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Children watching Pixar’s new animated sci-fi adventure “Elio” may be dazzled by the film’s science fiction concepts, wild alien characters and outer space adventures. Adults, however, might experience a sense of déjà vu. “Elio” may be an original story but it’s cobbled together from memorable pieces of other sci-fi movies, classics and cult classics alike, which makes it a perfect opportunity to introduce younger audiences to the wonderful, weird movies that inspired it. And also some other films which are remarkably similar and got unfairly overlooked.

So if you or your kids exit the theater wanting more films like “Elio” — despite the film’s many flaws — here’s your viewing list. Plop yourselves down on that couch and make a whole weekend of it. You’ll be glad you did!

David Rappaport and Craig Warnock in ‘Time Bandits’ (Handmade Films) ‘Time Bandits’ (1981)

Terry Gilliam’s sci-fi action-comedy...

The future of Time Bandits on Apple TV+ has been revealed. Unfortunately for fans of the series, it's not good news at all.

Per Deadline, it's been reported that Time Bandits has been canceled after one season. The news comes less than a month after the show ended its freshman season on Apple TV+, concluding on Aug. 21 after initially debuting on July 24. Consisting of 10 episodes in total, the first and only season released two episodes together on a weekly basis. While the show garnered a respectable 78% score on Rotten Tomatoes, its viewership was not particularly high, as Time Bandits failed to crack the Nielsen Top 10 rankings for streaming titles.

Related 'Sign Me Up': Lisa Kudrow Confirms She Was Offered Time Bandits Role Via Dm

Time Bandits star Lisa Kudrow reveals the unorthodox way she was offered the role of Penelope in the Apple TV+ fantasy series.

Time Bandits was in...

Warning! This article contains Spoilers for Time Bandits (1981) and Time Bandits season 1.

Time Bandits season 1 brings a fresh take on the classic movie, offering new storylines and character developments. The show diverges in casting choices, featuring diverse actors and a more detailed exploration of the time bandits' characters. Changes in historical figures and character fates differentiate the show from the original movie, setting up the potential for season 2.

Time Bandits season 1 revealed many differences between the 2024 Taika Waititi show and the 1981 Terry Gilliam movie it was based on. The 1980s fantasy movie was adapted into an Apple TV+ show that featured 10 episodes in its first season, allowing for an expansion of the story. Along with this expanded story came many changes, though they followed similar premises, making it a clear remake rather than a show inspired by the movie.

Perhaps the biggest changes between the show and the movie came...

Time Bandits star Lisa Kudrow recently shared that Taika Waititi slid into her DMs to ask her if she would star in the Apple TV+ series. According to the former Friends star, getting her to sign on to the fantasy adventure project didn't take much convincing.

In an interview with Collider, Kudrow confirmed reports that Waititi offered her the role of Penelope, leader of the Time Bandits, via a Dm. "I was thrilled. Id met him once at my friends house and had been a huge fan. I just met him really briefly, and then got this [message] that said, 'Hey, would you ever consider working in New Zealand?'" she recalled. "I was like, 'Well, Ive always wanted to go to New Zealand. It depends on what [it is].' And he was like, 'Oh, Jemaine Clement and I wrote a show thats based on Time Bandits.' And I just went,...

Quick Links What the Time Bandits Show and Movie Are About How the Movie of Time Bandits Ends The Time Bandits TV Series Changes The Film's Ending

The 2024 series Time Bandits is an update of the 1981 movie of the same name, and in many ways, the show and the movie have a lot in common. They both focus on a misunderstood 11-year-old boy named Kevin (Craig Warnock in the movie; Kal-El Tuck in the series), they both feature a band of six so-so bandits, and they both involve Kevin and the bandits jumping through portals to go back and forth between time periods. But there's one way in which the series and film diverge: the fate of Kevin's parents.

In this article, we'll tell you about the similar stories told in the Time Bandits show and movie, share the end of the Time Bandits movie, and tell you how the...

Warning: contains spoilers for Time Bandits (1981) & (2024) episodes one & two.

“Strong language, self-harm references & violence. This programme isn’t suitable for younger viewers,” is the warning from Channel4.com to anybody currently wishing to stream Terry Gilliam’s 1981 fantasy adventure film Time Bandits in the UK. Despite the film’s “G” (all ages admitted) rating, the streamer asks viewers to confirm that they’re over the age of 16 before it will play.

An overreaction, or fair dos, in light of the film’s meaty battle scenes and famously bleak ending?

The Original Time Bandits Ending

In the film’s final scenes, 11-year-old Kevin (Craig Warnock) awakens in his own bed following a series of perilous adventures through history with a band of time-travelling wannabe thieves played by actors with dwarfism.

After romping through Napoleon’s battlefields, having a hand in the killing of the Minotaur, experiencing the sinking of the Titanic,...

Time Bandits may not be one and done. Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, who developed the modern-day reimagining of the beloved 1981 film, recently revealed that a second season is being written.

Speaking with ComicBook.com to promote the upcoming Apple TV+ series, Clement shared that a second season is in the process of being written, although it has not officially received the greenlight from the streamer yet. "We are actually writing a second season, but it depends on if people watch the first season. If no one watches it, we throw it away in a bin," he said. "But I cannot tell you because I don't want to spoil the second season." Time Bandits is the latest collaboration between Waititi and Clement after the What We Do in the Shadows franchise.

Related The Morning Show's Jennifer Aniston Shares BTS Photo as Season 4 Begins Filming

Jennifer Aniston shares a behind-the-scenes look at...

The first trailer and premiere date for Time Bandits has been revealed. The upcoming Apple TV+ series is based on the beloved 1980s sci-fi movie and was reimagined for the small screen by Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Waititi.

Time Bandits will premiere on Apple TV+ on July 24, 2024. Lisa Kudrow best known for playing Phoebe Buffay in the beloved NBC sitcom Friends headlines Time Bandits as Penelope, the leader of the titular ragtag group of thieves, while Kal-El Tuck steps into the role of 11-year-old history nerd, Kevin, who was portrayed by Craig Warnock in the original 1981 film. The official trailer, which can be viewed below, sees Kevin being recruited into the Time Bandits after accidentally being transported through time and space from his bedroom. As fans of the original will surely notice, Waititi's Time Bandits will feature a more diverse group of thieves than the original and will...

Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s long-in-the-works TV adaptation of “Time Bandits” is finally ready to go, and on Tuesday Apple TV+ released a timey-wimey trailer for the family fantasy comedy.

The series follows a lonely, history-loving kid named Kevin (Kal-El Tuck) who discovers a “time egress” in his wardrobe and ends up joining a crew of thieves led by Penelope (Lisa Kudrow) who travel through time stealing priceless artifacts and having comedic misadventures.

“Time Bandits” hails from frequent collaborators Waititi, Clement (best known together for their work on “What We Do in the Shadows”) and Iain Morris (who wrote for Clement’s “Flight of the Conchords” and co-wrote the screenplay for Waititi’s “Next Goal Wins”). Oscar-winner Waititi directs some episodes, while Clement and Morris serve as showrunners. The series is based on Terry Gilliam’s 1981 film of the same name. It’s been in the works at Apple...

Terry Gilliam’s “Time Bandits” is stepping into the present day.

The long-awaited Apple TV+ series adaptation will officially debut Wednesday, July 24 on the streaming platform, with Lisa Kudrow leading the ensemble cast which includes co-creators Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi.

The 10-episode series centers on an “unpredictable journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin. Together, they set out on a thrilling quest to save the boy’s parents — and the world,” per the official synopsis.

“What We Do in the Shadows” alums Clement and Taika Waititi co-created the series with Iain Morris. The series spans the creation of Stonehenge, the infamous Trojan Horse, battling dinosaurs, venturing into medieval times, experiencing the Ice Age, and the Harlem Renaissance, among other time-traveling detours to find treasure.

Along with Kudrow, the cast includes Kal-El Tuck (“Unseeing Evil”), Tadhg Murphy...

The 1980s was a golden age for fantasy movies, but one that often gets overlooked is Time Bandits. Directed by Terry Gilliam and written by him and fellow member of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Michael Palin, it follows a young boy named Kevin (Craig Warnock) who gets whisked into a fantastical adventure across time and space and meets six dwarves. They used to work for the Supreme Being (Tony Jay and Ralph Richardson) as space-time repairmen until they realized they could use their map of rifts to steal history's riches. Unfortunately, their get-rich-quick scheme is being monitored by Evil (David Warner), the physical embodiment of evil in the universe, who wishes to use the map to escape from his prison.

(Photo Credit – Instagram)

Apple TV+ has set the premiere date for its new comedy-adventure series Time Bandits, an adaptation of the 1981 film of the same name. Headlined by Friends star Lisa Kudrow, the series is described as an ‘unpredictable journey through time and space’ that can be enjoyed by audiences of all ages.

The show follows an 11-year-old history geek, Kevin, who tags along with a group of thieves on a mission to save his parents and the world. Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Waititi are the creators behind the series.

Release Date of Apple TV+’s Time Bandits Announced

On Monday, Apple TV+ announced that Time Bandits will be released on the streaming platform for the global audience on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. The series is going to comprise 10 episodes. Kudrow stars in the show as Penelope, the leader of the group of marauders. As per the official synopsis, the...

The satire that would pervade Terry Gilliam’s subsequent Brazil is largely confined to the first few minutes of 1981’s Time Bandits. The film opens in a modern, English household where a boy, Kevin (Craig Warnock), pores over a book on ancient Greek history while his parents (David Daker and Sheila Fearn) both watch and read advertisements, discussing the relative merits of their various gadgets and appliances compared to those of their neighbors. The living room is lit with harsh artificial light and decorated like a showroom, a place designed as a boast, not to be lived in. Only Kevin’s room, naturally lit via a window and adorned with self-taken photographs and childlike drawings, betrays any humanity.

Soon, the cozy retreat of Kevin’s room is invaded, though not by his parents, but by a medieval knight on horseback, and then a sextet of time-traveling dwarves who recruit the...

Besides being one of the most imaginative movies of the 1980s, Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits also leaves a lot of questions with its surprising ending. Released in 1981 to mostly positive reviews, the film was praised for its cleverness, and it launched what would be known as Gilliam's "Trilogy of Imagination" throughout the 1980s. It deftly blends history with fantasy and even includes broad philosophical commentary filtered through the filmmaker's signature sense of humor. Even if it was overshadowed by other fantasy epics of the decade, Time Bandits went on to become a cult classic in its own right.

Time Bandits is a pleasant mixture of children's film, fantasy, and sci-fi, and yet it has its own style and tone that is unmatched by any other work, excluding Gilliam's own. The self-contained fantasy film isn't based on any other material, and that reliance on imagination is essentially the heart of its story.

Since its release in 1981, Terry Gilliam's "Time Bandits" has become a bonafide modern classic that functions as a rite of passage for British youths whose parents grew up on the surrealist comedy of Monty Python. The magic of the film is still very much alive today, with Taika Waititi bringing a "Time Bandit" TV series to Apple TV+.

Before 1981, Gilliam had helmed another lesser-known fantasy adventure movie called "Jabberwocky," which was based on a poem by Lewis Carroll. But it was "Time Bandits" that officially put him on the map as a visionary filmmaker. His work on the film, however, didn't start out so great — Gilliam had originally conceived of a much grander film, but the epic set pieces he had planned may have been too ambitious for him to realistically pull off so early in his directing career.

Luckily, the script that he and writing partner Michael Palin...

Taika Waititi is a busy man. In addition to his big-budget productions, he also has a smaller film titled, Next Goal Wins, which has currently completed production. He is also producing the What We Do in the Shadows series as well as producing and acting in Our Flag Means Death for HBO Max. Variety now reports that the New Zealander will be co-producing, writing, and directing for the new series, Time Bandits, over at Apple TV+.

The official plot for Time Bandits reads that it is “a comedic journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an eleven-year-old history nerd.” It was recently revealed that Lisa Kudrow, of Friends fame, will be joining the cast as Penelope. Kal-El Tuck from Unseeing Evil will play the eleven-year-old history nerd, Kevin. Charlene Yi, of Knocked Up and Paper Hearts, is cast to play Judy. Tadhg Murphy...

The “Time Bandits” TV series at Apple from Taika Waititi has found its main cast, Variety has learned.

Joining the series are: Lisa Kudrow as Kevin; Charlyne Yi as Judy; Tadhg Murphy as Alto; Roger Jean Nsengiyumva as Widgit; Rune Temte as Bittelig; Kiera Thompson as Saffron; and Rachel House as Fianna.

The official description of the 10-episode series describes it as “a comedic journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an eleven-year-old history nerd (Tuck).”

Kudrow is repped by CAA, Viewpoint and Gochman Law Group. Tuck is repped by rebel nineteen.

Yi is repped by Global Artists Agency, manager Gladys Gonzalez and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis. Murphy is repped by Susannah Norris Agency. Nsengiyumva is repped by United Agents.

Temte is repped by Actors in Scandinavia, in the US by Artist International, and Jackoway Austen. Thompson is repped by Cvgg. House is repped by Lion Rock Management.

Tony Sokol Mar 11, 2019

Apple will show what an invisible barrier looks like in a Time Bandits TV series, which is now in the works.

"God isn't interested in technology," Evil observed in Terry Gilliam's cult film Time Bandits. "He knows nothing of the potential of the microchip or the silicon revolution. If I were creating a world, I wouldn't mess about with butterflies and daffodils. I would have started with lasers, eight o'clock, day one!" Nearly 40 years after George Harrison's Handmade Films released Time Bandits to big screens, Apple announced last summer that it will adapt it into a television series!

See related A History of George Harrison's HandMade Films

Released in 1981, Time Bandits was the first film in Gilliam's “Trilogy of Imagination,” which included Brazil in 1985 and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, which came out in 1988.” The fantasy was co-written and directed by Gilliam, the former animator...

Now that he’s finally finished “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” Terry Gilliam is on to his next project — and it won’t be a movie. Deadline reports that Apple has acquired the rights to adapt Gilliam’s “Time Bandits” for the small screen, with the filmmaker attached to the series as a non-writing executive producer. The show will be a co-production of Anonymous Content, Paramount Television, and Media Rights Capital.

Released in 1981, “Time Bandits” is the first film in what Gilliam refers to as his “Trilogy of Imagination”; it was followed by 1985’s “Brazil” and 1988’s “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.” Craig Warnock stars as an 11-year-old boy who joins a group of time-traveling dwarves on a quest for treasure, with Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, and John Cleese co-starring. The film was well received by critics and earned more than $42 million at the box office against a budget of just $5 million.

The Blue Lagoon (1980) Brooke Shields Christopher Atkins play two Victorian-era kids who are left to fend for themselves after a shipwreck in the South Pacific. They eventually find romance as they grow up on the remote island. Time Bandits (1981) A young boy, played by Craig Warnock, is pulled into another dimension in this the fantasy Terry Gilliam film by a group time-traveling dwarves looking for treasure. E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982) Henry Thomas’ naturalistic, emotional performance as Elliot got the world believing in E.T. — and sobbing when the alien’s life was in peril. It was the highest grossing movie of the.

Quick…name a favorable film where the landscape is run by (or at least partially include) the demographic of little people as part of the instrumental storyline? C’mon…it should not be that difficult, okay? If you want to mention say Darby O’Gill and the Little People then that would fine. How about Bad Santa or Poltergeist for that matter?

In That’s Good Enough, Short Stuff: Top Ten Films Featuring Little People we will take a look at some of the mini megastars that inhabited these movies and contributed their fair share of entertainment value to the on-screen proceedings. The debate as to whether some of these selected films featuring these pint-sized performers are considered positive, exploitative or dismissive are not up for discussion (although one of these considerations could apply in the minds of a few folks). Instead, we want to celebrate the inclusion of...

Terry Gilliam’s second solo directorial effort, Time Bandits, remains an oddly hilarious bridge between his work with the Monty Python gang and his subsequent dystopian solo films like Brazil, Twelve Monkeys and even last year’s The Zero Theorem. Drenched in English dry wit and warped by the cartoonist’s soul that pervades all of Gilliam’s work, the film sees a gang of little people abandoning their posts as the creator’s right hand men to leap through the corridors of time pillaging as many treasures as they can drag with them, while a child gets wrapped up in the mischief along the way. Of its period in more ways that one, it feels a bit like a valiant attempt at emulating Spielberg with Gilliam-Goggles on.

With a stolen map of all time and space in hand, the little gang of burglars, led by Randall (played by a...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Dec. 9, 2014

Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95

Studio: Criterion

There's adventure and fantasy afoot in Time Bandits.

The 1981 adventure fantasy Time Bandits is a energetic and engaging voyage through time and space from Terry Gilliam (Brazil).

In the film, a boy named Kevin (Craig Warnock) escapes his gadget-obsessed parents to join a band of time-traveling dwarves. Armed with a map stolen from the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson, The Four Feathers), they plunder treasure from Napoleon (Ian Holm, The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Agamemnon (Sean Connery, The Man Who Would Be King)—but Evil (David Warner, Titanic) is watching their every move.

Featuring a darkly playful script by Gilliam and Monty Python’s Michael Palin (who also appears in the film), Time Bandits is at once a giddy fairy tale, a revisionist history lesson, and a satire on technology gone awry.

The film has been out in...

Criterion has announced their new list of releases coming to shelves December 2014 and it's definitely not the flashiest of line-ups and, in fact, a rather limited one as it contains only three new Criterion titles along with one new edition to their Eclipse brand. First off we have Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits arriving on December 9. Previously released by Criterion on Laserdisc, the film now makes the jump to DVD and Blu-ray with a new 2K digital restoration and a new piece exploring the creation of the film's various historical periods and fantasy worlds along with previously released features such as an audio commentary and interviews. In this fantastic voyage through time and space from Terry Gilliam, a boy named Kevin (Craig Warnock) escapes his gadget-obsessed parents to join a band of time-traveling dwarves. Armed with a map stolen from the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson), they plunder treasure from Napoleon...

Possibly the greatest competition we’ve ever done! To mark the release of Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits Blu-ray 26th August, we’ve been given 3 Steelbook Blu-ray copies of the movie to give away. The movie stars John Cleese, Sean Connery, Michael Palin, Shelley Duvall, Jim Broadbent and many more!

The film that established Terry Gilliam as more than just Monty Python s resident animator, this delightfully inventive children s fantasy is about young Kevin (Craig Warnock) who finds himself travelling through holes in the space-time continuum in the company of half a dozen fractious dwarfs.

Along the way, he encounters Agamemnon (Sean Connery), Robin Hood (John Cleese), Napoleon (Ian Holm) and winds up as a passenger on the Titanic, although not necessarily in that order. But is this just random entertainment laid on for history fan Kevin s benefit, or part of a wider struggle between the forces of...

The film that established Terry Gilliam as more than just Monty Python's resident animator, this delightfully inventive children's fantasy follows young protagonist Kevin (Craig Warnock) who finds himself travelling through holes in the space-time continuum in the company of half a dozen fractious dwarfs. To celebrate the DVD and Blu-ray rerelease of Gilliam's time-travelling caper this Monday (26 August), we've kindly been provided with Three Blu-ray copies of Time Bandits to give away to our readers, courtesy of Arrow Video. This is an exclusive competition for our Facebook and Twitter fans, so if you haven't already, 'Like' us at facebook.com/CineVueUK or follow us @CineVue before answering the question below.

On his voyage, Kevin encounters Agamemnon (Sean Connery), Robin Hood (John Cleese), Napoleon Bonaparte (Ian Holm) and winds up as a passenger on the Titanic - although not necessarily in that order. But is this just random entertainment laid on...

Thanks to Arrow Video, we are giving three lucky readers the opportunity to win a blu-ray copy of Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits.

Packed with brand new extras, including a host of new interviews and featurettes with the team behind the film and featuring a fully restored version of the classic comedy, this is the definitive version of the film.

Time Bandits is the project that established Terry Gilliam as more than just Monty Python’s resident animator: it is a delightfully inventive children’s fantasy is about young Kevin (Craig Warnock) who finds himself travelling through holes in the space-time continuum in the company of half a dozen fractious dwarfs.

Along the way, he encounters Agamemnon (Sean Connery), Napoleon (Ian Holm) and winds up as a passenger on the Titanic, although not necessarily in that order. But is this just random entertainment laid on for history fan Kevin’s benefit,...

Terry Gilliam.s success may be built upon the backs of some short people. The adventures of some time traveling dwarves was his first successful feature, but its high definition debut is not without its troubles. Kevin (Craig Warnock) is an 11-year-old boy whose parents (David Daker and Sheila Fearn) are more concerned with the latest kitchen gadget than the lad. He.s into the usual boy things, Greek mythology, etc., but gets an odd visitation one night when a knight on horseback bursts through his closet. It.s gone as quick as it happens. The next night, Kevin is prepared for another intrusion but this one is even odder than the first. A group of dwarves, Randall (David...

"Clash of the Titans" is in a fierce clash with film critics, who are thrusting their pens like swords, gleefully, at the 3-D remake. Why? "There's nothing worse than a boring behemoth," fumes USA Today. "It's doubtful that records are kept about this sort of thing, but consider the possibility that 'Clash of the Titans' is the first film to actually be made worse by being in 3-D," says Kenneth Turan in the L.A. Times. It's getting a few decent reviews from Owen Gleiberman at Entertainment Weekly and Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times, but otherwise the consensus opinion seems to be reflected by Brian Lowry's view in Variety: "This 'Titans' reboot merely demonstrates that building a more elaborate mousetrap doesn't necessarily produce a more entertaining one." But "Titans" fans have permission to pooh-pooh all that. The original 1981 production got widely skewered too — even by Variety, which...