Synopsis

In Roman-occupied Gaul, one village remains free because its druid's magic potion gives the inhabitants superhuman strength. When the ambitious commander Detritus captures the druid and steals the potion, Asterix and Obelix set out to rescue him. Their mission becomes a chaotic struggle involving deception, Roman power plays, a fraudulent soothsayer, and an alliance with Julius Caesar against a common enemy.

Factoids & Trivia

• Released in 1999, this was the first live-action feature film based on the Asterix comics and launched the live-action film series.

• The production was a French, Italian, and German co-production with a reported budget of approximately 42 million euros. At the time, it was described as the most expensive French film ever made.

• Rather than adapting one album, the screenplay combines material from several stories, including "Asterix the Gaul," "Asterix and the Soothsayer," "Asterix the Legionary," and "Asterix the Gladiator."

• The film changes the rules of the magic potion by establishing that its effects last only ten minutes, a limitation not imposed in the original comic books.

• The production was a major domestic success. It sold nearly 9 million tickets in France and finished as the country's top-grossing film of 1999.

• The movie's success led directly to the 2002 sequel, "Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra," which became an even larger box-office success in France.