Film

Asterix in Britain

Name: Asterix in Britain
Genre: Family, Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Released: 1986
Cast: Roger Carel, Pierre Tornade, Graham Bushnell, Pierre Mondy, Maurice Risch

Comedy
Action
Light-hearted

A 1986 animated Asterix adventure that trades Gaul for ancient Britain, complete with cheerful stereotypes about fog, warm beer, and stoic resistance. It's a brisk, good-natured romp with bright colours and slapstick humour that lands firmly in family entertainment. Perfect for kids who like their historical comedy broad and their heroes clever underdogs.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love cartoon comedy that thrives on running gags, puns and the gleeful clash of cultures, and you enjoy seeing a familiar comic duo meet a country that treats tea and drizzle as a personality.

Skip it if you want animation with fresh visual ambition or a strong through-line, since this is a loose sequence of gags and set pieces that can feel episodic and a little thin on tension.

What it asks of you: It runs about eighty minutes and moves briskly from one joke or chase to the next, asking you to enjoy a light, broad, cheerfully silly tone without much need for patience or emotional investment.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra2002

A live-action Asterix with genuine charm, fizzing energy, and jokes that work for both children and adults. The cast commits fully and the action sequences are inventive enough to feel earned.

But Switching to live-action loses some of the cartoon's visual flexibility, and it's considerably louder and broader in tone than the quieter animated classics.

Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra poster

Spirited Away2001

A gorgeously animated adventure with the same warmth and absurdist logic. Both films trust their audiences to move through a strange world without exhausting explanation, and both are quietly subversive about power.

But It's Japanese, hand-drawn rather than cel animation, and considerably more melancholic. The pacing is slower and the stakes feel real in ways Asterix never attempts.

The Thief and the Cobbler1993

A wildly imaginative animated fantasy with intricate, delicate backgrounds and a genuine sense of wonder. It's proof that animation can be both light-hearted and genuinely beautiful, without ever feeling heavy.

But The restoration is imperfect, and some versions have been badly edited. The humour is gentler and more visual than Asterix, which may feel slow to kids raised on faster cutting.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Asterix in Britain

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Daffy Duck's Quackbusters1988

Both use cartoon logic as a weapon against authority figures. Both trust the audience's intelligence to follow impossible situations played completely straight. The moral is identical: the little guy wins through refusal to accept the rules.

A raucous, anything-goes American cartoon that shares Asterix's belief that chaos and cleverness beat authority every time. Daffy's anarchic energy and the rubber-logic gags feel like a transatlantic cousin of the same comic spirit.

But It's cruder, faster, and far less interested in plot or character. The humour is slapstick and absurdist rather than witty, and some jokes land badly even on rewatching.

The Adventures of Tintin2011

Another European adventure that balances humour, action, and genuine danger. The motion-capture animation is fluid and the script respects the intelligence of younger viewers without talking down.

But It's more technically serious than Asterix, less joke-driven. Some find the motion-capture aesthetic uncanny, and it requires more patience with plot setup.

How to Train Your Dragon2010

A beautifully made adventure about outsiders undermining a system through cleverness rather than strength. It's funny, gorgeously animated, and emotionally genuine without being manipulative.

But The tone is warmer and more sincere than Asterix's sharper comedy. It's longer and more interested in character arcs than rapid-fire gags.

The Lego Movie2014

Relentless visual gags, smart writing, and an anarchic energy that somehow works. It's animated comedy that respects its own logic and rewards rewatching.

But It's louder and faster than Asterix, with a very different kind of humour. Some adults find the aesthetic exhausting, and it's fundamentally about consumption as an idea.

Klaus2019

Stunning hand-drawn animation that moves like a classic animated film. A heartwarming adventure with unexpected depth and genuine laughs that don't depend on irony.

But It's considerably more sentimental than Asterix. The pacing is deliberate, and it's less interested in action sequences than in character and mood.

Kung Fu Panda2008

A comedy-adventure that's genuinely funny, beautifully animated, and structured like a proper film rather than extended episodic humour. The action is clear and inventive.

But It's a Hollywood film with a very different sensibility from European comics. The humour is broader and more dependent on pop culture references.

The Tale of Despereaux2008

A storybook adventure with real warmth and visual charm. It respects fairy-tale logic while making gentle fun of its own earnestness.

But It's quieter and more whimsical than Asterix, sometimes to the point of treacle. The animation is less consistently strong, and the pacing meanders.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice1978

Both are European animated films about small communities resisting invaders through wit and solidarity. Both trust that children can handle complexity and genuine danger. Both see their heroes as ordinary people made extraordinary by refusal to surrender.

A Czech stop-motion film about a young hero fighting supernatural evil through cleverness and resistance. It has the same kind of folkloric confidence as Asterix, but creepier and more visually stunning. A genuine adventure, not cuteness masquerading as one.

But It's darker and more genuinely frightening than Asterix. Stop-motion is slower, the pacing is patient rather than zippy, and it ends ambiguously rather than with triumph.

Fantastic Planet1973

Both are French animated films about underdogs using intelligence and community to resist domination. Both have a sly political edge disguised as comedy or fable. Both believe that animation can do serious work while remaining playful.

A surreal, hand-animated French film about small aliens living under oppression by giant beings. It's science fiction as fable—weird, beautiful, and politically sharp in ways that sneak up on you. Visual invention on every frame.

But It's genuinely strange and deliberately paced. The animation style is unsettling rather than cuddly, the world is bleaker, and it won't explain itself. It's not a film that wants to entertain you in familiar ways.