Astérix : Le Domaine des dieux

I was a big fan of the original "Asterix" comic books when I was a kid. Still am, as a matter of fact. So when I came across this French computer animated adaptation of the Asterix comic book "The Mansion of the Gods" on Netflix, I was curious to see how well it would be done. I still remember very well the particular Asterix comic book this movie adapted, and I have to say this adaptation is pretty well done. The second half of the movie pretty much stops following what happened in the comic book in order to do its own thing (and to stretch the story to feature length), but the changes to the story do feel straight out of a typical Asterix comic book. The humor (and there's plenty of it) has the exact tone, and happens to be pretty funny. The computer graphics don't quite have the Hollywood polish, but they are colorful and acceptably detailed. The only caution I would deliver to potential viewers is to inform them that they should read some of the original Asterix comics first before watching this movie, since there are some (minor) details that might be confusing for those not familiar with the comics.

Asterix and the gang ventures into 3D animated waters for the first time, and I must say it was quite delightful to watch them breathe alive on the big screen. All those big shiny noses and their clumsy acts look just brilliant in CGI.

Asterix and Obelix: Mansion of the Gods wouldn't disappoint you. It is funny, featuring slapstick comedy, more of a situational provocation brought to you by the Roman invasion and the debatable empty heads of the Gauls. The plot is well written and is taken from the comic The Mansion of the Gods. The relentless Caesar walks in again with a master plan to ingest the Gaulish by building Mansion of the Gods, a new territory near their village for the Romans to populate. The story saunters around to and fro as both parties keep fighting with each other for the land.

A majority of the scenes in the beginning have been stretched, and sometimes the movie topples into the non-funny zone. But still the low comedy manages to beam up the down. Every character in the movie is a hoot. Caesar brings in the grim but the people who surround him wouldn't make him look deadly. Someone or something would do something stupid every now and then and you would end up in fits of laughter.

The fun doesn't stop at any point. A lot of fish slaps, cloud brawls, boar hunting and fake-fighting drive in the hilarious nail. Although you feel the ending dies out pretty quickly, you still get a brilliant feast to devour, as you laugh your way out of the theatre with a contended look.

A really entertaining flick. Kids are going to love it. It would be a great way to tell them the legacy of Asterix if they haven't come across the comic hero hitherto.

Like I said in 'Song of the Sea' review, its a 3D animation dominated world. That's mainly in Hollywood, but trend spreading so fast everywhere. Even the Japan shifting gear from anime to 3D anime, I saw it in 'Space Pirate: Captain Harlock'. From a comic book to 2D animation is easy because they are much alike, but it's different when it comes to the 3D. I have seen Micky Mouse and Co transformed into 3D characters that I did not like, because some characters do not suit for that kind of leap. In Micky Mouse, the ears were the biggest drawback. But 'Tintin' was a success and so expecting 'Popeye' would do the same magic which is due next year (2016).

I have seen all the 'Asterix & Obelix' movies so far from both the format, live-shot and animation, but this is the first 3D animation. I'm so happy that it came overall very well, every detail was retained. Even those mud-smoke/dirt-smoke (whatever it's called) shown exactly as it to be which forms during their fight after the consumption of magic potion. That concept is for comic book, to make understand the readers the situation because the picture is still. But in a motion picture you can show the whole action, if they make that change the trademark will lose. So I must praise the technical side of the movie for the lossless transformation.

It's like a new beginning in the series in the 'Asterix & Obelix' franchise. Especially this story was not freshly written for the screen, but taken straight from one of the comic books in the series called 'The Mansions of the Gods'. In 3D animation, emotions, violence, comedies would be a little realistic. That's why the movie like 'Brave', 'Frozen', 'Up' appealed strongly on the sentimental side. Gaul's favourite food, the wild boar hunting was compromised, because children would be watching the movie and it might disturb on the softer side of them. Just like the filmmakers avoided the Giant's children and women in 'Jack the Giant Slayer'.

One of the best things in 'Asterix & Obelix' movies is that the movie might not be awesome, but still it entertains and keeps you engaged. You can't spot the flaws, in animation all are relevant. A man can jump 1000 feet high and leap a mile away. So if there should be something, that must come from the technical side. Since it (Gauls in 3D) is new and so much fun, you can't concentrate finding those faults or you will miss the actual enjoyment.

''It's weird that the house looks like a box.''

As usual the story set in the first BC. The Gaul's enemy the Romans comes with a new strategy to defeat them. They begin to build the large mansions near to their village and later to invade by seducing the community by the Roman culture. So the fight begins between them where the innocent civilians and black slaves get affect more. But Gaul's main intention is to keep the ecosystem unaffected, especially they're against the Romans modern fancy civilization. What happens to the Julius Caeser's 'Veni, Vidi, Vici' is the movie's final battle to disclose.

Probably a best 'Asterix & Obelix' movie compared to the previous couple of movies. Good to see a non-Hollywood 3D animated movie with a great quality and doing well commercially as well. A whole family together watchable movie, not only for the children. Hoping for the a sequel, I mean very soon. All the above it was short and sweet which runs about 80 minutes. If you are a fan of this comic, you will love it, because lots of the frames look alike. Must be dedicated to the fans.

7/10

Caesar comes up with a new plan to wipe out the huge threat that is a Gaulish village by adapting them to Roman life by building huge apartment complex's nearby.

A comic book that's just over 40 pages long being adapted into an 85 minute long film? It can't be done can it? Well Asterix: The Mansions Of The Gods proves that this can be done while remaining faithful to the original material. This film is genuinely like one of the comics has come to life. And even better it will entertain both kids and adults with something for all ages to laugh at. It's got lighthearted slapstick and gags both of the visual and spoken variety. It's a surprisingly funny film and also very entertaining. At one point halfway through it seems to look like it might drag but it picks itself back up and continues on the same form it was originally from. It does look like it might be a cheesy film due to it's mixture of a very British cast from all different areas of Film and Television, etc but it is successful and is actually a good film.From watching the trailers it does seem to look like another dodgy foreign film with a bad English dub done by some big names to sell it better and that is possibly what has been done but it pays off well because this adaptation is a good one.. The plot is well done and there is potential for gags throughout as the events unfold and the writers take advantage of nearly every opportunity to do this and these grabs for laughs usually end up with a few chuckles from the audience no matter what age they were. The script and plot are both very well done and clearly remain faithful to the source material and all the original Asterix comic books. And then it ends. From start to finish 85 minutes goes by very quickly and having been thoroughly enjoyed by most of the audience.

Funny and very entertaining Asterix: The Mansions Of The Gods is a very well done adaptation that stays faithful to the original material. It has something for kids but will also entertain the adults taking them. It's another one of this summers pleasant surprises.

**** <-- Four Stars (Out Of Five)

It's been a while since an Asterix animation film has been released in cinema's, and as a fan of the series I was very thrilled when I heard the news about a new one. But with the last two live-action movies about this crazy yellow moustached Gaul, my hopes weren't that high.

Well, let me first put your minds at ease, this movie is way WAY better than the live-action flicks about asterix!

It's been a while since I laughed more than 10 times with the humour in an animation film, but this one did the job exceptionally well. There is a good mixture of jokes, both for kids and adults.

The story is based on comic-book nr. 17 (Le Domaine des Dieux). The story isn't very original, but is stays interesting enough and it is fast-paced, without any dull moments.

However, I recommend that you know something about the world of Asterix before seeing this movie, because you get literally thrown in to the movie without any background-story. It is truly a movie for the fans of the comic books, viewers who never heard of Asterix will not always get the jokes or puns because they don't know the background-story.

The visuals are stunning and the look of the characters are very recognizable without any unnecessary changes to them.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Asterix, Obelix and the rest of the gang again in such a positive way, and I hope to see a sequel of the same quality soon :)!

it does an great job in catching the spirit of the comics and the older animation films. I recommend it ! 8/10