Astérix et les Vikings

Since the last horrid Astérix film and the fact that we only get the Swiss German version in cinemas, here, I went to watch it with quite a bit of trepidation... Unfounded, as I was happy to discover ^____^

The film is funny and modern, has good gags, a good animation, an amusing character interaction, a good voice cast (Note: I can only speak for the Swiss German one!) except for the Viking chief's daughter Abba (her name is great, despite the not very inspired voice actress)...

I especially liked the character Justforkix (Goudurix in French, Grautvornix in German. He's the young man who is supposed to be put in shape...). He's a very amusing portrayal of a mollycoddled, urban teenager; but he's very likable, despite the teenage mannerisms... XD The interaction between Astérix & Obélix and their young charge is fantastic and thoroughly entertaining.

It shouldn't be compared to the old films, since this one is quite different... Which surprisingly doesn't make it bad. On the contrary. When they tried to modernize the last film (twelve years ago), they completely blew it. This film, however, proved that it can be done just fine... ^-^

I came out of the theater cheerful... Always a good sign ^_~

The animation is very good and the humor is very absurd; the plot could have been better, but it's enjoyable.

New adventure well paced, being a diverting animated feature to be lifted from the marvellous and attractive texts and drawings from Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo comic books . Vikings go the Gaul country and kidnap the chief's son called Justforkix. The normands abduct the fierce teen in the mistaken belief that he will be able to teach them to fly . After that , Asterix and Obelix are dispatched by their chief Abraracurcix to rescue the sympathetic young who is considered to be a Champion of Fear, while the terrified Vikings attempt to learn how to eliminate the terror . Later on, the friendly adolescent develops Stockholm Syndrome and falls for both, his captors and Abba, the Viking chief's daughter, an action girl and rights campaigner.

Loosely based on the album : ¨Asterix and the Normands¨, taking parts here and there. This amusing adventure has Asterix and his faithful friend Obelix set out in pursuit the vikings who have abducted a wimpish Gaul boy who was invited at their village by their chief . Here Asterix and Obelix are once more called upon to lay waste Romans , pirates and specially Vikings . It is a fun and funny Asterix movie including usual anachronisms , adding a couple of funky dance tunes are completed to traditional mix . The art direction as well as drawings of this kooky animated movie recreates admirably the comicbooks landscapes , backgrounds and foregrounds, including some brief images in 3D computer generator. The formula is still basically the same a good-natured punch-up heavy rescue-adventure with Roman puns for the adults . Apart from some questionable editing and the use of slightly watered-down colours, the film stays true to the roles , but partially faith to the original album. The animation, however, is good and while is low on the musical count , it all rushes by too fast to notice. The Nordic filmmakers, Stefan Fjeldmark, Jesper Moller, have done fine to keep Goscinny and Uderzo's word play to the fore and in first line. This is one of the best Asterix animated films along with Asterix conquers America , Asterix in Britain, Asterix and the big fight. Youngsters will no doubt enjoy it, but true fans prefer to stick with the pun-ridden books.

This acceptable outing was preceded and followed by several cartoon movies , such as : ¨Asterix the Gaul¨ (1967) , ¨The Twelve Tasks of Asterix¨ (1976) , ¨Asterix in Britain¨ (1986) , ¨Asterix and the big fight¨(1989) ,¨Asterix in America¨(1998) . And various live-action movies as : ¨Asterix vs. Caesar¨ directed by Claude Zidi with Christian Clavier , Gerard Depardieu , Robert Benigni , Laetitia Casta , Arielle Dombasle . ¨Asterix and Cleopatra¨ by Alain Chabat with Monica Belucci , Jamel Debbouze , Claude Rich , Marina Fois , Gérard Darmon . ¨Asterix and the Olympic Games¨ by Frederic Forrestier with Clovis Cornillac , Santiago Segura, Monica Cruz , Jean Pierre Castaldi and Janel Debouzze . ¨Astérix and Obélix : On Her Majesty's Secret Service¨ (2012) by Laurent Tirard with Gérard Depardieu , Edouard Baer, Guillaume Gallienne , Vincent Lacoste , Catherine Deneuve , Charlotte Le Bonn. And subsequently two 3D entries : ¨The Mansions of the Gods¨ (2014) in computer generator that dealt with a Caesar's plan to absorb the villagers into Roman culture by having an estate built next to the village to start a new Roman colony and ¨Asterix and the secret of the magic potion¨(2018) by Alexandre Astier and Louis Clichy . The film will appeal to Asterix and Obelix fans , it's a funny entertaining for kids , grown-ups and nostalgics .

This film is a perfect example that a movie can not be successful with a high budget alone. It's obvious that there was a lot of time and effort dedicated into this: the animation is fluid, detailed and superb- the soundtrack isn't too memorable except for the ending song by Celine Dion (at least I think it was her). The musical score is powerful full orchestra material. Kudos to the animators and music composers! 9/10. However, the story and characters fall flat. It feels very 'been there, done that', predictable and plain uninteresting. The characters have distinct personalities but nothing too likable. They annoyed me to no end. I tried really hard to like this, but I didn't care about the story- it was cliché action-adventure plot. There were 'jokes' that weren't funny. It was vomit inducing predictable from start to end. The dialogue was cliché and awful- especially the last line "It's not ... that gives you wings, it's love!" Whatever it was, I remember cringing. I was wishing it would hurry up and finish. I wasn't the only one either- the people I went with thought it was boring. Please watch the Asterix and Obelix Cleopatra film if you're going to watch any. This was a waste of time.

Attending this film was an excuse to escape the work I had to do for my classes but it turned out to be one of my best experiences here in France. The film makes quick work of building multidimensional characters and has an excellently smooth storyline. The characters really did have the voices you would expect reading the graphic novels and the artistic talent exceeded my expectations The music was catchy and the comedy toying and lighthearted, almost a flinstoneish inclusion of modern items in playful manners. The film was attention grabbing, cute and action packed at the same time. A wonderful tale spun expertly. I'll be showing it to my French students.