Asterix and Cleopatra (film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Asterix and Cleopatra
Original release poster
Directed by	René Goscinny Albert Uderzo English dub: Lee Payant
Produced by	Raymond Leblanc
Written by	Eddie Lateste Jos Marissen Pierre Tchernia
Starring	Lee Payant
Music by	Gérard Calvi
Cinematography	Georges Lapeyronnie Francois Léonard Jean Midre
Editing by	Jacques Marchel László Molnár
Studio	Dargaud
Release date(s)	19 December 1968 (1968-12-19)
Running time	72 minutes
Country	France Belgium
Language	French English

Asterix and Cleopatra (French: Astérix et Cléopâtre) is a fun animated movie from 1968. It was made in Belgium and France. This film is the second adventure of Asterix to become a movie. The creators of Asterix, René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, helped make this film. It looks much better than the first Asterix movie, with more detailed animation and lively music.

Asterix and Cleopatra is almost like a musical. It has three songs and a lot of different music. The movie is also very funny, with silly moments like Cleopatra's singing lion.

Story of the Film

After an argument with Julius Caesar, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt makes a big bet. She says she can build a magnificent palace for him in Alexandria in just three months! She gives this huge job to her best architect, Numerobis. Cleopatra tells him he will get lots of gold if he succeeds. But if he fails, he will be thrown to the crocodiles!

Numerobis is scared because the task seems impossible. He believes he needs magic to finish it. So, he travels to Gaul to ask for help from the famous druid Panoramix. Panoramix agrees to go to Egypt with Numerobis. Asterix and Obelix insist on joining them. Obelix even brings his little dog, Idefix, secretly.

On their way to Egypt, Numerobis' ship meets a gang of pirates. Asterix and Obelix easily defeat the pirates. They even sink the pirate ship!

When they arrive in Egypt, it's clear that Numerobis is not a great architect. Cleopatra herself says his buildings are "the laughing stock of those who don't live in them." Numerobis' sneaky rival, Amonbofis, suggests they work together. Amonbofis wants to share the reward. But if they fail, only Numerobis would be fed to the crocodiles. Numerobis refuses this unfair deal. Amonbofis gets angry and promises to get revenge.

Amonbofis tries to cause trouble among the palace workers. He tells them that Numerobis is treating them unfairly. He encourages them to stop working. To help the workers and speed up the building, Panoramix gives them his magic potion. This potion makes them super strong and they can work without getting tired. Obelix is upset because Panoramix won't give him any potion.

The building work goes so fast that they run out of stone. Amonbofis had secretly paid the stone supplier to dump the next shipment into the Nile River. So, the Gauls have to go on a trip to get more stone. On their way, they visit the famous Pyramids at Giza. Obelix tries to climb the Sphinx and makes a funny guess about how it lost its nose.

Amonbofis' helper, Krukhut, pretends to be a guide. He tries to get the Gauls lost inside the Great Pyramid. They get trapped deep inside. Panoramix gives Obelix a taste of the magic potion to help them break out. But they still can't find their way out. Luckily, Idefix heroically tracks them and helps them escape.

Amonbofis and Krukhut don't give up. They hire the same pirates to attack the stone ships on their way back to Alexandria. Asterix and Obelix easily deal with the pirates again. This makes Obelix happy because he was bored.

In a final attempt to stop the Gauls, Amonbofis tries to frame them. He makes a poisoned cake for Cleopatra. The cake has bad ingredients like arsenic and vitriol. Cleopatra's food taster gets sick after eating the cake. Asterix, Obelix, and Panoramix are thrown into the dungeon. But Panoramix has an antidote. They drink it and eat the rest of the cake, making it seem harmless. Panoramix also cures the taster. The Gauls are set free. They catch Amonbofis and Krukhut hiding in sarcophagi. Their punishment is to work for Numerobis as laborers.

Cleopatra is happy she will win her bet against Caesar. Caesar worries he will look bad if she wins. He sends a spy to the building site. When Caesar learns about the Gauls and their magic potion, he orders his three mercenaries to kidnap Panoramix and spill the potion. One mercenary drinks the potion himself and takes Panoramix to Caesar. Asterix and Obelix catch the other two mercenaries and find out what happened. They rescue Panoramix.

In a desperate move, Caesar surrounds the building site. He attacks the unfinished palace with big rocks. Asterix quickly tells Cleopatra what is happening. Cleopatra steps in and forces Caesar to stop the attack. Even with the damage, the palace is finished on time! Numerobis is honored. The Gauls are taken home on Cleopatra's fancy ship. The sacred crocodiles are not happy about this.

Characters and Voices

Here are the main characters and the actors who voiced them in the original French and English versions of the film:

See also

In Spanish: Astérix y Cleopatra (película) para niños