Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight

Asterix the Gaul is a very popular series of books across Europe but especially in France where it was first published in 1959 by writer René Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo. There are many, many spin-off stories like Asterix in Britain,  Asterix and Obelix: All at Sea, and Obelix and Co.

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This particular story re-creates Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight, but it also brings together a few storylines and characters from other Asterix stories and freshens them up a bit. The people who took the story and made it fresh for modern audiences did such a great job. I laughed so many times!

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This series tells the story of the time when Julius Caesar arrived intending to crush the village. It isn't as easy as he expected because this particular village of Gauls are able to withstand Roman advances because their druid has created a brew that makes the villagers super-strong temporarily.

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The creators of this must have been rolling on the ground with laugher when they were choosing names for people. Some of the villagers names are Geriatrix, Getafix, Vitalstatistics, Unhygenix, and Fastanfurius. Obelix’s dog is named Dogmatix. :)

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But beyond making the names funny, the creators also infused the series with plenty of contemporary cultural references.

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The episodes that show us the boxing arena-like battle are commented on by two hilarious characters like a modern sports event. There are several references to Star Wars, there’s a female druid who presents herself like a high-school goth, and there’s a Roman theme park with a ride (and a song) that are a very funny spin on the Disneyland ride (and song) “It’s a Small World”. Even the end credits are well done.

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I suggest seeing this series in it's original language, French, with English sub-titles for full effect. Highly recommended!

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