Easygoing and familiar, Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods is the perfect movie to play after a hard day at the office. Believe it or not, this is the ninth animated movie about the adventures of Asterix and Obelix. And I’m not counting four live-action movies. This is truly a very successful franchise and like all successful franchises, their products are nice, shiny, and affordable. Just think of this movie as the supercharged latest installment in the Fast and Furious franchise. But, with that special, French style.
The characters are lovable and familiar while the plot has a positive message. Apart from our heroes, there are so many funny and entertaining side characters that I’m sure you’ll soon have your favorites. Although this movie is primarily targeted at children, adults can have fun watching it too! Especially if they’re in the right mood if you catch my drift. I’m still surprised with just how well the adventures of these rebellious Gauls have been rendered in CGI. As someone who grew up watching their hand-drawn cartoons, I have to say they blew me away.
Ceasar is on the move once again! He has tried many times to conquer to the brave Gaulish village but now he has a much better plan: to build an apartment complex next to the village! If you can’t beat them, make them join you is his motto, but two certain Gauls have other plans…
Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods features a very appealing style of animation, reminiscent of all those Pixar movies. It’s only a bit more artistic, with over-the-top characters and not to mention all the action. You can also feel that this is a French movie as we will get a lot more of the zanier and sillier stunts. On top of all of this, we have fast pacing keeping you glued to the screen. Apart from straight-up gags and jokes, you also get this subtle humor that might elude our younger viewers. It’s a nice touch, showing just how much effort went into making this movie.
I was really surprised by the number of issues explored here. Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods will look at ecology, economy, tourism, and many more things from quite an intelligent perspective. Not to mention the whole Roman-Gaul aspect of the story. There’s something about this type of approach that puts things in a different perspective compared to our usual cluttered analysis. Finally, if this is your first Asterix and Obelix movie, I recommend you perhaps check out some of the earlier ones and come back to it. You can start with Asterix Versus Caesar, a hand-drawn masterpiece of animation from 1985. Plus, you’ve got all the live-action movies with Christian Clavier and Gérard Depardieu.
Director: Louis Clichy, Alexandre Astier
Writer: René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo, Alexandre Astier
Cast: Roger Carel, Alain Chabat, Elie Semoun, François Morel, Florence Foresti, Bernard Alane
Fun Facts: Alain Chabat, who voiced Sénateur Prospectus, wrote, directed and starred (as Julius Caesar) in Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002).
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3759416/
