Asterix in Britain (film)

Asterix in Britain
French theatrical release poster
Directed by	Pino Van Lamsweerde
Produced by	Philippe Grimond Yannik Piel
Written by	Pierre Tchernia adapted from René Goscinny Albert Uderzo
Music by	Vladimir Cosma
Release date(s)	December 3, 1986
Running time	79 min.
Language	French

Asterix in Britain (French: Astérix chez les Bretons) is an animated film released in 1986; the fifth Asterix feature film, and the last from Dargaud Films. It is based on the book of the same name. The theme song The Lookout is Out was performed by Cook da Books based on the previous film's theme but with a slower tempo, played with acoustic guitars and brand new English lyrics.

Plot

Asterix and Obelix must travel to Britain with a barrel of Magic potion, to help a rebel village fight against the Roman Empire, which has conquered the whole country.

Historical jokes

• Caesar says "I came, I saw and I don't believe my eyes" after arriving in Britain. This is a joke on his actual quote, "I came, I saw, I conquered."
• The British at the beggining of the film are drinking hot water, sometimes "with a spot of milk". The herbs which Asterix and Obelix receive from a merchant they rescue from pirates turns out to be a bag of tea. Asterix gives the tea to the British which gives them superhuman strength to defeat the Romans besieging their village. The British chief then declares that it will be "our national beverage", which means Asterix and Obelix introduced tea to England.

Changes from the book

The movie contains many changes from the original story:

• Dogmatix comes along with the heroes for the journey and gets a subplot involving him following the barrel thief to his house.
• Caesar's role in the film is larger, and he has more screen time. (He had only a cameo appearance in the book)
• Some of the characters (such as the Roman centurions and the British pubkeeper) have different names and designs.
• Asterix and Obelix meet the pirates on their way to Britain.
• Asterix doesn't get tea from Getafix, but from some Phoenicians who Obelix saved from the pirates.
• The search for the stolen barrel of potion is shorter than in the book.
• Stonehenge makes an appearance in the movie.
• In the book, Asterix found out that the barrel was sold to the Rugby team by the Pubkeeper. But in the movie the Rugby team were simply the first on the list.
• During the meeting with the pirates: On the way back, the captain sank his own ship, much like in the book Asterix and Cleopatra.
• In the English dub, Fulliautomatix and Impedimenta were renamed to Blacksmix and Instantmix respectively.

Censorship

When the film aired on British television, the scenes with the black pirate were cut, as some people thought his appearance was a racial stereotype.

See also

• List of animated feature-length films

External links

• AsterixNZ entry
• Astérix chez les Bretons at the Internet Movie Database