Some would say that’s not such an astounding prediction. He predicts a fight – and guess what? A fight breaks out. And Prolix has long stuck in my memory: he’s the soothsayer in question, turning up in a storm to ask for shelter at the indomitable Gaulish village, and then telling fortunes for those who will listen. I always feel more than a little bit sorry for him.Īlthough Asterix and the Soothsayer was the nineteenth adventure published, it was the first one I read. I should also mention the lovely way that poor Caligula Minus, the Roman soldier who is chosen by Crismus Bonus to be an undercover spy in this story, is drawn – he has a little pink tongue that continually sticks out and is the perfect representation of his uselessness.
He is introduced standing on a tiger skin laid over a boulder, pontificating to his underlings, and finishes up grovelling, trying to explain to Caesar himself why he has a magically growing enormous beard. There’s a great entry in the ‘ambitious Roman’ playbook to kick off Asterix’s adventures in the form of Centurion Crismus Bonus. The inhabitants of the village, for instance, already have their sense of humour and are keen to wind up the Romans that surround them. The very first book in the series, Asterix the Gaul doesn’t have all its elements in place, but there are already many recognisable things even if the drawing style isn’t quite so familiar sometimes. Still, no matter how they fit into the action, they bring a sense of delight with them – delight at a new name, a fresh illustration, and another twist on the familiar business of Asterix and Obelix trouncing the Romans. That’s not to say that the nature of the plots that introduce such one-off characters are always original – you could roughly sort a lot of these appearances into categories such as ‘a stranger to the village’ or ‘an ambitious Roman’ or ‘a relative of an established character’ without doing them a disservice.
They add new paths of humour or drama, and every one of them has some unique characteristic that keeps these minor characters from blending together.
I also really look forward to those adventures where the pirates appear, led by Redbeard, and inevitably get shipwrecked after a few sight gags and a bit of creative swearing.īut even the most enjoyable elements of any series can get stale if there aren’t fresh challenges for them to face and new people for them to meet, and I think the many characters who only appear once in any Asterix title are the reason why the books have continual appeal. I’ve always loved Obelix, who can eat an entire roast boar in a second and carry a menhir on one finger, yet has a deeply sensitive side and falls in love far too easily. A big part of its ongoing success must belong to the main characters who live in that nameless indomitable Gaulish village – for me, it’s Obelix in particular. Despite it's flaws, it is worth watching if you're an Asterix fan.If you’re a fan of the Asterix books – and the latest, Asterix And The Chariot Race is available now – and somebody asks you why, you might find yourself talking about the gleeful, tongue-in-cheek sense of humour, or the iconic colourful illustrations. There's good visual gags in it and it is certainly a lot better than Asterix The Gaul which was awful. But back in the 60's, animated movies were very short. Ceaser and Cleopatra's voices work though.
Asterix with an American accent is not good idea. The animation is not great, it is not a Hollywood Disney film.
You could have full frontal nudity in it and they wouldn't know. They probably knew it was Asterix and gave it a U anyway without watching it. I'm surprised the BBFC didn't cut those scenes out. Black people are drawn in a shockingly stereotypical way with giant lips and speak in stereotypical voices. These lyrics are obviously written by a first timer. The point of writing a song is to make it catchy so that people can't get it out of their heads. When you're eating well, you're well." And don't get me started on the song where the villain bakes a cake. The food song consists of "When you're eating well, you're well. Cleopatra's song in the bath consists of only "La la la la la." and that annoying lion dancing. There is only 3 songs and the lyrics are hopeless. There are some good gags in this film, like the poor dubbing in the beginning, the scene where the man is sharpening his hand to karate chop wood, the architect's's poor designs and Cleopatra acting like a spoiled brat.