Why must Asterix films be broadcast on Netflix?
France24 wrote about the history of Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo's famous Gaulish adventurers, Asterix and Obelix, and how difficult it's been to find an audience in places like the USA:
All that aside, why can't anything in relation to European comics be bought and distributed by streaming channels other than Netflix? Surely there is some competition, and possibly less woke than Netflix is? I certainly hope better competition will come along sooner or later, because there's only so many comics-based films and TV programs that would be better served by being broadcast on streaming channels other than Netflix, just like most regular live action productions. If most sensible viewers are canceling their subscriptions to Netflix now, the Asterix cartoons may not find much audience there now as it is.
The plucky Gallic rebels, created by illustrator Albert Uderzo and writer Rene Goscinny in 1959, have a vast following thanks to the original comic books that have sold around 400 million copies.On this, they needn't feel left out. There's plenty of anime from Japan that only gets released in arthouse theaters too, because till this day, most western marketers haven't a clue how to convince an vast to try them out as something more for adults, if that's the level the film/TV series in question is made for. I've seen at least a few anime movies at film festivals myself. But it's a shame this has to be broadcast on a certain infamous web channel, and making matters worse is that a certain actor is also brought up who didn't belong in the films:
A series of big-budget French films -- the latest in 2023 took them to China in "Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom" -- has also helped expand their reach.
But warrior Asterix and his powerful but dim-witted sidekick Obelix are yet to conquer viewers in the United States and Britain, which have their own comic book and animated hero characters from Marvel, Disney and other stables.
"Often unfortunately in these markets the Asterix films tend to be released in arthouse cinemas," said Celeste Surugue, head of the Editions Albert Rene publishing company that owns the rights to the original comics.
Although the tales of Roman-era adventure have a following in Australia and New Zealand, Asia also remains a global weak spot for the potion-swigging Gallic underdogs.First, while streaming sites surely have advantages, why does it specifically have to be Netflix serving as host for the films? Again, they're so woke in their own ways, it's not worth subscribing to their services. And second, since they bring up Depardieu, it's sad to have to point out that he's been accused of sexual assault over past years, and was recently in court over some of the allegations. I'd read almost 35 years ago about allegations made against him, at the time one of his films was being nominated for an Oscar, and now years later, it's clear something is wrong, and Depardieu half admitted it, but still refused to take full accountability. What's really angering about this whole flap is that, not only is a film based on one of my favorite European comics now tainted by his behavior, there's also several others he's made in past decades that had interesting premises (The Last Metro, in example) that're regrettably now tarnished as well. And if Netflix is screening any of Depardieu's movies, that too can say quite a bit about what continues to be wrong with their conduct, recalling how recently, they screened a remake of Rurouni Kenshin, despite its mangaka's arrest for keeping child pornography in his office. If there's anything Depardieu has in common with Nobuhiro Watsuki, it's that it looks like he too is getting away with his offenses, and that's very sad. Though this scandal may have led to certain improvements in France's entertainment industry, it won't change that for now, Depardieu's another scumbag who couldn't match any good manners he demonstrated in his films proper, and behind the scenes, he was a very repellent person who was not suited to play Obelix, recalling that's the role Depardieu took in 4 of the Asterix productions.
"The strength of a streaming platform is that access to viewers isn't limited by distribution," Surugue said.
Netflix is set to release the new five-part animated mini-series based on the 1966 book "Asterix and the Big Fight" in 190 countries, with 38 different language versions including Mandarin, Korean and Arabic.
It is directed by Alain Chabat, 23 years after his success with the "Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra" film starring Gerard Depardieu and Monica Bellucci, which remains one of the best-selling films in France of all time.
All that aside, why can't anything in relation to European comics be bought and distributed by streaming channels other than Netflix? Surely there is some competition, and possibly less woke than Netflix is? I certainly hope better competition will come along sooner or later, because there's only so many comics-based films and TV programs that would be better served by being broadcast on streaming channels other than Netflix, just like most regular live action productions. If most sensible viewers are canceling their subscriptions to Netflix now, the Asterix cartoons may not find much audience there now as it is.
Labels: comic strips, Europe and Asia, licensed products, manga and anime, misogyny and racism, msm propaganda, violence
