However, they are unaware that their activities are being monitored by Evil, a malevolent being who is able to manipulate reality and is attempting to acquire the map. Kevin uses his camera to document their visits. With Kevin's help, they visit several locations in spacetime and meet figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Robin Hood. They were once employed by the Supreme Being to repair holes in the spacetime fabric, but realised the potential to use the map that identifies these holes to steal riches and escape via time/space travel.

As they recover, Kevin learns that Randall is the lead dwarf of the group, which also includes Fidgit, Strutter, Og, Wally and Vermin. They land in Italy during the Battle of Castiglione. Kevin and the dwarfs fall into an empty void at the end of the hallway. Kevin is hesitant to join until the apparition of a floating, menacing head-the Supreme Being-appears behind them, demanding the return of the map. They find that the bedroom wall leads to a portal. Kevin quickly learns the group has stolen a map and is looking for an exit from his room before they are discovered. The next night he prepares a satchel with supplies and a Polaroid camera but is surprised when six dwarfs spill out of the wardrobe. Kevin hides under the covers as the knight rides off into a forest where once his bedroom wall was when Kevin looks again, the room is back to normal and he finds one of his photos on the wall similar to the forest he saw. One night, as Kevin is sleeping, an armoured knight on a horse bursts out of his wardrobe. Gilliam has referred to Time Bandits as the first in his 'Trilogy of Imagination', followed by Brazil (1985) and ending with The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988).Įleven-year-old Kevin is fascinated by history, particularly that of Ancient Greece his parents ignore his activities, having become obsessed with buying the latest household gadgets to keep up with their neighbours. On its initial release the film received mainly positive reviews from critics, opening at number one at the weekend box office in the US and Canada, and by the end of its run grossing $36 million on a budget of $5 million.

The film was released in cinemas on 2 July 1981 in the United Kingdom and on 6 November 1981 in the United States. Time Bandits was co-written with fellow Monty Python Michael Palin, financed by ex- Beatle George Harrison's HandMade Films and filmed in England, Morocco and Wales. In 1979, Terry Gilliam was unable to set up the film Brazil, therefore proposed a family film. It tells the story of a young boy taken on an adventure through time with a band of thieves who plunder treasure from various points in history. It stars Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall, Ralph Richardson, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Peter Vaughan and David Warner. Time Bandits is a 1981 British fantasy adventure film co-written, produced, and directed by Terry Gilliam.

Legend of the time bandit