The Mansions of the Gods (Le Domaine des Dieux) | |
---|---|
Date | 1973 |
Series | Asterix |
Creative team | |
Writers | Rene Goscinny |
Artists | Albert Uderzo |
Original publication | |
Date of publication | 1971 |
Language | French |
Chronology | |
Preceded by | Asterix in Switzerland |
Followed by | Asterix and the Laurel Wreath |
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.
With the intent to force the village of indomitable Gauls to accept Roman civilization, Julius Caesar plans to destroy the surrounding forest to make way for a Roman patrician colony, called the 'Mansions of the Gods'. The project is led by the architect Squaronthehypotenus, who orders an army of slaves of various nationalities to pull down the trees in the forest. With the help of Getafix's magic, Asterix and Obelix plant acorns that grow into mature oak trees instantly; whereupon an increasingly erratic Squaronthehypotenus threatens "to work the slaves to death".
Taking this literally, Asterix gives the slaves magic potion with which to rebel; but the slaves, upon rebellion, do not stop work and leave, as Asterix intended, but insist on better working conditions, regular pay, and freedom after completing the first block of the Mansions of the Gods. Upon hearing that the slaves are better paid than they, the Roman legionaries go on strike for similar and better conditions for themselves. Since the freedom of the slaves depends on constructing at least one building, the Gauls allow the work to proceed. After their release, a group of the former slaves (among them the - almost - luckless pirates from previous adventures) "float a company" with their wages.
Finally, the first completed building of the Mansions of the Gods is inhabited by Roman families: the first of these consisting of a middle class husband and wife selected by lottery. These Romans then go shopping in the village which, before long, turns into a tourist trap selling "antique" weapons and fish to the Romans, embroiled in price wars and (in the case of some of the wives) assuming Roman dress. To counteract this, Asterix asks Squaronthehypotenus for an apartment, but is told they are full; whereafter the initial winners of the first apartment are continually harassed by Obelix acting like a rabid monster, with Asterix holding him back. The next day, the couple returns to Rome, and Asterix arranges for Cacofonix the bard to move into the vacated apartment. As a result of the bard's discordant nocturnal practice, the rest of the Roman inhabitants return to Rome as well.
Squaronthehypotenus tries to keep the Mansions in business by bringing the local Roman soldiers as tenants and expels Cacofonix from the building; whereupon the Gauls take this as an insult, and destroy the Roman colony. The legionnaires gratefully return to their camp and Squaronthehypotenus announces his plan to go to Egypt to build pyramids in the desert with "nice quiet tenants". That evening, the Gauls hold their usual celebratory banquet (in which this time Cacofonix takes part) and the ruins of the mansion are covered by Getafix's instantaneous trees.
In the end, Asterix takes the druid aside and asks: "O druid Getafix, do you think we can always stop the course of events as we have just done?" - "Of course not, Asterix. But we still have time. Plenty of time.”
In November 2014, an adaptation of The Mansions of the Gods was released as a 3D computer-animated feature film, titled Asterix: The Land of the Gods . [2] Produced in France by M6 Studio and Mikros Image, [3] the adaptation maintained much of the plot elements from the graphic novel, but made a number of changes:
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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 second 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 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.
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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.
Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion is a 2018 French animated adventure family comedy film co-directed by Alexandre Astier and Louis Clichy. A sequel to 2014's Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods, the screenplay by Astier is based on the Asterix comic book characters created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. This is the first Asterix production not to feature Roger Carel as the voice of Asterix, due to his retirement and later death. Asterix is instead voiced by Christian Clavier, who previously played the character in Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar and Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra.
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