Funny historical capers with violence, peril, and language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Kevin, an 11-year-old, is thrust into several violent scenes from history. He's targeted by cannon balls, arrows, and other weapons but is never injured. Other minor characters are injured or even killed. Injuries aren't gory. Deaths are implied and often played for laughs (i.e. a builder of Stonehenge is flattened by an enormous stone). There are moments of peril, but it seems like everything will turn out all right. Some characters (like Wrongness, whose fortress and clothing are pretty creepy) are purely evil, but even they play their darkness for laughs. There's a constant threat of the evil Supreme Being and some ominous scenes, but mostly the humorous aspects of the series lighten the mood. Kevin's parents and sister are mean to him, often teasing him and telling him that his interest in history is stupid.
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Language includes "damn," "oh my God," and insults like "stupid." Lots of cursing-adjacent phrases like "flipping heck" and the British slang "bloody." Minor verbal hostility and threat.
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Positive messages around staying true to yourself, doing the right thing, and being curious and passionate about learning.
Positive Role Models
some
Main character Kevin is an excellent role model. He remains true to himself, despite everyone (including his own family) making fun of his passion for history. He has a strong moral compass, even when those around him don't. He's curious and constantly trying to learn more. The Time Bandits themselves are iffier: They're trying to steal things and make lots of decisions that only benefit themselves. But they also have good hearts, and many of their actions are clearly presented as wrong.
Diverse Representations
some
Most of the main characters are White; in the Time Bandits crew, there's one Black character (Widgit) and one Asian character (Judy), but they're one-dimensional sidekicks. The show does visit some important moments/people in history that aren't Euro-centric, like Chinese pirate Madame Chung and Mali emperor Mansa Musa. Gender representation is fairly good, with the bandits having a female leader in Penelope. The show also highlights women's contribution to history. Main character Kevin is sensitive and communicative (though some of the other male characters are more stereotypical). Unlike the original 1980s film, the show doesn't feature any characters with short stature. Show creators Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi are both of Maori descent.
Parents need to know that Time Bandits is a TV series inspired by the same-named 1981 Terry Gilliammovie. This version was created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi and features Clement and Lisa Kudrow in major roles. Main character Kevin (Kal-El Tuck), who's 11, travels back in time to important historical moments, including battle scenes where he's threatened by cannonballs and arrows. Expect lots of slapstick violence and implied deaths played for laughs (i.e. a builder of Stonehenge is flattened by an enormous stone). While there are evil creatures, creepy sets/costumes, ominous scenes, and peril, the series' humor lightens the mood throughout. It always seems like Kevin and the titular bandits will escape in the nick of time, and they do. Kevin's parents tease and mock him, not understanding his obsession with history. Language is mild overall, including "damn," "oh my God," and insults like "stupid," as well as lots of cursing-adjacent phrases like "flipping heck" and the British slang "bloody." While the bandits are morally flexible at best, the show has positive messages about staying true to yourself, doing the right thing, and being curious and passionate about learning.
This show is alright, but I do think young elementary kids may not handle the violence well and may not understand everything (such as some of the historical time periods). There is some violence, but really no characters suffer severe injuries. Violent comments, however, such as, peel your skin off, and slice your head, are frequent in the show. Purest Evil and his companions are very creepy, such as a demon, and a character with two heads, one where a stomach should be, Also Fianna, a witch demon like thing that shoots lasers through eyes. Also, the fact that they are bandits is not great role modeling. On the bright side though, the action is entertaining, the one-liners are pretty good. And the characters have a good personality. I finished the series, and I was glad I watched it, but it wasn't my favorite.
Comedy and historical reimagining doesn't overcome un-original ideas, poor character development and scary/demonic characters.
The trailer really made me want to like this, but in the end it just wasn't that great. Some well-timed, intelligent humor that will likely go over most kid's heads wasn't enough to overcome the many unoriginal and borrowed ideas that make up the meat of this show. While there are some great nods to moments in history, some re-imaged in a creative way, with fun characters, the overall story felt a bit rushed and made it hard to care much about any of the characters in any meaningful way. There are easily identifiable ideas that felt taken The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, pretty much any Roald Dahl book, Harry Potter's parent's and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. While those are all very different stories done far better, it made this show feel like something I've seen before.
I almost always enjoy anything Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clements's name on it, but this wasn't one of their best attempts. Sure it had their trademark styles of humor, but it wasn't enough to overcome the aforementioned issues. While some of the darker characters are often portrayed as silly; visually and audibly there is healthy dose of scary, demonic creatures, especially the creature known as "The Huntress". Because of this I would easily skip this with little ones and only recommend for ages 13+
While there isn't much bad language that we encountered, the scary/demonic creature factor would make me slap a PG-13 label on it for sure. Perhaps others aren't as sensitive to this, but for our family it was enough to turn it off after a few episodes.
What's the Story?
In TIME BANDITS, eleven-year-old Kevin (Kal-El Tuck) lives in England with a family perplexed by his deep passion for history. One day, he hears rattling in his wardrobe and is stunned to learn that his furniture is a portal to an ancient Viking battle. The next day, the Time Bandits burst through the wardrobe. Lead by Penelope (Lisa Kudrow), the bandits are a ragtag group of hapless adults trying (and mostly failing) to plunder history's most valuable treasures. They've stolen a map that indicates time-travel portals, allowing them to hop to any place and moment in time. Eager to both escape his family and travel through history, Kevin joins the misfit pirates. He gets to be a part of history: asking the builders of Stonehenge what the monument means, sneaking into Troy inside the Trojan horse, and telling Chinese pirate Madame Chung how to avoid the British navy. While Kevin is living out his history-nerd dreams, the bandits are being chased by the ominous Supreme Being who wants its map back. Unbeknownst to them, they are also being pursued by Wrongness (Jemaine Clement), an evil mastermind who wants the map for his own terrible purposes. Kevin learns that the fate of the 2024 world rests on his shoulders, and has to use his pluck and super-knowledge of history to keep evil from prevailing.
This quirky, history-packed series is a delightful mashup of several popular kids' tropes. Time Bandits has the dismissive parents and alternate worlds of Harry Potter, the obsession with ancient history of Percy Jackson, and the fantasy elements of both. Unlike those series, the protagonist doesn't have any special powers except his encyclopedic knowledge of historical events. Kids who like fantasy, and especially kids into history, will love this series. Kudrow plays a bumbling pirate version of herFriends Phoebe character, and Clement is hysterical as a villain.
It's fun to see Kevin thrust into all the different time periods, and his enthusiasm for being an eyewitness to history is pretty infectious. Some of the writing is a bit slow or repetitive, but there's plenty of scenes with peril and excitement to make up for it. The humor is not quite in the Terry Gilliam style of the original movie it's based on, but there's plenty of silliness throughout. Grown-ups will enjoy the adult-focused jokes sprinkled throughout, making this a great series for families to watch together.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Kevin's curiosity and how he is so excited to learn the answer to history's mysteries. Are you curious to learn more about any of the real-life historical events in the show?
Kevin has an unwavering sense of self -- he knows what he likes, and doesn't care if anyone understands him or agrees with him. Do you have any interests or passions you feel like none of your friends share? If you do, how does that make you feel?
What do you think is fun about learning history? Or is it all just "boring" like Kevin's family insists?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Ashley Moulton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
