View source for Asterix and Cleopatra (film)

{{About|the 1968 animated film|the 2002 live-action film|Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Asterix and Cleopatra
| native_name    = Astérix et Cléopâtre
| image          = Asterix and cleopatra french poster.JPG
| alt            = 
| caption        = Original release poster
| director       = [[René Goscinny]]<br />[[Albert Uderzo]]
| producer       = [[Raymond Leblanc]]
| screenplay     = Eddie Lateste<br />Jos Marissen<br />[[Pierre Tchernia]]
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[Asterix and Cleopatra]]''|René Goscinny<br>Albert Uderzo}}
| starring       = [[Roger Carel]]<br>[[Jacques Morel (actor)|Jacques Morel]]<br>[[Micheline Dax]]<br>[[Pierre Tornade]]<br>[[Lucien Raimbourg]]
| narrator = [[Bernard Lavalette]]
| music          = [[Gérard Calvi]]
| cinematography = Georges Lapeyronnie<br />Francois Léonard<br />Jean Midre
| editing        = Jacques Marchel<br />László Molnár
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* [[Dargaud|Dargaud Films]]
* [[Belvision]]
}}
| distributor    = [[Pathé]]<br>[[La Société des Films Sirius]]<br>[[Gaumont Film Company]]
| released       = {{Film date|1968|12|19|France|ref1=<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062687/ imdb]</ref>|1968|12|21|Belgium|1970|01|01|United Kingdom}}
| runtime        = 72 minutes
| country        = France<br />Belgium
| language       = French
}}
'''''Asterix and Cleopatra''''' ({{langx|fr|Astérix et Cléopâtre}}) is a 1968 Belgian–French [[traditional animation|animated]] [[comedy film]]; it is the [[List of Asterix films|second Asterix adventure]] to be made into a feature film. Overseen by ''Asterix'' creators [[Goscinny]] and [[Uderzo]] (who had no involvement in the production of the first film, [[Asterix the Gaul (film)|''Asterix the Gaul'']] and in their director debuts), the film is noticeably more well-produced than its predecessor, featuring far more detailed animation and a more polished soundtrack.

''Asterix and Cleopatra'' is practically a [[musical film|musical]], featuring three individual song sequences and a more varied score than the earlier film. Elements of [[satire]] and [[surreal humour]] (such as Cleopatra's singing lion and the engraving of [[Santa Claus]] on the pyramid wall) are prominent throughout.

==Plot==
After a heated argument with [[Julius Caesar]] over his lack of faith in the [[Egypt]]ian people, Queen [[Cleopatra]] enters into a bet claiming that she can have a magnificent palace constructed for him in [[Alexandria]] within three months. She gives this enormous task to her best [[architect]] Numerobis (despite his shortcomings), informing him that he will be covered with gold if he succeeds or thrown to the [[crocodiles]] if he fails. Daunted and distraught, believing the task to be insurmountable without some sort of magic, Numerobis travels to [[Gaul]] to seek help from the famous [[druid]] [[Recurring characters in Asterix#Getafix|Panoramix]].

Panoramix agrees to return to Egypt with Numerobis, while [[Asterix]] and [[Obelix]] insist on accompanying them. Obelix further insists that [[Idefix]] be allowed to join the voyage and smuggles him along despite objections from Asterix. En route to Egypt, Numerobis' ship is met by a gang of [[pirate]]s. Poetic justice rules the day as the pirate ship is boarded by Asterix and Obelix, who scuttle it after a largely one-sided fight. Upon reaching Egypt, it becomes clear that Numerobis is not a particularly gifted architect; in Cleopatra's words his buildings are "the laughing stock of those who don't live in them". His scheming rival ''Amonbofis'' proposes that they collaborate in order to build Caesar's palace on time and divide the reward between them; the catch being that Numerobis alone be thrown to the crocodiles should they fail. Numerobis refuses and Amonbofis swears vengeance, angered further by the injuries he sustains while negotiating Numerobis' house (which later collapses altogether).

Amonbofis raises tensions amongst the construction workers by convincing them that they are being exploited by Numerobis and encourages them to strike. To win them over and enhance their productivity, Panoramix gives the workers his magic potion which enables them to continue effortlessly with the construction of the palace. Panoramix refuses to give any to Obelix, much to his disgruntlement. Building progress becomes so rapid that the labourers exhaust their supplies of stone; Amonbofis has bribed the supplier to dump the subsequent shipment into the [[Nile]] and the Gauls are forced to escort a fleet of ships to fetch more. Sightseeing en route, the trio visit the [[Pyramids]] at [[Giza]]. In his attempt to scale the [[Sphinx]], Obelix provides an outlandish hypothesis as to how the monument came to be without a nose. The Gauls are intercepted by Amonbofis' sidekick Krukhut, who poses as a guide with the intention of getting the Gauls lost during a tour of the [[Great Pyramid of Giza|Great Pyramid]]. Trapped deep within the pyramid, Panoramix gives Obelix his first taste of magic potion, presumably to give him the strength to break them out. The Gauls fail to negotiate the maze, but eventually escape after being heroically tracked by Idefix. Undeterred, Amonbofis and Krukhut make a further attempt to prevent the stone reaching its destination by hiring the same gang of pirates seen earlier in the film to attack the fleet on its return to Alexandria. A short second encounter with the pirates alleviates Obelix's boredom, despite their cowardly attempt at retreat. In a final effort to stop the three Gauls, Amonbofis frames them for an attempt to poison Cleopatra with the gift of a cake made from such ingredients as [[arsenic]], [[strychnine]] and [[vitriol]]. Asterix, Obelix and Panoramix are thrown into the [[dungeon]] after the Queen's taster becomes ill from eating the cake. Panoramix carries an [[antidote]] that enables them to eat the remainder of the cake (giving the impression that it was in fact harmless) as well as curing the taster after claiming he has indigestion. The Gauls are pardoned and catch Amonbofis and Krukhut despite their attempt to hide inside Sarcophogi; their punishment is to work for Numerobis as labourers.

Cleopatra gloats over the likelihood of winning her bet to Caesar, who fears he will lose face with her should she get the better of him and instructs his spy to infiltrate the building site. Learning that the Gauls and their magic potion are involved, Caesar orders his three [[mercenary|mercenaries]], brothers, to kidnap Panoramix and knock over the cauldron for which they will receive a bag of gold. However, the oldest brother tells the other two to capture Panoramix while he knocks over the potion. While they tie up and gag Panoramix the mercenary drinks the potion and knocks over the cauldron, before overpowering his brothers and taking Panoramix to Caesar. The two mercenaries are caught by Asterix and Obelix, who learn of what has happened to Panoramix. The Mercenary returns to Caesar and is given the gold while Panoramix is imprisoned. However, he is then caught by Asterix and Obelix who learn where Panoramix is. The Mercenary is thrown away and his brothers take him away to have 'a word' with him. Asterix and Obelix promptly free Panoramix. In desperation, Caesar holds the construction site under [[siege]] and bombards the unfinished palace with boulders. Cleopatra intervenes after Asterix brings a message to her, forcing Caesar to lift the siege and despite the damage, the palace is completed on schedule. Numerobis is honoured and the Gauls are escorted home aboard Cleopatra's luxury ship, much to the displeasure of the sacred crocodiles.

==Cast==
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Character
!Original Dub
!English Dub
!German Dub
|-
!Asterix
|[[Roger Carel]]
|[[Lee Payant]]<ref name="And Cleopatra">{{Cite web|url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/movies/Asterix-and-Cleopatra/|title=The Asterix and Cleopatra Cast|website=Behind The Voice Actors|language=en-US|access-date=2024-03-09}}</ref>
|[[Hans Hessling]]
|-
!Obelix
|[[Jacques Morel (actor)|Jacques Morel]]
|Hal Brav<ref name="And Cleopatra"/>
|Edgar Ott
|-
!Dogmatix
|colspan="3"|Roger Carel
|}
===Additional Voices===
*Original: [[Roger Carel]] (Caesar's Spy), [[Maurice Chevit]], [[Gérard Darrieu]], Claude Dasset, Pierre Garin, [[Olivier Hussenot]]
*English: Lyle Joyce, George Keros (Caesar's Spy), [[Mezz Mezzrow|Milt Mezzrow]]

===Original===
*[[Jacques Balutin]] - Tournevis
*Jacques Bodoin - Lion
*[[Jacques Jouanneau]] - Assurancetourix
*[[Bernard Lavalette]] - Le narrateur, Amonbofis
*Rodolphe Marcilly - Voix additionnelles 
*Joël Noël - Voix additionnelles 
*[[Jean Parédès]] - Jules César 
*Alfred Personne - Voix additionnelles 
*[[Lucien Raimbourg]] - Panoramix 
*Eddy Rasimi - Voix additionnelles 
*[[Pierre Tornade]] - Numérobis, Abraracourcix, Un mercenaire
*[[Pierre Trabaud]] - Barbe-Rouge, Tumehéris
*[[Micheline Dax]] - Cléopâtre
;Uncredited 
*[[René Goscinny]] - Le commentateur

===English===
*John Primm<ref name="And Cleopatra"/> - Getafix
*Anthony Stuart<ref name="And Cleopatra"/> - Julius Caesar
*Alexandre Klimenko - Krukhut 
*Edward Marcus<ref name="And Cleopatra"/> - Centurion Operachorus
*Jean Fontaine - Artifis
*George Birt<ref name="And Cleopatra"/> - Edifis
*Lyle Joyce - Mercenary #1
*[[Yves Brainville]]<ref name="And Cleopatra"/> - Vitalstatistix
*François Valorbe - Additional Voices
*Michael Brown - Additional Voices 
*Derry Hall - Additional Voices 
*Patrick O'Hara - Additional Voices 
*[[Bruce Johansen]] - Additional Voices 
*James Shuman - Additional Voices 
*John Rounds - Additional Voices 
*Colin Drake - Additional Voices 
*Arch Taylor<ref name="And Cleopatra"/> - Redbeard
*Steve Waring - Additional Voices 
*Ginger Hall<ref name="And Cleopatra"/> - Cleopatra
*Paula D'Alba - Additional Voices

===German===
*Klaus W. Krause - Miraculix
*[[Walter Bluhm]] - Numerobis
*Martin Hirthe - Pyradonis
*Klaus Miedel - Schraubziris 
*[[Siegfried Schürenberg]] - Julius Cäsar 
*Ursula Herwig - Kleopatra 
*Reinhold Brandes - Zusätzliche Stimmen
*Joachim Cadenbach - Erzähler
*[[Erich Fiedler]] - Vorkoster 
*[[Heinz Giese]] - Zenturio Chorus
*Gerd Martienzen - Söldner #1
*[[Franz Nicklisch]] - Der Rote Korsar 
*Ingo Osterloh - Ausrufer beim Bad #3 
*Gerd Prager - Asynchroner Ägypter im Vorspann, Dromedar
*Peter Schiff - Wächter
*Jochen Schröder - Steinbruch-Aufseher, Söldner #3
*Günther Schwerkolt - Zusätzliche Stimmen
*Ingeborg Wellmann - Papagei
;Uncredited
*Chryssoula Diavati - Zusätzliche Stimmen
*Toni Herbert - Söldner #2
*Heinz Palm - Diener von Cäsar 
*Randolf Kronberg - Ausrufer beim Bad #2
*[[Michael Chevalier]] - Abstosis 
*Randolf Kronberg - Lustloser Arbeiter

== Reception ==
In the United Kingdom, the film was watched by 600,000 viewers on television in 2004, making it the year's second most-watched European-language film on television.<ref>{{Cite news |title=UK Film Council Statistical Yearbook: Annual Review 2004/05 |pages=74 |publisher=[[UK Film Council]] |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/uk-film-council-statistical-yearbook-annual-review-2004-2005.pdf |access-date=21 April 2022 |via=[[British Film Institute]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra]]'' - A live action adaptation starring [[Gerard Depardieu]], [[Monica Bellucci]], and [[Christian Clavier]]
* [[Gabiniani]] - Germanic and Gaulish soldiers in [[Ptolemaic Egypt]] during the reigns of [[Cleopatra VII]] and her father [[Ptolemy XII Auletes]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061006235227/http://www.asterix.co.nz/movies/cleopatra.htm AsterixNZ entry]
* {{IMDb title|0062687|Asterix and Cleopatra}}

{{Asterix|Cleopatra (film), Asterix and|type=film}}

[[Category:1968 films]]
[[Category:1968 animated films]]
[[Category:1968 children's films]]
[[Category:Belgian animated feature films]]
[[Category:1960s French-language films]]
[[Category:French animated comedy films]]
[[Category:Belgian children's films]]
[[Category:French children's films]]
[[Category:Asterix films]]
[[Category:Animated films based on French comics]]
[[Category:Animated films set in ancient Egypt]]
[[Category:Films set in ancient Alexandria]]
[[Category:Depictions of Cleopatra on film]]
[[Category:Depictions of Julius Caesar on film]]
[[Category:Films scored by Gérard Calvi]]
[[Category:Films directed by René Goscinny]]
[[Category:Films directed by Albert Uderzo]]
[[Category:1960s French animated films]]
[[Category:1960s children's animated films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Pierre Tchernia]]