Asterix and Cleopatra (1968)

OK: I'll admit it. I don't remember all of the details of the story any more. But this movie was one of my favourite Asterix movies. It is based on the Asterix comic of the same title (the 2nd or 3rd one in the series, I believe), and it contains the one moment that I, a big Obelix fan, have always been waiting for.... I won't spoil it, but it's been the best bit of the movie for me.

Also, it contains such a remarkable nose...

Funny and enjoyable, one of the better Asterix cartoons and movies.

Fmovies: I read Asterix cartoons over and over in my youth so know them well, but had never seen the animation until today and I'm sad to say I was disappointed. The film didn't have the language wit of the comic strip (the Latin asides) and the animation was naive. You can't say, "Oh but it was 1968" because look what Disney was doing then! It was entertaining and fun to watch but not great. The drawing was poor, which was proved when my film froze a few times to reveal the sketchiness of the artwork! It was similar to the comic in the design of the characters - they looked the same - but song and dance numbers? Really? Maybe I'm being too pedantic about a much loved comic book but there were many points where I thought it was lazy production. I didn't even laugh. I guess for older children, who this is supposed to be for, it would be okay, but it lacked continuity, was too stop-start, limited dialogue (I suppose they were keeping to the comic) so it seemed too simple and not entertaining enough and I got the impression it was trying to be Disney but falling well short. I think I'll stick to reading Asterix.

In this 1968 animated movie Cleopatra and Julius Ceasar (wait...they didn't co-exist) make a bet that her summer home cannot be completed within a couple of weeks. Cleopatra enlists Asterix, Obelix and Getafix to help in the construction. The Romans retaliate with their own tricks and "hilarity" ensues. It might have been funny if the hijinks were more imaginative and exciting and also if it weren't punctuated with some boring acid-trip musical numbers.

The movie opens with an ironic explanation of why the cheap dubbing doesn't look natural. They should have extended this to explain why there are some things that just cannot BE translated and why there are frequent moments that just don't make sense. I guess some of the blame for this could be down to the fact that in 1968 French animation hadn't evolved to any level of sophistication. The choppy, crude drawings and awful music don't help much either.

The comic-book is better.

Asterix and Cleopatra fmovies. When an argument between Caesar and Cleopatra over Egyptian ability turns into a bet, an architect is charged to build a palace for Caesar. The architect turns to Getafix, Asterix and Obelix to help him with the construction. However with a rival architect and the Roman empire seeking to stop Caesar losing the bet Asterix et al have more on their hands than they reckoned for.

The story is yet again faithful to the book, even opening and closing on the original cartoon itself. It doesn't manage to bring all the jokes out of the book as it could have done but it is still pretty good. The animation is solid and stays close to the source in style.

The characters are quite good, however their voices sound the same at times and don't match their roles too well – Obelix sounds less dopey this time but Asterix still sounds too squeaky. The downside, watching it now, is that the racist stereotypes are really crude – the black characters are dark with huge rubber lips. But I suppose at the time nothing was thought of it and we should take it in the spirit it was intended.

The musical numbers are OK –there aren't too many so the film isn't slowed down. The bets one is a sort of warning against anorexia with the lines `If you're off your food, you're ill' and `when you're eating well you're well'!

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.

This is probably one of the best French animated films to date. It surely is the best of all Asterix movies since its story holds more together than any of the others. Its comic parts are many, but they are not ridiculous as many found in the others. On the cover of the book there was this motto: "The Greatest Story Ever Drawn". Surely it says right. Although much of the animation seems to have been inspired by 20th Century Fox's "Cleopatra" (1963), still it is full of originality. There is never a dull moment - it is entertainment from beginning to end.

I once saw this film on Disney Channel when I was only 9. I got this disc from work for only $1! It is a complete version. I LOVE Asterix! I love the part when he drinks the magic potion and the power-up effects. Obelix is so funny, especially when he waits in the queue for the magic potion. Getafix refuses Obelix and told him that Obelix fell into the potion when he was a baby. Cacofonix always "strangled the cat". Vitalstatistix, the Gaulish leader always worries about "The sky falling on his head". The main story is that Caesar, Asterix's arch-nemesis, made a bet with Cleopatra about building a palace. Edifis is an Egyptian architect, who is building a palace in a 3-month deadline. If architects completed the job on time, they were covered with gold. If not, they were thrown to the crocodiles. As an Asterix lover, I got some comics and video games. I got "Asterix and the Great Rescue" for my Sega Genesis and Sega Game Gear. I just got "Asterix and Obelix Kick Buttix" for the PlayStation 2.