A delightful trip to ancient Gaul

January 30, 2016 12:00 am | Updated September 23, 2016 04:07 am IST

Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods (English)

Directors: Alexandre Astier, Louis Clichy

Voice Cast: Roger Carel, Guillaume Briat, Lionnel Astier, Serge Papagalli, Florence Foresti

What is not to like about the indomitable Gauls and their constant skirmishes with the long-suffering Romans? This French-Belgian 3D film follows the general plot of The Mansions of the Gods , the 17th comic book by Goscinny and Uderzo, which was published in 1971.

Caesar decides to defeat the little Gaulish village holding out against the might of Rome by sneaky means. He orders the setting up of a Roman colony close to the village to corrupt the Gauls. Everything goes according to plan with the forest being replaced by high rises, the price of Unhygienix’s fish skyrocketing and the smithy Fulliautomatix selling his wares as antiques. All seems lost when chief Vitalstatistix and others in the village take apartments at the Mansions of the Gods sporting togas. However, Asterix and Obelix, with a little help from Druid Getafix and his magic potion, set things right and it all ends with the mandatory banquet and a gagged bard, Cacofonix.

The film cannot take credit for the puns on names and the super-clever digs at trade unions, strikes and advertising as they are from the comic book. While the expansion of the plot is understandable, the changes are not. That throwaway pun where the frustrated architect, Squaronthehypotenus, decides to give up urban planning in favour of building pyramids in Egypt was sorely missed. And incidentally, Mansions of the Gods was the one adventure where Cacofonix was part of the feast as in the book he helped defeat the Romans.

This might be nitpicking by a dedicated fan as the movie is visually appealing. In this first Asterix movie in 3D, the characters are beautifully animated. The fights are colourfully energetic. The movie comes to Indian screens more than a year after its French release. A happy, colourful 3D trip to ancient Gaul thankfully has no expiry date!

In this first Asterix movie in 3D, the characters we love are animated beautifully

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.