''Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar'' (french: Astérix & Obélix contre César) is a 1999

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

directed by

Claude Zidi Claude Zidi (born 25 July 1934) is a French film director and screenwriter noted for his mainstream burlesque comedies. Born in Paris, he started as a cameraman and then a cinematographer, and he made his directorial and screenwriting debut in 1 ...

, the first installment in the ''Asterix'' film series based on Goscinny and Uderzo's

Astérix ''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 ...

comics. The film combines plots of several Astérix stories, mostly ''

Asterix the Gaul ''Asterix the Gaul'' is the first volume of the Asterix comic strip series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). In ''Le Monde'' 100 Books of the Century, a 1999 poll conducted by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris n ...

'' (

Getafix This is a list of characters in the ''Asterix'' comics. Main characters Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix are the first characters with short descriptions usually listed at the beginning of each of the ''Asterix'' books (after the map of Gaul). They ...

's abduction), ''

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 summar ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' (the Druid conference), ''

Asterix the Legionary ''Asterix the Legionary'' is the tenth Asterix book in the Asterix comic book series by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. It was first published as a serial in ''Pilote'' magazine, issues 368–389, in 1966. Synopsis Asterix and Obelix are set ...

'' (

Obelix Obelix (; french: Obélix) is a cartoon character in the French comic book series ''Asterix''. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his obesity, the menhirs he carries around on his bac ...

becoming smitten with Panacea) and ''

Asterix the Gladiator ''Asterix the Gladiator'' is the fourth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first serialized in the magazine '' Pilote'', issues 126–168, in 1962. Plot summary While st ...

'' (the characters fighting in the circus) but jokes and references from many other albums abound, including a humorous exchange between

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

and

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

taken from ''

Asterix and Cleopatra ''Asterix and Cleopatra'' is the sixth book in the Asterix album series by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. It was first published in serial form in ''Pilote'' magazine, issues 215–257, in 1963. Synopsis The book begins with an argument b ...

'', and the villain Lucius Detritus is based on Tullius Detritus, the main antagonist of '' Asterix and the Roman Agent'' (known as Tortuous Convolvulus in the English translation of the comic). At the time of its release, the film was the most expensive production in

French cinema French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary influ ...

of all time, making it the most expensive production in France for the twentieth century. It was a box-office success and would be followed by a sequel, '' Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra'', released in 2002.

Plot

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

is celebrating his victory over all of Gaul, but Lucius Detritus has kept from him that one village has managed to resist them. Detritus travels to the garrison near the village where Caius Bonus (Crismus Bonus), the garrison's commanding Centurion, explains that the Gauls have a magic potion, which makes them invincible. Detritus decides to capture the potion for himself, and hearing that the clever Asterix and permanently invincible Obelix are the backbone of the Gaulish forces, attempts and fails to eliminate them. A false soothsayer arrives at the village and predicts the arrival of Romans and treasure; despite Asterix's protests, the village believe him, wherefore when a Roman tax collector arrives, they drive off his forces and take the gold. The "soothsayer" later drugs and hypnotises Asterix to create a diversion while he recaptures the tax money; but news of the theft reaches Caesar, who comes to the garrison himself, demanding the legion attack. Upon witnessing the defeat of his army, he demands Detritus subdue the village or be fed to the lions. Detritus disguises himself and some men as Druids and kidnaps Panoramix (Getafix) at a Druid conference. Asterix disguises Obelix as a legionary, and they enter the garrison to rescue the Druid, but are separated. Asterix joins Getafix in the dungeon, where the pair resist Detritus' demands to make the magic potion, until he tortures Idefix (Dogmatix). Detritus uses the potion to throw Caesar into a cell (locked in an iron mask), and takes command with an oblivious Obelix as his bodyguard. Obelix later helps Asterix, Getafix, Dogmatix, and Caesar escape. Caesar co-operates with the Gauls to defeat Detritus, who mounts an attack on the villagers using his own magic potion. To defeat him, Panoramix brews a special version of the potion which creates dozens of duplicates of Asterix and Obelix. Caesar is returned to power, and grants the village its freedom.

Differences from the books

* It is revealed early in the film that the magic potion used by the Gauls only lasts for ten minutes. Such a short time limit is not implied in the original books, such as disguised legionary Caligula Minus holding a rock up for several hours in ''

'' or crooked adviser Codfix retaining superhuman strength until well into the daytime after drinking a ladleful of potion at night in ''

Asterix and the Great Divide ''Asterix and the Great Divide'' (, "The Great Ditch") is the twenty-fifth volume of the Asterix comic book series. First published in French in 1980, it was translated into English in 1981. It is the first Asterix adventure to be written by illu ...

''. * In the book '' Asterix and the Roman Agent'', a character named Detritus (in the original French version) was an agent of Caesar who was a master of manipulating people. In the movie Detritus appears to be more based on Crismus Bonus from

or Felonius Caucus from the book

Asterix and the Big Fight ''Asterix and the Big Fight'' is a French comic book, the seventh in the Asterix comic book series. It was written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. Its original French title is ''Le Combat des chefs'' ("The Battle of the Chief ...

. * The fraudulent fortune-teller Prolix is based on the character of the same name in

; as in the book, Asterix is the only villager who does not believe Prolix's false prophecies. In the film, Prolix manages to escape with stolen gold (which he conned the villagers into stealing from the Romans) and is not seen again, whereas in the book Prolix is ultimately exposed as a phony when the Gauls managed to surprise him (thereby proving he could not really see the future). * The plotline of someone stealing a chest filled with gold comes from

Asterix and the Cauldron ''Asterix and the Cauldron'' is the thirteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first serialized in the magazine'' Pilote'', issues 469–491, in 1968, and translated i ...

, where Asterix is tasked with guarding a cauldron filled with money belonging to Whosemoralsarelastix, the chief of a fellow Gaulish village. The aforementioned is the one who has the gold stolen back from the village in order to avoid paying his taxes to the Romans as opposed to the soothsayer Prolix who does so in the film. Additionally, in the book the money is stolen by making a hole in the back of Asterix's hut while Asterix stands guard in the front of his house. In the film, Asterix is drugged and hypnotized into believing Obelix is Caesar resulting in a fight and causing a distraction for Prolix and his associates to steal the money and escape. * Getafix's great-grandfather, who appears in the movie, is not mentioned in any of the books. * In the books, Obelix's affection for Panacea was mostly comedic. In the movie, the romance is played for dramatic effect and is taken much more seriously. * The unnamed wife of village elder Geriatrix is depicted as intensely concerned about her husband getting hurt in the film (she runs after him desperately telling him to not join in when the villagers have a fish fight and later when they attack a Roman legion) - in the books Mrs Geriatrix seems to be casually dominant over her husband, who humbly does everything she tells him to.

Cast

Music

Soundtrack

Soundtrack by

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a French singer-songwriter and music record producer. He is hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017 he has been the highest grossing living French p ...

and

Roland Romanelli Roland Romanelli (born 21 May 1946 in Algiers) is a French accordionist, synthesist and composer, mainly known as arranger. During his career, he worked with Barbara, Rusty Egan, and other notable figures in popular music. He was an early ado ...

* "Elle ne me voit pas" - 4:26 * "Lei non vede me" - 4:26 * "Asterix et Obelix contre César" - 2:20 * "L'Embuscade" - 2:07 * "L'Amour" - 3:52 * "Le Cirque Encore" - 5:15 * "La Serpe D'or" - 4:07 * "Falbala" - 1:48 * "Le Devin" - 2:43 * "L'Amour Toujours" - 3:45 * "Les Hallucinations D'Astérix" - 2:56 * "La Potion Magique" - 3:14 * "Bélenos" - 7:18 * "Obélix" - 3:44

Reception

Accolades

* Golden Screen (1999) * Bogey Award in Silver (1999) *

Bavarian Film Award The Bavarian Film Awards (german: Bayerischer Filmpreis) have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bavaria in Germany for “exceptional achievement in German filmmaking.” Along with the German Film Awards, these are the ...

(2000)

Video game

An action video game based on the film, developed by Tek 5 and published by

Cryo Interactive Cryo Interactive Entertainment was a French video game development and publishing company founded in 1990, but existing unofficially since 1989 as a developer group under the name Cryo. History Cryo was formed by members of ERE Informatique ...

, was released for the PlayStation and the PC.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Asterix And Obelix Take On Caesar 1999 films 1990s adventure comedy films 1990s children's comedy films 1990s fantasy comedy films French adventure films French fantasy comedy films French children's films Italian children's films German children's films 1990s French-language films Films directed by Claude Zidi Films produced by Claude Berri Asterix films Films about Julius Caesar Cultural depictions of Marcus Junius Brutus 1999 comedy films 1990s French films