Asterix and serial obelix on Netflix: why it is also a success for Occitania’s strategy

More than twenty years after “Mission Cleopatra” (2001), Alain Chabat returns to the universe of Asterix with an unprecedented animated series, “Asterix and Obélix: the fight of chefs”, available since last Wednesday on the video platform on demand Netflix, which broadcasts it in 190 countries. Adapted from the eponymous album published in 1966, the series marks a turning point for the franchise with five 30 -minute episodes fully animated in 3D, produced by the Toulouse Studio Tat Productions.

The idea of ​​a film that has become a series

At the heart of the plot, an unexpected event: Panoramix loses memory … And with it, the recipe for magic potion. Around this trigger, the story deploys the classic tension between Gauls and Romans which made the success of comics. Alain Chabat, who lends his voice to Asterix – succeeding the “mythical” Roger Carel – finds a universe he knows well. Already a director and screenwriter of “Mission Cleopatra”, this time he signed a co -wrote series with Benoît Oullion and Piano, his accomplices of the program Burger Quiz, on TMC. True to the spirit of comics, the series multiplies contemporary winks while integrating unpublished figures, such as Metadata (Anaïs Demoustier), young Roman cultivated, or César’s mother (Jérôme Commander). Gilles Lellouche responds in the role of Obelix, and there are also Laurent Lafitte en César, Thierry Lhermitte in Druid and Géraldine Nakache en Bonemine.

The project, initially thought in 2021 as a feature film, finally took the form of a series. For his first fully lively achievement, Alain Chabat surrounded himself with Fabrice Joubert, former DreamWorks and Illumination. Together, they opted for an aesthetic mixing graphic fidelity-with the integration of onomatopoeias-and current visual references, of “Spider-Man: New Generation” to “Star Wars. »»

Netflix, which has just increased its prices in France, put big on this series, doubled in nearly 40 languages ​​and taken from a saga sold to more than 400 million albums worldwide.

The choice of the Studio Tat Productions, based in Toulouse, is part of a broader dynamic of structuring the audiovisual sector in the region. Founded in 2000 by David Alaux, Eric and Jean-François Tosti, Tat is today one of the most active European studios in animation, with 350 employees and several successes to his credit, including “The AS of the Jungle” or “Pattie and the anger of Poseidon. The Asterix and Obelix series represents a major step in the development of the studio, selected from several candidates for this major project.

A regional dynamic

But this success is also the fruit of long -term regional support. A historic partner of TAT, the Occitanie Region has invested nearly 3 million euros since the creation of the studio, through the financing of pilots, technical equipment or the connection with local animation schools. For Carole Delga, president of the Occitanie region, “the release of this ambitious series, the same year when the studio celebrates its quarter of a century, illustrates the path traveled. I am proud of this success which contributes not only to promote our region but also to create jobs and opportunities for our local talents. »»

With the “Occitanie, it turns”, adopted in 2023, the region also intends to become the first destination in France for international productions, by mobilizing 80 million euros over five years in favor of the cultural and creative industries. The success of this new animated series confirms the relevance of this commitment, which also shows that audiovisual production can develop in the region, outside the historic poles.