Asterix the Gaul

I read the album then one day later I saw the film.

Now in comparison to the other albums Asterix the Gaul is no where near the best. But its still good. And with this film it is the same Asterix the Gaul is no where near as good as the other films but it is still good.

Maybe its the dubbing in the English language version but it just doesn't feel like it all came together. At times it was also confusing. They didn't explain or really animate the rapid hair growth of the Romans very well.

The animation is not great but Asterix fans and young children should like it...

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 & Obelix have both become fixtures of France's pop-culture scene (imagine if Bugs Bunny and Superman were in the same package via Asterix), and this film was the first foray into the world of cinema for the Gauls fighting the 'Crazy Romans' of 50 B. C. And this film's somewhat troubled production and Goscinny-Uderzo's disapproval of the final print didn't help matters much, but it DID help guarantee that all subsequent Asterix films were of better quality in terms of the animation and writing.

Asterix the Gaul is relevant to French animation history, but it doesn't prove itself the strongest introduction to the medium exactly. The years since this film came out kind of proves the behind-the-scenes dramas definitely changed the trajectory for the franchise going forward, and it did change things for the best. And it's good that it did: because the Asterix stories are good comical action-adventures giving fun twists that on European history.

Honestly this film is a starting point for an iconic character, but as a first impression kind of thing it does leave some things to be desired, and the following films are more fun because of the more refined takes on the mythos of the characters and much more fluid animation. Sure this one has that awkward 1960s-animation energy that was well-defined on television circa Hannah-Barbera stuff and the infamous Beatles cartoon series, but for cinema Disney made this stuff seem downright amateurish and cheap for silver screens.

6/10 IMDbs. 3/5 stars. Watchable stuff but definitely a flawed 'classic'. For fans of Asterix it's incredibly important, but for casuals it's an easy skip.

I picked up a recent "version remasterisée" blu-ray, with excellent picture and sound and the original English dubbing, on e-bay, as I was curious about Asterix and had a feeling the kiddos would enjoy it. The movie (I'm not familiar with the comics, which came first) is a light-hearted rethink of French identity in the wake of World War II, somewhat surprisingly in terms of Gaulish barbarians (or at least a single village of them in the NW) resisting invading Romans. But the main appeal of the show is its slapstick comedy, which was especially loved by my 7-year old son, including "Roman" names like Marcus Sourpuss and Phonus Balonus. There is some irony to this, given that Asterix builds on Graeco-Roman mime, with Asterix as an Odysseus figure and Obelix as a Hercules. The music is also great.

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