Asterix and Obelix All at Sea
Encyclopedia
Asterix and Obelix All at Sea is the thirtieth volume of the Asterix
comic book series, by Albert Uderzo
. The album was dedicated to Uderzo's grandchild, as well as American
actor Kirk Douglas
.
) have taken over Julius Caesar
's personal galley - much to its possessor's irking, for which he insults, then sends his no-good admiral Crustacius to recover the ship.
After some arguing about a safe place to disembark, the slaves decide to set sail for the only place safe from the Romans
: Asterix' small Gaul
ish village, as one of the slaves heard about it from a relative in Britain
. Crustacius, hot in pursuit and ignorant of the Gauls' reputation, prepares to attack the village. The Gauls prepare for battle, but Obelix
is yet again denied a drop of Getafix's magic potion. As the Gauls return triumphant from battle, they find Obelix has drunk the remaining cauldron of magic potion- Getafix having made two cauldrons just in case- and that this overdose has turned him into stone, which has also proven that it would be dangerous to drink more magic potion.
The former galley slaves are granted refuge, and Getafix tries desperate measures to return Obelix to his normal state. He tries potions and things that stimulate his emotion (wild boar cooked by Impedimenta and a kiss from Panacea), and finally Obelix recovers from his stone state - but as a child. Obelix has also lost his old strength, leaving him feeling useless as he now cannot lift menhirs
or eat boars in the same quantity that he is used to doing so. He is kidnapped by Roman soldiers while trying to run away to the forest, and made a slave by the Officer. The former slaves travel with Asterix, Dogmatix
and Getafix to rescue Obelix who is en route to Rome by galley under Crustacius' supervision. When they recover Obelix on the high seas, Getafix proposes Atlantis
as their next destination in order to help Obelix recover his adult shape.
After dropping off Crustacius and his adjutant with the ever-returning pirates- who are also offered Caesar's galley to bring back to Rome for a reward, as a compensation for Asterix having (this time, accidentally) sunk their ship-, Getafix brings them to the remnants of Atlantis (the Canary Islands
), where the Atlantides have found eternal youth, in the hope that they can restore Obelix's true appearance. Unfortunately, the Atlantides have no means to help, only knowing how to make someone younger, not older, so the Gauls head back to the village, while the freed slaves decide to live at Atlantis as children forever, finally being free from Rome.
On their way back, the Gauls are intercepted by yet another Roman galley. Asterix is incapacitated by a catapult stone, and when the Romans want to feed him to the sharks after throwing the gourd of potion into the Ocean
all seems lost. Seeing his friend in danger provokes so much emotion that it triggers Obelix to transform within seconds to his former self. With all his conserved aggression from being bossed around the entire album, he first drives off the attacking Roman galley (causing surprise to Getafix when he climbs back onto the boat having dived in to recover the potion), then smashes the Roman outpost near the village before returning for the traditional village feast.
As for Crustacius, the story ends like this: When swapping Caesar's galley with the pirates for another ship, Asterix and Getafix had accidentally left the magic potion they had taken along for the trip aboard. When Crustacius gets a sip of it just before Ostia, he easily gets rid of the pirates. But when he realizes the nature of his drink and plans to overthrow
Caesar, he commits the same mistake as Obelix and is turned into a statue himself, and his adjutant's dream of getting a promotion for bringing back the ship is dashed when some over-eager soldiers fire flaming ballista
bolts against the supposed pirate vessel.
The statue of the admiral ends up in the Circus Maximus
for the lions- with the adjutant and the soldiers reduced to sweeping the arena-, with Caesar expressing his hopes to a baffled Cleopatra that one day the lions may actually develop a taste for granite
after all...
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
comic book series, by Albert Uderzo
Albert Uderzo
Albert Uderzo is a French comic book artist, and scriptwriter. He is best known for his work on the Astérix series, but also drew other comics such as Oumpah-pah, also in collaboration with René Goscinny.-Early life:...
. The album was dedicated to Uderzo's grandchild, as well as American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
.
Plot summary
A band of galley slaves under leadership of Spartakis (a parody of SpartacusSpartacus
Spartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
) have taken over Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's personal galley - much to its possessor's irking, for which he insults, then sends his no-good admiral Crustacius to recover the ship.
After some arguing about a safe place to disembark, the slaves decide to set sail for the only place safe from the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
: Asterix' small Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
ish village, as one of the slaves heard about it from a relative in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Crustacius, hot in pursuit and ignorant of the Gauls' reputation, prepares to attack the village. The Gauls prepare for battle, but Obelix
Obelix
Obelix is a fictional character from the French comic book series Asterix. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his fatness, the menhirs he carries around on his back and his superhuman strength...
is yet again denied a drop of Getafix's magic potion. As the Gauls return triumphant from battle, they find Obelix has drunk the remaining cauldron of magic potion- Getafix having made two cauldrons just in case- and that this overdose has turned him into stone, which has also proven that it would be dangerous to drink more magic potion.
The former galley slaves are granted refuge, and Getafix tries desperate measures to return Obelix to his normal state. He tries potions and things that stimulate his emotion (wild boar cooked by Impedimenta and a kiss from Panacea), and finally Obelix recovers from his stone state - but as a child. Obelix has also lost his old strength, leaving him feeling useless as he now cannot lift menhirs
Menhir
A menhir is a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Their size can vary considerably; but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top...
or eat boars in the same quantity that he is used to doing so. He is kidnapped by Roman soldiers while trying to run away to the forest, and made a slave by the Officer. The former slaves travel with Asterix, Dogmatix
Dogmatix
Dogmatix is a fictional character, a tiny white dog who belongs to Obelix in the Asterix comics. Dogmatix is a pun on the words dog and dogmatic. In the original French his name is Idéfix, itself a pun on the French expression idée fixe meaning an obsession...
and Getafix to rescue Obelix who is en route to Rome by galley under Crustacius' supervision. When they recover Obelix on the high seas, Getafix proposes Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
as their next destination in order to help Obelix recover his adult shape.
After dropping off Crustacius and his adjutant with the ever-returning pirates- who are also offered Caesar's galley to bring back to Rome for a reward, as a compensation for Asterix having (this time, accidentally) sunk their ship-, Getafix brings them to the remnants of Atlantis (the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
), where the Atlantides have found eternal youth, in the hope that they can restore Obelix's true appearance. Unfortunately, the Atlantides have no means to help, only knowing how to make someone younger, not older, so the Gauls head back to the village, while the freed slaves decide to live at Atlantis as children forever, finally being free from Rome.
On their way back, the Gauls are intercepted by yet another Roman galley. Asterix is incapacitated by a catapult stone, and when the Romans want to feed him to the sharks after throwing the gourd of potion into the Ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
all seems lost. Seeing his friend in danger provokes so much emotion that it triggers Obelix to transform within seconds to his former self. With all his conserved aggression from being bossed around the entire album, he first drives off the attacking Roman galley (causing surprise to Getafix when he climbs back onto the boat having dived in to recover the potion), then smashes the Roman outpost near the village before returning for the traditional village feast.
As for Crustacius, the story ends like this: When swapping Caesar's galley with the pirates for another ship, Asterix and Getafix had accidentally left the magic potion they had taken along for the trip aboard. When Crustacius gets a sip of it just before Ostia, he easily gets rid of the pirates. But when he realizes the nature of his drink and plans to overthrow
Overthrow
Overthrow may refer to:* Overthrow, a change in government, often achieved by force or through a coup.**The 5th October Overthrow, or Bulldozer Revolution, the events of 2000 that led to the downfall of Slobodan Milošević in the former Yugoslavia....
Caesar, he commits the same mistake as Obelix and is turned into a statue himself, and his adjutant's dream of getting a promotion for bringing back the ship is dashed when some over-eager soldiers fire flaming ballista
Ballista
The ballista , plural ballistae, was an ancient missile weapon which launched a large projectile at a distant target....
bolts against the supposed pirate vessel.
The statue of the admiral ends up in the Circus Maximus
Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue located in Rome, Italy. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire...
for the lions- with the adjutant and the soldiers reduced to sweeping the arena-, with Caesar expressing his hopes to a baffled Cleopatra that one day the lions may actually develop a taste for granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
after all...
Trivia
- The character Spartakis is obviously based on actor Kirk DouglasKirk DouglasKirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
and his role in the movie SpartacusSpartacus (film)Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast...
. - This is the only album in which two of the pirates are called by name.
- The Atlantean "palace" in the album has been modeled after the ruins of the Minoan civilizationMinoan civilizationThe Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
. Connections between Atlantis and Minoan Crete have also been explored in Atlantis MysteryAtlantis MysteryAtlantis Mystery by the Belgian artist Edgar P. Jacobs was the seventh comic book in the Blake and Mortimer series, first published in Tintin Magazine from March 30, 1955 to May 30, 1956...
, Indiana Jones and the Fate of AtlantisIndiana Jones and the Fate of AtlantisIndiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a point-and-click adventure game by LucasArts originally released in 1992. Almost a year later, it was reissued on CD-ROM as an enhanced "talkie" edition with full voice acting and digitized sound effects...
and other fiction. - The young Obelix is shown as without his usual great strength. This means that he must be under six years old, as that was about the age he fell into the potion and presumably gained his strength (see How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When he was a Little BoyHow Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When he was a Little BoyHow Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When he was a Little Boy is an Asterix story written by René Goscinny and originally published in the French magazine Pilote issue 291 , with only a few drawings...
). - This album has perhaps the closest thing in the Asterix series to a major character actually dying, as Admiral Crustacius is left trapped in stone form at the end of the story, without Getafix around to revert him back to normal.
- Cleopatra makes an appearance in this album alongside Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. Her physical appearance is quite different from that seen in the album Asterix and CleopatraAsterix and CleopatraAsterix and Cleopatra is the sixth book in the Asterix comic book series by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. It was first published in serial form in Pilote magazine, issues 215-257, in 1963.-Synopsis:...
. Her skin is much more of a tanned brown color, and she has a normal nose as opposed to the long and pointed one, which was the subject of a running gag in Asterix and Cleopatra. - The young Obelix actually calls Asterix "Asterix" in this story, but in How Obelix fell in the Magic Potion When he was a Little Boy, he calls him "Athtewixth."
In other languages
- Czech: Obelix a Caesarova galéra
- Dutch: De beproeving van Obelix
- Finnish: Obelixin kaleeri (also translated into Savo dialect as Opeliksin orjalaeva, roughly translatable as Obelix's Slave Ship)
- German: Obelix auf Kreuzfahrt
- Spanish: El mal trago de Obelix
- Greek: Η γαλέρα του Οβελίξ
- Italian: Asterix e la galera di Obelix
- Norwegian: Obelix på galleien
- Portuguese: A Galera de Obelix (Brazil) O Pesadelo de Obelix (Portugal)
- Polish: Galera Obeliksa
- Danish: Så til søs, Obelix!
- Serbian: Обеликсова галија
- Swedish: Obelix på galejan