Asterix Conquers America
| Asterix in Amerika | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gerhard Hahn |
| Screenplay by | Thomas Platt Rhett Rooster |
| Story by | Albert Uderzo Pierre Tchernia |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | Gerhard Hahn and Jürgen Wohlrabe |
| Starring | Craig Charles Howard Lew Lewis Geoffrey Bayldon Henry McGee Christopher Biggins |
| Narrated by | John Rye |
| Music by | Harold Faltermeyer |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Jugendfilm[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes[2] |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | English |
| Budget | DEM 19.000.000 |
| Box office | $768,488 (United States) |
Asterix Conquers America (in France as Astérix et les Indiens; in Germany as Asterix in Amerika) is a 1994 English-language German animated film, directed by Gerhard Hahn, and co-produced by Hahn and Jürgen Wohlrabe.[3] The film is a loose adaptation of the Asterix graphic novel, Asterix and the Great Crossing, and the first film adaptation to be produced outside France. It is also the first Asterix movie to be made in English.[4] The plot focuses on Asterix and Obelix seeking to rescue Getafix, who is transported to North America by the Romans, before their village runs out of magic potion to defend themselves. The film was distributed in Germany by Jugendfilm, with 20th Century Fox handling distribution in several European territories, including France and the United Kingdom.
Plot
After the rebel village of Gauls defeat another Roman army, a humiliated Julius Caesar angrily devises a plan to cut them off from the magic potion that gives them super-human strength. Caesar's instructs his most loyal patrician, Lucullus, to kidnap the druid Getafix and send him off the edge of the world. A freak accident during a fight amongst the Gaulish villagers spills a cauldron of potion. Getafix takes Dogmatix to locate ingredients to make more. Lucullus, pretending to be a druid, captures them. Asterix and Obelix spot the pair being taken on a Roman galley and pursue them.
They track the galley and are reunited with Dogmatix who was thrown overboard. On arrival at the east coast of North America, which they mistake for the world's edge, the Romans catapult Getafix ashore. Lucullus is delighted when Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix crash on the shore and returns home to inform Caesar of the good news. Asterix and Obelix begin exploring North America. Asterix is captured by a tribe of Native Americans and tied to a pole beside Getafix, who reveals the Romans had catapulted him onto the hut of the tribe's medicine man.
Obelix rescues Minihooha, the daughter of the tribe's chief, from a bison stampede and impresses the chief with his strength. Asterix and Getafix are freed and the Gauls join the tribe's evening customs. Getafix humiliates the medicine man with his magic, and gives Minihooha magic potion to punish him for dousing her during a cheap trick. The medicine man visits the Gauls' tent offering peace and knocks them out with hallucinogens in a pipe, kidnapping Getafix. Obelix awakes in a drug-induced amnesia, leaving Asterix to rescue Getafix on his own.
After Minihooha cures Obelix, the Gauls say farewell and return home to find the Romans overwhelmed the village after they ran out of magic potion. Finding all but Cacofonix captured, Getafix brews the magic potion. Asterix and Obelix sneak into a Roman camp disguised as Roman soldiers, supply their fellow Gauls with the potion, and proceed to trash the camp. Lucullus is eaten by Caesar's pet panther, while Caesar himself discreetly escapes and returns home. As the villagers hold a celebratory feast, the group listen to Obelix describe his latest adventure before teaching them the song he learned from the Native American tribe.
Cast
| Character | Original[5] | French Dub |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | John Rye[5] | Pierre Tchernia |
| Asterix | Craig Charles[5] | Roger Carel |
| Obelix | Howard Lew Lewis[5] | Pierre Tornade |
| Getafix | Geoffrey Bayldon[5] | Henri Labussière |
| Julius Caesar | Henry McGee[5] | Robert Party |
| Lucullus | Christopher Biggins[5] | Jean-Luc Galmiche |
| Medicine Man | Rupert Degas[5][6] (uncredited) | |
| Cacofonix | Brian Greene (uncredited) | Michel Tugot-Doris |
| Unhygienix | Jonathan Kydd[7] (uncredited) | Jean Dautremay |
| Centurion Voluptuous Arteriosclerosus | Yves Pignot | |
| Vitalstatistix | Jim Carter (uncredited) | François Chaix |
| Stupidus | Olivier Jankovic | |
| Panacea | Vanessa Feltz (uncredited) | Nathalie Spitzer |
| Impedimenta | Julie Gibbs (uncredited) | Claude Chantal |
| Captain Redbeard | Jim Carter (uncredited) | Joël Zaffarano |
| Indian Chief | Rupert Degas (uncredited) Geoffrey Bayldon (one issue, uncredited) |
Sylvain Lemarié |
| Pirates | Rupert Degas (uncredited) Jim Carter (one issue, uncredited) |
Thierry Buisson Philippe Sollier (one issue) |
| Jim Carter (uncredited) | Philippe Sollier | |
| Christian Pélissier (uncredited) | ||
| Rupert Degas (uncredited) | Thierry Buisson | |
| Senators | Jim Carter (uncredited) | Philippe Valmont[8] |
| Rupert Degas (uncredited) | Michel Prud'homme | |
| Jim Carter (uncredited) | François Jaubert | |
| Galley Slaves | Rupert Degas (uncredited) | Unknown |
| Jim Carter (uncredited) | Michel Prud'homme | |
| Etishu | Jennifer Blanc-Biehn (uncredited) | |
| Pirate Lookout | Jim Carter (uncredited) | Christian Pélissier (uncredited) |
| Fulliautomatix | Joël Zaffarano | |
| Corpulentus | Sylvain Lemarié | |
| Geriatrix | Rupert Degas (uncredited) | Unknown |
| Homeless Roman Man | Jim Carter (uncredited) | |
| Romans in Rome | ||
| Rupert Degas (uncredited) | ||
| Parrot | Jonathan Kydd[7] (uncredited) | |
| Impedimenta's Nephew | Julia Brahms (uncredited) | |
| Roman Lady in Rome | Olivia d'Abo (uncredited) | |
| Indian Child | ||
Uncredited
- Original: Rupert Degas (Legionnaires, Indians, Gauls), Jim Carter (Legionnaires, Indians, Gauls), Olivia d'Abo (Gauls)
See also
References
- 1 2 3 "Asterix in Amerika". filmportal.de (in German). Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ↑ "Asterix Conquers America (U)". British Board of Film Classification. 20 February 1995. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
- ↑ Collins, Fiona M.; Ridgman, Jeremy (2006). Turning the Page: Children's Literature in Performance and the Media. Peter Lang. pp. 141, 144. ISBN 978-3-03910-255-6.
- ↑ "Asterix NZ – Asterix Movies "Asterix Conquers America"". Archived from the original on 10 December 2006.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Asterix Conquers America Cast". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ↑ "Voice Acting". Rupert Degas. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- 1 2 "Jonathan Kydd 2 min Animation Reel". YouTube. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ↑ Credited under the pseudonym Jean-Philippe Bouton.
External links
- 1994 films
- 1994 animated films
- 1994 children's films
- 1994 direct-to-video films
- 1994 comedy films
- Asterix films
- Films set in pre-Columbian America
- German children's films
- Animated films about Native Americans
- Animated films based on French comics
- Films scored by Harold Faltermeyer
- 20th Century Fox films
- 20th Century Fox animated films
- 1990s children's animated films
- Films with screenplays by Pierre Tchernia
- 1994 German films
- 1990s German animated films
- German animated comedy films