Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
In the year 50 BC, Gaul is occupied by the Romans - nearly. But the small village of Asterix and his friends still resists the Roman legions with the aid of their druid's magic potion, which gives superhuman strength. Learning of this potion, a Roman centurion kidnaps the druid to get the secret formula out of him.
Asterix the Gaul is a charming but rough first adaptation of the beloved Goscinny/Uderzo comic. The plot faithfully captures the basic premise of the source material — Romans vs. indomitable Gauls — but the storytelling is fairly simplistic even by children's animation standards of the era. The voice acting and dubbing feel flat and workmanlike. The animation is limited, typical of low-budget European productions of the late 1960s, lacking the visual flair or polish of Disney contemporaries. Novelty is modest — the Asterix universe was already established in comic form, and the film translates it competently rather than inventively; the franchise itself is distinctive but this first film is a straightforward adaptation. The ending resolves predictably with little dramatic tension. A pleasant piece of animation history with nostalgic value, but objectively a below-average production technically.