By Toutatis, Alain Chabat is back at the helm of an Asterix & Obelix project, and it's not too soon. 23 years after Mission Cleopatra, the comedian and filmmaker is tackling the world of Uderzo and Goscinny for a second time, but from a new angle this time: animation. It must be said that after the Gauls' last excursions into live action, a return to their roots was more than necessary. And since it's in the oldest cauldrons that the best magic potion is made, the new series doesn't hesitate to play it retro... But not too much.
After two 3D animated feature films, the Gauls are continuing on this more modern artistic path but haven't forgotten where they come from. Chabat's new adaptation is both fresh and commemorative, thanks to a contemporary yet respectful approach to large volumes of the original comic strip. For while the series borrows its title from the 1966 album Le Combat des Chefs, the episodes do not hesitate to incorporate plot elements borrowed from other appearances of the characters. The result is a perfect compilation of all that is best about Asterix: comedy, action, and emotion.
The Mission Cleopatra of this generation
If the 2002 feature film is still etched in the minds of French viewers today, it is because Alain Chabat is a master of timeless humor. The jokes of the time are still as effective as ever and show very few signs of age: a feat that can hardly be attributed to the vast majority of French (and international) comedies. And it's this same talent that makes Asterix & Obelix: The Battle of the Chiefs so strong, despite the years separating these two works. Chabat has lost none of his brilliance, because his writing has always known how to make us laugh at everything, with everyone. Rumor has it that we “can’t laugh at anything anymore,” but the source of the problem lies elsewhere.
Humor doesn’t have to be acerbic to be effective: it’s all a question of writing and timing, two notions that Alain Chabat masters to perfection. And it's by combining his unique style with comedy and contemporary references that the comedian manages to surpass himself. The punchlines come one after the other without ever giving us time to catch our breath, and all generations are taken to task with jokes perfectly tailored to resonate with a wide audience. Yes, Asterix and Obelix: The Battle of the Chiefs is as funny as Mission Cleopatra, and its lines will soon become just as cult: enough to become the reference for a new generation.
A dubbing that gives you energy, like the magic potion
And what would a Chabat script be without actors ready to let loose to make us laugh. The almost constant comedy that the creator imposes requires a responsiveness and an acting talent that is not given to everyone. This is a lively humor, which must be slipped into the lines in a natural way: enough to amplify the absurdity of the remarks for an ever more hilarious effect. And it goes without saying that the casting here is flawless. Asterix and Obelix have never seemed so human as with the interpretation given to us by Alain Chabat and Gilles Lelouche. And that is what makes this series a work in its own right: humanity. No one speaks like a cartoon character, with exaggerated pronunciation and nasal intonations. The characters seem as human as you and me, sometimes funny, sometimes silly, but always endearing.
The repeated laughs can't be attributed solely to Chabat's writing: the acting is of a level rarely seen on the small (or even big) screen. Whether it's the performance of Thierry L'Hermite as Panoramix, Laurent Lafitte as Julius Caesar, or Anaïs Demoustier as Metadata, the characters in an animated film have rarely seemed so alive and sincere.
It's all in the details
And unsurprisingly, the visuals of Asterix & Obelix: The Battle of the Chiefs also deserve praise. Despite some occasionally dated effects (the smoke and water particles) or some slightly forced inspiration (the magic potion and its Spiderverse-style lighting), the series' charm operates without a hitch. The universe imagined by Uderzo and Goscinny has never been so colorful and lively as in this adaptation, which doesn't hesitate to play with modern techniques to break the boundary between animation and comics. Onomatopoeia and other speech bubbles appear naturally in certain shots, without ever distracting us from the action unfolding before our eyes.
While some jokes are already difficult to understand or even hear during a first viewing, other references also come to hide in the sets and in the characters' expressions: enough to offer us a real Easter egg hunt. Asterix & Obelix: The Battle of the Chiefs is the kind of program that we will enjoy watching again and again, again and again, alongside friends or family members, because it has never been so simple and natural to laugh together in front of the TV.
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