''Asterix and the Vikings'' (released in French as ''Astérix et les Vikings'' and

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

as ''Asterix og Vikingerne'') is a 2006 Danish

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

based on the French comic book series ''

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

'', written by Stefan Fjeldmark and Jean-Luc Gossens, and directed by Fjeldmark and Jesper Møller. A loose adaptation of the story of the

comic album a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

Asterix and the Normans ''Asterix and the Normans'' is the ninth book in the Asterix comic book series, written by René Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo. It was first published in serial form in ''Pilote'' magazine, issues 340–361, in 1966. It depicts a meeting b ...

'', written by

René Goscinny René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...

and illustrated by

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the ''Astérix'' series in collaboration with Re ...

, the plot follows Asterix and Obelix trying to train the nephew of their village's chief, only to find themselves rescuing him from a tribe of vikings who believe him to be a Champion of Fear. The ensemble voice cast features Roger Carel and

Jacques Frantz Jacques Frantz (4 April 1947 – 17 March 2021) was a French actor. Nominated for the Molière Award, he was renowned for his theatre work, and his voice, which he lent to many actors, such as Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson, John Goodman, and Nick N ...

as Asterix and Obelix, with

Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...

and

Brad Garrett Bradley Henry Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Possessing a distinctive deep voice, he has appeared in numerous television and film roles in both live-action and ...

headlining the

English dub Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...

. Unlike most Asterix films, the film was produced in English firsthttps://web.archive.org/web/20100602131015/http://www.asterix.co.nz/movies/asterixandthevikings.htm and the voice cast consisted of American actors rather than British or French actors. This adaptation introduced new characters,

anachronistic An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...

references about modern technology, and

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of pop songs, such as "

Get Down on It "Get Down on It" is a 1981 song by American band Kool & the Gang. It was originally released on their '' Something Special'' album in 1981. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA. Track listing Charts The song hit the top 10 of the US P ...

" by

Kool and the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/ funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...

, "

Eye of the Tiger "Eye of the Tiger" is a song by American rock band Survivor. It was released as a single from their third album of the same name and was also the theme song for the 1982 film ''Rocky III'', which was released a day before the single. The song ...

" by Survivor and "

Super Freak "Super Freak" is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James' fifth album, '' Street Songs'' (1981) and became one of James' signature songs. "F ...

" by

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...

Plot

A succession of raids leaves a tribe of

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

without anyone to fight against them. The tribe's adviser, Cryptograf, concludes that their enemies have all fled, stating that "fear gives you wings". The Viking's chief, Timandahaf, misinterprets his adviser's words and declares they must find a "Champion of Fear", believing that if the tribe were to become great cowards, they'll be able to fly and become invincible. Cryptograf, secretly wishing to seize power from Timandahaf, goes along with it and declares that they'll find who they seek within

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

. While en route, Timandahaf is shocked to learn that his daughter Abba snuck aboard disguised as a man, after he refused to take her with him. Despite being angry, he reluctantly keeps her among his crew. Meanwhile, in the rebel village of the Gauls, the villagers welcome the arrival of chief Vitalstatistix's nephew Justforkix, who is to be trained to be a man. However, his nephew is more interested in chasing girls, using a bird to send messages to them, and is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

, much to the shock of Obelix. Obelix and Asterix attempt to train him to be a warrior, but lack success because of his pacifist nature and his refusal to drink the village's magic potion, which gives the villagers their super-human strength. When the Vikings arrive near their village, Cryptograf explains to his incredibly stupid son

Olaf Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...

that he could claim Abba as his wife if he were to capture the Champion, thus putting him next in line as the tribe's chief, with his father secretly calling the shots. When Olaf captures Justforkix, after witnessing his cowardice, Asterix and Obelix find themselves having to rescue him before his father visits their village. Travelling to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, the pair attempt to rescue Justforkix. However, he refuses to leave as he has fallen in love with Abba and she with him. When the vikings test Justforkix's flying skills by throwing him from a cliff, Cryptograf secretly rigs up a rope to him that causes him to be suspended in the foggy air. Tricked into believing he is the Champion, the Vikings rush to Olaf's wedding ceremony, leaving Justforkix to be rescued by Asterix and Obelix. Before they can take him back to Gaul, Justforkix secretly takes some magic potion, and swims back to the Viking's village. Despite the risk, Justforkix rescues Abba, managing to fly by making an improvised

hang-glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

from a ship's mast and sail. While Cryptograf and Olaf are shunned for their deception, the Vikings travel back to the Gauls' village to celebrate the wedding of Justforkix and Abba. When Cacofonix decides to sing during the ceremony, the Vikings finally experience real fear and make a run for it. When Asterix asks him what fear is good for, Getafix explains how real courage means overcoming fears.

Cast

Additional English Voices

*Jonathan Nichols *

Philip Proctor Philip Proctor (born 1940) is an American actor, comedian and a member of the Firesign Theatre. He has performed voice-over work for video games, films and television series. Career Of the four members of Firesign Theatre, Proctor has had t ...

*David Rasner *

Jill Talley Jill Talley (born December 19, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She is a main cast member on the animated series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', in which she voices Karen Plankton. Her other voice roles include Sarah Dubois on Adult Swim's ...

Reception

Critical reaction to ''Asterix and the Vikings'' was generally mixed, with much praise on the animation and voice acting, but with criticisms on the film's script.

Source material

The movie is primarily based on ''Asterix and the Normans'', but there are some elements from other Asterix books: * As in ''

Asterix and the Great Crossing ''Asterix and the Great Crossing'' is the twenty-second volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). Plot summary Unhygienix has run out of fresh fish. Since his stock has to be transpo ...

'', Asterix and Obelix travel on a boat to the land of Vikings (in the original book

they free Justforkix from Norman camp on the beach). Some other elements from this book include the Viking party, and joke about Obelix supply for the journey. The dog from the book makes a cameo. * The scene when Asterix and Obelix dress up as Vikings "Asteraf" and "Obelaf", with Obelix unable to stop laughing about it, resembles the scene from ''

Asterix and the Goths ''Asterix and the Goths'' is the third volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first published in 1963 in French and translated into English in 1974. Plot summary Asterix and ...

'' when the duo dress up as

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

"Asterus" and "Obelus". However, Obelix did find the names of the Normans hysterical in

, because they all ended in -af. * The character of Cryptograf is similar to Prolix from ''

Asterix and the Soothsayer ''Asterix and the Soothsayer'' (, "The Divine") is the nineteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in Pilote issues 652-673 in 1972. Plot summary ...

''. * The scene in which the Gauls attack a Roman camp for Justforkix's amusement is similar to a scene in ''

Asterix in Corsica ''Asterix in Corsica'' is the twentieth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo ( artwork). It was originally serialized in Pilote issues 687–708 in 1973. It is the best-selling title in the histor ...

''. * The character Influenza, from the book ''

Asterix and Caesar's Gift ''Asterix and Caesar's Gift'' is the twenty-first volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was the first Asterix adventure that was not published in serial form in ''Pilote'' magaz ...

'', appears during the party scene, dancing briefly with Justforkix, and at the end of the movie, serving boars at Justforkix' wedding party. * The wig on Olaf's bride/menhir is in the form of Panacea's wig from ''

Asterix and the Actress ''Asterix and the Actress'' (, "Asterix and Latraviata") is the 31st volume of the Asterix List of Asterix volumes, comic book series, written and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. Plot summary Asterix and Obelix receive a surprise birthday visit fr ...

''.

Box office

* In the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the film has grossed a total of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

361,747. The Dutch name for the film is "Asterix en de Vikingen".

References

External links

* * {{Asterix, Vikings, Asterix and the, type=film 2006 films 2006 animated films 2000s fantasy adventure films 2006 romantic comedy films 2000s French-language films French animated fantasy films Danish animated fantasy films French children's films Danish children's films Asterix films Films set in Norway Films set in the Viking Age Animated comedy films Animated adventure films Animated films based on comics Films set in Europe Films directed by Jesper Møller 2000s children's animated films 2000s French films