Getafix (French: Panoramix, in some English translations, Magigamix) is the tritagonist of the Asterix franchise. He is the village druid.
Appearance[]
Getafix is a tall, elderly man with a white beard. He wears a white robe, red cloak, and blue shoes. He is usually seen carrying a small golden sickle on his waist.
Changes in Appearance[]
His appearance changes through the books; in the first album Asterix the Gaul, he is more hunchbacked than his later taller appearance. Also in that book he carries a walking stick and his eyebrows are bigger than usual. In the second book Asterix and the Golden Sickle he only has a brief appearance in the beginning and the end of the book; there, he is taller and significantly looks more like his future appearance although in intitial printings, his cloak is sky blue. By the time of the sixth book,Asterix and Cleopatra, he looks a lot like his current self.
Age[]
While his age is never stated, in the story of Asterix' birth (in which all but the oldest villagers are seen as small children) he appears unchanged. In Asterix and the Big Fight the druid Psychoanalytix (who appears quite old) refers to him as his elder and teacher.
Biography[]
Role[]
Although known for his strength-enhancing magic potion, he has many other magical and medicinal potions at his disposal, and acts as the village doctor and occasionally teacher. Asterix (and most other villagers) will consult him whenever anything strange occurs. He does not himself normally engage in combat, whereas most of the villagers enjoy a good punch-up (even with each other). On one occasion in one of the stories explaining Gaulish women, with using Mrs. Geriatrix as an example, with a fight sparked by Impedimenta. The final cut is shown with all the male villagers and two females, Impedimenta and Bacteria included, with Getafix running to stop the punch up, with a piece of fish flying towards him. What he does next (continues to attempt to stop the fight or joins in the brawl) is unknown, although the former is the most likely.
As the only individual able to produce the "magic potion" upon which the villagers rely for their strength, he is the focus of many stories, and the conscience of the village. On a few occasions, he has refused to make the potion when the villagers become too selfish. He has also occasionally been taken prisoner by hostile forces to get access to the potion – only to be freed again thanks to Asterix and Obelix. Finding ingredients for his potions has also sent Asterix on several adventures. Despite being a druid, he is incapable of conjuring spells.
Actors[]
French[]
- Lucien Raimbourg (1967-1968)
- Henri Virlogeux (The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976))
- Henri Labussière (1985-1994)
- Vania Vilers (Asterix and the Vikings (2006))
- Bernard Alane (2014-2018)
- Thierry Lhermitte (Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight (2025))
English[]
- John Primm (Asterix the Gaul and Asterix and Cleopatra)
- Geoffrey Russell (The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976))
- Robert Barr (Asterix Versus Caesar and Asterix in Britain)
- Peter Hawkins (Asterix and the Big Fight (UK dub) (1989))
- Danny Mann (Asterix and the Big Fight (US dub) (1989))
- Geoffrey Bayldon (Asterix Conquers America (1994))
- Jeff Bennett (Asterix and the Vikings (2006))
- John Innes (Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods and Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion)
- Jon Glover (Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight (2025))
French[]
- Claude Piéplu (Asterix & Obelix vs. Caesar)
- Claude Rich (Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra)
- Jean-Pierre Cassel (Asterix at the Olympic Games)
- Pierre Richard (Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom)
French[]
- Thierry Kazazian (Asterix & Obelix XXL (2003)) (uncredited)
- Damien Laquet (Asterix & Obelix XXL 2: Mission: Las Vegum (2006))
- Bernard Alane (Asterix & Obelix XXL 3: The Crystal Menhir (2019))
- Hubert Drac (Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram from Hibernia (2022))
- Martial Le Minoux (Asterix & Obelix: Mission Babylon (2025))
English[]
- Allan Wenger (2003-2006)
- Paul Bandy (Asterix at the Olympic Games (2007))
- Wayne Forester (Asterix & Obelix XXL 3: The Crystal Menhir (2019))
- Brian Bowles (Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram from Hibernia (2022))
- Ken Starcevic (Asterix & Obelix: Mission Babylon (2025))
Etymology[]
"Getafix" is a pun on "getting a fix" — obtaining a dose of a recreational drug, and a reference to the magic potion he produces; the phrase can also mean to perceive or to get a solid sense of something. In the short-lived American version of the series, he was called Magigimmix ("magic gimmicks"). He was called Readymix (the name of a British cement firm) in newspaper comics during the 1970s, as Getafix was considered inappropriate for children.
"Panoramix" is a pun on "panoramic".
Trivia[]
- In the English version of the Asterix the Gaul film, he is referred to by his original French name "Panoramix".
- Getafix bears some similarity to many wise old men in legend, literature and film who act as mentors and father-figures to the heroes, including Merlin, Gandalf, Obi Wan Kenobi and Albus Dumbledore. In Goscinny's works, however, Getafix came across more as just a friend of the protagonists rather than a wise old counselor. He was also, from the very beginning, shown as a figure of fun and had a wonderful sense of humour: in Asterix the Gaul he'd cut his finger while using his sickle and roar with uncontrollable laughter at Asterix' teasing of the Roman Centurion; in Asterix and the Big Fight he was shown as going literally crazy.
Gallery
Getafix.
