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Ranking Asterix Animated Films

Asterix is one of the best Franco-Belgian comic book series and it received both live-action and animated movies. When it comes to the latter, there have been ten movies released so far, and although only a couple were truly great, others ranged from solid to pretty good adaptations. Here is my ranking of all ten Asterix movies.

10. Asterix and the Vikings

Asterix and the Vikings benefits from well realized dynamic between the Gauls and the Vikings with a couple pretty funny moments. But it’s the weakest Asterix adaptation due to its overly contemporary music and an overemphasis on less interesting side characters and subplots.

9. Asterix the Gaul

The first Asterix movie was not great. I liked it quite a bit at first, but upon further examination, I realized that it was too choppy in its animation and too static for it to work properly. It’s faithful to the extreme, lacking the fluid animation and cinematic qualities of its successors.

8. Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion

The Secret of the Magic Potion is one of only two original Asterix movies not based on preexisting material. It has dazzling CGI animation, some solid humor and a pretty good premise, but it’s too fantastical in its story and way too action-oriented. It started off very strong, but it ended up being too contemporary and frenetic.

7. Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods

The Mansions of the Gods is a solid, but flawed adaptation of one of the best Asterix comics. While its animation is quite gorgeous, especially in the stunning backgrounds, it was also overly modern for this particular series. It’s very similar in strengths and flaws to the above entry.

6. Asterix Conquers America

Asterix Conquers America has an uneven plot, some problematic adaptation choices and a weaker third act, but the first half is great, the animation is stellar, the voice acting is surprisingly solid and the soundtrack is a lot of fun. It’s a flawed, but very entertaining Asterix movie that also holds the distinction of being the rare English-language entry in the series.

5. Asterix and the Big Fight

Asterix and the Big Fight is one of the most underrated Asterix movies. It adapts two different comics and it mashes them together into one story with middling results, but it is still one of the most entertaining and funniest movies in the series thanks to excellent humor, superb characterization and animation, and a couple of  very memorable and well crafted plot points.

4. Asterix in Britain

Asterix in Britain is an excellent adaptation of a lesser comic book. The movie has a messy second act and problematic voice acting, but the animation is absolutely gorgeous, especially in its stunning backgrounds, and the soundtrack is once again quite catchy and fun. It takes extra points for being the only movie on this list that improves upon its comic book.

3. Asterix Versus Caesar

The first great movie on this list is Asterix Versus Caesar. It adapted two comic book volumes instead of one, resulting in a brisker, more eventful film. The characters are so well developed and the humor is fantastic. The highlights are its 80s banger of a soundtrack and its fluid, gorgeous animation that delights in every sequence. It was a further proof that adapting a couple of Asterix comics instead of just one is the way to go for this series.

2. Asterix and Cleopatra

Asterix and Cleopatra is a wonderful adaptation of one of the best volumes in this comic book series. It is faithful to the original story while still having its own additional touches that are different and unique, the foremost being the musical elements with a couple of very entertaining and charming songs. Its gorgeous animation is another highlight. This is by far the best Asterix adaptation of the bunch.

1. The Twelve Tasks of Asterix

But the best overall movie is The Twelve Tasks of Asterix, an original film that wasn’t an adaptation. It is the most surreal and artistically inclined movie of the bunch due to an interestingly trippy atmosphere, gorgeous animation style and a terrific soundtrack. It’s also the most fantastical movie to date with the tasks themselves being inspired by Greek Mythology. This is a highly artistic, sophisticated and adventurous movie that proved that Asterix can really soar on the big screen.