Getafix brews some potion and construction resumes. Asterix falls in love with an Egyptian woman named Guimieukis (Noémie Lenoir).Įdifis/Numerobis's rival architect Artifis/Amonbofis (Gérard Darmon) tries to incite a rebellion among Edifis's workers.

In order to help and protect the old Druid, Asterix (Christian Clavier) and Obelix (Gérard Depardieu) accompany him on his journey to Egypt. Edifis calls upon an old friend to help him out: the fabulous Druid Getafix/Panoramix (Claude Rich) from Gaul, who brews a fantastic potion that gives the drinker supernatural strength. Since all her architects are either busy otherwise or too conservative in style, this ambiguous honour falls to an architect named Edifis/Numerobis (Jamel Debbouze).Įdifis is to build the palace and be covered in gold or, if not, his fate is to be eaten by crocodiles. She vows (against all logic) to build a new palace for Caesar within three months. This naive, big-hearted character would subtly permeate the rest of Depardieu’s filmography.The Egyptian queen Cleopatra (Monica Bellucci) bets against the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar (Alain Chabat) that her people are still great, even if the times of the Pharaohs have long passed. The actor invents a double of himself, not fat, but 'well-padded,' and ultra-powerful since he fell into the magic potion as a small child. Monica Bellucci, attired in the superb wardrobe created for the film (which would win the Caesar award that year), leaves a lasting impression as Cleopatra.Īnd then there is Gerard Depardieu, dressed in the amusing Gallic pants of Obelix. In Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, Chabat, a former member of comedy group “Les Nuls,” had the intuition and foresight to reunite an A-list of French comedians: Christian Clavier of “Splendid” fame, Jamel Debbouze, the epitome of 'Canal + wit' in the role of architect Numerobis, the Robins des Bois troupe, and even Edouard Baer, who gives a memorable, improvised performance as the melancholy, smooth-talking scribe. The feature film, Alain Chabat's second, five years after Didier, in the opinion of all “Asterixophiles” (and “Obelixophiles” agree), most closely captures the humor of the early graphic novels, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo.

A well-deserved reward for Alain Chabat, arguably the funniest Frenchman of the last thirty years. The movie would sell over 14 million tickets, making it the fourth-largest box office hit in France. Upon its release in January 2002, Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra is welcomed as an unexpected French comedy, bursting with a plethora of inventions, timely inside jokes and delectable supporting roles (from Gérard Darmon to Isabelle Nanty), while still featuring a visual and narrative ambition in contrast to such productions.

Asterix obelix mission cleopatra