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Asterix and Cleopatra

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Comic book, animated film and live action film

  • Genius Bonus: Edifis greets Getafix by saying "My dear old Getafix, I hope that you are well?" (in the original French: "Je suis, mon cher ami, très heureux de te voir.") Getafix says to the other Gauls, "An Alexandrine." This is one of the most subtle jokes in the entire Asterix series, because alexandrine is a term for a line of verse with 12 syllables, which Edifis' sentence is an example of, and the English translation preserving the reference is a great Woolseyism.
  • Surprisingly Improved Sequel: A rare, possibly even unique instance of this trope applying to the same basic story across three different forms of media:
    • The Asterix comic book series had gradually improved in quality over the course of the previous stories, though stumbled a little with Asterix and the Banquet. With this one, the series finally hit its stride when it came to story and artwork, and it's still regarded by much of the fanbase as the best story in the entire Asterix series, an opinion that co-creator René Goscinny also held.
    • Whereas Asterix the Gaul got a middling at best reaction, the animated adaptation of Asterix and Cleopatra was seen as a huge improvement for the all-around better animation and capturing the feel of the books much better.
    • The 2002 Live-Action Adaptation Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra by Alain Chabat was also regarded as a considerable improvement over Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar, and is still considered the best out of the five Asterix live-action films thus far as well as a landmark in French comedy films in general and the French big budget comedy every other French big budget comedy is inevitably compared to.

Animated film

  • Adorkable: The Lion of Cleopatra.
  • Audience-Coloring Adaptation: It's not uncommon among fans to remember the Arsenic Cake Villain Song (as it's quite memorable). Few would remember it's not in the comic book.
  • Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: "When you're eating well, you're well" is another memorable song about food. With a Disney Acid Sequence. (The Dutch version cut the sequence.)
  • Les Yay: Cleopatra is in a relationship with Caesar, but she also keeps three half naked, singing dancing maids around when taking a bath.
  • Memetic Mutation: The Arsenic Cake ("Le Pudding à l'Arsenic") song has remained memorable in France, to the point of being famously remixed by a hip hop band. A pastiche was also sung by the Joueur du Grenier.
  • Only the Creator Does It Right: René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo didn't even know Asterix the Gaul was being made until a few months before release, and did not look back at it fondly. They demanded to direct the next film, Asterix and Cleopatra. It got a much better reception overall, and left a pop culture impact the first film never reached.
  • Padding: The film adds several scenes not found in the comic book album which have little purpose other than being funny. It stretches the film just to feature-length, at about 70 minutes.

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