''Asterix Versus Caesar'' (also known in France as ''Astérix et la surprise de César'') is a 1985 French

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

, written by

René Goscinny René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...

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 wit ...

and Pierre Tchernia, produced by Dargaud Films and Les Productions René Goscinny, and released in France originally in December 1985. The film's story sees Asterix and his friend Obelix set off to rescue two lovers from their village that have been kidnapped by the Romans. The film is the fourth

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the ''Asterix'' comic book series, but features an original story combining the plots of '' Asterix the Gladiator'' and '' Asterix the Legionary'', both written by Goscinny. The film's main theme song, ''Astérix est là'', was composed and performed by Plastic Bertrand. A book of the film, containing stills, was released following the film's release, and was later reprinted by Orion Publishing when it re-released the entire comic series.

Plot

To honour

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

's successful campaigns of conquest, gifts are brought to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

from across the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. Seeking to cement the celebrations, Caesar orders Caius Fatuous, head of a prominent

gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

school, to provide him with a grand show. Meanwhile in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

, Asterix notices that his friend Obelix has begun acting strangely. Getafix soon reveals that he is in love with Panacea, Chief Vitalstatistix's niece, who had recently returned. Attempting to win her affection, Obelix becomes distraught when she is reunited with Tragicomix, a younger and handsome man (the son of a neighbouring

chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

) who intends to marry her. Seeking to spend time together, the two lovers venture out into nearby woods, only to be ambushed by a group of Romans, led by a fresh recruit hoping to make a good impression. When Asterix and Obelix discover what happened, they inform the village, who proceed to attack the garrison. In the aftermath, the camp's Centurion is questioned. He reveals that he angrily ordered the recruit to take his prisoners away, knowing of the consequences that the recruit's actions would bring. Asterix and Obelix, joined by Dogmatix, proceed to the nearest Legion HQ for information on where the recruit went. Upon learning he was dispatched to a distant outpost in the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

with his prisoners, they joined the army in order to follow after them. Arriving at the desert frontier, the pair learn that Panacea and Tragicomix escaped from the Romans before their arrival, and after deserting the Romans, soon discover that a band of slave traders found them and sold them on to Rome. Securing passage to the Roman capital, Asterix and Obelix learn that Panacea and Tragicomix were bought by Caius. The pair attempt to meet with him at a bathhouse, causing Caius to witness them beating up his bodyguards easily. Impressed, he orders his men to capture them for his show. Following a small argument with his friend that causes him to misplace his magic potion, Asterix is kidnapped by Caius' men. When Obelix discovers he is missing, he proceeds to seek him out, rescuing him from a flooded cell. However Dogmatix goes missing, after running off into the city's sewers to recover the magic potion. Without both, the pair continue to seek out Panacea and Tragicomix and quickly learn that, under Caesar's orders, Caius arranged for them to become the grand finale of the emperor's show at the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

. Seeking to gain entry, the pair go to Caius' school and secure places as gladiators the following day. The Gauls soon quickly make a mess of the show, winning a chariot race and easily beating down a number of gladiators. As lions are released to kill them, alongside Tragicomix and Panacea, Dogmatix arrives with the magic potion. The group defeat the lions with the potion, while Obelix, distracted by Panacea, accidentally shatters a third of the Colosseum. Impressed with the show, Caesar grants the Gauls their freedom and gets Caius fed to the lions in their place. Returning home, the group arrive to their village's trademark victory feast being held in their honour. As the villagers celebrate, Asterix sits alone in a tree, after having somewhat fallen for Panacea on his return.

Cast

Additional Voices

* Original: José Luccioni (The Coliseum Announcer),

Yves Barsacq Yves Barsacq (17 June 1931 – 4 October 2015) was a French film actor, who appeared in more than 150 films. He is the son of the French-Russian production designer Léon Barsacq and the nephew of the French theatre director André Barsacq ...

(Unhygienix), Edmond Bernard, Paul Bisciglia, Gérard Croce, Alain Doutey, Philippe Dumat (Farfelus, the slave trader), Michel Gatineau (The Desert Bandit, A Bodyguard of Caius Obtus at the Baths), Paul Mercey, Henri Poirier (The leader of the Roman camp, The Roman with the long speech), Thierry Ragueneau (Tragicomix), Nicolas Silberg (The Presenter of Gifts), Peter Wollasch, Alain Coutey, Martin Lamotte, Roger Barbet * English: Bill Dunn, Steve Gadler (Fulliautomatix), Stuart Seide, Mike Marshall, Thomas M. Pollard, Bill Doherty, Christian Erickson, Paul Barrett, Norman Stockle, Derry Hall, Peter Semler, Robert Ground, Raphael Rodriguez, Mostéfa Stiti, Herbert Baskind, Ken Starcevic

Uncredited

* Original: Roger Carel (Dogmatix), Guy Piérauld (Geriatrix)

Home media

In 1990, the film was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

by Celebrity Home Entertainment. In 2006, the film was released on Region 2 DVD as a part of a box set of animated Asterix films.

Television

In the United Kingdom, it was watched by 320,000 viewers on television during the first half of 2005, making it the ninth most-watched foreign-language film on UK television during that period.

References

External links

AsterixNZ entry
* {{Asterix, Caesar, Asterix Versus, type=film 1985 films 1985 animated films 1985 children's films 1980s French animated films 1980s French-language films 1980s adventure comedy films French animated comedy films Asterix films Animated films set in ancient Rome Films about gladiatorial combat Animated films based on French comics French children's films Films about Julius Caesar Films based on multiple works of a series Films directed by Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi Films scored by Vladimir Cosma 1980s children's animated films Films with screenplays by Pierre Tchernia Animated films set in the Sahara Films set in the Colosseum Animated films set in Rome Gaumont (company) films Gaumont Film Company animated films