# Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods

Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods (French: Astérix – Le Domaine des Dieux), also titled Asterix and Obelix: Mansion of the Gods, is a 2014 French animated adventure family comedy film directed by Louis Clichy with a story written and co-directed by Alexandre Astier.The film features the voices of Roger Carel, Guillaume Briat [fr], Lionnel Astier [fr], Serge Papagalli [fr], and Florence Foresti. The film was Carel's last film before his retirement and later death. It was the first Asterix film animated in 3D.
The film was theatrically released on 26 November 2014 by SND Films in France across 696 movie theatres. It received generally favourable reviews and grossed over $51 million on a €31 million budget. It received an IFMCA Award nomination for Best Original Score for an Animated Feature Film. Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods was released on DVD, VOD and Blu-ray on 9 June 2015, by M6 Vidéo.

## Plot

Frustrated with the Gauls' ongoing rebellion, Julius Caesar devises a new scheme to conquer them: the construction of a city of luxury apartments dubbed “The Mansions Of The Gods” in the forest near the Gauls' village as a means to absorb them into Roman civilization.
During a boar hunt, Asterix and Obelix discover the Mansions’ construction site. Project leader and architect Squaronthehypotenus and a Roman legion garrison commanded by Centurion Somniferus order the slaves to deforest the surrounding area. Asterix and Obelix attempt to counteract the Romans’ efforts by using magic acorns from Getafix the druid, which instantly sprout into full trees upon planting.
Upon hearing the frustrated Squaronthehypotunus threatening to work the slaves to death, Asterix and Obelix invade the Roman camp to free the slaves and provide them with the Gauls' magic potion as a means to escape. However this backfires when the slaves instead use the potions powers to rapidly speedup construction progress, as well as barter for the same pay as the legionaries, along with their freedom and apartments for each of them upon completion. The legionaries also go on strike for similar reasons upon hearing about it.
The Gauls prepare to attack and demolish the Mansions, but discover it to already be populated by Roman civilians. Realizing that they can't harm civilians, they return to the village to plan how to make them leave. Meanwhile, Anonymus, Dulcia and Mischiefus, a family from Rome, are denied their apartments given to them in a lottery due to lacking documents. Upon encountering and befriending Obelix and Dogmatix in the forest, the Gauls reluctantly agree to temporarily accommodate the Roman family into their village, while Obelix and Mischiefus become friends.
Asterix, Obelix and Getafix try numerous methods to make the civilians leave, from causing heavy rain and noise pollution, to trying to create a noxious stench, only for these plans to fail by the civilians embracing these as a natural part of life in Brittany. The Roman civilians also begin shopping in the Gauls' village, causing an escalating price war over fish and 'antique' weaponry. Asterix, appalled with what the village has become, leaves with Obelix, Getafix, Dogmatix and Cacofonix to get their own apartment at the Mansions. While Squaronthehypotenus is reluctant to allow their stay, Senator Prospectus allows them to stay as part of Caesar's plan.
Caesar then enacts the next phase of the plan by offering free apartments to the Gauls. In another attempt to make the Roman civilians leave, Asterix has Cacofonix to cause noise pollution by singing deafeningly loud outside the mansions. This almost works until the rest of the Gauls shows up to silence Cacofonix and move into their new apartments.
With the village abandoned, Caesar enacts the final stage of his plan, ordering the village's destruction. The legion, however refuses to cooperate with Getafix and Obelix still at large. Getafix, Mischiefus and Dogmatix are captured and held in the Mansions' lobby, while Obelix faints from hunger next to the Roman legion while searching for the three, and is thrown into a chamber beneath the Mansions.
Asterix awakens the next day to find the village being besieged, and the Gauls are brought along to watch the village's destruction. The Gauls keep the Romans at bay by pretending to still possess the magic potion, while Asterix makes his way to the Mansions. Meeting with Anonymus and Dulcia, they free Getafix, Dogmatix, and Mischiefus and escape into the apartments, to start brewing the magic potion. The Gauls chase the Romans back to the Mansions, only to be captured once the Romans realise their deception. Asterix attempts to rescue them, but ends up in a poor condition from consuming an incomplete magic potion.
With Asterix incapacitated and the Gauls cornered, Caesar and Prospectus arrive to declare victory over the Gauls, until Obelix rises from underground, revived after consuming food from an arrival banquet disposed into his chamber. The Gauls get their magic potion and defeat the Romans in battle, and demand Caesar take the civilians back to Rome, finally leading to the demolition of the Mansions of the Gods. The Gauls celebrate their victory with their traditional banquet atop the ruins of the mansions. Back in Rome, Anonymus and Mischiefus humiliate Caesar by throwing one of Getafix's instant growth acorns into his podium at the Colosseum, leaving him dangling from a tree branch.

## Cast

| Character | Original Dub | Canadian Version (2015) | U.K. Version (2016) |
| Asterix | Roger Carel | Ken Kramer | Jack Whitehall |
| Dogmatix | Roger Carel | Roger Carel | Roger Carel |
| Obelix | Guillaume Briat | C. Ernst Harth | Nick Frost |
| Centurion Somniferus | Alexandre Astier | Jason Simpson | Greg Davies |
| Vitalstatistix | Serge Papagalli | Don Brown | Matt Berry |
| Dulcia | Géraldine Nakache | Tabitha St. Germain | Catherine Tate |
| Anonymus | Artus de Penguern | Alan Marriott | Harry Enfield |
| Unhygienix | François Morel | Jason Simpson | Richard McCourt |
| Fulliautomatix | Lionnel Astier | Scott McNeil | Dominic Wood |
| Julius Caesar | Philippe Morier-Genoud | Mark Oliver | Jim Broadbent |
| Squaronthehypotenus | Lorànt Deutsch | Richard Ian Cox | Richard Ian Cox |
| Flaturtha | Laurent Lafitte | Donny Lucas | Donny Lucas |
| Senator Prospectus | Alain Chabat | Colin Murdock | Colin Murdock |
| Tofungus | Elie Semoun | Sam Vincent | Sam Vincent |
| Getafix | Bernard Alane | John Innes | John Innes |
| Givusabonus | Florian Gazan | Scott McNeil | Jon Clifford |
| Impedimenta | Florence Foresti | Saffron Henderson | Elizabeth Bower |
| Cacofonix | Arnaud Leonard | Alan Marriott | Alan Marriott |
| Mischiefus | Oscar Pauwels | Jack Gessner | Hannah Beth Jackson |
| Bacteria | Joëlle Sevilla | Saffron Henderson | Elizabeth Bower |
| Geriatrix | Laurent Morteau | Ron Halder | Ron Halder |
| Senator Pestiferus | Brice Fournier | Ron Halder | Ron Halder |
| Senator Fastidius | Christophe Bourseiller | Andrew Toth | Andrew Toth |
| Senator Consensus | Olivier Saladin | Marco Soriano | Marco Soriano |
| Humerus | Franck Pitiot | Michael Adamthwaite | Michael Adamthwaite |
| Radius | Sébastien Lalanne | Andrew Toth | Andrew Toth |
| Doctor | Benjamin Gauthier | John Innes | John Innes |
| Goth Gladiator | Pascal Demolon | Scott McNeil | Scott McNeil |
| Black Numidian Gladiator | Baptiste Lecaplain | Sam Vincent | Sam Vincent |
| Roman Ladies | Virginia Anderson | Jennifer Cameron | Jennifer Cameron |
| Roman Ladies | Pauline Moingeon-Vallès | Saffron Henderson | Saffron Henderson |
| Serius | Damien Gillard | Marco Soriano | Marco Soriano |
| Mosaic Artist | Sébastien Lalanne | Sam Vincent | Sam Vincent |
| Guide | Benjamin Gauthier | Andrew Toth | Andrew Toth |
| Cluelus | Louis Clichy | Andrew Toth | Andrew Toth |
| Roman Brutes | Damien Gillard | Marco Soriano | Marco Soriano |
| Roman Brutes | Brice Fournier | Michael Adamthwaite | Michael Adamthwaite |
| Roman | Damien Gillard | Sam Vincent | Sam Vincent |
| Civilian | Brice Fournier | Marco Soriano | Marco Soriano |

## Critical response and box office

The film was released on 26 November 2014 in France across 696 theatres and earned $7.64 million on its opening week from nearly 780,000 admissions placing at No. 1 at the box office ahead of Hollywood blockbuster films The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Interstellar which were in their second and fourth weeks respectively. The film's opening weekend is also the third highest of 2014 in France. Its opening weekend outperformed other animated movies' openings of Frozen, Tangled, Monsters, Inc., Cars and The Lego Movie. Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Astier and Clichy manage to make the material at once enjoyable and meaningful, while also providing a series of slick, streamlined visuals that never overstuff the screens."

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| IFMCA Award | Best Original Score for an Animated Feature Film | Philippe Rombi | Nominated |

## Home media release

Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods was released on DVD, VOD and Blu-ray on 9 June 2015 by M6 Vidéo.

## Sequel

In 2018, a sequel was released titled Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion.