History WesternAnimation / TheTwelveTasksOfAsterix

* HellIsThatNoise: A windy storm is blowing while our heroes and Tiddlus are reaching the entrance of the Cave of the Beast. The wind blows with a creepy sound.

* GenreShift: As stated above, unlike the comic books, this movie is much more fantastic, surreal and forth-wall-breaking than the comic book series ever was...

** It is strongly indicated that the "pleasure" that the priestess from the "Island of Pleasure" talk about is in fact... well... sex!

* SurrealHorror: Plenty during the Cave of the Beast sequence!

While the story starts like any other Asterix adventure, it quickly shifts into much more [[GenreShift surrealist, fantastic and at points downright trippy]] territory, leading to an ending so bizzare you have to see it to believe it.
However the original series' trademark humor (pun-filled historical satire mixed with some well-placed jabs at contemporary issues) is still present for the entire flick. It was generally praised by critics and fans of the series alike.

* ArmyOfTheDead: The last task before our heroes reach Rome? Spending the night on an old creepy battlefield... with a legion of Roman ghosts showing up.

** Oumpah-pah, another Goscinny and Uderzo character, is seen among the fighting Indians.

* AlternateHistory: While the comic series as a whole dabbles in this, this movie in particular has history taking a truly different course, as Asterix, indeed, conquers Rome. In particular, things end up a whole lot different (and better) for [[spoiler:Caesar, who, rather than being murdered, gets to enjoy a happy, quiet retirement in the country with Cleopatra.]] The ending is non-canon in both history and comic book continuity.

* VastBureaucracy - In what might be the most memorable task of the story (the seemingly unobtainable 'laissez-passer A 38' has since become a cultural trope in France, whenever tedious bureaucratic issues are concerned) Asterix and Obelix need to get a certain paper from a bureaucratic agency. All previous attempts to do so have ended in insanity: going up and down stairs, being informed that the form you need doesn't exist/is the wrong color, the person you need to consult with is out to lunch, and so forth. The method Asterix uses to win is brilliant in its simplicity. [[spoiler:He turns the bureaucracy against itself: he asks for a paper that doesn't exist, 'laissez-passer A 3''9''', in a corridor that nobody knows about, B 65, but the employees try to find it anyway, exposing the weaknesses of a system where everyone has a task but doesn't know how the rest works. In the end, the employees themselves go mad.]]

** The goddess Venus (while appearing among other Gods) is in fact a caricature of the French actress Brigitte Bardot.
** The buxom priestesses of the ''Island of Pleasure'' (especially the high priestess), in turn, appear to be modeled after Italian movie star and sex symbol Creator/SophiaLoren

* TakeThat: The-Place-That-Sends-You-Mad is essentially this to the French bureaucratic system.

* AnimationBump: The dance sequence on the Island of Pleasure uses some rotoscoped sequences. They are integrated well enough though and the extra bit of smoothness works well in the context of the scene.

* VastBureaucracy - In what might be the most memorable task of the story (the seemingly unobtainable 'laissez-passer A 38' has since become a cultural trope in France, whenever tedious bureaucratic issues are concerned) Asterix and Obelix need to get a certain paper from a bureaucratic agency. All previous attempts to do so have ended in insanity: going up and down stairs, being informed that the form you need doesn't exist/is the wrong color, the person you need to consult with is out to lunch, and so forth. The method Asterix uses to win is brilliant in its simplicity. [[spoiler:He turns the bureaucracy against itself: he asks for a paper that doesn't exist, 'laissez-passer A 39', in a corridor that nobody knows about, B 65, but the employees try to find it anyway, exposing the weaknesses of a system where everyone has a task but doesn't know how the rest works. In the end, the employees themselves go mad.]]

* VastBureaucracy - In what might be the most memorable task of the story (the seemingly unobtainable 'laissez-passer A 38' has since become a cultural trope in France, whenever tedious bureaucratic issues are concerned) Asterix and Obelix need to get a certain paper from a bureaucratic agency. All previous attempts to do so have ended in insanity: going up and down stairs, being informed that the form you need doesn't exist/is the wrong color, the person you need to consult with is out to lunch, and so forth. The method Asterix uses to win is brilliant in its simplicity. [[spoiler:He turns the bureaucracy against itself: he asks for a paper that doesn't exist, but the employees try to find it anyway, exposing the weaknesses of a system where everyone has a task but doesn't know how the rest works. In the end, the employees themselves go mad.]]

** While the buxom priestesses of the ''Island of Pleasure'' (especially the high priestess) appear to be modeled after Italian movie star and sex symbol Creator/SophiaLoren

* SurrealHorror: Plenty during the cave of the beast sequence!

** Asterix pulls a large one during The-House-That-Sends-You-Mad sequence.

** "The house that sends you mad" appears to be like a factory for those...

* DeadpanSnarker: Caius Tiddlus.

** When Caesar tells the story of Hercules' Labors, the art in the animation is presented in style of drawing on the greek vases.
** The monsters/ghosts Asterix and Obelix meet in the cave of the beast are all made with much more artistic and surreal style.

* BigEater: Obelix as usual, exept he goes to the extreme this time, eating a boar with fries, a flock of geese, several sheep, an omelette made with eight dozen eggs, a whole school of fish, an ox, a cow and veal ("because to separate ze family...zat would not be right!"), a huge mound of caviar (with a single piece of toast), a camel, ("and before we start on the main course") an elephant stuffed with olives... and considering it all starters!

** During his introduction scene, Asterix says "Hello” in various languages (English, Japanese, German etc.) while the flags of the countries are shown. As the flag of France appears Asterix makes a rooster-like sound. This is a reference to the fact that the rooster is a national symbol of France.

* GainaxEnding: You have to see it to belive it...

* GenreShift: As stated above, unlike the comic books movie is much more fantastic, surreal and forth wall breaking then the comics ever was...

** A rare musical example occurs during the protagonists' ascent to the Old Man of the Mountains, when the score takes on a notably Wagnerian feel (as opposed to the more jolly score heard throughout the rest of the movie) using motifs that are clearly inspired by both, the "Ride of the Valkyries" and the prelude to "Das Rheingold".

So imagine this: Julius Caesar conquers all of Gaul territory, with the exception of one tiny village, whose people just so happen to have a magic potion that can make them invincible. Due to this, the Roman soldiers start to wonder whether the village's inhabitants might actually be gods. So Caesar - who considers the whole idea idiotic - challenges the Gauls: If they - like Hercules - can carry out twelve tasks he invented (the original 12 labours are outdated), Rome will surrender and the Gauls will rule it as the new supreme masters. The chief picks his best men Asterix and [[BigEater Obelix]] and sends them off for an exciting aventures fighting off ghosts, sirens, beasts and even ... retrieving bureaucratic writs.

** Asterix pulls a large one during the house that sends you mad sequence.

** The monsters/ghousts Asterix and Obelix meet in the cave of the beast are all made with much more artistic and surreal style.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment : At one point in the movie we see a group of Roman gods siting in the sky commenting about the whole event. It doesn't appear again...

So imagine this : Julius Caesar conquers all of Gaul territory, with the exception of one tiny village, whose people just so happen to have a magic potion that can make them invincible. Due to this, the Roman soldiers start to wonder whether the village's inhabitants might actually be gods. So Caesar - who considers the whole idea idiotic - challenges the Gauls: If they - like Hercules - can carry out twelve tasks he invented (the original 12 labours are outdated), Rome will surrender and the Gauls will rule it as the new supreme masters. The chief picks his best men Asterix and [[BigEater Obelix]] and sends them off for an exciting aventures fighting off ghosts, sirens, beasts and even ... retrieving bureaucratic writs.