce who had turned against them, but Bruce flees.
Farm animals: Cows, horses, pigs, ducks, sheep, goats, turkeys, geese, and rats who Stevenson stops living with when the miller decides to do away with him for getting too old to work. They convince the donkey to run for his life after giving him a neckerchief so he can always remember them.
Citizens of Bremen: People who live in the town. Although they like the animals' music, they used to be happy until the Music-meister took control of the city, banning music, which they refuse to follow. Many of the citizens had tried to convince the villain to change his mind, but all of them had failed and were taken captive by the Music-meister's Sour Notes. When Stevenson, Bruce, Elizabeth, and Miles are imprisoned with many citizens, Vladimir explains that the reason the townsfolks had failed to stop the villain was they tried to do it alone when they should have done it together. After escaping with their fellow prisoners, thanks to the Mouse Troops, the animal quartet tells the townsfolks that they have to work together in order to bring music and happiness back to Bremen; so the citizens team up to take on the Sour Notes while the animals deal with the Music-meister. In the end, they praise the animals as heroes.
Mayor of Bremen: The man in charge of the city, but the more-powerful Music-meister takes control. The mayor becomes so impressed with the animals' performance that he gives them a place to stay despite the music ban. Once the quartet tells everyone to work together to save their home, the mayor agrees to let it happen, having had enough of all the misery going on in his city. In the end, after the Music-meister and his henchmen are defeated, the mayor has a statue of the quartet built as well as reopens all music theaters, studios, and stores, restoring the town to its former glory. He even decides to make the animals official town musicians by having them sign a contract and giving them the instruments they always wanted to play.
The Music-meister: The main antagonist, a rich, fat, bald man who hates music for no reason having dominated the town of Bremen, forbidding music in order to make everyone unhappy. He even closed down all music stores, studios, and theaters, No matter what anyone does or how hard they try, he refuses to lift the ban on music and threatens anyone who dares defy him. Whenever someone dares defy him or disobeys his law, he sends his Sour Notes to do his dirty work, anything to keep the town just the way he likes it. Stevenson, Bruce, Elizabeth, and Miles have to stop him by working together in order to bring peace and music back to Bremen. In the end, the Music-meister and his henchmen get arrested after being defeated by the animals who restore Bremen to its musical self and move into the villain's mansion which they make their own.
Sour Notes: Short men dressed as ninjas who are the Music-meister's henchmen. They capture anyone who dares defy their boss or breaks his anti-music law. After informing the Music-meister about the animal quartet, they trap and imprison the animals without killing them by order of their boss. When the prisoners escape, the Notes inform their boss who orders them to recapture the citizens and the animals; but thanks to the quartet telling them to join forces, the townsfolks trap the Sour Notes. When the Music-meister calls for reinforcements, his elite Notes tell him that are none left; then Stevenson, Bruce, Elizabeth, and Miles burst into the Music-meister's mansion fighting the elite Sour Notes and their boss who are totally unprepared. In the end, the Sour Notes and their boss get arrested, which restores Bremen to its former glory.
Songs[]
- Miles' sorrow - sung by Miles, set to Beethoven's Symphony No.5
- Hound Dog - sung by Bruce
- On the Road Again - sung by Elizabeth
- Nobody knows the Trouble I've seen - sung by Stevenson
- Set Your Name Free - sung by the whole Quartet
- Stevenson's Song - sung by Stevenson
- Bruce's Song - sung by Bruce
- Elizabeth's Song - sung by Elizabeth
- Miles' Song - sung by Miles, set to Beethoven's Ode to Joy
- Anyone Can Make Music - sung by the whole Quartet
- The Animal Quartet Theme Song - sung by the whole Quartet
Cast[]
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Stevenson the Donkey
- Tom Hardy as Bruce the Dog
- Grey DeLisle as Elizabeth the Cat
- Josh Gad as Miles the Rooster
- Johnathan Groff as Vladimir T. Owl
- Armie Hammer as General Mouse/Mouse Troops
- Alan Tudyk as the Hunter
- Daveed Diggs as the Farmer
- Ginnifer Goodwin as the Farmer's Wife
- Kaitlyn Robrock as the Rich Woman
- Jake T. Austin as the Miller
- Logan Lerman as the Mayor
- Jason Momoa as the Music-meister
- Chris Evans as the Sour Notes
- Maurice LaMarche as the Narrator
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This movie is a little similar to the 1997 Warner Brothers movie, the Fearless Four as well as the 2018 film, Marnie's World/Spy Cat.
Trailer[]
The Animal Quartet Trailer/Transcript