Astérix le Gaulois

The first animated film based on René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo's iconic French comic-books, Asterix The Gaul was made in 1967 and was based on the first of the books. Roger Carel voiced Asterix while Jacques Morel voiced Obelix.

Set in an alternative version of history in which Julius Caesar managed to conquer all of France save for one small village where the Gauls have stayed safe thanks to a magic potion, the comics follow Asterix and Obelix, with their dog Dogmatix, on their adventures. This first film sees nearby Roman camp send one of their most dim-witted soldiers disguised as a Gaul to Asterix's village in order to find out the source of their power.

Caligula Minus, the spy in question, finds out the Gauls' secret and shows off the power of the magic potion to his superior Caius Bonus' camp. This prompts the Romans to kidnap the druid Getafix, who makes the potion, and it's then up to Asterix to find him and bring him back. This being the first story, it's mostly a showcase of how clever and fearless Asterix himself is as he single-handedly outsmarts the Romans using only his wits. Obelix isn't really a big part of this particular story but he pops up again along with the rest of the village near the very end.

The creators of Asterix were not satisfied with this movie, especially since they only found out about it once it was being screened for them. After this, they decided to be significantly involved in the making of any further projects. Their disappointment was understandable as the film is infinitely more slight than the book and it only captures some of what makes these comics so lovable. The animation throughout is patchy and the voice acting is occasionally a bit off but, on the plus side, the film does have a lot of charm.

The characters are instantly likable, we're introduced to the most classic of Asterix music themes, there are quite a few funny, memorable moments and you definitely recognize key aspects from the book. You do get the feeling, however, that the making of the film was perhaps a bit rushed and, had a lot more work and supervision gone into the project, it could have been a lot better. It doesn't make the best use of all the characters and, watching it now, it does feel quite dated.

This first Asterix movie may be a bit of a mixed bag but it's still an enjoyable little film and a decent enough place to start if you're not too familiar with the comics or the characters. This is a fun, if slightly clunky, animated film with enough good humor and charm to make it worth it.

Enjoyable.

Asterix The Gaul was the first Asterix-movie and came out way back in 1967, and was based on the first Asterix-comic with the same name.

The movie is exactly the same as in the comic and there isn`t a single scene here that isn`t present in the cartoon. I can`t write about the plot and the characters because I only know the names in the Norwegian version of Asterix. Asterix the Gaul is for the fan of the series but there are others far better Asterix-movies out there. The best is Asterix and Ceasars` surprise(9/10).

It`s easy to see that Asterix from 1967 is an experimental movie, and the sequels are far better. 6/10

Asterix the Gaul is the film adaptation based on René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo's comic strip series. In said series Rome has invaded almost all of Gaul. All but for one tiny village on the northern shores of the land, where the villagers still keep the legions at bay with the help of their druid Getafix, who knows the recipe of a very special magic potion, which is capable of increasing its drinker's strength to inhuman levels. The comic strip is a beloved children's classic in Europe and widely read by adult population as well. So a film adaptation was inevitable.

And in my opinion they succeeded pretty well. The film adapts the first album of the series, bearing the same name as the film, following its plot very closely. It's a simple story as far the adventures of Asterix and Obelix go, mainly meant to introduce the setting and the characters, but it's still filled with tons of humorous moments, outrageous characters and odd twists. It's nowhere near my favourite of these stories, but it's definitely head and shoulders above most of its peers.

What really keeps this movie from achieving a greater ranking is the animation, and to a lesser degree the music, which both show the constraints of the budget. The character designs are identical to the comic books, so no complaints there, but the film reuses its animation sequences heavily, the movements are either too jerky or too linear, depending on the scene, and the backgrounds, while nice, are a bit simplistic. The music has a few good moments, and I especially like the main theme, but it's nothing overly special.

Nevertheless, Asterix the Gaul is a good introduction into the world of Asterix and well worth a watch for all fans of humorous animation adventures.

Asterix is the hero of the only French village to hold out against the might of Rome. The village achieves this with the use of a magic potion that gives superhuman strength, made by druid Panaramix. However a roman spy discovers this and kidnaps the druid, leaving Asterix to rescue him.

One of the first Asterix films and sets a solid standard for the rest. The story remains quite faithful to the book and even manages to have quite a lot of the pun and wit. It's not rocket science, but for fans it's important. A minor complaint is that many of the characters don't use the same names that are used in the English books. So here we have the chief called Tonnabrix, the bard called Stopthemusix and Getafix called Panaramix

The animation is solid – it's not flashy but it is similar to the books and works quite well. Certainly kids won't be disappointed with it. The voices are OK but some don't fit – for example Asterix isn't very heroic sounding, and Obelix sounds way too dopey. However in the English version of the film it's a comparatively all star cast – Bill Oddie, Brian Blessed, Michael Elphich, Andrew Sachs (Manuel in Fawlty Towers), Tim Brooke Taylor, Douglas Blackwell etc.

Overall it's not brilliant, but it's a faithful adaptation of the book and manages to bring some of the wit and charm of the characters out

I wasn't expecting Pixar animation from a French cartoon from the Sixties, but I did expect the drawings to be a little more complex. It doesn't distract from the enjoyment of the movie but if you've ever seen some of the early Charlie Brown cartoons you'll find the stiff animation style quite familiar.

The story itself is very simple and involves an undercover Roman spying on the Gauls to learn the secret of their superhuman strength. We all know it's because of the magic potion but this first movie is very "entry level" so don't expect it to get any more complex than that. It is an almost direct adaptation of the comic-book, but a few of the character names have been changed, for example Getafix is now called Panoramix. I am glad they didn't follow through with these weird changes for the rest of the movies.

At a running time of less than 70 minutes there's not much time for a plot to develop but there are a decent amount of laughs and it's always fun to watch the hapless Romans get beaten up.

Thankfully, the animated Asterix never got any worse than this.