The refractory Gaul, whose new cinematographic adventures arrive in theaters on 1er February, is at the head, not of a village, but of an empire that is impressive to say the least. Guided tour…
65 million euros
Asterix and Obelix: Middle Kingdom is the fifth feature film of the adventures of the Gaul in live action. Directed and co-scripted by Guillaume Canet – who also plays Asterix – this film is the first whose story is not that of an album. Asterix and Obelix: Middle Kingdom, with a production budget of 65 million euros and whose filming lasted 17 weeks, also stars Gilles Lellouche in the role of Obélix, the actor having gained 20 kg for the role. It is Vincent Cassel who plays César and Marion Cotillard, Cleopatra, in this adventure which sees Princess Fu Yi (Julie Chen) ask the Gauls to deliver her mother from the clutches of Deng Tsin Qin (Bun Hay Mean). We note the presence on the screen of Matthieu Chedid in Remix, and it is also he who composes the soundtrack of the feature film.
6000 copies
“The character was invented in two hours by Uderzo and me, in a burst of laughter!”, had confided René Goscinny in the pages of Sunday newspaper. Published in the magazine Pilotthe adventures of the Gaul are the subject of a first album, published in 6000 copies in 1961. Four years later, Asterix among the Bretons will be published in 400,000 copies.
Ninth plate
Only in the 9e board Asterix’s tour of Gaul, published in 1965, that the little dog Idéfix appears for the first time. His name was chosen, by competition, by the readers of the newspaper Pilotwho had the choice between Idéfix, Trépetix, Paindépix and Patracourcix.
42.6kg
The “village of madmen” is so prominent in French culture that the very first French satellite, weighing 42.6 kg and launched on November 26, 1965, is called… Asterix!
2.41 million entries
The very first animated film, Asterix the gallic opens in France on December 20, 1967 and four days later in Quebec. It is Roger Carel who doubles the voice of Asterix while Jacques Morel does that of Obélix. The 68-minute film made 2.41 million admissions.
275 million francs
In 1999, Christian Clavier and Gérard Depardieu became the faces of the famous duo in Asterix and Obelix versus Caesar, the very first feature film in live action. The film, directed by Claude Zidi, had a production budget of 275 million francs (about 41.9 million euros), making it, at the time, the most expensive film in the world. history of French cinema.
87 years old
The dubber of the nasty little Gaul, Roger Carel, aged 87 at the time, announced that the film Asterix: Domain of the Gods (2014) will be his last. The animated feature is the first to be developed in 3D and is co-directed by none other than Alexandre Astier – the creator of Kaamelott – which will repeat in 2018 with Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion.
117 languages
In 2011, Albert Uderzo had celebrated 350 million Asterix albums sold, that is “stacked, 766 times the height of the Eiffel Tower and twice around the Earth if they are placed next to each other”. The Adventures of Asterix have been translated into 117 languages, making it the most translated comic book in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. The 40e album, whose title is not yet known, will be released on October 26, 2023 and is drawn by Didier Conrad and written by Fabrice Caro.
- Asterix and Obelix: Middle Kingdom hits theaters from 1er february.