Customer Reviews

Asterix Conquers America (Clamshell)

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I'm not a European who's probably watched Asterix a million times. I vaguely heard about it while studying French in high school.
Asterix is a Gaul who lived in Roman times. His adventures have taken him to Rome, Scandinavia, and Egypt, but things are switched up as he voyages to the "new world."
There are clever things here. When Asterix smokes a pipe, he says, "Hopefully, this will never catch on." The Gauls refer to a turkey as "gobble gobble." The main character says "up doodoo creek" and as this was translated for British audiences, I didn't know that slang phrase was used over there.
There is some messy stuff, however. I'm an African American and I didn't like how a Black character had exaggerated lips and was clearly influenced my minstrelsy. They show the Romans as stereotypical Italians, talking about pizza, etc. If Gauls came to North America, they probably would have met Northeastern tribes. Here, there are tipis, which are from the Plains, and totem poles which are from the Northwest. They just threw Native American stuff together really haphazardly. Then again, Asterix and the Natives sing a song, "We Are All the Same Tribe," that clearly was a promotion of multiculturism or liberal humanism.
For a silly cartoon, this was okay. I'd much rather watch this than "Muppet Babies." It's not as sharp as a "Toy Story" or "Ice Age," but I'd think minors would like it.