| Asterix and Cleopatra (Astérix et Cléopâtre) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | 1969 |
| Series | Asterix |
| Creative team | |
| Writers | René Goscinny |
| Artists | Albert Uderzo |
| Original publication | |
| Date of publication | 1965 |
| Language | French |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Asterix and the Banquet |
| Followed by | Asterix and the Big Fight |
Asterix and Cleopatra is the sixth book in the Asterix album series by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. [1] It was first published in serial form in Pilote magazine, issues 215–257, in 1963. [2]
The book begins with an argument between Cleopatra Queen of Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, and Julius Caesar. As a triumphant invader, Caesar belittles the Egyptian people and suggests that Egypt, as a realm, is past its best. Infuriated, Cleopatra makes a wager with Caesar promising to build a new palace in Alexandria within three months. Cleopatra summons Edifis, who claims to be the best architect in Egypt. She promises Edifis that if he builds the palace on time he will be covered with gold; if he fails, he will be a meal for the sacred crocodiles.
Edifis responds to this assignment by enlisting the help of the Gauls, Asterix, Obelix, Getafix, and Dogmatix. Thanks to Getafix and his magic potion, the work goes forward on schedule, despite multiple attempts by Edifis's arch rival, Artifis, to sabotage the construction after Edifis says he doesn't want his help, claiming Artifis works people too hard. Artifis tells the workers to demand less whipping, which would slow construction. However Getafix gives the workers magic potion. Artifis bribes the stone-delivery man to throw his load away, before Obelix beats him up, causing him to reveal the truth, a henchman tries to lock the Gauls inside a pyramid, but Dogmatix helps them find their way out. He subsequently tries to frame the Gauls by sending a poisoned cake to Cleopatra, but Getafix makes an antidote enabling the Gauls to eat it, then cures the taster and claims eating too much rich food was giving him a bad stomach. Edifis is kidnapped and hidden in a sarcophagus in the house of Artifis, but Obelix frees him. Artifis and his henchman are forced to work on the palace, but without magic potion.
Just before the palace is due to be completed, Caesar intervenes by sending legions to try to arrest the Gauls, after he realises the three Gauls are in Egypt when a spy disguises himself as a worker, and sees the effects of the magic potion. The Gauls fight off the Roman soldiers, but the commanding officer proceeds to shell the building with his catapults. In desperation, Asterix and Dogmatix deliver the news to Cleopatra. A furious Cleopatra then hurries to the construction site to berate Caesar. Caesar's legions are ordered to fix the damage they caused (without any magic potion to help them) and the palace is successfully completed on time. Cleopatra wins her bet and covers Edifis with gold. Edifis and Artifis reconcile and agree to build pyramids together, and Cleopatra gives Getafix some papyrus manuscripts from the Library of Alexandria as a gift. The Gauls return, but Vitalstatistix criticises Obelix trying to give an Egyptian style point to menhirs.
 |
Asterix and Cleopatra has been adapted for film twice: first as an animated 1968 film entitled Asterix and Cleopatra , and then as a live-action 2002 film called Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra .
An audiobook of Asterix and Cleopatra adapted by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge and narrated by Willie Rushton was released on Hodder and Stoughton's Hodder Children's Audio.
Obelix's dog, Dogmatix (Idéfix in the original French), is named for the first time in this story. [3] It is also the first story in which Dogmatix takes a significant role (rescuing the heroes from a maze inside a Pyramid). [4]
In most Asterix books, Obelix is not permitted to drink the Magic Potion, because he fell into a cauldron of Magic Potion in his childhood, resulting in a permanent effect, and Getafix fears that giving Obelix any more potion would have an unpredictable effect on him. However, in this book Getafix makes an exception due to an extraordinary requirement (the need to force open a solid stone door inside a pyramid which apparently even Obelix's regular level of strength is incapable of doing). [5] Obelix notices no difference, but keeps asking for more potion in subsequent volumes.
The recurring pirate characters appear in this book, though on this occasion they sink their own ship rather than endure a fight with the Gauls. [6] The captain's son Erix (seen in the previous book Asterix and the Banquet ) is mentioned as having been left as a deposit to pay for the short-lived ship. [7] After he and his crew have been forced to take jobs as galley slaves on Cleopatra's barge, the captain expresses the unusual determination to wreak revenge on the Gauls [8] —in other books, he simply wishes never to encounter them again.
Asterix is a French comic album series about a Gaulish village which, thanks to a magic potion that enhances strength, resists the forces of Julius Caesar in an ahistorical telling of the time after the Gallic Wars. Many adventures take the titular hero Asterix and his friend Obelix to Rome and beyond.
Obelix is a cartoon character in the French comic book series Asterix. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman as well as one of the primary defenders of the Gaulish village, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his obesity, the menhirs he carries around on his back and his superhuman strength. He fell into a cauldron of the Gauls' magic potion when he was a baby, causing him to be the only Gaul in Asterix's village who is in a permanent state of superhuman strength. Because of this already enormous strength, Obelix is not allowed to drink the magic potion ever again, a ban he regards as being tremendously unfair. Other characteristics are his simplemindedness, his love and care for his dog Dogmatix, his anger when someone refers to him as being "fat", his enthusiasm for hunting and eating wild boars, and beating up Romans. His catchphrase is: "Ils sont fous ces romains", which translates into "These Romans are crazy!", although he considers nearly every other nationality, even other Gauls, to be just as strange.
Asterix the Gaul is the first volume of the Asterix comic strip series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). In Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century, a 1999 poll conducted by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde, Asterix the Gaul was listed as the 23rd greatest book of the 20th century.
Asterix at the Olympic Games is the 12th comic book album in the Asterix series. Serialized in Pilote issues 434–455 in 1968, it was translated into English in 1972. The story satirizes performance-enhancing drug usage in sports.
Asterix and the Black Gold is the twenty-sixth volume of Asterix comic book series, originally published in 1981. It is the second book to be both written and drawn by Albert Uderzo.
Asterix and Son is the twenty-seventh volume of the Asterix comic book series, created by author René Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo. It was the third Asterix album to be written and illustrated by Uderzo.
Obelix and Co. is the twenty-third volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). The book's main focus is on the attempts by the Gaul-occupying Romans to corrupt the one remaining village that still holds out against them by instilling capitalism. It is also the penultimate volume written by Goscinny before his death in 1977; his final volume, Asterix in Belgium, was released after his death in 1979.
The Mansions of the Gods is the seventeenth graphic novel of the Asterix comic book series, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo and released in 1971. Originally released as a serial for the magazine Pilote, it was later made into a graphic novel, with an English translation released in 1973. The story focuses on Asterix and the Gauls attempting to thwart the latest Roman plan against them, when Caesar decrees that the forest surrounding them be converted into a new Roman colony for the wealthy.
Asterix and the Roman Agent is the fifteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It first appeared as a serial in Pilote magazine issues 531–552 in 1970 and was translated into English in 1972.
Asterix and Obelix All at Sea is the thirtieth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by Albert Uderzo. The album was dedicated to Uderzo's grandchild, as well as to the American actor Kirk Douglas.
Asterix the Gaul is a 1967 Belgian/French animated film, the first in a franchise, based on the comic book of the same name, which was the first book in the highly popular comic series Asterix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The film closely follows the book's plot.
Asterix and Obelix is a French live-action film franchise, based on the comic book series of the same name by French comic book artists Albert Uderzo and Rene Goscinny. The series includes five theatrically released films. Just like the comic books, the films focus on the adventures of Asterix and Obelix, two Gauls in Roman-occupied Europe. With the help of a magic potion which causes superhuman strength, the Gaul's tiny village manages to resist Rome.
Asterix Conquers America is a 1994 German animated film, directed by Gerhard Hahn, and co-produced by Hahn and Jürgen Wohlrabe. The film is a loose adaptation of the Asterix graphic novel, Asterix and the Great Crossing, and the first film adaptation to be produced outside France. It is also the first Asterix movie to be made in English. The plot focuses on Asterix and Obelix seeking to rescue Getafix, who is transported to North America by the Romans, before their village runs out of magic potion to defend themselves.
Asterix and Cleopatra 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, the film is noticeably more well-produced than its predecessor, featuring far more detailed animation and a more polished soundtrack.
Asterix in Britain is a French-Danish animated film, directed by Pino van Lamsweerde, written by Pierre Tchernia, produced by Dargaud Films and Les Productions René Goscinny, and released in December 1986. The film is the fifth adaptation of a story from the Asterix comic series, and is based upon the plot from the graphic novel of the same name by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The film's plot focuses on Asterix and Obelix transporting a barrel of Magic Potion to a rebel village of Britons, as they attempt to hold out against the Romans. The original French release starred Roger Carel and Pierre Tornade in the lead roles, while the English release starred Jack Beaber and Billy Kearns.
Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra is a 2002 French fantasy comedy film written and directed by Alain Chabat and adapted from the comic book series Asterix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. It was the most expensive French film of the time. A critical success, it was also a major box office success in France, becoming its most successful film in 36 years and second biggest commercial success of all time after 1966's La Grande Vadrouille.
Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar is a 1999 French-Italian-German comedy fantasy adventure film directed by Claude Zidi, the first installment in the Asterix film series based on Goscinny and Uderzo's Astérix comics. The film combines plots of several Astérix stories, mostly Asterix the Gaul, Asterix and the Soothsayer, Asterix and the Goths, Asterix the Legionary and Asterix the Gladiator but jokes and references from many other albums abound, including a humorous exchange between Caesar and Brutus taken from Asterix and Cleopatra, and the villain Lucius Detritus is based on Tullius Detritus, the main antagonist of Asterix and the Roman Agent.
Asterix and Obelix's Birthday: The Golden Book is the thirty-fourth album of the Asterix comic book series, designed and written by Albert Uderzo. The book also includes Asterix stories which were created jointly with René Goscinny. The album, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the creation of the series, was released on 22 October 2009.
Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods, also titled Asterix and Obelix: Mansion of the Gods, is a 2014 French animated adventure family comedy film directed by Louis Clichy with a story written and co-directed by Alexandre Astier.The film features the voices of Roger Carel, Guillaume Briat, Lionnel Astier, Serge Papagalli, and Florence Foresti. The film was Carel's last film before his retirement and later death. It was the first Asterix film animated in 3D.