Asterix in Britain
Encyclopedia : A : AS : AST : Asterix in Britain
Asterix in Britain is a French comic book, the eighth in the Asterix comic book series. Originally called Astérix chez les Bretons and published in Pilote issues 307-334 in 1965 (published in album form in 1966). Much of the humour in the original French version rests on errors commonly made by British people in attempting to speak the French language, literally translating English proverbs, and using English grammar combined with French words (e.g. in French, adjectives are usually placed after the noun). In the English version, the translators adopt a humorous stereotype British upper class style of speech to distinguish their language from that spoken by Asterix and Obelix.
Style and content
By this stage the artwork for Asterix books has become well established and standardised along with the plot and character conventions. The colouring and production are of a higher quality than earlier volumes but less polished and glossy than later ones such as Asterix in Switzerland.The authors worried that, like for some of their other books set outside of Gaul, they might receive complaints from British readers about the portrayal of their country. The following message was included in the original English release:
- ''"As usual, we caricature what we are fond of, and we are fond of the British, in spite of their strange way of putting Nelson on top of their columns instead of Napoleon. However, when it comes to presenting this skit on the British to the British, we feel we owe them a word or two of explanation. Our little cartoon stories do not make fun of the real thing, but the ideas of the real thing that people get into their heads, i.e., clichés.
- We Gauls imagine the British talking in a very refined way, drinking tea at five o'clock and warm beer at the peculiar hours of opening time. The British eat their food boiled, with mint sauce; they are brave, phlegmatic, and always keep a stiff upper lip. Suppose we were British, caricaturing the Gauls, we would say they all wore berets, ate frogs and snails and drank red wine for breakfast. We might add that they all have hopelessly relaxed upper lips, and that phlegm is not their outstanding characteristic. And most of all, we should hope that the Gauls would have as good a sense of humour as the British."
The book is considered to be one of their best. Its interweaving of panels and text in the Tower of London sequence is ingenious while the plot thread that holds the book together — the search for the barrel of magic potion — is among their most sustained gags. The sight of Roman legionaries getting drunk off Gaulish wine in the cellar of the Roman Governor's Palace is one of the more memorable episodes of the Asterix series.
Plot summary
Julius Caesar has invaded Britain and succeeded, mainly for reason that the British soldiers under Cassivelaunos stopped fighting every day to drink hot water (with a drop of milk please). As with Gaul, a single village remains independent, defying the Romans. One member of the village, Anticlimax, is despatched to Gaul to enlist the help of Getafix the druid in providing magic potion for the British rebels. It is decided that Asterix and Obelix should accompany him back to his village to help transport the potion (a whole barrel full).In Britain, the barrel of potion is confiscated from a pub cellar along with all the "warm beer" (bitter) by the Romans, who set about tasting all the barrels to find the right one. Asterix and Obelix steal back all the barrels but Obelix gets drunk and starts a fight. During the fracas a thief steals the cart with all the barrels. After a brief stay in the Tower of London the three heroes hunt down the potion, which is being used as a pick-me-up for a Rugby team. Eventually the potion is lost in the Thames after an attack from a Roman catapult.
Finally reaching the independent village, Asterix offsets the Britons' disappointment by claiming he carries herbs to remake the potion; these are later revealed to be tea. With a psychological boost, the village prevails against the Romans. Asterix and Obelix return home to the inevitable feast.
Film adaptation
The book was adapted into a film of the same name, which was released in 1986. The adaptation is mostly faithful to the book (the main difference being that Dogmatix doesn't stay back in Gaul), and is considered by many to be the best of the Asterix films.Notes
- Keeping with Goscinny and Uderzo's habit of drawing famous people in cameo roles, Anticlimax and the Gauls meet a "very popular group" of bards, who are obvious caricatures of The Beatles.
- In French, Obelix remarks on the tweed worn by Asterix's Briton cousin, asking, "Is it expensive?" ("c'est cher?"); the Briton replies, "My tailor is rich" ("mon tailleur est riche") — an allusion to basic lessons in English, available in many European states. It has been said that "My tailor is rich" was the very first spoken phrase said in the first Assimil "English without Pain" (Anglais sans Peine) English learning vinyl record volume released circa 1960.
- Later there's another gag with the same basic premise in reverse: when Asterix remarks that his cousin's boat is small, he replies obscurely, "It's smaller than the garden of my uncle, but larger than the pen of my aunt", a phrase used in English texts of the period when teaching French.
- References to the Five Tribes tournament are to the 5 Nations Rugby tournament (held between France, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland—plus Italy since 2000). In the British edition however they refer to the "tribal crown" instead - if any of the teams from within the British Isles (England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland) defeats the other three it is said to win the "triple crown".
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.