All children love fairy tales, where good fellows triumph over evil, old ladies ride in flying barrels, and young heroes fight dragons. Adults, too, do not mind to dive into a world of fantasy, where you can remember childhood and have hearty fun. We offer you a list of modern cartoons about bogatyrs, which are suitable for cozy viewing with the whole family.
Alyosha Popovich i Tugarin Zmey
- Rating IMDB – 7.1
- Genre: Cartoon, comedy, adventure, musical, fantasy, melodrama
- Russia production / 2004
- Budget: $4 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $1 730 000
- Directed by Konstantin Bronzit
- Cast: Oleg Kulikovich, Dmitry Vysotsky, Anatoly Petrov, Sergei Makovetsky, Elena Shulman, Konstantin Bronzit, Liya Medvedeva, Natalia Danilova, Mikhail Chernyak, Tatiana Ivanova
In the ancient city of Rostov, a simple priest and his wife had an unusually strong son who was named Alyosha. The boy grew up strong, but not a very intelligent child. When Alyosha grew up, he became famous as the mightiest bogatyr in Rostov and probably in all of Russia. As befits a hero, the hero dreamed of feats and glorious deeds. Unfortunately, his wish came true – the village was attacked by robbers, led by the formidable leader Tugarin Snake.
The raiders demanded a tribute in gold, or they would burn the town to the ground. It was at this point that Aleshka had the chance to show his strength. But the young man missed his cunning plan and botched the task. After that, the Rostov locals drove the reckless “defender” from their lands, not wanting to put up with the lost and found. And so began Alyosha’s journey into the unknown and dangerous lands of the Tugars, where he must seek out the evil Khan and bring back the gold.
The appearance of the main villain is each time accompanied by a thunderstorm, as a sign that Tugarin the Serpent belongs to the unclean force.
After the movie was released, a computer game of the same name in the quest genre was created based on the cartoon.
Dobrynya Nikitich i Zmey Gorynych
- Rating IMDB – 7.1
- Genre: Cartoon, fantasy, comedy, adventure
- Russia production / 2006
- Budget: $4 500 000
- Worldwide gross: $3 620 000
- Directed by Ilya Maksimov
- Cast: Valery Solovyov, Yury Tarasov, Sergei Makovetsky, Andrei Tolubeyev, Ekaterina Gorokhovskaya, Oleg Kulikovich, Anatoly Petrov, Natalia Danilova, Elena Shulman, Mikhail Chernyak
While the brave warrior Dobrynya Nikitich was collecting tribute from the cunning Tugars, the prince’s only niece, Zabava Putyatichna, was stolen from Kiev. The girl rejected all suitors, wishing to marry for love to a simple messenger, Elisha.
But the cunning merchant Kolyvan wanted to get the beautiful girl as a wife in order to rule the country himself. He arranged for the kidnapping of the princess by his old debtor, the Serpent Gorynych, and then hid her in a distant village in order to announce himself later as the maiden’s savior and future husband. However Dobrynya, together with Elisey, has already set out on the trail of the kidnapper. Together they will succeed in thwarting Kolyvan’s cunning plans to bring Zabava back to her hometown.
In all the scenes, Zabava wears two braids, even though, according to Russian tradition, an unmarried girl braids her hair in one braid. Dobrynya’s wife, on the contrary, is depicted with only one braid, even though she should wear two braids.
The image of Baba Yaga’s hut is borrowed from the cartoon about the house kuzya.
If you look closely, in the finale, you can see how the Crimean khan takes the Oscar statuette from the wagon of gold.
Ilya Muromets i Solovey Razboynik
- Rating IMDB – 6.8
- Genre: Cartoon, comedy, adventure
- Russia production / 2007
- Budget: $2 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $10 490 651
- Directed by Vladimir Toropchin
- Cast: Sergei Makovetsky, Oleg Tabakov, Anatoly Petrov, Ekaterina Gorokhovskaya, Valery Solovyov, Andrei Tolubeyev, Oleg Kulikovich, Yuri Tarasov, Natalia Danilova, Alexei Guryev
A sneaky crook appears in Russia, nicknamed the Robber-Headed Nightingale for his deafening whistle. Together with his gang, he plunders villages and passing merchants. During such a raid on a peaceful village, Nightingale is caught and imprisoned by the warrior Ilya Muromets. However the captive, tricked and bribed by the Prince, is released from prison, taking with him the state treasury and the Bogatyr horse Burushka.
The ruler has to come to Ilya once more with a request to find the robber. At first the hero refuses, but when he learns of the theft of his favourite horse he sets off immediately. Young Alyonushka, a journalist and chronicler, is attached to him and given the task of writing an article about the mighty warrior Ilya.
When the action takes place in the port, the head of Alyosha Popovich can be seen on the ship, a reference to the first cartoon about the trio of Russian heroes, Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent.
On the poster, Alyonushka is dressed in a green sundress, but throughout the cartoon the heroine appears only in a red outfit.
Tri bogatyrya i Shamakhanskaya tsaritsa
- Rating IMDB – 6.4
- Genre: Cartoon, fantasy, comedy, adventure, family
- Russia production / 2010
- Worldwide gross: $20 157 447
- Directed by Sergey Glezin
- Cast: Dmitry Bykovsky-Romashov, Valery Solovyov, Oleg Kulikovich, Sergey Makovetsky, Anna Geller, Dmitry Vysotsky, Konstantin Bronzit, Maria Tsvetkova-Ovsyannikova, Elena Shulman, Liya Medvedeva
The Queen of Shamakhi dreams of regaining her former youth. To do this she must revive the magic tree, feeding its roots with the tears of a thousand beauties. But the trouble is, she has already consumed all the beautiful maidens in her kingdom. All that remains is to bewitch some ruler and procure the magic elixir in a foreign land.
On the advice of her faithful assistant the raven, she sets her sights on the Prince of Kiev, who “accidentally” finds her photo and immediately falls in love with the overseas enchantress. The prince decides to marry the queen, so he sends his best warriors, Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich, to accompany his future wife to court in Kiev.
The beginning of the cartoon shows the Bogatyrs posing for the artist – a reference-parody to V. Vasnetsov’s famous painting “The Bogatyrs. Vasnetsov’s “Bogatyrs”.
After the premiere, inquiries for the search for the Queen of Shamakhi increased several times. Viewers tried to find historical resemblances to real-life personalities. In fact, the character is fictional and first met in A. Pushkin’s fairy tale «The Golden Cockerel».
Tri bogatyrya na dalnikh beregakh
- Rating IMDB – 5.1
- Genre: Cartoon, comedy, adventure, fantasy, family
- Russia production / 2012
- Budget: $3 500 000
- Worldwide gross: $33 674 759
- Directed by Konstantin Feoktistov
- Cast: Dmitry Bykovsky-Romashov, Valery Solovyov, Oleg Kulikovich, Sergei Makovetsky, Dmitry Vysotsky, Fyodor Bondarchuk, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Maria Tsvetkova-Ovsyannikova, Elena Shulman, Liya Medvedeva
A German guest, Basurman, arrives in the capital of Kievan Rus and is welcomed by the Prince in his chambers. However, the nobleman is unaware that behind the mask of the respectable citizen is Kolyvan, an old ill-wisher, bewitched by Baba Yaga, who has decided to return and take revenge on the Prince.
While the knights are on vacation on distant shores, enjoying the beauty of foreign lands, in their native Kiev, the Kosurman-Kolyvan together with Baba Yaga are plotting against Vladimir and his faithful assistant, the steed Yuli. The villains try to seize power in the capital, and for this they need to eliminate the warriors and bring them to justice or at least torture them to death.
In the first weekend box office picture collected a record 327 million rubles, which was a good start for the fifth part of the franchise.
Traditionally, the cartoon contains references to other cinema masterpieces. For example, in one scene the Prince utters the Bolshevik slogan “Down with autocracy” and parodies Lenin.
Kak poymat pero Zhar-Ptitsy
- Rating IMDB – 5.0
- Genre: Cartoon, fantasy
- Russia production / 2013
- Worldwide gross: $2 101 261
- Directed by Georgy Gitis, Vyacheslav Plotnikov
- Cast: Mikhail Ozerov, Dmitry Dyuzhev, Yulia Savicheva, Andrei Leonov, Nonna Grishaeva, Alexei Kolgan, Mikhail Khrustalev, Anatoly Petrov, Yulia Galdun, Vladimir Gorbunov
An unusual quest cartoon based on folklore motifs with a touch of upbeat modern music. Ivan, the youngest son of Tsar Berendey, is assigned to do his father’s bidding – to get the feather of the magic Firebird, which gives its owner unprecedented wealth and good luck. The boy dares not disobey, so he sets off on a complex and intricate journey full of adventures.
Accompanying Ivan Tsarevich is his true friend, the Grey Wolf, who in addition to his sharp claws and fangs is famous for his intelligence, resourcefulness and special magical skills. On their way there are many obstacles and fascinating trials, intrigues of older brothers, friendship with mysterious animals and meeting with Helen the Beautiful, who turns out to be quite a thing.
The cartoon is based on the compositions of the musical-artistic association “Komba BAKH”.
The plot is based on the Russian folk tale “Ivan-Tsarevich and the Grey Wolf”.
Tri bogatyrya: Khod konem
- Rating IMDB – 5.2
- Genre: Cartoon, comedy, adventure, fantasy
- Russia production / 2014
- Budget: ₽125 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $19 390 136
- Directed by Konstantin Feoktistov
- Cast: Sergey Makovetsky, Dmitry Vysotsky, Dmitry Nagiyev, Oleg Kulikovich, Valery Solovyov, Dmitry Bykovsky-Romashov, Gosha Kutsenko, Nargiz Zakirova, Anatoly Petrov, Liya Medvedeva
The court horse Julius overhears a conversation among the boyars and begins to suspect them of plotting against the Prince of Kiev. Julius tells the governor about his suspicions, and together they try to find a way out of the situation. To count on no help for them – the bogatyrs have set out to catch the pirate Potanya, the Serpent Gorynych has flown away to some mountains in Tibet on vacation, and the Kievan army is training far from the capital.
It seems that the time has come to prove himself a true hero – the great strategist and combinator Julius. If he does not save the Prince, he will at least try to think up a brilliant plan. Or he will, as usual, get into trouble and then wait for the bogatyrs to rescue him.
The rental poster shows Julius the horse in a yellow-striped suit with a katana, which is a reference to the main character in the K. Tarantino series of movies “Kill Bill”.
The Gypsy Lulaji was voiced by singer Nargiz Zakirova. For her, this role was her debut.
Simultaneously with the cartoon a game based on Julius’ adventures was released on Android and iOS platforms.
Ivan Tsarevich i Seryy Volk
- Rating IMDB – 6.2
- Genre: Cartoon, fantasy, comedy, adventure, family
- Russia production / 2011
- Budget: $3 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $26 420 475
- Directed by Vladimir Toropchin
- Cast: Nikita Efremov, Tatiana Bunina, Arthur Smolyaninov, Ivan Okhlobystin, Viktor Sukhorukov, Sergey Garmash, Mikhail Boyarsky, Sergey Russkin, Alexander Boyarsky, Liya Akhedzhakova
In a distant kingdom lives a king and his only daughter, Vasilisa. The princess is famous for her beauty, intelligence and complicated character. The girl dreams not of a handsome prince and balls, but of several higher educations and a dizzying career. However, her father, fearing to leave his daughter alone, wishes to marry off his sweetheart as soon as possible. In a fit of emotion, the Tsar even gives the heiress an ultimatum: Vasilisa will marry the first man she sees.
Meanwhile, in a nearby country, an ordinary boy named Ivan is kicked out of his home for disrupting a military campaign. By coincidence, he finds himself on a visit to the neighboring tsar as the “first man he meets” and gets Vassilisa the Wise as his bride. The young people immediately fall in love with each other, but before their marriage Ivan has to prove his feelings by passing a fantastic test. The Grey Wolf comes to the young man’s aid.
In the year of its release, the cartoon about the young warrior became the best at the box office, grossing about $30 million, and giving rise to the eponymous franchise.
When creating the characters, the animators were inspired by the paintings of the famous Russian illustrator Ivan Bilibin.
Tri bogatyrya i Morskoy tsar
- Rating IMDB – 4.7
- Genre: Cartoon, comedy, adventure, family
- Russia production / 2016
- Budget: $4 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $14 134 274
- Directed by Konstantin Feoktistov
- Cast: Sergey Makovetsky, Dmitry Vysotsky, Sergey Russkin, Oleg Kulikovich, Valery Solovyov, Dmitry Bykovsky-Romashov, Liya Medvedeva, Maria Tsvetkova-Ovsyannikova, Anatoly Petrov, Elena Shulman
Much time had passed since the last exploit of the heroes. The bogatyrs have relaxed due to the lack of battles and immersed themselves in family matters. Dobrynya Nikitich is playing with river crayfish all day long, and Alyosha Popovich is participating in amateur arm-wrestling tournaments. Meeting one day at the market, the friends realize that without regular training they are losing their strength. Then their faithful friend Serpent Gorynych suggests they set off to China to acquire the tooth of a magic dragon giving unprecedented strength.
Meanwhile, the Prince has read a book about the treasures of the Sea King and decides to lay his hands on them. However, the underwater lord is taken aback by this impudence and now wishes to reconquer the riches and, at the same time, to find a wife. Using magic, he floods the city of Kiev, turning all its inhabitants into sea creatures, and the Tsar chooses the beautiful Nastasia, Dobrynya’s wife, as his bride. Only the bogatyrs return home in time to foil the sea ruler’s plans.
The box office receipts in the first weekend amounted to more than 700 million rubles, which was a record for the cartoon franchise.
In Ukraine, the picture was not allowed to be shown, and in Lithuania the cartoon was called “insidious propaganda,” but after a while it was allowed into cinemas.
Tri bogatyrya i printsessa Egipta
- Rating IMDB – 4.4
- Genre: Cartoon, adventure, family, fantasy
- Russia production / 2017
- Budget: ₽174 464 395
- Worldwide gross: $14 442 503
- Directed by Konstantin Feoktistov
- Cast: Oleg Kulikovich, Valery Solovyov, Dmitry Bykovsky-Romashov, Sergey Makovetsky, Dmitry Vysotsky, Alexander Bykovsky, Elena Shulman, Liya Medvedeva, Maria Tsvetkova-Ovsyannikova, Anatoly Petrov
On New Year’s Eve, the Prince prepares to make a fiery speech to the people, Julius eagerly unwraps presents and supervises the preparation of a festive dinner, and Dobrynya and Ilya go to visit Alyosha. On the way they meet a strange young man who disguises himself as an old man and introduces himself as «Durilo».
Later, the bogatyrs learn that their new acquaintance is the thirteenth month of the year, who, left behind, dreams of becoming the chief of his «fellows». To do this, he needs to gain the trust of the knights and with their help get to Egypt. There is a special artifact stored there, which will help Durilo fulfill his dream. However, the clever strongmen unravel the deceiver’s plan and together with the wives, the Prince, Julius, Santa Claus and even the Egyptian Princess Nefertiti do everything to stop the villain.
The action of the cartoon takes place at the time of Kievan Rus, although at that time the New Year was celebrated in March, and mandarins came to the Russian Empire only during the reign of Peter the Great.
In this series, Alyosha Popovich and Snake Gorynych were voiced by the same actor, Oleg Kulikovich.
In 2017, a book-novella of the same name based on the cartoon plot was published.
Tri bogatyrya i Naslednitsa prestola
- Rating IMDB – 5.6
- Genre: Cartoon, Adventure, Family
- Russia production / 2018
- Worldwide gross: $9 343 827
- Directed by Konstantin Bronzit
- Cast: Sergei Makovetsky, Dmitry Bykovsky-Romashov, Valery Solovyov, Oleg Kulikovich, Anatoly Petrov, Ekaterina Gorokhovskaya, Yuri Tarasov, Mikhail Cherniak, Dmitry Vysotsky, Alexander Boyarsky
Years have passed and the Prince of Kiev has wondered whom to appoint as his successor after his death. It must be a responsible and thoughtful person who will be able to preserve and increase the wealth of Russia. As a result, the choice falls on his beloved niece Zabava, who along with her fiancé Elisha receives an education in Tsargrad. The cunning and influential Byzantine emperor Basilevs, who has long dreamed of seizing the throne of Kiev, rules there.
The Tsar orders the knights to bring his favourite niece and heiress home safe and sound, assisting Dobryne, Ilya and Alyosha is assigned the court horse Julius, who gets into another scrape right from the start.
The son of Vasilevs – Leonid, was thought up and voiced by the cartoon director Konstantin Bronzit himself. By the way, it was Bronzit who worked on the first three pictures of the Bogatyr series.
This is the only part of the franchise where the wives of bogatyrs were absent.
When Zabava opens the cellar, in the corner you can see the symbols of Communism – sickle and hammer.
Horse Julius and Big Horse Racing
- Rating IMDB – 5.4
- Genre: Cartoon, adventure
- Russia production / 2020
- Budget: ₽180 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $4 875 202
- Directed by Darina Schmidt, Konstantin Feoktistov
- Cast: Dmitry Vysotsky, Sergey Makovetsky, Sergey Burunov, Oleg Kulikovich, Valery Solovyov, Dmitry Bykovsky-Romashov, Anatoly Petrov, Maria Tsvetkova-Ovsyannikova, Liya Medvedeva, Yulia Zorkina
At the borders of the principality of Kiev, the three warriors and the horse Julius save Sultan Rashid from the assassins sent to him, who try to take away a thoroughbred mare named “Star of the East”. On seeing her, Julius immediately falls in love and decides to ask her hoof from her master. But according to the rules of royal families, only a man whose blood is blue can marry the sultan’s thoroughbred horse.
Julius asks Prince Vladimir to be his betrothed, but he turns out to be too busy with his own affairs. Then the stallion in love, enlisting the support of donkey Moses, kidnaps the governor and takes him to the East to fulfill his destiny. Meanwhile, the bogatyrs also have their own business in distant lands, so that all the heroes can meet at the big races, where the winner gets everything.
The episode with the races is a reference to the cult film «Ben-Hur».
The main musical theme was «Grey Horse» by A. Morozov.
Tri bogatyrya i Kon’ na trone
- Rating IMDB – 5.5
- Genre: Cartoon, comedy, adventure
- Russia production / 2021
- Worldwide gross: $7 056 441
- Directed by Darina Schmidt, Konstantin Feoktistov
- Cast: Oleg Kulikovich, Valery Solovyov, Dmitry Bykovsky-Romashov, Sergey Makovetsky, Dmitry Vysotsky, Anatoly Petrov, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Maria Tsvetkova-Ovsyannikova, Maxim Sergeyev, Alisa Boyarskaya
An incredible continuation of the amazing adventures of Julius the horse, the cunning Prince of Kiev and the heroes Nikita, Dobrynya and Alyosha. When one gets everything and the other gets nothing, even the strongest of friendships is torn apart by envy. So it happened with Prince Vladimir and the horse Julius. The latter, as always, got into an amusing scrape, where an old acquaintance, the sorceress Baba Yaga, had a hand in it.
The next morning the heroes switched bodies, and now the thoroughbred stallion sits on the throne and rules the country, while the rightful heir to the throne has to plow the field. It is good that the three warriors will always come to help, and they will put everyone in their place and punish the villains and amuse the people.
The animated film was the 11th in a successful franchise about the exploits and curiosities of Dobryni Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich and Ilya Muromets.
In 2017, the Bank of Russia issued a series of commemorative coins, in denominations of 3 and 25 rubles, dedicated to cartoon heroes.
