Unlike his fellow Franco-Belgian comic book icon Tintin, Asterix has a rich history of representation in cinema and on television. While Tintin has inspired mainly the beloved Canadian cartoon adaptation and a criminally underrated feature film directed by Steven Spielberg, the adventures of Asterix the Gaul have spawned 18 films, 15 board games, 40 video games, and one theme park. The latest is a glossy Netflix mini-series, originally announced in 2021 but released only this week. Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight is based on the 1964 comic of the same name, and will likely delight generations of readers who’ve grown up with the character.
Co-directed by Alain Chabat and Fabrice Joubert, The Big Fight is a lovingly crafted homage to the classic comics that feels both fresh and familiar. For one, it’s largely faithful to René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo’s original book. The show doesn’t assume that audiences would be familiar with the source material, but it would certainly help if you were. For instance, a sudden altercation between the characters Fulliautomatix and Unhygeinix will be meaningless to folks who have no idea about their endless beef. But those who are aware of it will simply be glad to see a glimpse of it in the show.
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A still from Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight.
Among the smartest creative decisions that Chabat and Joubert have made here is to devote the entire opening episode — there are only five in total; animation is time-consuming and expensive — to Asterix and Obelix’s childhood. We learn that they share the same birthday, and actually get to witness the events that led to Obelix — the “weakest” member of the tribe — falling into a vat of magic potion. It’s like watching the moment Harry Potter got his scar. Concocted by the druid Getafix, the potion is of vital importance to the story; it’s what makes our central characters “indomitable” in the face of Roman opposition. While the rest of Gaul will fall to Julius Caesar, Asterix and Obelix’s village will always hold out.
In the second episode, the narrative leaps forward to the present day, that is, 50 BC. Caesar remains irritated at not being able to conquer all of Gaul, while his sneering mother never stops reminding him of the difference between being an all-powerful emperor and someone who is routinely defeated by a village-full of boar-eating, wine-swigging, potion-pounding men. Caesar won’t tolerate this humiliation. And so, he instructs a chieftain named Fastandfurious to kidnap Getafix; no Getafix, no magic potion; no magic potion, no advantage.
The druid out of the way, Fastandfurious enlists his bright niece Metadata to put together a gladiatorial duel between the chief of Asterix’s village, Vitalstatistix, and a puppet leader named Cassius Ceramix. The rules dictate that the winning chief will take over the loser’s tribe, meaning that if Ceramix defeats a potion-less Vitalstatistix, all of Gaul will finally be under Caesar’s control. Ridiculous and slapstick as The Big Fight consistently is, like the comics, it’s a sneakily political satire of authoritarianism. It’s a whole other argument that France itself has occupied many territories across history, and continues to exploit various regions in Africa for their natural resources.
The (French) man’s folly is indirectly explored in episode four, when it is proposed that Obelix temporarily become the chief, seeing as he’s the only one left with superpowers. The proposal encourages other members of the village to throw their hat in the ring as well; for a while, defeating Ceramix and protecting the sovereignty of the village is forgotten, as the Gauls begin fighting among themselves. There mere whiff of power awakens something inside them, a latent desire to be dictators themselves. The pure-hearted Obelix, on the other hand, turns down the offer. He’s more than happy chipping away at his ‘menhirs’.
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A still from Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight.
The Big Fight combines Uderzo’s instantly recognisable character design with brand spanking new animation. It takes a moment to train your mind to accept Asterix and his friends as 3D characters, but not too long. What’s most striking about this new series is the obvious attention to detail that Chabat and Joubert have paid to the visual language. The lighting is extraordinary, adding a dimension that was wholly missing from the comics — mainly because of the medium’s inherent constraints. The story is based only one book; it plays like a two-and-a-half-hour-long movie, and not an episodic show. While this might deter television purists, it’ll certainly appeal to Asterix enthusiasts.
There’s an opportunity here to adapt other books in the series, but you’d wonder if a four-year turnaround is a feasible production model. The obvious move would’ve been to make hour-long episodes based on individual books, like the Tintin series, but they clearly wanted to create something more expansive. As vibrant as the show is, it’s the flashback-centred first episode that delivers a charm-offensive so powerful that it might’ve gulped a glass of magic potion itself.
Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight
Directors – Alain Chabat, Fabrice Joubert
Cast – Alain Chabat, Gilles Lellouch, Laurent Lafitte
Rating – 4/5
