The film's plot revolves around Asterix and Obelix attempting to complete a series of tough challenges set by Julius Caesar, who seeks to prove they and their fellow villagers are not gods. The film starred Roger Carel, and Jacques Morel; while the English cast included Sean Barrett, and Geoffrey Russell.
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix received mixed review regarding the tone of the story and frequent breaks in the fourth wall, but gained popularity over the years to later be considered one of the best Asterix films, achieving the status of a cult classic.[2][3] The story was later adapted into a comic book by Marcel Uderzo, Albert Uderzo's brother,[4] though was not widely distributed and was not incorporated into the Asterix series; an illustrated book of the film was more widely published in multiple languages than the comic adaptation.
Plot
Following constant defeats by the rebel Gauls in Armorica, the Roman Senate slowly begin to believe they may be gods, due to their apparent invincibility. Julius Caesar, openly disdainful of the suggestion, decides to test the village and meets with their chieftain, Vitalstatistix. Caesar declares that the Gauls must undertake a challenge, inspired by the Twelve Labours of Hercules - in which their best warrior must complete a set of twelve new tasks that only gods could succeed in. Caesar states that is all the tasks are completed, he will hand over the Roman Empire to them; if they fail even just one task, the Gauls must surrender to Rome. Agreeing to the terms, the village assigns Asterix and Obelix to perform the tasks, with Caesar assigning Caius Tiddlus, a Roman man renowned for his honesty, to act as both their guide to the tasks and the challenges' referee.
In their first set of challenges, Asterix defeats Asbestos the Greek, champion of the ancient Olympic Games, in a race, and Cilindric the German in a judo match, by outsmarting his opponent, while Obelix defeats Verses the Persian, by managing to throw a javelin further than him. In their next challenge, the pair find themselves crossing a lake to an island known as the "Isle of Pleasure", home to beautiful Sirens, who they must resist. Although the Gauls nearly succumb to the women, Obelix comes to his senses when he learns that there are no wild boars for him to hunt and eat, allowing the pair to accomplish the challenge. The pair continue to have further success, with Asterix defeating Iris the Egyptian, by surviving turning his powerful hypnotic power against him, while Obelix defeats Belgian cook Mannekenpix by consuming all of the meals he prepares - under the assumption they were hors d'oeuvres.
Following their success in enduring the "Cave of the Beast" in the next challenge, the pair find themselves told by Caius to acquire a permit document from "The Place that Sends you Mad", a multi-storey bureaucratic building. After finding it impossible because of the clinically unhelpful people who direct them elsewhere, Asterix beats them at their own game by requesting an imaginary permit and turning their behaviour against them, resulting in the building's Prefect to unwittingly hand over what the Gauls came for. The pair continue to complete further challenges: crossing a ravine filled with crocodiles by beating them up rather than using an invisible tightrope; answering a riddle by the Old Man of the Mountain, conducted in the form of a washing detergent advertisement; and enduring a night on a plain haunted by ghostly legionnaires, who Asterix scares away through furious complaints.
Asterix and Obelix eventually find themselves in Rome, alongside their fellow villagers, for their final task. Brought to the Circus Maximus, the Gauls fight against gladiators, whom they beat, and defeat various animals sent against them by turning the arena into a modern-day circus. Having succeeded in every task, Caesar agrees that they are gods, giving the Gauls control of the Roman Empire. Caesar retires to live a quiet and peaceful life with Cleopatra, while Caius is rewarded for his service and retires to the Isle of Pleasure. As the village celebrates their success, Asterix answers Obelix's question of them really conquering Rome by pointing out that everything that happened to them was a mere cartoon, in which anything is possible. Obelix takes advantage of this and teleports himself and his wild boar meat to the Isle of Pleasure to enjoy himself.
In the United Kingdom, it was watched by 400,000 viewers on television during the first half of 2005, making it the fifth most-watched foreign-language film on UK television during that period.[7]
Notes
In the opening scene at Caesar's senate Brutus is seen around the table playing with a knife of which Caesar says "Brutus, stop playing about with that knife you'll end up hurting somebody",[8][9] while Brutus is off screen you hear an "ouch" in the background with the next shot of Brutus with a bandage around his finger. This is a reference to Brutus being one of the men who stabbed and killed Caesar.
The scene with the fight in the Native American village during the second task features a cameo appearance by Oumpah-pah, a character created by Goscinny and Uderzo for a separate comic series.
Especially in France, Italy and Germany, "The Place that sends you mad" sequence has achieved a strong cult status as a satire of absurd modern-day bureaucracy. In Germany, "Passierschein A38" ("Curfew pass A38") has become a popular slang term for a fictional document to ironically describe absurd bureaucracy.[10][11][12] It was also referenced in the second expansion of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Blood and Wine; there, Geralt has to retrieve Permit A38 from a Touissant office, and face unhelpful clerks and confusing architecture.[13]
Comic book and story book adaptations
In 1976, Uderzo's brother Marcel created a comic book adaptation of the film. This rare album has been translated in various languages, but is unavailable in the regular series.[4] The English translation, only published as part of the once off comic book annualAsterix Annual 1980,[14] was based on the dialogue of the English version of the film and was titled Asterix Conquers Rome.
There is also an illustrated book of the film (of the same name) containing the story in text. The story book is more regularly published and more widely translated than the very rare comic book.[15]
In addition, there are also twelve rare illustrated text story books for young readers, one for each of the twelve tasks.
Future
Live-action version
It is announced in 2025 that this adventure will be the subject of a live-action adaptation, directed by Jonathan Cohen and produced by StudioCanal.
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