Konterr Brilliant and touching

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

ElMaruecan82 Time goes so fast, it seems like yesterday when I asked my uncle if he could tape "The Twelve Tasks of Asterix" for me.As a child, I was already an avid reader and watcher of Asterix' adventures, I collected the albums and videotapes, and knew almost every film by heart. That year, because of summer holidays, I couldn't tape the film on the day of its TV airing, coincidentally, my 9th birthday. I told my uncle it would make a great gift if he recorded the film for me. He kindly accomplished the 13th task and when I was back, I had the VHS with a dedication wishing me to be as strong as Asterix during his twelve tasks. It didn't affect my appreciation of the film, but I love it even more because it's forever connected to this childhood memory.Now, 22 years after, I don't look at "The Twelve Tasks of Asterix" just as THE touching gift from my uncle, but as a tremendous gift from a giant of humor named René Goscinny to a whole generation. The film is the consecration of a talent never equaled ever since, a mix of originality and creativity appealing to both kids and adults, and a level of humor and slapstick responsible of unforgettable laugh-out-loud moments. If I could only pick one sequence to illustrate the film's brilliance, I guess the 'Place that Sends you Mad' is no contest, the one that elevates the film to the dimension of a timeless classic. For all of the agonizing victims of bureaucracy the 8th task, worthy of the most Kafkaian nightmares has an extraordinary cathartic effect for all those who had to obtain a Permit A38. On Youtube, it's the most commented part of the film.Need I to mention the plot? The title is only misleading because it overlooks Obélix' role in many tasks, but both are selected for their intelligence and strength making them the only ones capable to accomplish the twelve tasks given by Julius Caesar. The purpose is to determine whether Gauls are Gods which would explain why the small village always beat up Caesar's powerful army. Apparently, Romans seem to have forgotten the Magic Potion but who cares when it is the pretext to a series of twelve hilarious sequences involving physical and intellectual challenges, with adversaries from every place in the world: Greece, Egypt, Beligum, including a monstrous creature named the Beast, and ghosts from the Dead plain, although the unhelpful public servants of the 'Place that Sends you Mad' are the scariest of all.The merit of the plot is to never be short of original ideas, while it starts with sports, the tasks take a new turn where the two Gauls must cross a lake near the island of Pleasure, where voluptuous big-lipped long-legged sirens tempted the two Gauls for a frenzied samba, and when the game looked over, the ensuing dialogs between Obelix and the Great Priestess worked on an anachronistic level. While the first two Asterix films were adapted from written material, "The Twelve Tasks" is the only original creation from Goscinny, as if he sensed there was a great inspiration for gags from new ideas, especially if the film is meant for the big screen. This is why he created with Uderzo, their own company, Studio Idefix whose logo Is a cute parody of the MGM lion. They produced "The Twelve Tasks" and "The Ballad of the Daltons" one year later, an original adventure of Goscinny's other great creation Lucky Luke.It's interesting that the two films follow the same pattern, Asterix must accomplish twelve tasks, the Daltons must kill eight juror who sentenced their uncle, it's the same episodic structure that allows to create micro-universes and different inspiration for gags. Sadly, Goscinny passed away in 1977, a few months before the completion of "The Ballad of the Dalton" and before he could enjoy the beautiful tribute to Hollywood's musical. "The Twelve Tasks of Asterix" marks the end of the first period that includes "Asterix the Gaul" and "Cleopatra", before his all-time friend Pierre Tchernia would take the torch in the 80's, the Gaumont period. It's our luck that Goscinny let his creativity implode on his last years, creating one of the funniest French animated films ever, that never lost their cultural significance.You'll enjoy the Warner Bros-like race with the Greek marathon runner, a javelin discovering America before time, a small German fighter dressed in kimono, Preasure Island priestesses with sexy samba moves but narrow-minded views on marriage, a hypnotic Egyptian, a scary journey in a dark cave hiding the strangest stuff, a dangerous mountain climbing, a riddle, a hilarious climax in the Circus Maximus, but the Place that Sends you Mad, is the highlight of the film. Now, what can I say about the ending? Maybe you'll find a bit preposterous, unbelievable, ridiculous, but the way they tackle their own criticism reaches infinitesimal summits of hilarity. And as Asterix told Obelix: "it's a cartoon, so no holds barred".And Obélix' reaction is the greatest demonstration of why animation can sometimes surpass movies, as the ultimate escapism, the common link between kids and adults, it's the perfect dream-like universe, were anything can happen … for the sake of a gag. Nothing happens in "Twalve Tasks" that doesn't serve a laugh. This is Golden Age material, everything is perfect from the story, to the dubbing, the drawing and the score by Vladimir Cosma. There is a lot of fourth wall breaking and to also conclude on a childhood episode, the film enriched my knowledge on the Twelve Tasks of Hercules. God, my sentimental weakness while remembering the film and the good old days.I'm not surprised that in my teenage days, the first comic I wrote was a parody of Hercules' story, who said mythology couldn't be an inspiration for laughs?

rh86 This was one of the first films I actually remember watching and I had already read a few of the comics and loved them. Recently I found my parents still had the video and watched it again. And I still loved it. Brief summary, after yet another defeat by the indomitable Gauls, Caeser decides that the only reason for this is that the Gauls are Gods and sets out twelve tasks to prove this. Asterix and Obelix are selected to perform the tasks with hilarious consequences.Although a non original story unlike the other Asterix films this film brilliantly captures the charm and the humour of the comics. With jokes about the ancient world and the modern day (the take on bureaucracy is side splitting), coming up with a few modern inventions on the way and a musical number thrown into the middle you won't keep a straight face throughout.Admittedly compared to recent animation this film doesn't look or sound as good as it might but it was made on a low budget 30 years ago. It's still funny and the visual gags still work. Plus you can use it to teach kids the twelve tasks of Hercules.

ma-cortes vThe year is 50 Bc. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Roman. Well,not entirely..One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps . In the village are our friends : ¨Asterix¨,the hero of this adventure,he's a shrewd , cunning little warrior ,all perilous missions are immediately entrusted to him.¨Obelix¨ his inseparable friend,he's a menhir delivery-man by trade and addicted to wild boar,he's always ready to drop everything and go off on a new adventure with Asterix,so long as there's wild boar to eat, and plenty of fighting.¨Panoramix¨,the venerable village druid,gathers mistletoe and brews magic potions,his speciality is the potion which gives the drinker superhuman strength although also has other recipes up his sleeve.¨Abraracurcix¨,the chief of the tribe,majestic,brave and hot-tempered,the old warrior is respected by his enemies,he has only one fear,he's afraid the sky may fall on his head tomorrow,but as he always says,'Tomorrow never comes'. And of course ¨Cacofonix¨,the Bard,opinion is divided as to his musical gifts,he thinks he's a genius,everyone else thinks he's unspeakable,but so long as he doesn't speak,let alone sing,everybody likes him..... The film concerns about Julius Caesar who offers the Gauls a covenant ,they must prove which they're Gods by making twelve extremely difficult works, similar to 12 works of Hercules which are the following: vanquished to the Amazonas,captured wild boar and bull of island of Crete,killed the Hydra,swept the stable of Ujias,murdered to Gerion and Diomedes,took apples of garden of Hesperides,won a race against the clock to a deer,strangled to Lion of Nemea,shot arrows to birds of lake Stinfano,got out at Teseo of the inferno. Asterix and Obelix will must be able resolve twelve similar tasks that Caesar chose and if the fail they will converted slaves and the Gauls village will hand over the Roman empire to them . Between the dangerous missions our friends must suffer are the followings : the fighting a winner javelin thrower and against a judo-man, the lures of mermaids , taking a celestial challenge with a God, combating a ghosts army, the crossing an invisible bridge and confronting public officials with a extremely critic to the bureaucracy ,among others. The picture will appeal to Asterix and Obelix comic-books fans.

Victor Field The best of the several movie adventures of Asterix, Obelix, Vitalstatistix and Co., our heroes are given a series of increasingly difficult tasks by Caesar, with the future of the village at stake - ranging from crossing a ravine by an invisible bridge ("Which you do not see over there") through avoiding the lures of the sirens, combating a champion javelin thrower and getting a permit for the next task (something that will strike a chord in anyone who's ever had to face red tape) to facing a celestial challenge by a god who asks them to... actually, that last one is so funny you have to see it for yourself.There is a book out, but it's the adaptation of the movie, making "The Twelve Tasks Of Asterix" the only one to date actually written for the screen first. Perhaps the makers of the later animated movies and the live-action ones could take the hint? (Or is adapting them properly beyond 'em?) Sheer pleasure throughout, with moments that still make me laugh years after seeing it and some surprisingly strong satire, all the movies should have been like this. Right, let's tie up the bard and bring on the boar...