Fans of iconic oddball auteur Terry Gilliam tend to flock to his films for their unapologetically unhinged narratives that are loosely wound through a string of surreal and inexplicable visuals. Even a bad Gilliam movie is usually trippy enough to be enjoyable (though not you, Tideland. You go over there.) Gilliam’s movies are mind-bending journeys that boast flying men, Fisher Kings, con men, and maniacs. As such, they are not generally terribly kid-friendly. Not yet anyway.
In the strangest story I’m likely to cover today, Variety reports that Guy Collins and Michael Ryan (formerly of Handmade Films) are looking to produce a remake of Gilliam’s cult classic Time Bandits that will be re-fashioned into a family friendly franchise. There’s no mention of Gilliam’s involvement, and it’s safe to assume there won’t be. The notoriously quirky director doesn’t do family friendly. Time Bandits itself is evident of that.
The 1981 action-adventure centered on a young boy whose parents willfully ignore him so they can better keep up with the Joneses by buying the latest and greatest in gadgetry. One night a bunch of time-traveling thieving dwarves (who presumably work for God) stumble into his bedroom, and the history-lovin’ kid takes the chance at adventure by following them through the holes in spacetime fabric. It’s a deeply bizarre tale that includes appearances by Ian Holm, Sean Connery, and John Cleese, who play Napoleon, King Agamemnon, and Robin Hood respectively. And though it was a box office success, I still find it surprising that Time Bandits is a property deemed worth rebooting for kids. Yes, it’s got dwarves – but they are not the cuddly imps of Snow White. Rather, they are crude and often off-putting. Then there’s much mayhem and an ongoing dressing down of “The Supreme Being.” Plus the film ends with the boy’s parents exploding. I mean, look at the trailer: does it look like a kid’s movie?
However, it’s worth mentioning that a reboot of Time Bandits has been rumored since 2006. So this may be (and let’s hope it is) a lot of noise and sound connoting nothing. Fingers crossed.
Notably, Time Bandits is currently streaming on Netflix.
What say you? Would you want to see Time Bandits rebooted?