Latest news with #AsterixandtheBigFight
Japan Today
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Asterix, Obelix and Netflix: U.S. streamer embraces Gallic heroes
By Aurélie CARABIN and Adam PLOWRIGHT France's beloved comic book heroes Asterix and Obelix are set for their latest incarnation in a Netflix mini-series being released Wednesday, hoping to win over new fans, notably in the United States and Asia. The plucky Gallic rebels, created by illustrator Albert Uderzo and writer Rene Goscinny in 1959, have a vast following thanks to the original comic books that have sold around 400 million copies. A series of big-budget French films -- the latest in 2023 took them to China in "Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom" -- has also helped expand their reach. But warrior Asterix and his powerful but dim-witted sidekick Obelix are yet to conquer viewers in the United States and Britain, which have their own comic book and animated hero characters from Marvel, Disney and other stables. "Often unfortunately in these markets the Asterix films tend to be released in arthouse cinemas," said Celeste Surugue, head of the Editions Albert Rene publishing company that owns the rights to the original comics. Although the tales of Roman-era adventure have a following in Australia and New Zealand, Asia also remains a global weak spot for the potion-swigging Gallic underdogs. "The strength of a streaming platform is that access to viewers isn't limited by distribution," Surugue said. Netflix is set to release the new five-part animated mini-series based on the 1966 book "Asterix and the Big Fight" in 190 countries, with 38 different language versions including Mandarin, Korean and Arabic. It is directed by Alain Chabat, 23 years after his success with the "Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra" film starring Gerard Depardieu and Monica Bellucci, which remains one of the best-selling films in France of all time. Netflix has past form with Asterix, having experimented with streaming rights for "The Middle Kingdom" film in 2023, which featured French A-listers Marion Cotillard and Vincent Cassel but suffered from generally poor reviews. The platform has also helped bring other French productions to a global audience, overcoming the traditional aversion of English speakers to subtitles with hit shows such as "Lupin" and "Call My Agent". While creating the dubbing for the new Asterix series, it was able to rely on the 120 different translations of the original French comics as well as the foreign-language versions of the previous films. "They've done a great job," Surugue said. "Asterix and the Big Fight" is set in the year 50 BC with Asterix and Obelix's indomitable village still the last Gallic holdout against Roman occupation. The duo oversee the resistance, including a fight between their chief Vitalstatistix and a local Roman-backed rival, while struggling with the loss of the recipe for the magic potion that gives the villagers their super-human strength. "I always liked 'The Big Fight' for the dynamic with the Gallo-Romans. Here, there are truly invaders, resistance fighters and collaborators," director Chabat told reporters in March. The 41st Asterix album, "Asterix in Lusitania", will be released in October in 18 languages and is set in Portugal. © 2025 AFP
France 24
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Asterix, Obelix and Netflix: US streamer embraces Gallic heroes
The plucky Gallic rebels, created by illustrator Albert Uderzo and writer Rene Goscinny in 1959, have a vast following thanks to the original comic books that have sold around 400 million copies. A series of big-budget French films -- the latest in 2023 took them to China in "Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom" -- has also helped expand their reach. But warrior Asterix and his powerful but dim-witted sidekick Obelix are yet to conquer viewers in the United States and Britain, which have their own comic book and animated hero characters from Marvel, Disney and other stables. "Often unfortunately in these markets the Asterix films tend to be released in arthouse cinemas," said Celeste Surugue, head of the Editions Albert Rene publishing company that owns the rights to the original comics. Although the tales of Roman-era adventure have a following in Australia and New Zealand, Asia also remains a global weak spot for the potion-swigging Gallic underdogs. "The strength of a streaming platform is that access to viewers isn't limited by distribution," Surugue said. Netflix is set to release the new five-part animated mini-series based on the 1966 book "Asterix and the Big Fight" in 190 countries, with 38 different language versions including Mandarin, Korean and Arabic. It is directed by Alain Chabat, 23 years after his success with the "Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra" film starring Gerard Depardieu and Monica Bellucci, which remains one of the best-selling films in France of all time. 'Great job' Netflix has past form with Asterix, having experimented with streaming rights for "The Middle Kingdom" film in 2023, which featured French A-listers Marion Cotillard and Vincent Cassel but suffered from generally poor reviews. The platform has also helped bring other French productions to a global audience, overcoming the traditional aversion of English speakers to subtitles with hit shows such as "Lupin" and "Call My Agent". While creating the dubbing for the new Asterix series, it was able to rely on the 120 different translations of the original French comics as well as the foreign-language versions of the previous films. "They've done a great job," Surugue said. "Asterix and the Big Fight" is set in the year 50 BC with Asterix and Obelix's indomitable village still the last Gallic holdout against Roman occupation. The duo oversee the resistance, including a fight between their chief Vitalstatistix and a local Roman-backed rival, while struggling with the loss of the recipe for the magic potion that gives the villagers their super-human strength. "I always liked 'The Big Fight' for the dynamic with the Gallo-Romans. Here, there are truly invaders, resistance fighters and collaborators," director Chabat told reporters in March. The 41st Asterix album, "Asterix in Lusitania", will be released in October in 18 languages and is set in Portugal.
Int'l Business Times
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Int'l Business Times
Asterix, Obelix And Netflix: US Streamer Embraces Gallic Heroes
France's beloved comic book heroes Asterix and Obelix are set for their latest incarnation in a Netflix mini-series being released Wednesday, hoping to win over new fans, notably in the United States and Asia. The plucky Gallic rebels, created by illustrator Albert Uderzo and writer Rene Goscinny in 1959, have a vast following thanks to the original comic books that have sold around 400 million copies. A series of big-budget French films -- the latest in 2023 took them to China in "Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom" -- has also helped expand their reach. But warrior Asterix and his powerful but dim-witted sidekick Obelix are yet to conquer viewers in the United States and Britain, which have their own comic book and animated hero characters from Marvel, Disney and other stables. "Often unfortunately in these markets the Asterix films tend to be released in arthouse cinemas," said Celeste Surugue, head of the Editions Albert Rene publishing company that owns the rights to the original comics. Although the tales of Roman-era adventure have a following in Australia and New Zealand, Asia also remains a global weak spot for the potion-swigging Gallic underdogs. "The strength of a streaming platform is that access to viewers isn't limited by distribution," Surugue said. Netflix is set to release the new five-part animated mini-series based on the 1966 book "Asterix and the Big Fight" in 190 countries, with 38 different language versions including Mandarin, Korean and Arabic. It is directed by Alain Chabat, 23 years after his success with the "Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra" film starring Gerard Depardieu and Monica Bellucci, which remains one of the best-selling films in France of all time. Netflix has past form with Asterix, having experimented with streaming rights for "The Middle Kingdom" film in 2023, which featured French A-listers Marion Cotillard and Vincent Cassel but suffered from generally poor reviews. The platform has also helped bring other French productions to a global audience, overcoming the traditional aversion of English speakers to subtitles with hit shows such as "Lupin" and "Call My Agent". While creating the dubbing for the new Asterix series, it was able to rely on the 120 different translations of the original French comics as well as the foreign-language versions of the previous films. "They've done a great job," Surugue said. "Asterix and the Big Fight" is set in the year 50 BC with Asterix and Obelix's indomitable village still the last Gallic holdout against Roman occupation. The duo oversee the resistance, including a fight between their chief Vitalstatistix and a local Roman-backed rival, while struggling with the loss of the recipe for the magic potion that gives the villagers their super-human strength. "I always liked 'The Big Fight' for the dynamic with the Gallo-Romans. Here, there are truly invaders, resistance fighters and collaborators," director Chabat told reporters in March. The 41st Asterix album, "Asterix in Lusitania", will be released in October in 18 languages and is set in Portugal. Netflix has past form with the French comic book heroes AFP
Local France
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
French director unveils Astérix series to stream on Netflix
The series is based on the 1961 comic book Astérix et Obélix: Le Combat des chefs (which appeared in English as Asterix and the Big Fight), the seventh in the series illustrated by Albert Uderzo and written by René Goscinny about the pugnacious warrior Astérix and his menhir deliveryman sidekick Obélix. There are five episodes of about 20 minutes each, with three being shown to an appreciative audience at the festival before they go live on the streaming site April 30th. After a flashback to the heroes' childhood where viewers discover how Obélix fell into the magic potion, the action returns to 50BC, where the last independent village in Roman-occupied Gaul finds itself under siege. Advertisement The village druid Getafix has lost his mind, and the recipe for the potion, after Obélix accidentally crushes him with a menhir. The Romans stir up trouble between rival Gaulish tribes, and Chief Vitalstatistix must defeat his counterpart from a Gallo-Roman village, Ceramix, or risk falling under Caesar's yoke. "I always liked 'The Big Fight' for the dynamic with the Gallo-Romans. Here, there are truly invaders, resistance fighters, and collaborators," said Chabat, who used his own voice to dub Astérix. Actor Gilles Lellouche is the voice of Obélix, whom he played in the live action movie Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, which sold 4.6 million tickets in 2023. But Chabat's 2002 Cleopatra movie remains by far the most successful adaptation of the Astérix comic books, with close to 15 million entries in France, making it the eighth most successful film in France, and the fourth for a French production. Chabot's initial plan was to make a full-length animated movie but as production started he decided to turn it into a series, which gave him greater leeway to introduce new characters. Some 400 million copies of Astérix books have been sold in 130 languages and dialects, with Ukrainian being added to the list earlier this year, and a 41st album is due in October.
Khaleej Times
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Asterix returns: New 3D animated series coming to Netflix
More than 20 years after his success with Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, French director Alain Chabat has again teamed up with the plucky Gauls for a 3D animated series that was presented on Sunday at a festival in Lille before it runs on Netflix. The series is based on the 1961 comic book Asterix and the Big Fight, the seventh in the series illustrated by Albert Uderzo and written by Rene Goscinny about the pugnacious warrior Asterix and his menhir deliveryman sidekick Obelix. There are five episodes of about 20 minutes each, with three being shown to an appreciative audience at the festival before they go live on the streaming site April 30. After a flashback to the heroes' childhood where viewers discover how Obelix fell into the magic potion, the action returns to 50 BC, where the last independent village in Roman-occupied Gaul finds itself under siege. The village druid Getafix has lost his mind, and the recipe for the potion, after Obelix accidentally crushes him with a menhir. The Romans stir up trouble between rival Gaulish tribes, and Chief Vitalstatistix must defeat his counterpart from a Gallo-Roman village, Ceramix, or risk falling under Caesar's yoke. "I always liked 'The Big Fight' for the dynamic with the Gallo-Romans. Here, there are truly invaders, resistance fighters, and collaborators," said Chabat, who used his own voice to dub Asterix. Actor Gilles Lellouche is the voice of Obelix, whom he played in the live action movie Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, which sold 4.6 million tickets in 2023. But Chabat's 2002 Cleopatra movie remains by far the most successful adaptation of the Asterix comic books, with close to 15 million entries in France, making it the eighth most successful film in France, and the fourth for a French production. Chabot's initial plan was to make a full-length animated movie but as production started he decided to turn it into a series, which gave him greater leeway to introduce new characters. Some 400 million copies of Asterix books have been sold in 130 languages and dialects, and a 41st album is due in October.
