Adventure in Time Bandits

Time Bandits is a remarkable adventure story. Full of childlike exuberance, it propels the audience through multiple sets and time periods, each charged with peril, comedy, and intrigue. But Time Bandits is more than just a good story well told. It is a conversation about the importance of adventure in a childhood. As Kevin ventures from his home, learns different methods of adventure, and overcomes the fears and dangers of a wild world, he surpasses even his parents in maturity and understanding.

Kevin begins the film deep in the world of ‘society’. His disinterested parents care only for reality TV and modern kitchen appliances. Kevin cannot even stay awake and read a book. He is interested in the world of adventure, but cannot escape from his over controlling parents, who keep him far away from danger and the outside world. When the the time traveling dwarves come through the closet, it is a dream come true for Kevin. He will be able to escape from society, and explore the world he has always dreamed of.

Kevin soon discovers some of the challenges of the world of adventure. The dwarves, who hold immense power in their hands in the form of the time traveling map, want nothing more than to steal and plunder. In this world of adventure, morality suddenly becomes grey. While Kevin might never have stolen in the midst of his domestic life, stealing now seems like a good option. After all, Napoleon steals and plunders, and Robin Hood steals all of their hard earned gold from them. Kevin’s world view begins to change, and he makes choices that further his adventure, but are morally ambiguous.

The world of adventure is also constantly shifting. While Kevin experienced painfully consistent monotony at home, he now struggles to find any stability at all. Temporarily accepted in the ancient world as the son of King Agamemnon, Kevin hopes to stay forever. But the world of adventure will not allow for this level of domesticity and security. The dwarves return again, and steal him away from his home, throwing him into the midst of more adventure.

Finally, the world of adventure is full of evil. Natural evils, like the sinking Titanic, and organized maliciousness, personified in the character of Evil. These powerful forms of resistance, which Kevin had never faced in his domestic life, now threaten his survival. Kevin rises to the occasion. Tricking the ogre, drugging the giant, and making a plan to avoid Evil, Kevin uses tactics he learned from the dwarves to overcome these challenges. Though learned through a life of crime, Kevin has acquired skills that allow him to successfully combat his challenges.

At the end of the story, as is traditional in adventure narratives, Kevin returns home. Though the ending is slightly ambiguous, it is clear that Kevin’s adventure has affected his home. A piece of Evil has returned with Kevin back home. This eventually leads to the complete disintegration of his parents. Kevin is left in the ashes of his old life, parents gone, free from society. Though under normal circumstances, Kevin might have been helpless in this situation, Kevin is now equipped with the skills he learned from his adventure. Though he has suffered pains, effectively destroyed his own home, and bent his moral compass, Kevin has certainly learned and changed because of his adventures. Whether that growth is to his benefit or not is for the viewer to decide.