Too many fans seem to be blown away

Overrated

From my favorite movies..

Absolutely brilliant

Good animation, story changed but still holds on and a bit of flying which touch me (too much). Some flaws in the timing. The film is a bit short and it seems to me that the story could have been elongated even more. A bit too much of English in the film, with English songs. The whole remains very good and it's a good laugh.

Asterix and the Vikings is the first animated asterix movie in over 12 years since the 1994 "Asterix conquers America". It also has the honor of being the first digitally colored asterix animation, which makes the largely entertaining story a lot more breathtaking to behold.Every scene of this movie is vividly rendered in bright cheerful hues adhering closely to the color schemes of the comic books it was based on. The character designs also stick relatively close to the comic, for better or for worse, preserving the simple but unique look of the characters. Being simple in terms of character design, this allows for more time and effort to be spent on the actual animation, which by the way surpasses many other big screen theatrical animated movies. Character movements are very fluid and possess a quality that looks way beyond what a modest budget would usually produce; there is always something moving in every scene and no evidence of the usual cost cutting animation short cuts. 3D computer images are incorporated seamlessly with the traditionally animated 2D art. If anything, the style of shading makes the 3D elements look more like traditional comic book paintings than CGI models.The storyline takes much of its elements from the "Asterix and the Normans" comic, and this is where its main flaw lies. As an adaptation of said comic, "Asterix and the Vikings" takes way too many liberties with its source material. Long time fans of the comic would no doubt find much to dislike about the movie's story and its lack of adherence to the source.On the other hand, one can see this story as a really fun one if taken on its own without comparing it its source material. Highly comedic, well written jokes pepper the upbeat script. The funniest parts were the numerous pop culture references and jibes at modern day 21 century life. Mobile communications, the shopping channel, commercial airlines and even sports cars are spoofed to great effect. Excellent chemistry and acting by the cast (I watched this in English by the way) though a couple of voices like Cacofonix I found really irritating (but I guess it is all part of his character).If there is anything to criticize about the story, it is the lack of "asterix". This story seems to be more like Justforkix's story of teenage romance and "coming of age" with Asterix and Obelix merely playing supporting roles. This gives a pretty big sense of staleness since much of the story's elements are the usual staples of such teen movies. Derivative and clichéd at times, only the witty comedy and traditional "Astrix" elements (the Romans, the pirates etc) manage to save this film from falling into plain mediocrity.While not the best installment in the Asterix animated movie library, it is certainly one of the funniest, the best scripted and the most beautifully animated. DVD seems a little hard to come by though

This Asterix is very similar to modern Disney cartoons. Soulless, technically good and the usual in-jokes for adults. Maybe it's because this is the first cartoon I watched after Laputa: Castle in the Sky, but it was quite disappointing.The plot is contrived and forgettable but it involves Asterix and Obelix going to the Viking's territory to rescue a spoilt teenager who then learns humility and finds love as well. Oh and initially they don't get on but after facing adversity they all share a deep bond of friendship... yadda yadda.The best bit is to watch out for the little jokes. The Vikings get all the best ones. Such as Vikea (the Viking's chief's wife) giving a list of furniture and skulls to bring back from the next raid. Or the Vikings not knowing the meaning of mercy (literally). Oh, and Olaf the dumbest Viking is actually hilarious (as much for the voice acting as the dialogue).For example, aboard the Viking ship: (After a speech by Abba, the captain's daughter) Olaf: Who is this new guy? Captain: That's my daughter, cod-brain! Olaf: Your... daughter's... a man?

As a great fan of Asterix I was off course very thrilled when I saw that it was decided the adventures of Asterix would once again become animated, because quite frankly I found the movies to be really unimaginative and unwatchable.The animation itself left me almost speechless. Also for the first time we were able to hear some familiar music in an animated cartoon ("Get Down On It" and "Eye of the Tiger").The story itself didn't really follow the comic. Only the original idea, that the Vikings wanted to learn fear and thus kidnapped Justforkix who was sent to the Gaul village to become a man, was used. Some of the characters were taken from some other Asterix adventures (seen in the comic books).The thing that bothered me most was the poor delivery of lines. In the comic the punch lines were much better delivered and the story was simply more amusing. In the movie even those punchlines they used were lost, because the story around them has been changed so much, they were actually just trying to place these punchlines in the new story and failed! Still as this is obviously intended for the youngest of viewers I will say that my nephew enjoyed it greatly, while the rest of us (my father, brother and myself - the four of us went to see it together) were bitterly disappointed and immediately pulled the original comic from our collection.So to summon it all up, you'll see great animation, hear good music, all in all have a very well made cartoon in front of you - but with a poor storyline.