The Three Men in a tub are a trio of nursery rhyme characters from Rub-a-Dub-Dub who appear in Mother Goose: Rhymes To The Rescue.
Background[]
Rub-a-dub-dub,
Three men in a tub,
And who do you think they be?
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick-maker,
Turn them out, knaves all three.
The butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker make a great team. They love sailing in their tub down the river. As long as they stick together, the Ill Wills are no match for them. This terrific trio always keeps their tub handy, even when somebody needs to get across the water. They never believe that three is a crowd, never have, never will.
The butcher is a black haired, mustached man in blue clothes wearing a white apron and butcher hat. The baker is a blonde haired, bearded man wearing a white hat and clothes with gold buttons. The candlestick maker is bald-head man with white hair around his head. He wears a white shirt, a navy blue coat, black pants, and on his head is a big candlestick.
Appearances[]
In the movie, the trio waves to Old MacDonald who waves back while riding on his horse, Marshall. The Three Men even sing their rhyme as part of "The Nursery Rhyme Medley".
As soon as the Ill Wills take control of Rhymeville, the Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick maker are no longer allowed to ride in their tub. Old MacDonald, Marshall, Hickory Dickory Dock, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Mrs. Pumpkin-Eater , Little Jack Horner, Mary with her little lamb and Humpty Dumpty are on their way to save Mother Goose when the Wills create a river to stop them.
Luckily, the unhappy three men offer their tub to help them get across. After that, the search party thanks the trio and promise that they will get to ride in their tub again soon.
When Old MacDonald and his gang realize that they need to believe in themselves, the Cow, the Dish, and the Spoon spread the word throughout Rhymeville, which allows the the Three Men to ride in their tub again.
But then, by order of their Commander, the Ill Wills capture Wee Willie Winkie, the Crooked Man, Peter Piper, the Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker, and Little Bo Peep as well as imprison them in their paper fortress.
Fortunately, Old Mac and his gang come to set them all free. But before the Rhymesters can escape, the Ill Wills trap them refusing to let them continue their rhymes since the Wills hate rhymes and children. While Mother Goose goes after Commander Will, the Rhymesters take on the other Wills. The Butcher chops them with his cleaver, the Baker flattens them with his rolling pin, and the Candlestick Maker burns them with his candelabra.
As soon as all the Ill Wills are gone, Mother Goose decrees that she and her Rhymesters shall continue to do their rhymes. The Three Men is even seen at the celebration party in Old King Cole's castle; after the party, the Three Men and their friends return home to continue acting out their rhymes. In the end, the Three Men and the other Rhymesters wave goodbye to the viewers.
Video Games[]
The Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick Maker appear in the video game as playable characters once they are freed from imprisonment at the river. The Butcher's abilities are to chop with his cleaver and whack with a ham, the Baker's ability is to hit with his rolling pin, and the Candlestick Maker's ability is to heat things up with his candelabra.
Trivia[]
- The Butcher uses a ham as a weapon in the video game; but in the movie, he only uses his cleaver.
- In the movie, the Three Men are imprisoned in the paper fortress; while in the video game, they are imprisoned at the river.
- The Candlestick Maker's candelabra bears a great resemblance to Lumiere from Beauty & the Beast.
- All three men are voiced by Travis Jeffrey.
- The Butcher appears to be Hispanic, the Baker is White American, and the Candlestick Maker happens to be African American.