Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra

“I had another Monica Bellucci dream”.

This was said to be the most expensive French film ever made at the time, although in retrospect the first live-action Asterix film they made might have cost more so perhaps it was all a marketing ploy.

There’s a dry, sarky sense of humour here which perhaps isn’t the perfect match for Asterix but does work as a film in its own right. It’s rarely laugh-out-loud funny but goes all-in on quick-witted layered jokes. As a young teenager watching this, it appealed to me. Now it’s more wry-smile territory, but still enjoyable.

I also always loved the set design, a colourful larger than life rendering of ancient Egypt that exceeds your expectations in terms of detail and imagination. There’s also some lovely matte-paintings in there to give it a bit of an old-Hollywood feel.

Perhaps it can’t hold a candle to the lovely hand-drawn films they made before, but there’s a lot to like here nonetheless.

Just look at this Raft of the Mesusa gag: