Asterix and Cleopatra (film)

This article is about the 1968 animated film. For the 2002 live-action film, see Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra.

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1968 French film

Asterix and Cleopatra

Original release poster

Astérix et Cléopâtre
Directed by| René Goscinny
Albert Uderzo
Screenplay by| Eddie Lateste
Jos Marissen
Pierre Tchernia
Based on| Asterix and Cleopatra
by René Goscinny
Albert Uderzo
Produced by| Raymond Leblanc
Starring| Roger Carel
Jacques Morel
Micheline Dax
Pierre Tornade
Lucien Raimbourg
Narrated by| Bernard Lavalette
Cinematography| Georges Lapeyronnie
Francois Léonard
Jean Midre
Edited by| Jacques Marchel
László Molnár
Music by| Gérard Calvi

Production
companies

* Dargaud Films
* Belvision

Distributed by| Pathé
La Société des Films Sirius
Gaumont Distribution

Release dates

* 19 December 1968 (1968-12-19) (France)[1]
* 21 December 1968 (1968-12-21) (Belgium)
* 1 January 1970 (1970-01-01) (United Kingdom)

Running time

| 72 minutes
Countries| France
Belgium
Language| French

Asterix and Cleopatra (French: Astérix et Cléopâtre) is a 1968 Belgian–French animated comedy film; it is the second Asterix adventure to be made into a feature film. Overseen by Asterix creators Goscinny and Uderzo (who had no involvement in the production of the first film, Asterix the Gaul and in their director debuts), the film is noticeably more well-produced than its predecessor, featuring far more detailed animation and a more polished soundtrack.

Asterix and Cleopatra is practically a musical, featuring three individual song sequences and a more varied score than the earlier film. Elements of satire and surreal humour (such as Cleopatra's singing lion and the engraving of Santa Claus on the pyramid wall) are prominent throughout.

## Plot

[edit]

After a heated argument with Julius Caesar over his lack of faith in the Egyptian people, Queen Cleopatra enters into a bet claiming that she can have a magnificent palace constructed for him in Alexandria within three months. She gives this enormous task to her best architect Numerobis (despite his shortcomings), informing him that he will be covered with gold if he succeeds or thrown to the crocodiles if he fails. Daunted and distraught, believing the task to be insurmountable without some sort of magic, Numerobis travels to Gaul to seek help from the famous druid Panoramix.

Panoramix agrees to return to Egypt with Numerobis, while Asterix and Obelix insist on accompanying them. Obelix further insists that Idefix be allowed to join the voyage and smuggles him along despite objections from Asterix. En route to Egypt, Numerobis' ship is met by a gang of pirates. Poetic justice rules the day as the pirate ship is boarded by Asterix and Obelix, who scuttle it after a largely one-sided fight. Upon reaching Egypt, it becomes clear that Numerobis is not a particularly gifted architect; in Cleopatra's words his buildings are "the laughing stock of those who don't live in them". His scheming rival Amonbofis proposes that they collaborate in order to build Caesar's palace on time and divide the reward between them; the catch being that Numerobis alone be thrown to the crocodiles should they fail. Numerobis refuses and Amonbofis swears vengeance, angered further by the injuries he sustains while negotiating Numerobis' house (which later collapses altogether).

Amonbofis raises tensions amongst the construction workers by convincing them that they are being exploited by Numerobis and encourages them to strike. To win them over and enhance their productivity, Panoramix gives the workers his magic potion which enables them to continue effortlessly with the construction of the palace. Panoramix refuses to give any to Obelix, much to his disgruntlement. Building progress becomes so rapid that the labourers exhaust their supplies of stone; Amonbofis has bribed the supplier to dump the subsequent shipment into the Nile and the Gauls are forced to escort a fleet of ships to fetch more. Sightseeing en route, the trio visit the Pyramids at Giza. In his attempt to scale the Sphinx, Obelix provides an outlandish hypothesis as to how the monument came to be without a nose. The Gauls are intercepted by Amonbofis' sidekick Krukhut, who poses as a guide with the intention of getting the Gauls lost during a tour of the Great Pyramid. Trapped deep within the pyramid, Panoramix gives Obelix his first taste of magic potion, presumably to give him the strength to break them out. The Gauls fail to negotiate the maze, but eventually escape after being heroically tracked by Idefix. Undeterred, Amonbofis and Krukhut make a further attempt to prevent the stone reaching its destination by hiring the same gang of pirates seen earlier in the film to attack the fleet on its return to Alexandria. A short second encounter with the pirates alleviates Obelix's boredom, despite their cowardly attempt at retreat. In a final effort to stop the three Gauls, Amonbofis frames them for an attempt to poison Cleopatra with the gift of a cake made from such ingredients as arsenic, strychnine and vitriol. Asterix, Obelix and Panoramix are thrown into the dungeon after the Queen's taster becomes ill from eating the cake. Panoramix carries an antidote that enables them to eat the remainder of the cake (giving the impression that it was in fact harmless) as well as curing the taster after claiming he has indigestion. The Gauls are pardoned and catch Amonbofis and Krukhut despite their attempt to hide inside Sarcophogi; their punishment is to work for Numerobis as labourers.

Cleopatra gloats over the likelihood of winning her bet to Caesar, who fears he will lose face with her should she get the better of him and instructs his spy to infiltrate the building site. Learning that the Gauls and their magic potion are involved, Caesar orders his three mercenaries, brothers, to kidnap Panoramix and knock over the cauldron for which they will receive a bag of gold. However, the oldest brother tells the other two to capture Panoramix while he knocks over the potion. While they tie up and gag Panoramix the mercenary drinks the potion and knocks over the cauldron, before overpowering his brothers and taking Panoramix to Caesar. The two mercenaries are caught by Asterix and Obelix, who learn of what has happened to Panoramix. The Mercenary returns to Caesar and is given the gold while Panoramix is imprisoned. However, he is then caught by Asterix and Obelix who learn where Panoramix is. The Mercenary is thrown away and his brothers take him away to have 'a word' with him. Asterix and Obelix promptly free Panoramix. In desperation, Caesar holds the construction site under siege and bombards the unfinished palace with boulders. Cleopatra intervenes after Asterix brings a message to her, forcing Caesar to lift the siege and despite the damage, the palace is completed on schedule. Numerobis is honoured and the Gauls are escorted home aboard Cleopatra's luxury ship, much to the displeasure of the sacred crocodiles.

## Cast

[edit]

Character  | Original Dub  | English Dub[2]

|
|

Original Dub  | English Dub
Astérix  | Asterix  | Roger Carel | Lee Payant[2]
Idéfix  | Dogmatix  | Roger Carel
L'espion de César  | Caesar's Spy  | Roger Carel  | George Keros
Obélix  | Obelix  | Jacques Morel | Hal Brav[2]
Panoramix  | Getafix  | Lucien Raimbourg | John Primm[2]
Jules César  | Julius Caesar  | Jean Parédès | Anthony Stuart[2]
Numérobis  | Edifis  | Pierre Tornade | George Birt[2]
Abraracourcix  | Vitalstatistix  | Yves Brainville[2]
Un mercenaire #1  | Mercenary #1  | Lyle Joyce
Le capitaine des pirates  | Pirate Captain  | Pierre Trabaud | Arch Taylor[2]
Le centurion Chorus  | Centurion Operachorus  | Edward Marcus[2]
Le capitaine égyptien  | Egyptian captain  | Alexandre Klimenko
Cléopâtre  | Cleopatra  | Micheline Dax | Ginger Hall[2]
Tournevis  | Krukhut  | Jacques Balutin | Alexandre Klimenko
Amonbofis  | Artifis  | Bernard Lavalette | Jean Fontaine
Le narrateur  | Narrator  | John Clive (uncredited)
Le lion  | Lion  | Jacques Bodoin
Assurancetourix  | Cacofonix  | Jacques Jouanneau | François Valorbe
Le commentateur  | Commentator  | René Goscinny (uncredited)  | Michael Brown
Le perroquet  | Parrot  | Gérard Darrieu | Paula D'Alba
La vigie des pirates  | Pirate Lookout  | Roger Carel  | Mezz Mezzrow
Un mercenaire #2  | Mercenary #2  | Rodolphe Marcilly  | Colin Drake
Un mercenaire #3  | Mercenary #3  | Claude Dasset  | Steve Waring
Le goûteur  | Taster  | Jacques Morel  | John Rounds
Dromadaire  | Dromedary  | Eddy Rasimi  | Derry Hall
Le chef du transport de pierres  | Quarry Supervisor  | Pierre Trabaud
Travailleur apathique  | Listless Worker  | Joël Noël  | Bruce Johansen
Crieur dans la salle de bain #1  | Crier in Bathroom #1  | Pierre Garin  | Patrick O'Hara
Crieur dans la salle de bain #2  | Crier in Bathroom #2  | Alfred Personne  | Lyle Joyce
Serviteur de César  | Servant of Caesar  | Olivier Hussenot | James Shuman
Tuteur  | Guardian  | Maurice Chevit

## Reception

[edit]

In the United Kingdom, the film was watched by 600,000 viewers on television in 2004, making it the year's second most-watched European-language film on television.[3]

## See also

[edit]

* Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra \- A live action adaptation starring Gerard Depardieu, Monica Bellucci, and Christian Clavier
* Gabiniani \- Germanic and Gaulish soldiers in Ptolemaic Egypt during the reigns of Cleopatra VII and her father Ptolemy XII Auletes

## References

[edit]

1. ^ imdb
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The Asterix and Cleopatra Cast". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
3. ^ "UK Film Council Statistical Yearbook: Annual Review 2004/05" (PDF). UK Film Council. p. 74. Retrieved 21 April 2022 - via British Film Institute.

## External links

[edit]

* AsterixNZ entry
* Asterix and Cleopatra at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Asterix

Comic books|

| Goscinny and Uderzo|

* Asterix the Gaul
* The Golden Sickle
* The Goths
* The Gladiator
* The Banquet
* Cleopatra
* The Big Fight
* In Britain
* The Normans
* The Legionary
* The Chieftain's Shield
* Olympic Games
* The Cauldron
* In Spain
* The Roman Agent
* In Switzerland
* The Mansions of the Gods
* The Laurel Wreath
* The Soothsayer
* In Corsica
* Caesar's Gift
* The Great Crossing
* Obelix and Co.
* In Belgium

|

Uderzo alone|

* The Great Divide
* The Black Gold
* Asterix and Son
* The Magic Carpet
* The Secret Weapon
* Asterix and Obelix All at Sea
* The Actress
* The Falling Sky

Ferri and Conrad|

* The Picts
* The Missing Scroll
* The Chariot Race
* The Chieftain's Daughter
* The Griffin

Fabcaro and Conrad|

* The White Iris
* in Lusitania

Other books|

* Asterix Conquers Rome
* The Class Act
* Asterix and Obelix's Birthday: The Golden Book
* Astérix et ses Amis
* How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When He Was a Little Boy

Films|

| Animated|

* Asterix the Gaul (1967)
* Asterix and Cleopatra (1968)
* The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976)
* Asterix Versus Caesar (1985)
* Asterix in Britain (1986)
* Asterix and the Big Fight (1989)
* Asterix Conquers America (1994)
* Asterix and the Vikings (2006)
* The Mansions of the Gods (2014)
* The Secret of the Magic Potion (2018)

|

Live-action|

* Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999)
* Mission Cleopatra (2002)
* Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008)
* God Save Britannia (2012)
* The Middle Kingdom (2023)

Television|

Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight (2025)

Video games|

* Asterix (1983)
* Obelix (1984)
* Asterix and the Magic Cauldron (1986)
* Asterix and the Magic Carpet
* Asterix (1992, Master System)
* Asterix (1992, arcade)
* Asterix (1993)
* The Great Rescue
* The Power of the Gods
* Asterix & Obelix
* Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar
* Mega Madness
* Asterix & Obelix XXL
* XXL 2: Mission: Las Vegum
* XXL 2: Mission: Wifix
* Asterix at the Olympic Games
* XXL 3: The Crystal Menhir

Characters|

* Asterix
* Obelix
* Dogmatix

Related articles|

* Parc Astérix
* English translations of Asterix
* Asterix Omnibus (book collection)
* Oumpah-pah le Peau-Rouge

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