Touches You

Such a frustrating disappointment

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I have been a die-hard Asterix fan since childhood. However, Asterix's animated outings have been largely disappointing, and the live movies abysmal. This movie is the exception. Made by Goscinny and Uderzo's (Asterix's creators) ill-fated animation Studio (Studios Idefix) in 1976, the cartoon is a modern take on the Herculean tasks. Asterix and Obelix are required to successfully perform 12 tasks, upon which Caesar will surrender to them. Failure in one task means surrender, certain imprisonment, and probably death to the Gaulish villagers.This Asterix movie outshines all others in several aspects. Firstly, the animation (although dated) is lush and very true to the comic books; in fact it feels like Uderzo drew some scenes himself (I wouldn't be surprised if he did). Secondly, the screenplay by Goscinny drives the clever humour in the movie (and in the comic books, which have suffered greatly since his death in 1977). Thirdly, this movie caters to all ages. I've seen this film countless times as a child and as an adult, and it never grows old. The movie is brilliant in the way it presents tasks aimed at the universal child in people of all ages (ie. The race with Asbestos) and tasks aimed at adults (ie. The Isle of Pleasure and the Place that sends you Mad) without alienating children too young to understand the themes presented.I highly recommend this film. One of my favourite movies (not just animated). Very re-watchable. Highly enjoyable. Great humour. Great animation.

Most of the by now many Astérix adaptions are based on the comic albums, this film has its own script - maybe that's why it works better than the other ones. The story is much more fantastic and postmodern than usual and most of the gags center more on sight than on wordplay - which is a good thing for a movie. The comics are full of clever wit but that's hard to translate on screen. There's also much satire here; I especially liked the bureaucratic hellhouse. Some of the 12 labours are obviously better than others but that's OK too, the story is episodic enough anyway. The animation is just OK, a far cry from Disney or Miyazaki standards, but basically it does its job.

I've been laughing at "The Twelve Tasks of Asterix" for about 20 years now. Early on, I laughed hardest at the slapstick comedy segments. Now, I laugh hardest at the history-based jokes and sly sexual references. So you see, like all the best children's entertainment, this can be enjoyed on several different levels - some for the kiddies, some for the adults.(The slapstick comedy is still cool to my adult self, by the way. Nothing beats watching an unruly mob of Gaulish villagers tear through a phalanx of hapless Roman dudes...) The plot is very episodic, centering around the efforts of wily Asterix and oafish Obelix to perform twelve tasks and, if successful, become gods in the eyes of the Romans. Inevitably, some of the tasks are more interesting than others. The best one is set in the Place That Sends You Mad, a spot-on satire of bureaucracy and red tape. Probably the lamest task involves alligators and an invisible string, but even that's okay.The animators did an excellent job capturing the style of the Asterix comic books. Oddly enough, though, the quality of the drawing is variable. Sometimes the characters look quite rough and sketchy, and other times the lines are much cleaner. However, the task set in the Beast's cave is undeniably very well-animated and even a bit creepy.The ending is outrageous, and therefore brilliant. It brings the Asterix saga to a satisfying close (of course, the little guy's adventures continue in various formats). Speaking of the ending, pay especially close attention to Caius Tiddleus's cup when he's getting tickled by the priestess in the closing moments. It's a good, naughty sight gag.This movie was my first exposure to Asterix, and thus I have a soft spot for it. Sentiment aside, though, I do think it's easily the best of the Asterix films, and is only rivaled by the very best comic adventures. Hey, I honestly haven't got tired of it during these twenty-odd years of occasional viewing - that's about the best endorsement I can give a film!

This is the year 50 before JC. All the Gaul is occupied by the Romans. All the Gaul? No! A little village populated by some irreducibles Gallics resists again and always to the invader. This situation gets on Jules César's nerves who's starting to compare these Gallics as gods. To have proof of this, he sets them 12 works. Astérix and Obélix are chosen to take up the challenge... This animation film isn't an adaptation from one of Astérix' albums, it's an original screenplay that inspired from the Greek mythology with Hercule's works. The movie is a pleasant surprise because the animation is more careless than in Astérix' previous adaptations for the cinema, although it's a bit basic. Concerning these "works", of course they're fanciful and eccentric but they're irresistibe, varied, full of modern anachronisms (like the chips in the sixth work when Obélix must eat a pantagruelian meal). Besides, the anachronism is a common thing in Astérix' adventures.The best moments of the movie are the pantagruelian meal, the sequences of the hypnosis and the crazy flat. At the end, in spite of tiresome sequences, peculiar to Astérix's adaptations, I think about the (useless) battle against the Romans at the beginning, the movie is a happy entertainment and the best animation film with Astérix.