Three Heroes and the Navel of the World

Three Heroes and the Navel of the World (2023) is a Russian animated adventure you can watch online on iFILM. Directed by Konstantin Feoktistov for the Melnitsa studio, it sends the famous bogatyrs on a brand-new trip — this time through time itself.

Fairy tales tell us about "long ago," but what came before that? The heroes never asked, yet the answer finds them anyway. The dragon Gorynych adopts a tiny dinosaur, while Alyosha Popovich, the Prince and the talking horse Julius drop straight through the ground into the deep past. Now the gang has to figure out how to get everyone back home and, more pressing still, what the mysterious Navel of the World actually is. The voice cast features Oleg Kulikovich, Dmitry Bykovsky-Romashov and Sergei Makovetsky.

This is the latest chapter in the long-running Three Heroes franchise, a fixture of Russia's New Year family release slate. The jokes are pitched at kids and parents alike, and the prehistoric setting gives the formula a fresh coat. An easy, good-natured adventure for a night in with the whole family. Stream Three Heroes and the Navel of the World (2023) online on iFILM.