The incredibly popular European comic series, “Asterix,” arrived on Netflix on April 30 in the form of a five-part animated series titled “Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight,” featuring the famous indomitable Gauls themselves.
“Asterix” never quite caught on in America, so let me get you up to speed.
“Asterix” is a long-running comic series created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo in 1959. The story is Franco-Belgian in origin and has become incredibly popular in Europe. However, the comic isn’t as popular in America, likely due to the series relying on European stereotypes, history and humor for its storytelling.
Asterix and Obelix, best friends, are two Gauls living in 50 B.C. during the Gallic Wars. They are also members of the last free Gallic tribe—the rest having fallen to Julius Caesar on his quest to conquer all of Gaul. The reason why their tribe has stayed so strong is due to a magic potion that gives the Gauls increased speed and strength. As such, they are the indomitable Gauls.
“Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight” is just as charming as the original comic series, with much of the same humor. We spend the first episode of the show learning about the origins of the magic potion, as well as the source of Obelix’s super strength. While the rest of the Gauls get their temporary powers from the potion, Obelix’s strength is permanent, as he fell into the potion as a young boy.
Along with Asterix and Obelix is a cast of bright and colorful characters, such as chief Vitalstatistix and Getafix, the druid. The villainous but goofy Romans include characters such as Metadata and Fastanfurius, who were added in for the show. There’s even a moment when Caesar mistakenly refers to Metadata as “Bigfarma.”
The series itself details the conflict between the Gauls and the Romans. If the Gauls have the magic potion, the Romans will never defeat them, so Metadata suggests invoking a Gallic tradition known as “The Big Fight.” They plan to find a Gallo-Roman chief who will then challenge Vitalstatistix for control of the last free Gallic tribe.
Ridiculous names have always been a hallmark for the “Asterix” series. The humor of both the comic and the show are very British, with dry but silly conversations and lots of sarcasm and wit. It’s all very “Monty Python”-esque.
In terms of this humor, Netflix does a great job of keeping that same style in its writing and acting. This is especially impressive considering the original version of the show is in French; I watched it dubbed in English. If it weren’t for the French writing on the screen during the opening and ending credits, I wouldn’t have even noticed.
The show also stays faithful to the style of the comic series. The Netflix show is very “Spider-Verse” in its style, with comic-like words such as “BOOM!” and “POW!” flaring across the screen when needed.
Whether or not you’ve read “Asterix” before, I highly recommend giving the show a try. It’s both fun and funny, with charming characters and a beautiful art style. I found the first episode to be a little slow, but the second one was just hilarious.
I especially recommend the show if you’ve seen anything “Monty Python”—specifically, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” I’ve seen that movie many times, and the humor is very similar to that of “Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight.”
Overall, it’s a fun show with a lot of laughs. Totaling five episodes around 25 minutes each, it’s only about two hours long. It’s also a limited series, so there’s no commitment. Truthfully though, I hope it gets renewed somehow.
Rating: 4.5/5