Picture Credit: 2025 Les éditions Albert René / Goscinny – Uderzo / NETFLIX
Based on one of the issues of the hit French comics authored by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, The Big Fight marks Netflix France’s first foray into the premium animated series arena. As the franchise has spawned many animated and live-action movies over 40 years, they call on one of the most experienced captains of its adaptations: Alain Chabat, writer and director of the 2002 Mission Cleopatra movie, which was an enduring smash hit both in France and globally. But did he succeed in carrying this new adventure to the screen?
After more than 60 years in the global libraries, one should know what to expect from an Astérix adventure: absurd encounters, peculiar supporting characters, a good heap of misplaced Roman arrogance from Julius Caesar and his legions, and lastly, one epic fight or action piece to end it all. Nevertheless, its family audiences have proven to still be in love with the Gallic village of Astérix, the last bastion of resistance to Rome, as new albums continue to hit stores every few years, even though the series creators, Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny, are now long gone. (And at least one more feature film is in development for French theaters from StudioCanal, whose longtime publisher Hachette is now its sister company).
A good bet for Netflix to start delving into French premium animated series, while its American counterparts have had no shortage of events in the genre over the past decade (more recently Blue Eye Samurai). And the big “get” to write and direct is also a sure thing: Alain Chabat has been both a beloved French comedian for more than 40 years, recently getting a supporting actor César award for Beating Hearts (L’Amour Ouf), and a celebrated writer and director whose first two movies were massive hits. The second one was an adaptation of an Astérix adventure, Mission Cleopatra, which was the rare French blockbuster to be celebrated by both critics and audiences alike. Chabat, then, is adapting in 5 episodes the 1966 album The Big Fight (Le Combat des Chefs), with legendary movie producer Alain Goldman by his side, co-writer and co-director Benoît Ouillon, and another co-writer nicknamed Piano. Oh, and keeping with the entirely Gallic tradition, a Toulouse-based studio named TAT has the Herculean task of rendering in 3D the inner dreams of the project’s mastermind. No pressure, then.
The Big Fight ends up being, indeed, the sum of all its parts, and can be seen as a big Gallic tent that is solid on its foundations. Yes, Chabat is voicing Astérix, but his ensemble voice cast makes it work, from Gilles Lellouche as stubborn Obélix to Thierry Lhermitte as Getafix, the druid, and a host of proven comedy names to deliver really strong performances throughout. The story borrows a lot of the beats from the comic book: Caesar discovers he can make the Gallic resistants bend the knee by using their own laws, and having a Roman-Gallic chief try to beat them to a fair fight. The muscular man for the job is Vitalstatistix, and the village becomes endangered when the druid Getafix is accidentally knocked out and forgets the recipe of the magic potion… Therefore, threatening to end the invincibility of Astérix.
All of this is merely a canvas. The Big Fight constantly elevates its source material by surprising the audience and enhancing the material, by – light spoilers – proposing an origin story, introducing more female characters, such as Goth witch Apothika, hilariously voiced by actress and singer Jeanne Balibar, and, more than ever, constantly upping the visual ante. Chabat is a comic book buff and a visual artist in his own right, having shepherded the 2010 adaptation of the Marsupilami, which made its way onto IMAX screens. But he never uses the show to make it a mindless family adventure with cartoon violence, or even make an exhausting showcase for smart puns or pop-culture references. Instead, The Big Fight seems to know instinctively how to use the potential to do either at the right time, often shining with the comic timing of a seasoned master who has studied all the greats to cook a delicate comic meal.
Every sip of the magic potion explodes into fluorescent tints that make more than a nod to the Spider-Verse movies. Any and every style of animation, from 8-bit to preschool shows, makes its way onto the show in a tour de force for animation studio TAT. But, mostly, it never sacrifices its main duo of Astérix and Obélix, diving into their brotherhood to earn emotional beats and good character arcs. The show even dares to make its anti-imperialistic message prevalent, whether it’s with an irreverent nod to a famous song you will discover for yourself, or within its climax. What is even more impressive is the feeling that there is something for every segment of Astérix fans, from younger kids to teenagers to older generations of uber-fans, yet the project never tries to please everyone or appeal to a particular group. Nothing that is attempted feels like overkill, whether it’s dwelling on plot points too long, or making callbacks to the plethora of pop-culture references, or even making the Romans purposefully dumber than they actually are.
Watch Astérix & Obélix: The Big Fight If You Liked
- The Adventures Of Tintin
- Mission Cleopatra
- Maya and The Three
The Verdict
Delivers laughs, impressive cartoon sequences, strong character arcs for its very famous central duo, and surprises on equal footing. Just like the Gallic village, this one is gonna be hard to defeat in terms of quality this year. It’s also a strong start if Netflix orders more premium original animated series.
Astérix & Obélix: The Big Fight arrives on Netflix globally on April 30th.
