Asterix in America (1994)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Gerhard Hahn

Writers:

René Goscinny (comic book "La grande traversée") and
Albert Uderzo (comic book "La grande traversée") ...

Release Date:

23 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | History

Tagline:

Danger lurks on foreign shores!

Plot:

Caesar has had enough when another legion is hacked to pieces by the damned single indomitable village in Gaul because of the druid's magic potion...

Plot Keywords:

Asterix | Indians | Earth | Medicine Man | New World

Cast

Harald Juhnke	...	Narrator (voice: German version)
Peer Augustinski	...	Asterix (voice: German version)
Ottfried Fischer	...	Obelix (voice: German version)
Ralf Wolter	...	Miraculix (voice: German version)
Jochen Busse	...	Troubadix (voice: German version)
Jürgen Scheller	...	Majestix (voice: German version)
Kristiane Backer	...	Ha-Tschi (voice: German version)
Tommi Piper	...	Medicine man (voice: German version)
Michael Habeck	...	Lucullus (voice: German version)
John Rye	...	Narrator (voice)
Craig Charles	...	Asterix (voice)
Howard Lew Lewis	...	Obelix (voice)
Henry McGee	...	Caesar (voice)
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Getafix (voice)
Christopher Biggins	...	Lucullus (voice)

Also Known As:

Astérix et les indiens (France)
Asterix Conquers America (UK)
Asterix erobert Amerika
Asterix in Amerika (Germany) (video box title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

Germany | France

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Iceland:L | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Company:

Extrafilm

Movie Connections:

Follows Les douze travaux d'Astérix (1976)

Soundtrack:

Say Goodbye

Good animation but has no wit or character of the books

Knowing that the Druid Getafix is only one of the mighty Gauls capable of brewing the magic potion, the Romans plan to kidnap him and throw him over the edge of the world (the world, of course being flat). The Romans carry out their plan but are pursued by Asterix and Obelix. However when the edge of the world comes Asterix and Obelix don't find death – they find America and must search for Getafix before their village runs low on potion and is overrun.

In terms of story, this film takes one of the weak Asterix books and deviates from it – big mistake! The Asterix books are generally so good that to try and improve or change them for film is a bad move. The story is OK for kids though – even faithful it's pretty simple – however what it loses is the wit of the books. There are a few good lines early on, but most of this is slapstick that doesn't please anyone but young kids.

The animation is great compared to other Asterix films – this uses some nice visual tricks, the best being the opening shot of the globe that turns out to be flat and only Europe! The voices are also pretty good – Craig Charles is a pretty good Asterix once you get used to his scouse accent. Howard Lewis is not a great Obelix – but at least he isn't playing him like a fool. However Christopher Biggins is poor and the support characters are weak. Surprisingly for a mid-90's film, this is full of racist stereotypes – from rubber lipped blacks, to `ging-gang-gooley' speaking Indians.

The poor characterization also infects the main characters – for example the relationship between Asterix and Obelix is usually affectionate but here they bicker all the time and don't come across as friends.

Overall this film gets the animation just right and the voices are pretty good. It's just a real shame that the film then gets the characters, the story and the comedy very wrong. Still, it's good enough for kids.