Asterix and Cleopatra (1968)

I love this movie so much

Overrated and overhyped

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

I caught this delightfully energetic and amazingly visually sumptuous 1969 70 minute film on YouTube. Although "Asterix" is a French-themed comic by Goscinny and Urdezo, I watched "Asterix and Cleopatra" (hereafter "A & C") in English. I'm not sure if the film was dubbed or originally shot in English, but there is a wry hint that it is dubbing at the beginning of the film which explains that since most of the film is situated in Egypt and Egyptians speak in hieroglyphics, the English dubbing may not synchronize with the mouth movements. At any rate, I thought the dubbing (if any) was rather satisfactory.First, let's get to the plot. Julius Caesar is visiting Cleopatra at her palace and criticizes her kingdom's soft decadence. The outraged queen bets Caesar that her people have the will and know-how to construct a summer palace within 3 months. She tasks the inept architect Edifis with the challenge and the constant fear that if he fails, he will be fed to the crocodiles. In desperation, Edifis flees to Gaul to enlist the help of the diminutive but crafty Asterix, his rotund, pugnacious pal Obelix (and his tiny but devoted dog Dogmatix), and the druid Getafix and his super-strength potion. With their help and the potion, the Egyptian workers now have the power to erect blocks and pillars at astounding speed. But opposing Edifis, Asterix, and company are Edifis's jealously bitter and devious rival Artifis and his servile helper Crucut, who attempt to sabotage the construction. Also standing in our heroes' way is Julius himself, who uses his invincible army to try to stop the building and this win the bet. Can our heroes help Cleopatra win the bet and avoid imprisonment (and death by crocodile)? If you are an Asterix fan, chances are you'll enjoy this slavishly faithful animated version of the book. As another reviewer mentions, "A & C"'s animation is reminiscent of a 50's or 60's Popeye cartoon, with all the vigorous, lively movement, fighting, violence, and property destruction. In particular, "A & C" reminded me of a Gene Deitch Popeye cartoon, with the slightly surreal tone (especially Obelix's out-of-left field daydreaming about food). Besides the rollicking punch-ups, "A & C" retains most of the "Asterix" book trademarks, such as the punny names (Edifis, Artifis, get it), the effects of the super-strength potion, the reason Obelix (usually) doesn't get to taste any potion despite his earnest attempts, and even the ornate, luscious scenery and backdrops (a triumph in any cinematic year).But even if you are an "Asterix" novice, I think "A & C" will give you a satisfying crash course in Asterix lore and will entertain you with its sheer vitality, sturdy and suspenseful plot, and outlandish characters alone, no matter what. Although a considerable amount of fighting goes on, it is cartoonish and non-graphic and thus safe as well as fun for young children. I highly recommend this extraordinary effort.P.S.: Some viewers might be offended by the depiction of African-Americans with bulbous lips. Personally, I wasn't since practically every character sported an exaggerated anatomical part. Also, while I was generally okay with Asterix's and Obelix's vocalizations, they were a tad too similar to Looney Tunes cartoon voice-work, especially Obelix's, who sounded like Mel Blanc's Lenny "Duh George" impersonation. I consider these insignificant flaws in a movie that showcases what the "Indomitable Gauls" are made of.

There are some good gags in this film, like the poor dubbing in the beginning, the scene where the man is sharpening his hand to karate chop wood, the architect's's poor designs and Cleopatra acting like a spoiled brat. But the songs are terrible. There is only 3 songs and the lyrics are hopeless. Cleopatra's song in the bath consists of only "La la la la la." and that annoying lion dancing. The food song consists of "When you're eating well, you're well. When you're eating well, you're well. Loss of appetite is a dreadful blight. When you're eating well, you're well." And don't get me started on the song where the villain bakes a cake. The point of writing a song is to make it catchy so that people can't get it out of their heads. These lyrics are obviously written by a first timer. Black people are drawn in a shockingly stereotypical way with giant lips and speak in stereotypical voices. I'm surprised the BBFC didn't cut those scenes out. They probably knew it was Asterix and gave it a U anyway without watching it. You could have full frontal nudity in it and they wouldn't know.The animation is not great, it is not a Hollywood Disney film. Just a low budget French film. The voice acting is average. Asterix with an American accent is not good idea. Ceaser and Cleopatra's voices work though.It's also really short. But back in the 60's, animated movies were very short.But it is entertaining. There's good visual gags in it and it is certainly a lot better than Asterix The Gaul which was awful. Despite it's flaws, it is worth watching if you're an Asterix fan.

In the "Movies-that-Made-my-Childhood" anthology, "Asterix and Cleopatra" is the number one. I grew up with it, my parents did (that's for posterity), I can recite it line by line, watch it again and again, I still laugh and may even discover subtle details in the process. But don't take my 'history' with the film as a bias; just watch it and you'll see that Disney had not the monopoly of entertainment, laughs and catchy songs. "Asterix and Cleopatra" is something special.The first frame shows a funny-looking Egyptian with a deadpan expression. The narrator starts : "About two thousand years ago in the time of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, the Egyptians talked like this" a speech bubble appears while the Egyptian talks in gibberish codified by funny drawings illustrating each sound he makes: a fly for buzzing, smoke for coughing, a bird for tweeting etc. After this hilarious nonsense, the narrator then concedes: "This language was rather difficult to understand, so the film you are about to see has been dubbed. However, due to the fact that dubbing techniques had not been perfected in this period, you may notice that the movement of lips is not always synchronized exactly with the words being spoken" The Egyptian proves his point by setting the tone: "And now after this interesting and instructive prologue, we are privileged to present a great historic epic drama".The Egyptian is right on one thing, the prologue was indeed interesting and much, much instructive; however, I'm more doubtful about the word 'drama'. Which foreign drama (from most IMDb users' perspective) would acknowledge dubbing's inconsistencies? Hell, which animated feature would do so? To my knowledge, "Asterix and Cleopatra" is the only one to elevate the parody to such summits of hilarity. And it's only the beginning of a ten-laugh per minute spectacle, starting with a score imitating these historical epic peplum until it turns to Asterix' theme. The film is an adaptation of one of the most famous little Gaul's adventures, labeled then as the greatest story ever drawn. The cover exhaustively listed all the furniture that contributed to the making: pencils, paintings, pens, paper, beer etc. I guess any comparison with a little film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was totally fortuitous..The 'Cleopatra' book was a great choice because only the big screen could recreate, even improve, the epic feel through music and majestic shots on Egyptian sites in the backdrop, before turning them into derision. This explains why the same story was used for Alain Chabat's "Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra" which became one of the highest-grossing movies of French cinema. The story is a winner, starting from the titular character: Cleopatra, the delightfully hot-headed, exquisitely histrionic and capricious (drama) queen whose nose would have changed the face of the world, had it been shorter. Cleopatra, voiced by Micheline Dax, is more of a prima donna in the film and this is the perfect characterization to make her funny without damaging her inner majesty. On the other side, the suave and debonair Julius Caesar doesn't sugarcoat his words and provokes Cleopatra by stating that Egyptians are decadent and lost their touch as far as architecture is concerned. Cleopatra then promises a sumptuous palace built in three months, it's a deal.For that mission, she hires Numerobis (Edifis in English), the greatest architect of Alexandria but that's not saying much since his trademark consists on buildings that end up collapsing and make laugh the neighbors. It's a hit-or-miss for Edifis, gold or crocodiles (replacing the arena's lions in Egyptian tradition), who's got no other choice than asking for help Panoramix (Getafix for the English speakers), the old druid accepts and he's escorted by the village's best warriors: Asterix, Obelix and little Idefix (Dogmatix). In their adventure, they encounter the ruthless pirates whose 'boarding, slit-throating, destroying, massacring, and, sinking' are labeled by the green parrot as 'daily routine'; they face the vicious plots of Edifis' main rival Amonobofis (Artifis). He's not that bad actually, even offering his precious help. However, he only consents on sharing the gold in case of success, otherwise, Numerobis would be sent alone to the crocodiles. Anyway, it won't be an easy job, even Julius Caesar would try to undermine their road to success, but our Gaulish heroes find time to travel along the Nile and visit the Pyramids, where Obelix notices a little cameo of Santa Claus in the hieroglyphs.And that's only one of the countless gags that transcend the 'epic historical drama' facade. Served by a dubbing from (among others) Roger Carel, Pierre Tornade and Micheline Dax, who were also the main French voices in the Muppets Show, the film also benefits from a great music. During the first visit in the construction site, it's slow, pompous and depressing, like the sight of the two workers struggling to pull a one-ton block of stone during overtime. But as soon as the workers drink the magic potion, it's as if the potion even fueled the music with a fast-pacing rhythm, catchiness and energy, it goes so fast, you might even miss some hilarious sight gags. The film also features an operatic duo between Cleopatra and her scene-stealing lion; a magnificent ode to the joys of food, when Obelix makes some entrechats with roasted boars and Asterix informs that the old adage changed "we don't eat to live, but we live to eat", this trippy parade is one of the greatest tributes to French' appetite and the best about food is still to come. Who'd have thought making a poisoned pudding could be so jazzy? The film has everything: slapstick, verbal humor, music, even the obligatory happy ending is treated with a a subtle detachment. "Asterix the Gaul", the first film; met with popular success, but it was cheap and graphically poor. With a few songs, escapism, unforgettable secondary characters, the authors Uderzo and Goscinny finally found the recipe for a cinematic magic potion.

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.