Recording the voices for an animated Astérix film is not simply a matter of sitting behind a microphone and reading the dialogue. For Astérix et le Royaume de Nubie (Asterix and the Kingdom of Nubia), Isabelle Vitari and Michaël Gregorio describe a recording process that was much more physical than they had expected.
In an interview about the film, the two actors explained that their work was done before the finished animation existed. They were given storyboards and early animatics, while the directors explained the scenes and guided their performances.
For Vitari, the experience sometimes felt more like shooting a live-action film than recording an animated one.
Acting without the finished film
The actors could not simply watch their finished characters on screen and react to them. The animation was still being developed.
Instead, they had to imagine what was happening from the storyboards and animatics. When a character moved, the actors moved too. Vitari describes physically performing her scenes in the recording studio, even running in place when her character was supposed to run.
This meant that the recording sessions involved much more than delivering the dialogue. The actors’ movements and facial expressions were also part of the performance.
The actors’ faces became part of the animation
One particularly interesting aspect of the process was the recording of the actors’ mouths and facial expressions.
The movements of their mouths were filmed while they performed their dialogue. These recordings could then be used by the animators when creating the animated characters.
This helps explain the precise lip-sync in the finished film. The characters’ mouths are not simply animated independently to match an existing soundtrack. Their movements are based on the performances of the actors who originally recorded the dialogue.
The actors therefore contributed to the visual performance of their characters as well as to their voices.
Why animation takes so long
Michaël Gregorio also commented on the long production period. By the time of the interview, around two years had passed since the actors had recorded their parts.
The delay becomes easier to understand when considering what happens after the recording sessions.
Once the actors have performed their scenes, the animators still have to create the entire animated world around those performances. Characters, locations, movements, expressions and backgrounds all have to be developed and rendered before the finished film can appear on screen.
For the actors, this also means that there is a considerable gap between their own work and seeing the result.
They perform their scenes first. The finished Astérix film comes much later.
A different kind of voice acting
The process described by Vitari and Gregorio gives an interesting look at the production of Astérix et le Royaume de Nubie. Their performances were not simply added to completed animation. They were recorded at an early stage and became part of the material from which the animation was created.
That makes the actors’ work closer to a filmed performance than traditional dubbing.
When Astérix et le Royaume de Nubie reaches cinemas, the audience will see a fully animated world. Behind some of those movements, however, are actors who had already performed the scenes—sometimes literally running around the recording studio—long before the animation was finished.
Astérix et le Royaume de Nubie is scheduled for release on 2 December 2026.
The video is in French but you can turn on English subtitles. The discussion about The Kingdom of Nubia starts around 1:01. It also gives a sneakpeek of the upcoming movie, including some new material.
Recording the voices for an animated Astérix film is not simply a matter of sitting behind a microphone and reading the dialogue. For Astérix et le Royaume de Nubie (Asterix and the Kingdom of Nubia), Isabelle Vitari and Michaël Gregorio describe a recording process that was much more physical than they had expected.
In an interview about the film, the two actors explained that their work was done before the finished animation existed. They were given storyboards and early animatics, while the directors explained the scenes and guided their performances.
For Vitari, the experience sometimes felt more like shooting a live-action film than recording an animated one.
Acting without the finished film
The actors could not simply watch their finished characters on screen and react to them. The animation was still being developed.
Instead, they had to imagine what was happening from the storyboards and animatics. When a character moved, the actors moved too. Vitari describes physically performing her scenes in the recording studio, even running in place when her character was supposed to run.
This meant that the recording sessions involved much more than delivering the dialogue. The actors’ movements and facial expressions were also part of the performance.
The actors’ faces became part of the animation
One particularly interesting aspect of the process was the recording of the actors’ mouths and facial expressions.
The movements of their mouths were filmed while they performed their dialogue. These recordings could then be used by the animators when creating the animated characters.
This helps explain the precise lip-sync in the finished film. The characters’ mouths are not simply animated independently to match an existing soundtrack. Their movements are based on the performances of the actors who originally recorded the dialogue.
The actors therefore contributed to the visual performance of their characters as well as to their voices.
Why animation takes so long
Michaël Gregorio also commented on the long production period. By the time of the interview, around two years had passed since the actors had recorded their parts.
The delay becomes easier to understand when considering what happens after the recording sessions.
Once the actors have performed their scenes, the animators still have to create the entire animated world around those performances. Characters, locations, movements, expressions and backgrounds all have to be developed and rendered before the finished film can appear on screen.
For the actors, this also means that there is a considerable gap between their own work and seeing the result.
They perform their scenes first. The finished Astérix film comes much later.
A different kind of voice acting
The process described by Vitari and Gregorio gives an interesting look at the production of Astérix et le Royaume de Nubie. Their performances were not simply added to completed animation. They were recorded at an early stage and became part of the material from which the animation was created.
That makes the actors’ work closer to a filmed performance than traditional dubbing.
When Astérix et le Royaume de Nubie reaches cinemas, the audience will see a fully animated world. Behind some of those movements, however, are actors who had already performed the scenes—sometimes literally running around the recording studio—long before the animation was finished.
Astérix et le Royaume de Nubie is scheduled for release on 2 December 2026.
The video is in French but you can turn on English subtitles. The discussion about The Kingdom of Nubia starts around 1:01. It also gives a sneakpeek of the upcoming movie, including some new material.