Asterix the Gaul (film)
| Astérix le Gaulois | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Ray Goossens |
| Produced by | Georges Dargaud |
| Written by |
René Goscinny Albert Uderzo |
| Screenplay by | Willy Lateste Jos Marissen László Molnár |
| Starring | Paul Angelis (US English) |
| Narrated by | John Clive (US English) |
| Music by | Gérard Calvi |
| Cinematography | Francois Léonard Georges Lapeyronnie Étienne Schürmann |
| Edited by | Francois Ceppi Jacques Marchel Laszlo Molnar |
|
Production
company |
Dargaud Films
|
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (1968 U.S.) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
68 minutes |
| Country | France Belgium |
| Language | French |
Asterix the Gaul is a 1967 Belgian/French animated film, based on the comic book of the same name, which was the first book in the highly popular comic series Asterix by Goscinny and Uderzo. The film sticks to the book's plot very closely.
It was originally planned to be aired on French television, but instead it was released as a theatrical feature film. It was produced by Dargaud, publisher of Asterix comics, without the involvement of Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny. Goscinny and Uderzo weren't completely happy with the film, and they ensured they would take part in subsequent cartoon adaptations, such as the sequels Asterix and the Golden Sickle and Asterix and Cleopatra.
After a brief introduction to the principal characters, the film follows Asterix as he encounters a group of Roman legionaries in the forest. Despite being significantly outnumbered, Asterix leaves the Romans beaten and bruised for daring to interrupt his wild boar hunt. Their state upon their return to camp prompts the leader Phonus Balonus to seek the secret behind the Gauls' seemingly superhuman strength. Phonus selects a volunteer (by means of a single round of musical chairs) to pose as a Gaul in order to infiltrate the village; the unlucky loser is a short, slack-tongued misfit named Caligula Minus. He is dressed in a wig, false moustache and traditional Gaulish dress and led in chains through the forest as a prisoner, awaiting rescue by the Gauls. Sure enough, Asterix and Obelix free Minus and believe his flimsy cover story that he is a Gaul from Belgium.
...
Wikipedia