The first three were great (The Gaul, Vs Cleopatra and Twelve Tasks) but basically after that the funding was down to who would put up distribution, which meant a wild variedness in animation quality as well as the foreign dubs. The original English voice cast went out the window and the voices were dubbed by "local" talent in whichever country they were being released.
Such a shame these were not picked up by a major US distributor...they are certainly up to those standards. The series dipped BADLY in the mid-late 80s and did not recover until the late 90s when the Brizzis directed an outing, though I never caught that one.
I just managed to pick up Asterix And The Vikings while over in Paris last week - it just came out there - and it's a great little film, animated in a collaboration between A-Film in Denmark and the out of work, ex-Disney Paris artists, so it has real quality. It was actually animated "in English", for the best chance at international distribution, with the French dub doing a good job of syncing, but it's clear that the included English dub on the DVD is the one that it was animated to. The director is an English speaker too, so it makes sense. Actually, a very recommended disc (though the extras are not covered in any English dubs or subtitles).
The first Lucky Luke is the best, while Ballad Of The Daltons is a bit of a let down. The story is more generic, the Daltons themselves less than inspired and the clever voice joke of having them sound like 1930s Warners gangsters in the first one is discarded in favor of them sounding pretty much the same apart from the obviously dumb one.
Still, good movies and tons of happy memories!
