Asterix and Obelix speak Catalan again in 'The Battle of the Chiefs'

BarcelonaAsterix and Obelix, the most famous Gauls in comic book history, speak Catalan again. The miniseries landed on Netflix on April 30th. Asterix and Obelix: The Boss Fight, inspired by the comic book of the same name, and was dubbed and subtitled in Catalan. The production is now part of the 3.4% of the platform's catalog available in Catalan, according to data from Desdelsofá.catBefore this miniseries, Asterix and the rest of his neighbors had already spoken Catalan thanks to the dubbing that was done for the various animated films based on the comics

The series includes many iconic scenes and images of his weapon, and Obelix trying to take some of the magic potion. Asterix and Obelix: The Boss Fight It has been directed by Alain Chabat, actor, dubbing actor and director ofAsterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, and the production remains loyal to the original creators, René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, authors and scriptwriters of the comics. However, it also adds new characters (such as the Roman Metadata) and makes references to contemporary phenomena and celebrities (such as the name of the Gallo-Roman Fastandfurius or the Roman Mileycyrus), without losing the spirit of the comic. In total, there are 5 episodes of twenty-five minutes each.

The animation was carried out by the French studio TAT Productions. Animation director Fabrice Joubert noted in the newspaper The Depêche One of the main goals was to prevent the 3D animation from becoming too cold or artificial. They wanted the characters and settings to have an organic, relatable texture. This attention to detail seeks to respect the aesthetics of the original comic while adapting to the technical possibilities of contemporary animation.

In an interview with the French media outlet Rough, Chabat shared memories about his first encounter with the Asterix universe. "My mother told me I could go to a bookstore and choose whatever I wanted. There I found several Asterix albums," he says. "I think the first thing I read was... Asterix the Gladiator, which had a silver cover, almost luxurious. I also remember Asterix and Cleopatra, which impressed me a lot. It was like... whoops!" he recalls. Asked if the rebellious spirit of the Gauls would survive in today's world, with inflation and the dominance of social media, Chabat was blunt: "Yes, without a doubt. They are so undisciplined, so carefree, that they completely forget the general interest in favor of particular interests. So I think they would survive perfectly in 2025."

Asterix and Obelix was created in 1959 by screenwriter René Goscinny and cartoonist Albert Uderzo. To date, 40 albums have been published, translated into more than 100 languages worldwide. In addition to the series, the Gauls are back this year with a new video game: Asterix and Obelix: Slap Them All! 2, and album number 41, where the two friends travel to Lusitania, present-day Portugal. More than six decades after its inception, the series continues to sell thousands of copies with its humor, social criticism, and adaptability to changing times.