A variety of new characters have also been thrown in, including a love interest for Justforkix in the form of Timandahaf’s feisty daughter Abba, the nefarious soothsayer named Cryptograf, and his rather dense son Olaf. Here, instead of simply holding the flying demonstration on the cliffs of Gaul, the Vikings take Justforkix back to their homeland, leading to Asterix and Obelix heading deep into enemy territory (elements of this new material borrowing from another book, Asterix and the Great Crossing, itself previously loosely adapted as Asterix Conquers America). The basics of the plot are essentially the same, although it deviates substantially in the details. In the film version, the Normans have become the Vikings (presumably because viewers more familiar with 1066 as a historical period were confused by the fact that a people generally regarded as French in origin were invading France). Deciding that Justforkix is the Champion of Fear, the Norman chief, Timandahaf, has him captured, with the intention of dropping him off a cliff so they can watch him fly, and, predictably, it’s up to Asterix and Obelix to save the day. Their invasion coincides with the arrival of Chief Vitalstatistix’s nephew, Justforkix, a snotty youth who would rather spend his days partying and listening to modern music than doing proper Gaulish activities like hunting for wild boar and fighting the Romans. The plot, appropriately enough, centres around an invasion of Gaul by the ferocious Normans (or Norsemen), who don’t know the meaning of fear and believe that, if they can learn it, they will be able to fly (since, naturally, fear gives you wings).
#ASTERIX AND THE VIKINGS ENGLISH SERIES#
The source is Asterix and the Normans, a 1967 album from a period at which the series was going from strength to strength and could do virtually no wrong. The eighth Asterix film, Asterix and the Vikings, follows a 12-year gap with no new animated features starring the indomitable Gaul being created. The seven previous animated adaptations (I’m ignoring the two incorrigible live action attempts here) have demonstrated various techniques, ranging from straight panel by panel facsimiles (as with Asterix the Gaul and Asterix and Cleopatra) to loose retellings ( Asterix Conquers America) to, on one solitary occasion, creating a completely new story ( The Twelve Tasks of Asterix). That’s not to say that the adaptations have all been terrible, but it does seem that the comics are reliant on two things – René Goscinny’s deadpan wit and Albert Uderzo’s precise illustrations – neither of which can be transferred to film without something being lost along the way. Michael Mackenzie reviews the R2 French release of Asterix and the Vikings, which features both English and French audio and an array of extras.Īs I’ve already mentioned in previous reviews, converting the graphic novel adventures of Asterix the Gaul from page to screen seems to be an extremely difficult task. After a 12-year absence, Asterix the Gaul returns with a new animated adventure.
0 kommentar(er)
