Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002)

The Egyptian queen Cleopatra bets against the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar that her people are still great, even if the times of the Pharaohs have long passed. She vows to build a new palace for Caesar within three months. Since all her architects are either busy otherwise or too conservative in style, this ambiguous honour falls to an architect named Edifis/Numerobis .

Edifis is to build the palace and be covered in gold or, if not, his fate is to be eaten by crocodiles. Edifis calls upon an old friend to help him out: the fabulous Druid Getafix/Panoramix from Gaul, who brews a fantastic potion that gives the drinker supernatural strength. In order to help and protect the old Druid, Asterix and Obelix (Gérard Depardieu) accompany him on his journey to Egypt. Asterix falls in love with an Egyptian woman named Guimieukis (Noémie Lenoir).

Edifis/Numerobis's rival architect Artifis/Amonbofis (Gérard Darmon) tries to incite a rebellion among Edifis's workers. Getafix brews some potion and construction resumes. When Julius Caesar gets wind of the project succeeding, he has the building site attacked by his troops in order to win the bet and not lose face. But just like the local pirates, he hasn't counted on Asterix and Obelix.

The movie relies on layers of cultural jokes, many of them from the original graphic novels by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo; more were added by the screenwriters, including many references to current popular culture: Caesar's military commander, Caius Céplus, is named for the abbreviation of production company Canal+ (and is spelt "Caius C+" in the English subtitles), and parodies Darth Vader. Some jokes require a knowledge of French society, habits, etc. while others make use of the historical setting for humorous effect: Cleopatra asks her court painter (played by Claude Berri, the film's producer and a renowned contemporary art collector) to paint her "not in profile, for once" and he demurs, saying he's not into "modern art."