All goes wrong in the indomitable Gaulish village when the Roman conqueror Julius Caesar sets his eye on them. Based on the original French comics of the same name, Netflix’s new animated miniseries, Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight, is a sharp and entertaining series, blending clever wit with brisk, well-paced storytelling. The show basically is an almost perfect recipe for a good old laugh.
Spoilers Ahead
What happens in the show?
The Big Fight begins in 78 BC, and we see two best friends, Asterix and Obelix, who are nothing but absolute babies. Due to a silly bet with a bully called Cassius Ceramix, the two friends sneak into the Druid Getafix’s hut late at night. Getafix has been working on creating a magical potion his entire life, but he’d never managed to do so. When tiny Obelix tastes the potion, he rates it as bland and decides to add strawberries, a lobster, and a four-leaf clover. He unknowingly creates the magic potion and soon finds himself inside the cauldron while trying to hide from the druid. The freak accident gives him superhuman strength, and the creation of this magic potion means that anybody who drinks it gets freakishly strong for a short while. After seeing the villagers trying to use the potion for petty day-to-day activities, Getafix decides to only use the potion in times of self-defense. Two decades later, Asterix and Obelix’s village is the only indomitable clan in all of Gaul, and thanks to the potion, the Romans can’t conquer them. After multiple failed attempts, Caesar sets his mind to eliminating the only thorn on his path to greatness.
How Do The Romans Plan To Conquer The Indomitable Village?
A girl called Metadata and Caesar’s general, Fastanfurius, are tasked with coming up with a plan to conquer Armorica. Metadata thinks the only way to emerge victorious is to invoke an old Gaulish tradition—the big fight. According to the lore, if one Gaulish chief challenges another to a fight, the winner takes control of the loser’s tribe and land. So Metadata picks a candidate for the mighty task, Cassius Ceramix, the person who accidentally helped create the magic potion when he was a child. Cassius is the chief of his village now, and he loves Caesar and the Romans much more than the Gaulish culture and traditions. The next and most crucial part of Metadata’s plan is to abduct the druid before the fight, eliminating the only person who can brew the magic potion. Fastanfurius and Metadata travel to Gaul, where the defeated army general, Potus, is basically ready to pack up and leave. However, they agree to work with Metadata, and Fastanfurius tells Potus to eliminate the druid instead of capturing him. Potus and the Roman soldiers wait in the forest for the druid, and they grab him before he puts up a fight. Meanwhile, Asterix and Obelix come to his rescue, and after Asterix spills his magic potion while running, Obelix throws a huge menhir at the soldiers, flattening Getafix in the process. Even though he survives the huge stone crashing on him, Getafix completely loses his sense of sanity. The village chief, Vitalstatistix, is terribly out of shape and stands no chance against Cassius, whose name is an allusion to the great Muhammad Ali for the love of God. Now, the people of Armorica must find a way to fix their miracle druid, Getafix.
Does Getafix Remember the Magic Potion’s Recipe?
From a wise, intelligent, and almost mystical personality, Getafix becomes a ventriloquist trying to crack jokes using his beard as the dummy. He stares at the sun for too long and imagines himself dancing to a nursery rhyme along with fictional dumbed-down versions of the sun and the tree; you get the gist. Getafix’s brain is clearly taking a break, and who would think that the wise druid would dance to Shaggy’s ‘Bombastic?’ Asterix is clearly worried, along with the rest of the village, and Vitalstatistix’s workout sessions would need to continue for several years if he’s to get anywhere near his Roman-loving opponent’s level.
Asterix and Obelix try to make Getafix brew the potion again, but everytime they try, it mostly ends up in an explosion and the cauldron going up in the air for far too long. One of these cauldron launches results in the Gauls capturing the spying Roman general, Potus, and Asterix reckons he’d be the perfect candidate to test the potion on. The potions keep changing him to different colors, from red and blue to the good old black and white. One potion finally sets him free by helping him levitate like a balloon, and he swims through the sky to make it back to his camp. Unable to recreate the potion, Asterix decides to visit Getafix’s therapist friend, Apothika. Meanwhile, Potus brings good news to the Roman cavalry, and they’re confident they can accomplish their mission. Apothika agrees to help Asterix and Obelix, but as soon as she reaches the village and asks about what led to Getafix acting this way, Obelix recreates the moment and drops a menhir on Apothika, and of course, she loses her mind as well.
Is the show a political satire?
The series, along with its original comic counterpart, very cleverly uses the historical narrative as a medium to satirize the political dynamics of the Roman Empire. The Roman historian tries to claim that all of Gaul is occupied by the Romans, as history is always written by the victors. When the cavalry led by Fastanfurius, arrives at Gaul, they uproot vast swathes of the forest to create a massive arena and an amusement park for Caesar and his subjects. An amusement park ride features a song that glorifies the supremacy of the Roman Empire, propaganda Caesar manufactured by using catchy, over-the-top entertainment. The ruler’s thirst for conquest and fooling his people by distracting them is very evident in a very comical way.
Why does Obelix banish Asterix before the big fight?
While Asterix is a cunning, diplomatic, and fiercely brave character, Obelix is a strong brute with childlike innocence, and he often acts impulsively when Asterix has to do damage control. Both of them together make a solid duo; they balance the brains and brawn. We’ve seen Obelix having panic attacks whenever he has to make a speech, and it’s always Asterix who takes over for him and saves the day. But during the course of the show, Asterix insults Obelix a bit too much from time to time. Obelix feels like he’s entitled to some more respect for his name, and rightfully so. When Vitalstatistix’s wife figures that they need to make Obelix the chief to beat Cassius, Obelix hesitantly accepts the job. Just before the big fight, Asterix loses his mind when Vitalstatistix considers letting Obelix be the chief even after the fight, and he says all sorts of insulting things to prove that Obelix isn’t cut out for the job. Obelix hears everything and decides to banish his best friend from the village.
How does Obelix lose the Big Fight?
The moments leading up to the Big Fight are pure animated gold—packed with sharp satire and pop culture references you wouldn’t expect. Caesar walks down the red carpet with a William Defoe-esque drip, with Salt-N-Pepa’s “Whatta Man” playing in the background. A thousand flashes go off in his face, but it’s not cameras; it’s sculptors with huge rocks carving his face at lightning speed. A hilarious scene shows Cassius having his fanboy moment with Caesar, asking him to pose for a sculpture with him. But the sculptor is awfully slow, and they stand there and pose for far too long.
In The Big Fight, we have a huge gladiator-like arena and two commentators, AnnaBarbera and Blackangus. Their duo is the football equivalent of Roy Keane on steroids commentating with Kate Abdo. In the ring, Cassius is terrified and trembling at the sight of Obelix, but as soon as the referee asks him to give a speech before the fight, Obelix loses his head. He looks around to find Asterix, the friend he banished a few moments ago, isn’t there anymore. Obelix faints in the ring, and he loses by a countout, as you’d see in a professional wrestling match. Caesar takes immense pride in his victory, even though Blackangus is ranting about how soft the sport has become, just like Keane would. As Caesar announces his conquest of Gaul, Asterix shows up, claiming that he’s still not under Roman control. He was banished from the village earlier, and that means he is still a free Gaul. Fastanfurius and Asterix then get in a swordfight around a rollercoaster ride, and Asterix outsmarts his stronger opponent just enough to make it out alive.
Does Getafix Regain His Memories?
Before the Big Fight, Asterix was chasing after Getafix and his new silly friend Apothika, who were running around like children at a wedding. Getafix ends up in the arena after the fight, and he gets hit on the head again. He has regained his memories, but Caesar is busy dealing with a jeering crowd. He figures that these people need entertainment, and he decides to launch cannonballs at the Gaul villages. The fiery round shots decimate Cassius’ mini Rome too, showing that the emperor doesn’t care for anyone but his own interests. Metadata isn’t happy with all the destruction, but Fastanfurius reminds her of the consequences of participating in a war. At this moment, Metadata decides to change sides and helps Getafix reach his hut to make the potion.
Sadly for the Gauls, the Roman troops reach there first, using the amusement park rides, and they capture Getafix and Metadata. The Romans start drinking the magic potion, and the effects show instantly. Obelix tries to resist the Romans, but the army proves to be too strong with the powers of the potion. The rest of the Gauls, led by Vitalstatistix, assemble in a very obvious “Avengers: Endgame” style scene, as they gear up to prove how indomitable they truly are. As both sides approach each other, the Romans start flying like Potus did earlier. They’re armless and flying, and then they start to glow in all sorts of different colors. The druid has outsmarted the Romans and made a fake potion that ended the war without even needing the real one.
Caesar is stunned, but for the first time in this whole time, his mother seems happy seeing the bright soldiers up in the sky. Even the great emperor Julius Caesar has mommy issues, and the validation of his mother is enough to get him to not care about the Gauls anymore. He proudly gloats that he is letting the Gauls live, even though his army is defeated and flying away. Even his loss becomes an “act of generosity,” and the Gauls have finally solved the Roman problem.
