Astérix et le coup du menhir (1989)

The druid is accidentally hit by a menhir thrown by Obelix and loses his mind and memory.

Director:

Philippe Grimond

Writers:

René Goscinny (comic), Albert Uderzo (comic)

Stars:

Roger Carel, Pierre Tornade, Henri Labussière

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roger Carel	...	Astérix (voice)
Pierre Tornade	...	Obélix (voice)
Henri Labussière	...	Panoramix, le druide (voice)
Julien Guiomar	...	Le devin Prolix (voice)
Henri Poirier	...	Abraracourcix - Le chef du village (voice)
Marie-Anne Chazel	...	Bonnemine (voice)
Roger Lumont	...	Le centurion (voice)
Patrick Préjean	...	Optione (voice)
Edgar Givry	...	Assurancetourix (voice)
Jean-Jacques Cramier	...	Assurancetourix (singing voice)
Yves Barsacq	...	Ordralfabétix (voice)
Gérard Croce	...	Décurion (voice)
Jean Francois Aupied	...	(voice) (as Jean-François Aupied)
Christine Aurel	...	(voice)
Paul Bisciglia	...	Agecanonix (voice)

Storyline

When the druid Panoramix is attacked by some roman soldiers, Obelix drives them away by throwing a menhir on them - which accidentally hits Panoramix. After this the druid has lost his memory and can not remember the formula of his magic potions, especially the one which gives superhuman strength.

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Plot Keywords:

gaul | fat man | insanity | julius caesar | roman empire | 

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Taglines:

The Gauls without the magic potion?! By Toutatis!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

France West Germany

Language:

French German

Release Date:

10 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Asteriks i velika bitka

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dargaud Films,Extrafilm,Gaumont International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite the film's title, only a minor section of "Asterix and the Big Fight" features in the plot (specifically, Getafix's amnesia).

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Quotes

Obelix: [from the American dub, after a legionary has been blown up like a balloon by an experimental potion] I thought the Romans were going to cut down on inflation.
Asterix: Promises, promises.

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Alternate Versions

As a bonus feature for the German DVD release, each Asterix film was given a new dubbing in a German dialect. This film was dubbed in Kölsch (dialect spoken in Cologne).

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Connections

Followed by Astérix: Le secret de la potion magique (2018)

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Soundtracks

Zonked
(title song)
Written by Michel Colombier and Kathleen Wakefield

User Reviews

They should have stuck to the original plot

I bought Asterix and the Big Fight expecting it to be a big screen recreation of one of my favourite Asterix books. I was sorely disappointed. To begin with, the plot was entirely different, and inferior, to the book of the same title. Bizarrely, it seemed to boast a glaring omission, namely a significant enough big fight to warrant the title. Also, the character of a soothsayer was added and many others dropped. On the subject of characters, for some reason the names of all but Asterix and Obelix had been changed from their usual English translations. Getafix became Vitamix, Vitalstatistix became Chief Bombastix! All very confusing. The voice characterization was way off the mark. Obelix, for one thing, should always be portrayed as a deep voiced dummy, but here it sounds more like he should be hanging in the 'hood! All in all, this film lacks the appeal of the Twelve Tasks of Asterix film, or the Asterix and Cleopatra film and an attempt at a musical number, a gimmick which worked well in the latter film, goes sourly wrong, with poor writing and the Gauls singing in voices drowned out by the music. I advice you not to buy Asterix and the Big Fight. From the patronising opening scene in which Asterix explains the term 'Gaul' to Obelix, it is clear that you are in for a tedious hour long slog.