Astérix et la surprise de César

The first Asterix adaptation not to be taken directly from one of the books but instead is a combination of Asterix the Legionary and Asterix the Gladiator. The cut-and-shut story is a bit disjointed as a result, which might test your patience, especially if you don't like seeing the books jumbled.

Life continues as normal in the Gaulish village as Panacea, the niece of Chief Vitalstatistix, returns fro her studies in Rennes (then called Condatum) and Obelix falls head-over-heels in love with her. Too bad she already has a boyfriend in the shape of Tragicomix, a handsome stud. The surrounding Roman outposts warn Decorian, a new recruit, to not anger the Gauls out of fear of a yet another pounding. Decorian does not heed this warning and manages to capture Panacea and Tragicomix. But before Asterix and Obelix can rescue them they have already been re-captured by slave traders and sold off to be butchered in the Colosseum.

Asterix and Obelix then go undercover in order to get them back, pounding many Romans along the way. The animation is wonderful and the humor is enough to keep you chuckling through-out, but I can't help but think that the books it was adapted from would have made better individual movies. Caesar's presence feels arbitrary and it lacks a decent villain.

Still a fun time.

I don't understand the <7× rating, this is my absolute favourite Asterix film. The plot device to visit Rome is flawless, the drawn characters feel more real than life action, and all slapstick (!) lands! If anyone asked me what an "Asterix" is, I would show them this exact movie. Perfection. Going forward, I would want Asterix and Obelix to visit space. Let's fast forward, it's no more 50BC but AD50 and the two mount a spaceship. After all, an alien did visit them in one of the most recent comic books. The Asterix spirit won't disapappear: The original Star Trek show and the show Stargate, both, have plenty of references to ancient Greek gods. Let Asterix find a few tribes that left earth long ago.

Astérix et la surprise de César(Asterix and Cesar`s surprise) is definitely the best Asterix cartoon. It captures the atmosphere and style of the classic comics extremely well and this is a must see if you liked the comics. Those who have read the comics will soon see that some of the plot-details have been changed, but it doesn`t matter since the end-result is very good. 9/10

This cartoon movie concerns about our friends, this time Obelix falls in love with Falbala, though she has a fiancée already. Obelix is utterly enamored, blowing down a lot of trees with irritation his dog Ideafix. But they're kidnapped by a Roman patrol and taken to the African legion outpost. Then Asterix and Obelix are assigned by the chief Abraracourcix and druid Panoramix for looking them for.Our intimate duo, the intelligent Asterix and Obelix with super-human strength, enlist Roman Army and as gladiators into a fighters school. As always, on the ending the bard is tied and the village people eating boars in a gargantuan lunch. This is one of the best Asterix film, it's a sheer pleasure throughout, capturing outrageous adventures, feats and hilarious moments. Full of modern anachronisms that's common thing in Asterix' comic books and the animation is more careless than former renditions. The picture brilliantly retrieves the humour, strong satire and adventures of the original story based partially in 'Asterix Gladiator' by the masters René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. Enjoyable and lively musical score by Vladimir Cosma, though with songs on the preface and the finale to much catching. The motion picture is well directed by Brizzi brothers who posteriorly directed a segment of 'Fantasia 2000'. This is a lot of fun for children, grown-ups and nostalgics

Obelix develops a crush on a local girl only to find that she has a boyfriend already. When both the girl and her partner are captured by Romans and taken to the legion outpost, Asterix and Obelix set out to free them no matter what it takes. Their quest takes them into the Roman Army, across deserts, into Gladiator school and up against Julius Caesar himself.

Where most of the Asterix films are iffy, those that stay close to the books can't really go wrong. Most do and are OK but some don't and suffer from it. This is a mix of at least two books – Asterix the Legionnaire and Asterix v;s Caesar and hence it isn't as good as either book as it has some new material. However it's not terrible and much of the wit of the original(s) comes through.

The animation is also better and has depth and shadow in it, although at times the colours leave much to be desired. Even the character voices are better than usual – although Obelix still gets done as a childish buffoon! This is a minor complaint however and the majority of it is good.

Overall, it's not terrible but the mix of stories and the wandering away from source will annoy many fans. Oh and it opens and closes with the cheesyiest Euro-pop ever….nasty!