Title: Asterix and the Land of the Gods

Director: Alexandre Astier and Louis Clichy

Genre: Animation

‘Asterix and the Land of the Gods’ (in French ‘Le Domaine des Dieux’) is directed by Alexandre Astier and Louis Clichy and animated by Mikros Image studios. This first all CGI Asterix feature is based on the seventeenth book of the comic series by Goscinny and Uderzo, ‘Asterix: The Mansion of the Gods.’

The film sticks to the book’s plot very closely: We are in 50 BC and almost all of France is occupied by the Romans, except for a small village of indomitable Gauls that still holds out against the invaders. Exasperated by the situation, Julius Caesar decides to change tactics as armies are unable to impose by force: it is the Roman civilisation itself that will have to seduce these barbaric Gauls. Caesar therefore builds next to the village a luxurious residential area for Roman owners called “The Mansion of the Gods”. But Asterix and Obelix will do everything to thwart Caesar from transforming their village into a theme park.

The story amusingly enough is extremely in line with our times, especially as concerns speculative overbuilding and unregulated construction in real-estate, as well as how consumerism sets the prices of primary goods once these become fashionable. Hence the themes that are dealt with in this animation flick for kids are very profound. Nevertheless the pace of storytelling is sloppy, and tries to be spiced up with some goofy action scenes of the protagonists.

Furthermore, Asterix fans will be so accustomed to seeing him two dimensionally – either on comic strips or 2D old animation movies – that the CGI doesn’t come across to be as enthralling or appealing. The result is that the Franco-Belgian characters, that date back to 1959, are depersonalised as they homologate and conform to the current animation look.

Technical: C

Acting: C

Story: B

Overall: C+

Written by: Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi