Les douze travaux d'Astérix (1976)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

René Goscinny
Henri Gruel

Writers:

René Goscinny (story) &
Albert Uderzo (story) ...

Release Date:

12 March 1976 (West Germany)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Twelve mighty tasks to prove the Gauls are gods or mortals!

Plot:

The Gauls have the chance to become the new masters of the Roman empire if they can solve twelve tasks set by Julius Cesar.

Plot Keywords:

Task | Roman Empire | Gaul | Village | Asterix

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Roger Carel	...	Astérix / Les 2 sénateurs (voice)
Pierre Tornade	...	Obélix (voice)
Jacques Morel	...	Abraracourcix (voice)
Henri Labussière	...	Le réceptionniste (voice)
Jean Martinelli	...	César (voice)
Pascal Mazzotti	...	(voice)
Lawrence Riesner	...	(voice)
Claude Dasset	...	(voice)
Roger Lumont	...	Cylindrique le Germain, prof de karaté allemand (voice)
Gérard Hernandez	...	(voice)
Henri Virlojeux	...	(voice)
Nicole Vervil	...	(voice)
Jacques Hilling	...	(voice)
Henri Poirier	...	(voice)
Mary Mongourdin	...	(voice)

Also Known As:

Asterix's Twelve Tasks (Australia) (DVD title)
The Adventures of Asterix (Australia)
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix

Runtime:

82 min | Australia:85 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:K-8 | Iceland:L | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | West Germany:6

Company:

Dargaud Films

Quotes:

Obélix: Oh, Asterix! He called me "Fatty!"

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Birds (1963)

Still makes me laugh after twenty years

This was one of the first films I actually remember watching and I had already read a few of the comics and loved them. Recently I found my parents still had the video and watched it again. And I still loved it. Brief summary, after yet another defeat by the indomitable Gauls, Caeser decides that the only reason for this is that the Gauls are Gods and sets out twelve tasks to prove this. Asterix and Obelix are selected to perform the tasks with hilarious consequences.

Although a non original story unlike the other Asterix films this film brilliantly captures the charm and the humour of the comics. With jokes about the ancient world and the modern day (the take on bureaucracy is side splitting), coming up with a few modern inventions on the way and a musical number thrown into the middle you won't keep a straight face throughout.

Admittedly compared to recent animation this film doesn't look or sound as good as it might but it was made on a low budget 30 years ago. It's still funny and the visual gags still work. Plus you can use it to teach kids the twelve tasks of Hercules.