''Asterix and Obelix'' is a French live-action film franchise, based on the

comic book series 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 ...

of the same name by French comic book artists

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 ...

and Rene Goscinny. The series includes five theatrically released films. Just like the comic books, the films focus on the adventures of Asterix and Obelix, two Gauls in Roman-occupied Europe. With the help of a magic potion which causes superhuman strength, the Gaul's tiny village manages to resist Rome. In the first two installments in the franchise, protagonists Asterix and Obelix are played by actors Christian Clavier and

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 al ...

. Depardieu is the only actor to appear in four of the films, being replaced by

Gilles Lellouche Gilles Lellouche (; born 5 July 1972) is a French actor. He started his career as a director. Lellouche has appeared in more than fifty films since 1995. He was nominated twice for a César Award; in 2006 for Most Promising Actor and in 2011 ...

for the fifth film. Except for the first two films the character of Asterix has been portrayed by a different actor each time: Clovis Cornillac for the third film, Edouard Baer for the fourth, and

Guillaume Canet Guillaume Canet (; born 10 April 1973) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, and show jumper. Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like ''Joyeux Noël'', '' Love Me If ...

for the fifth. Apart from Depardieu and Clavier, the only other actors to appear in more than one film are Sim, who plays the village's oldest resident, Geriatrix, in the first and third film, and

Jamel Debbouze Jamel Debbouze (; ar, جمال دبوز, Jamāl Dabūz; born 18 June 1975) is a French-Moroccan actor, comedian, screenwriter, film producer and director. Best known for his stand-up comedy sketches, he also worked with director Alain Chabat i ...

, who plays Egyptian architect Edifis in the second and third films. All other roles who reappear during the series are played by a different actor in each film. The fourth film, '' Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia'', was released in 2012. A fifth film, '' Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom'', was released in 2023.

Films

''Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar'' (1999)

''Asterix and Obelix vs Caesar'' is the first live action Asterix film and it describes the adventure of the

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...

against the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...

. The plot is based on the Asterix albums 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 sch ...

and

. The cast includes several famous actors and many well known French ones. The main stars are Christian Clavier,

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film '' Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), ...

Michel Galabru Michel Louis Edmond Galabru (27 October 19224 January 2016) was a French actor. Career Galabru appeared in more than 250 films and worked with directors such as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson (for ''Subway''), and Jean-Luc Godard. ...

, Claude Piéplu. The film was 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 ...

, and it was very successful in France and other European countries. Main cast members are:

''Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra'' (2002)

In ''Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra'', Asterix and Obelix travel to Egypt to help architect Numerobis to build a palace for queen Cleopatra in 90 days because of a bet she made with Julius Caesar. For this film the plot is based primarily on the sixth Asterix comic book, ''

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 ...

'' written by

and illustrated by

. The same comic book was the basis of a 1968 animated film. In this version there are many references to other popular movies like

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in The Matrix (franchise), ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Car ...

, and contemporary jokes which give a different perspective from the previous stories. Clavier and Depardieu reprised their roles as Asterix and Obelix but there were various other changes in the cast and crew of this film, such as Claude Piéplu and

Gottfried John Gottfried John (; 29 August 1942 – 1 September 2014) was a German stage, screen, and voice actor. A long-time collaborator of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, John appeared in nine of the filmmaker's projects between 1975 and 1981, the year befor ...

who played Getafix and

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 ...

in the first film being replaced by

Claude Rich Claude Rich (8 February 1929 – 20 July 2017) was a French stage and screen actor. He began his career in the theater before his film debut in 1955. Personal life He married actress Catherine Renaudin on 26 June 1959. They had two daughters, ...

and

Alain Chabat Alain Chabat (; born 24 November 1958) is a French actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, producer and television presenter. He was originally known for his work in the comedy group Les Nuls, including as the co-writer and lead actor of ''La C ...

. The film was again a huge success but it was considered to be one of the most expensive films in the history of Europe (more than 50 million dollars). It was directed by

. This movie is the only Asterix live action movie in which the plot closely follows the plot of the original comic book, ''

'', without incorporating elements from other stories.

''Asterix at the Olympic Games'' (2008)

''Astérix at the Olympic Games'' is the third live action Asterix film, released in 2008, and based on the comic book of the same name. Clovis Cornillac replaced Christian Clavier in the role of Asterix. Aside from Gérard Depardieu as Obelix and brief cameos by Sim as

Geriatrix 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 ...

and

as Edifis none of the cast members from the previous two films returned. The film does have several celebrity cameo appearances by people such as

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the m ...

and

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...

. Filming began in June 2006 and the movie was planned to be released close to the date of the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

. The budget of the film was estimated to be even higher than the previous Asterix film (possibly almost twice as expensive). It was directed by

Frédéric Forestier Frédéric Forestier (born 1969) is a French director. Filmography Director * 1993 ''Paranoïa'' (short film) * 1997 ''The Peacekeeper'' * 2002 '' Le Boulet'' - More than 3 million ticket sales in France. * 2005 ''Les Parrains'' - More than ...

and

Thomas Langmann Thomas Langmann (born 24 May 1971) is a French film producer and actor, known for producing '' The Artist'' (2011), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Picture as producer in 2012. Career Langmann began his career as an actor in his ...

''Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia'' (2012)

''Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia'' is the fourth live action Asterix film, and was released in October 2012. It is based on the comic book '' Asterix in Britain''. Edouard Baer replaced Clovis Cornillac (who had replaced Christian Clavier) in the role of Asterix.

''Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom'' (2023)

''Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom'' is the fifth live action Asterix film, and was released in February 2023. Production was originally planned to take place partly in China in 2020, but was postponed to 2021 and relocated to France and Morocco. The film is directed by

, who also stars as Asterix, while

plays Obelix.

References

External links

* * * At Asterix NZ: *
Astérix et Obélix contre César
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' *

' {{Asterix Film series introduced in 1999 1990s French-language films Asterix films Live-action films based on comics Film series based on comics 1990s French films 2000s French films