Astérix the Gallic one

See also: Astérix (homonymy)

Astérix the Gallic is a series of French Cartoon , created in 1959 by Rene Goscinny (scenario) and Albert Uderzo (drawings then, starting from 1980, scenario and drawings). It is probably about the French cartoon who was the most success, with 280 million albums sold in the world.

Synopsis

“We are into 50 before Jesus-Christ; is all the Gaulle occupied by the Romains… All? Not! Because a populated Gaulois village irreducible resists still and always the invader. And the life is not easy for the garrisons of Roman legionaries of the fortified camps from Babaorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Petibonum… ”. This Gallic village of Armorique resists the invader thanks to the Magic potion prepared by the Druide Panoramix, which returns (temporarily) invincible whoever drinks some.

The cartoon focuses herself mainly on one of the inhabitants of this village: Astérix, courageous warrior, who makes use not only of the magic potion but also of his intelligence to thwart the plans of Jules César and to defend his village of the invader, who it is Roman, Norman Goth or . The first album put aside, Astérix is accompanied in all its adventures (which often bring it beyond the borders of Gaulle) by his/her friend Obélix, only Gaulois for which the effects of the magic potion is permanent since only and single time that he drank some (certainly, in great quantity).

Characters

  • Gallic of the village:

    • Astérix, warrior;
    • Obélix, deliveryman of menhirs, better friendly of Astérix;
    • Idéfix, dog of Obélix;
    • Abraracourcix, chief of the tribe;
    • Bonemine, wife of Abraracourcix;
    • Panoramix, druid of the village;
    • Agecanonix, senior of the village;
    • Assurancetourix, bards village;
    • Cétautomatix, blacksmith;
    • Ordralfabétix, fishmonger;
    • Iélosubmarine, poissonnière, wife of Ordralfabétix;
  • the other Gallic ones:
    • Falbala, Zaza (diminutive of Coriza), two charming Gallic;
    • Aplusbégalix, chief of the village of Serum;
    • Amérix, manufacturer of gold bill hooks, cousin of Obélix;
  • Romans:
  • Other characters:
    • red Barb, captain of the pirates, whose boat is regularly run by Astérix and Obélix (at the origin a parody of the series Bore-red, become then a recurring gag in the albums of Astérix).

See also: List of the characters of Astérix the Gallic

Personalities caricatured as characters

In addition to Jules César, many existing characters or having existed appeared with the wire of the successive albums, in the form of humorous winks. For example, the Discord puts in scene a Roman centurion who refers of the actor Lino Ventura, very popular at the time where the album was published. One can also notice the appearances of:

Characters of other works of fiction appearing in Astérix

  • Achilles Talon, of the cartoon éponyme, appears as a Roman legionary in Astérix at Breton the , on page 14. One sees it, after the battle, lengthened, the reddened nose, saying his characteristic “hop! ”

  • the " Marsupilamix" , alias the Marsupilami, appears in the Combat of the chiefs (like fabulous animal presented to the fun fair).
  • the Dupondt, of the series Tintin and Milou , appear in Astérix among Belgians , on page 31. “Disguised” as with their practice, they announce the arrival of César, according to their characteristic mode of expression: “Jules César arrived to Belgium - I would say even more: Cules Jésar arrived in Gelbique. ” One can also note that the lettering of their bubbles is in the style of Tintin, and not in that of Astérix
  • the Top dog Iznogoud is evoked in Astérix at Rahàzade : the Kiwoàlàh Guru says that, following the example his Iznogoud cousin, he wants to become Rajah in the place of the Rajah.
  • the creature of Frankenstein makes an appearance as a team member of the pirates in the Odyssey of Astérix

Albums

Original cartoons

  1. Astérix the Gallic (1st publication: 1959 - 1st edition in album: 1961)
  2. the gold Bill hook (1960 - 1962)
  3. Astérix and Goths (1961 - 1963)
  4. Astérix gladiator (1962 - 1964)
  5. the Turn de Gaulle d' Astérix (1963 - 1965)
  6. Astérix and Cléopâtre (1963 - 1965)
  7. the Combat of the chiefs (1964 - 1966)
  8. Astérix at Breton the (1965 - 1966)
  9. Astérix and Norman the (1966 - 1967)
  10. Astérix legionary (1966 - 1967)
  11. the Shield arverne (1967 - 1968)
  12. Astérix with the Olympic Games (1968 - 1968)
  13. Astérix and the cauldron (1968 - 1969)
  14. Astérix in Hispanie (1969 - 1969)
  15. the Discord (1970 - 1970)
  16. Astérix at Helvètes (1970 - 1970)
  17. the Field of the gods (1971 - 1971)
  18. Bay-trees of César (1971 - 1972)
  19. the Soothsayer (1972 - 1972)
  20. Astérix in Corsica (1973 - 1973)
  21. the Gift of César (1st edition in album: 1974)
  22. the Great Crossing (1975)
  23. Obélix and company (1976)
  24. Astérix among Belgians (1979)
  25. the Large Ditch (1980) (first album scenarized by Albert Uderzo, after the death of Rene Goscinny)
  26. the Odyssey of Astérix (1981)
  27. the Son of Astérix (1983)
  28. Astérix at Rahàzade (1987)
  29. The Rose and the sword (1991)
  30. Galère d' Obélix (1996)
  31. Astérix and Latraviata (2001)
  32. the sky fall to him on the head (2005)

The albums in edition Hachette (24 first) were initially published at Dargaud (also owner of Pilote), which lost the rights in 1998 of them following a series of lawsuits brought by Albert Uderzo. The others are published in the Éditions Albert-Rene.

Other albums

Astérix the Gallic also gave place to albums which are not illustrated cartoons but books.

  • Albums published at Red and Gold (texts and illustrations of Albert Uderzo, 1983):

    • Abominable Horrifix
    • Jéricocorix
    • the Race of tanks
    • the apple Fire
    • Kids and disorder
    • the Water of the sky
    • It Belcantus

  • Out-collection:

    • How Obélix fell into the pot from the druid when it was small (text of Rene Goscinny illustrated by Albert Uderzo)
    • the Book of Astérix the Gallic
    • Albert Uderzo crunched by his friends
    • Astérix and the Gallic re-entry : It is about a compilation of long cartoons of only some each one pages. The first edition appeared in 1993, offered with the video cassette of a cartoon of Astérix to the choice. This album was also published under the title " Minis-Histoire" for advertizing albums and in the integral of the editions Rombaldi. In 2003, it was republished, including new stories and no-claims bonus. It contains the short accounts: Birth of an idea , In 50 before J.C. , the Gallic Re-entry , the Mascot , Mini, Midday, Maximum… , Latinomanie , With the GUI Year IX , Gallic Spring , Obélishc' H , the Antique dealer (exclusively in the edition of 1993), In 35 before J.C. (exclusively in the edition of 2003), Chanteclairix, the French cockerel (exclusively in the edition of 2003), and Olympic Lutèce (exclusively in the edition of 2003).
    • Astérix and his/her friends : For the 80 years of Albert Uderzo, tens of artists of cartoon create some boards on the universe of Astérix.

  • promotional Albums offered by Total in 1992:

    • History of Voyage
    • History of Pirates
    • History of Sports (these three albums are compilations of extracts of the original albums, each one approaching a given topic).

History

With the image of the series, the topic and the principal characters were imagined, in the joy and good mood, in the two hours space one day of the month of July 1959 in the apartment of Bobigny where Uderzo lived then. It leaves initially in the first number the newspaper Pilote (that Goscinny directs), appeared in October 1959. Pilote will continue thereafter, during several years, to publish the adventures of the small Gallic warrior. The series is quickly a very great success. In 1961 appears the first album, heading simply Astérix the Gallic .

In 1974, the two authors create the Studios Idéfix . Following the death of Rene Goscinny in 1977, Albert Uderzo continues the series only and founds in 1979 the editions Albert-Rene . In 1980 leaves the album the large ditch , the first fact by Uderzo alone.

Comments

A cartoon for all the ages

The success of this series is explained in particular by the fact why its humor is addressed to all the age brackets. The children appreciate the caricatural drawing of Uderzo, the ridiculous situations, the frequent arguments and the burlesque violence of the stories. The adults appreciate the word games in gusts and the parody of the official story of the time. The situations and the characters are stereotyped (all the names of Gallic finish in " ix" , all those of Norman in " af" on the model of the saint king Olaf II of Norway, all those of Ibères in " on" , of Breton in " ax" , of Goths in ik, of the Romans in custom, the Greeks in bone and the Egyptians in is). The Word games are accessible (Goscinny disseminated some for various ages). One can also evoke the various cultural quotations of biblical Latin to the Méthode Assimil.

Anachronisms and approximations

Although very documented in many connections, the series takes pleasure readily in the anachronisms. Often, those restore in a Gallic context of the contemporary security questions (Lutèce congested by circulation, obstructions of the departures on vacation, the madness in the pop concerts, excesses of capitalism…), thus offering cultural or political comments. The effect is accentuated by the famous caricatures of characters (Pierre Tchernia, Jean Gabin, the Beatles, Eddy Merckx, Jacques Chirac, Jean Marais, Bernard Blier, Sean Connery, Tino Rossi or Raimu… the list is long). The Roman characters pronounce readily Latin sentences fished directly in the pink pages of the Larousse dictionary.

In addition, the representation of the daily life should not be taken literally:

  • chimneys in the huts: the Gallic ones did not know the chimney, the evacuation of smoke being done by openings out of pinion with very the roof. Their houses was besides often much closer to the Roman residences than those which one presents in the series;

  • behavior of the druid Panoramix: constantly in white Toga, the dress of ceremony;

  • helmets: the men constantly carry their weaponry on them (helmet, sword);

  • menhirs: the Gallic ones probably never raised Menhir S. They existed already before the arrival of Gallic and, in all the cases, the latter did not raise any more at the time of César;

  • the shield: the fact of raising the chief on a bulwark is not because of the Gallic ones but Barbares, and in particular of the Francs which brought this habit as a Gaulle to the 5th century;

  • for the men, the systematic port of the moustache: male mode more attested at the Frank than at the Celtic ;

  • it is not very probable also to find in the same village a Druide and a bards, because their functions were very close.

In addition “authentic” errors seem to be slipped into the series:

  • Jules César “emperor”: in reality it forever carried this title, since the function commonly indicated under this name was created only one about thirty year later by Auguste; moreover, it was never made build palate with Rome, where it exerted only and personally the capacity only between -46 (final victory on Pompée and its partisans) and -44 (assassination);

  • the “Maxime Circus”: the monument drawn in the data base changes according to the albums but never corresponds to reality. In Astérix gladiator, it is connected with the Colisée, the large amphitheater of Rome which accommodated indeed the combat of gladiators and wild animals, but whose first stone was posed only in 70, that is to say more than one century after Astérix and Obélix had visited the Eternal City. In the Bay-trees of César, the drawing represents well the monument which existed in ancient Rome under the name of “Circus Maximus”, but it was about the large hippodrome of the city, where proceeded the tank and horse-races and which sheltered only one combat of gladiators forever; moreover, the exact translation of the French name is " large cirque" , and not “circus maxim”;

  • the Roman camps: if the representation and the organization of the Roman military camps are rather close to reality, it is very simplified, in particular for those surrounding the Gallic village: to in no case a Centurion, subaltern ordering a centurie, unit including/understanding from 60 to 90 men, cannot direct a camp, because only the legions, body of: 5000 with: 6000 soldiers (either: 10000 with: 12000 men with the auxiliary troops and logistics) ordered by Legate S or generals, established military camps; moreover, the permanent camps, like those supervising the village, were built out of stone, and not made wood palisades, reserved for the provisional camps;

  • the potatoes: this vegetable was introduced in Europe only at the 16th century by the Conquistadores which brought back it from America; never Gallic or Roman legionary did not eat any nor peeled;

  • references to Pumped in Astérix and Latraviata: if the Roman general escaped well following the return of César to Rome, it is represented in the cartoon under the features of a young man, whereas it was old approximately 55 years at the time where is held the history; it either was not captured as a Gaulle and was delivered to César, but was assassinated in Egypt in -48 by men of Ptolémée. In fact, Pumped raised forever of army as a Gaulle against César, it is César which did it.

However, of many veracious historical elements are skilfully integrated into the adventures of Astérix: conquest of Brittany (even if it were not the fact of Jules César, who made only incursions), Iberian revolts, combat of César in Africa against the former partisans of Pompée, connection with Cléopâtre, the Questeurs, 20 years of service in the army, military formation known as in “tortoise”, etc

A work with various interpretations

In the years 1960, a fringe of the press described Astérix the Gallic as being a cartoon Gaulliste. Indeed, some have seen in village Gallic resistant to invader Roman metaphor Patriotic of France of General de Gaulle (let us recall that the cartoon was created one year hardly after her arrival with the presidency), resisting valiantly the hegemony of the the United States. Goscinny and Uderzo always challenged this interpretation, affirming that they at all did not intend to make a work with the glory of France.

Astérix the Gallic today is more often described, not like a patriotic work, but on the contrary like a satire. The inhabitants of the Gallic small village would be Caricature S of French, populates presented like brawler, coleric, not very intelligent (with some beings of exception near) and spending much time to dispute. Thus, the actor Clovis Cornillac, future interprets of Astérix to the cinema, declared about this character: Astérix, it is us. It is not funniest, it mouth, it is insincerely, a little kill-joy. This species of proud dwarf, it resembles to me. The head high, but of 1,10 meter.

Astérix in the world

On the 280 million sold albums, one estimates at 95 million those sold in the French-speaking countries, at 88 albums million in Germany, 20 million with the the United Kingdom like with the Netherlands, 17 million in Spain, to 5 million in Sweden and Italy, with 4 million for the Finland, the Norway, the Denmark and the Greece, to 3 million with the Brésil and to 2 million with the Portugal. One notices the absence of the USA where the forever bored hero.

Astérix was thus translated into 85 languages. The albums are initially translated by a person towards the language of destination, then retranslated by another in French and read again by Albert Uderzo and Rene Goscinny to make sure of the good level of the translation.

Voic an outline of the names of the characters translated in several languages:

Astérix with the cinema

The cartoon had several film adaptations:

Cartoons

  1. Astérix the Gallic (1967)
  2. Astérix and Cléopâtre (1968)
  3. Twelve Work of Astérix (1976)
  4. Astérix and the surprise of César (1985)
  5. Astérix at Breton the (1986)
  6. Astérix and the blow of the menhir (1989)
  7. Astérix and the Indians (1994)
  8. Astérix and the Vikings (2006)

Films live

To adapt Astérix to the cinema is an idea of long time. The first projects, fallen through, imagined Louis de Funès in the role of small Gallic. Finally, it was necessary to await the years 1990 and the impulse of the producer Claude Berri so that the project is really launched. Two films since left, and third is in turning.

  1. Astérix and Obélix against César (1999) of Claude Zidi with Christian Clavier (Astérix) and Gerard Depardieu (Obélix)

  2. Mission Cléopâtre (2002) of and with Alain Chabat (in the role of Jules César), also with Christian Clavier (Astérix), Gerard Depardieu (Obélix), Monica Bellucci (Cléopatre) and Jamel Debbouze (Numérobis).
Fallen through project of a third film carried out by Gerard Jugnot and interpreted with the team of the Splendid reformed 20 years after their last common film. But opposition of the heirs vis-a-vis the scenario to the profit to the project to drawing-animated. Splendid then decides to carry out third film of the " Bronzés" (left in 2006)
  1. Astérix and Obélix with the Olympic Games (2008) of Forest Frederic and Thomas Langmann with Clovis Cornillac (Astérix) and Gerard Depardieu (Obélix) as well as a casting of impressive star (Zinedine Zidane, Benoit Poelvoorde, Jose Garcia, Franck Dubosc, Alexandre Astier, Stephan Rousseau, Tony Parker, Michael Schumacher, Alain Delon, and so much of others).

Recreation park

The cartoon inspired a recreation park, the Parc Astérix, located in the Oise.

See also: Park Astérix

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