Just before the palace is due to be completed, Caesar intervenes by sending legions to try and arrest the Gauls. He bribes the stone-delivery man to throw his quarry away, tries to lock the Gauls inside a pyramid, kidnaps Edifis and tries to frame the Gauls by sending a poisoned cake to Cleopatra.
Thanks to Getafix and his magic potion, the work goes forward on schedule, despite multiple attempts by Edifis’s arch rival, Artifis, to sabotage the construction. She promises Edifis that if he builds the palace on time he will be covered with gold if he fails, he will be a meal for the sacred crocodiles.Ī worried Edifis enlists the help of the Gauls, Asterix, Obelix, Getafix, and Dogmatix.
Cleopatra summons Edifis, who claims to be the best architect in Egypt. Infuriated, Cleopatra makes a wager with Caesar promising to build a new palace in Alexandria within three months. Production had to be halted for two whole days.The book begins with an argument between Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and Julius Caesar, in which Caesar belittles the accomplishments of the Egyptian people. Two sandstorms disrupted production, one of which lasted more than eight hours, occurring as a scene with 2,000 actors was about to be filmed. Some of the external scenes required 2,000 actors, 11 kilometers of material to tailor-make costumes, 5,000 pairs of sandals, as well as a dozen different wigs for Monica Bellucci, and 1,500 for other actors. Filming also took place in Malta, for the "aquatic" scenes, as well as in Epinay, France. The making of "Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre," required the mobilization of some 500 set workers on the Morocco set, where most of the film was shot. Especially if it includes beating them up, too. So naturally, Numérobis turns for help to an old family friend, the Gallic druid Panoramix, who travels to Egypt with the two heroes, Asterix and Obelix, always glad to help when it comes to beating Romans. Of course, it gets far more complicated with Amonbofis, (translates in English as Ahmyson-in-law) Cleopatra's regular architect, jealous that he was not given the project, doing everything in his power to foil Numérobis' labors. It would be too simple to leave matters here. However, should he fail, he will be fed to the crocodiles. If he achieves the goal set by the queen, she will cover him with gold. If she succeeds, Caesar will have to publicly admit that the Egyptians are indeed the greatest people in the world.Ĭleo tasks Numérobis with the impossible chore. To prove her point, she promises to build him the most sumptuous palace in the middle of the desert - and within only three months. The plot centers around Cleopatra, the voluptuous Queen of Egypt, (played by the equally voluptuous Monica Bellucci) who gets into a heated argument with Julius Caesar when she wants to prove to the Roman emperor that Egyptians are the greatest people in the world. "In case you ever want to build a second floor," he says, trying to explain his incompetence. Jamel Debbouze, the real star of the film, steals the show as Numérobis, the incompetent architect that never delivers his projects on time, and places doors in the strangest of places, such as near ceilings. That said, the film is still excellent entertainment for any public. Her voice cuts out much as a cellular phone would, depending on where she happens to stand at the time.
Many of the jokes will be lost on the non-French public, or people alien to French culture, such as the Egyptian woman named Itineris, (the name of a French cellular phone network) who looses clarity. We learn, for example, that the Sphinx's nose was broken when Obelix tried to climb it.