Asterix and the Big Fight (French title Astérix et le Coup du Menhir, German title Asterix - Operation Hinkelstein), sometimes titled Asterix: Operation Getafix, is a 1989 French-German animated film directed by Philippe Grimond and based on the Asterix comic books. More specifically, its plot blends elements from two albums, Asterix and the Soothsayer and Asterix and the Big Fight.
One day, the Roman garrison stationed around the indomitable Gaulish village decides to kidnap said village's druid, Getafix, for he is the one who makes the magic potion that grants Super-Strength to the villagers. While Asterix and Obelix are rushing to his rescue in the forest, Obelix throws a menhir (man-made granite monolith) at the Roman legionaries, which lands on the druid and renders him both amnesiac and insane. During the stormy night that follows, Prolix, a strange wolf pelt-wearing man pretending to be a soothsayer comes at the village.
Asterix and the Big Fight provides examples of:
- Adaptational Karma: In Asterix and the Soothsayer, Prolix gets away, without a scratch. In this film he gets bashed with a menhir by Obelix, rendering Prolix just as insane as the druid was throughout the film.
- Adaptation Amalgamation: The bulk of the story is based on Asterix and the Soothsayer, and the subplot with Getafix losing his mind comes from the album Asterix and the Big Fight.
- Adapted Out: While it has a subplot with Getafix's amnesia and insanity that was adapted from the album Asterix and the Big Fight, the film doesn't include the other druid from that album, Psychoanalytix, who attempted to cure him.
- Artifact Title: The eponymous duel of chieftains from The Big Fight is not adapted in the film, therefore the English title The Big Fight doesn't have much reasons to be.
- Bowled Over: In the climax, the centurion is thrown by a female Gaulish villager, rolls and crashes into legionaries, with the appropriate sound effect.
- Darker and Edgier: While the content itself isn't that much worse than what we've seen in other Asterix movies, this film has a notably bleak and somber tone.
- Disney Acid Sequence: The music number led by Cacofonix (who sings decently to the viewer for once, but still not for Fulliautomatix, who smashes his head with a hammer at the end) once Getafix wakes up. He does so as a modern rock musician, with an electric guitar somehow. It's more or less supposed to be one of Getafix's hallucinations.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Vitalstatistix's nickname, "Piggy-Wiggy" ("Cochonnet" in French, which literally translates as "Piglet"), which his wife Impedimenta starts reusing after a good luck prediction by Prolix (she hasn't used it since the day they married). Cue Asterix and Obelix laughing.
- Explosive Results: When Asterix and friends try to have a now-insane Getafix recreate the magic potion, it only manages to cause explosions, due to him using random ingredients for kicks. So much so that it creates a big crater in the village, which enlarges with each explosion.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: There's a brief shot of Prolix passing by a drawing representing a nude Cleopatra in a Roman tent.
- Fire-Breathing Diner: The first sip for the Roman legionary who's used as guinea pig for Getafix's random mixtures (in the hope of recreating the magic potion) causes him to spit fire.
- Frying Pan of Doom: Geriatrix's wife bashes two legionaries on the head with a frying pan in the climax.
- Improvised Cross: When Prolix makes his scary entrance into the but hut where the Gauls are gathered, Unhygenix the fishmonger makes a cross using two fish (which is a rather anachronistic joke given that the film takes place in 50 BC), not knowing who he is.
- Mobile Shrubbery: Like in the namesake comic book, a Roman legionary is sent to spy on the village with a hollow tree as disguise.
- Mushroom Samba: After he wakes up, in addition to his amnesia, Getafix has a distorted vision of reality, which causes him to laugh endlessly.
- Nemean Skinning: Prolix the Soothsayer wears a wolf pelt with the wolf's head as hoodie, like in the comics.
- Only Sane Man: Asterix is the only villager who doesn't buy into Prolix's "power", not being fooled by his easy and vague enough predictions.
- Open Secret: While it starts off as a secret, everyone in the village ends up knowing that Prolix is still in the forest, and they're all gullible enough to come at him individually with plenty of food for him to "read" omens in it.
- Reused Character Design:
- The Roman centurion (named Gaius Faipalgugus in French) has the same character design as Gaius Motus from Asterix in Britain while not being the same character. That character design would be reused once again in Asterix Conquers America, for a different centurion, yet again.
- The centurion's optio reuses the design of Gaius Totalapsus from Asterix in Britain.
- Random Effect Spell: Due to Getafix using random ingredients as his insanity goes, the poor Roman legionary who's used as guinea pig for the potions experiences various effects. In order: spitting fire and having a dragon tail growing, being propelled around, turning into a human jackhammer, turning into a fireball with police siren sounds, being shattered in little cubes, turning into a savage lion, inflating like a giant balloon, shrinking to the point earthworms are giant for him and, eventually, becoming lighter than air.
- Rolling Pin of Doom: Impedimenta and other female Gaulish villagers chase Prolix with rolling pins in the climax.
- Super Gullible: Like in Asterix and the Soothsayer, the whole village bar Asterix easily buys into Prolix's "predictions".
- Toon Physics: Just like in the namesake album, there's no way a non-Magic Potion powered Getafix would survive being crushed by a menhir. Twice.
