History Film / TimeBandits

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: One scene takes place on the Titanic, which is for some reason labeled as the S.S. Titanic instead of the proper R.M.S. Titanic.

* CaughtInASnare: The Bandits are caught and left hanging by snares set by Robin Hood.

* {{Expy}}: In his book ''Monty Python: The Case Against Irreverence, Scurrility, Profanity, Vilification, and Licentious Abuse'', Robert Hewison describes the dwarfs as a comment on the Creator/MontyPython troupe. The nice one, Fidgit, is said to represent Creator/MichaelPalin; the self-appointed leader, Randall, Creator/JohnCleese; the acerbic one, Strutter, Creator/EricIdle; the quiet one, Og, Creator/GrahamChapman; the noisy rebel, Wally, Creator/TerryJones; and the nasty, filth-loving one, Vermin, Creator/TerryGilliam.

* ExtremeOmnivore: Vermin. So much so that Randall threatens to [[ImAHumanitarian feed Kevin to him.]]

* {{Homage}}: When Wally arrives in a spaceship, the musical fanfare is a riff on ''Also Sprach Zarathustra'' from ''Film/Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''. The camera focuses on the the number "201" inscribed on the landing gear of the spaceship.

* {{Homage}}: When Wally arrives in a spaceship, the musical fanfare is a riff on ''Also Sprach Zarathustra'' from ''Film/{{2001}}''. The camera focuses on the the number "201" inscribed on the landing gear of the spaceship.

* BolivianArmyEnding: [[spoiler:Kevin left alone and parentless, back in the normal world. [[AmbiguousSituation If that isn't still part of the dream said adventure was implied to be]], who knows how he'll manage.]]

-->'''Randall:''' You want to be leader?\\

* SuspectIsHatless: Benson points out "the little one" has the map.

* UnfazedEveryman: Kevin.

* BalefulPolymorph:
** Og gets hit by a spell that turns his head into a pig's head. He later gets turned into a pig entirely.
** Evil turns his minion Benson into a dog, apparently as punishment, but Benson thanks him profusely.

* NiceHat:
** A giant walking on the ocean floor comes up directly underneath the ogres' boat and wears it as a hat. (Gilliam admits having stolen the idea from a Creator/BrianFroud drawing.)
** Each of the Bandits wears a hat of some description, from a dusty bowler to a crude mining helmet.
** The Evil Genius' [[{{Film/Alien}} H.R. Giger-esque headpiece]] with a skull on the back of it.

* BittersweetEnding: What happens after Kevin is done surfing through time? [[spoiler:His parents explode and he is left alone beside his smoldering home. The last thing he says is a rather weak, "Mum...? Dad...?" as the camera pulls away, showing him very pitifully alone]]. However, [[spoiler:he's still got the map, and his parents were a pretty stifling presence in his life anyway]].

* DemotedToExtra: Horseflesh had a big role in the script, but his lines were removed, and he's just more of a background character.

* DownerEnding: In the last minute of the movie, Kevin is left homeless and orphaned.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* InvisibleWall: In case you ever wondered what one looks like.

* TheLancer: Wally to Randall.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Given Gilliam's penchant for carnival-esque atrezzo, it's not quite clear whether the minotaur really is meant to be a minotaur or just a burly guy with a full bull headdress.

** The actual Napoleon is obsessed with height. It's almost all he'll talk about. He's overjoyed to discover the Time Bandits, who are all shorter than him, and promptly makes them all generals.

* SchmuckBait: "The Most Fabulous Object In the Universe."

* StealthInsult:Evil Genius says, "Oh, Benson...dear Benson. You are so mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence."

* WhatHaveWeEar: Part of Agamemnon's very fatherly behavior toward Kevin is to perform a magic trick. Kevin doesn't think he's very kingly, but likes him just the same.

* BittersweetEnding: What happens after Kevin is done surfing through time? [[spoiler:His parents explode and he is left alone beside his smoldering home. The last thing he says is a rather weak, "Mum...? Dad...?" as the camera pulls away, showing him very pitifully alone]]. However, [[spoiler:he's still got the map, and Agamemnon's presence as one of the firefighters implies he might be out to help Kevin as well]].

* BalefulPolymorph: Og gets hit by a spell that turns his head into a pig's head. He later gets turned into a pig entirely.

** It was even more obvious in the deleted scenes, which explored more of the Time of Legends, twisting old myths and legends into weird, bizarre and disturbing sights - be it two elderly spider-women kidnapping pretty young knights while acting like regular grandmas, or a woodsman cutting hand-shaped trees... that try to wriggle away from him and his axe.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Often portrayed as a bad guy, usually ''the'' bad guy, in various adaptations of the Iliad/Trojan War, here Greek King Agamemnon is portrayed as a noble hero. It helps that he's played by Creator/SeanConnery. May also count as a HistoricalHeroUpgrade.

* AdultFear: Agamemnon when he realizes that the "magic trick" the Time Bandits drag Kevin into is not a trick and that the boy he just adopted as his son has been kidnapped and disappeared beyond his reach.

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: The knights' demise.

* KickTheDog: Evil, being Evil, does this a lot. Including one literal example where he blows up his minion Benson (in dog form) with a DeathRay.
* KnightInShiningArmor: Before the dwarfs turn up, a knight on horseback leaps through Kevin's closet. In the final battle, a whole group of them charge at the Evil Genius.

* ArmyOfTheAges: The title characters do this to battle the Evil Genius. [[spoiler:Unfortuantly, it proves to be fruitless.]]

With quirky characters, nice historical backdrops, {{Indy Ploy}}s, BlackComedy galore, and ultimately a [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil Good versus Evil battle]], the film makes for a wacky, humorous yet still dramatic time travel adventure. This was the first part of the "Dreamer Trilogy": ''Time Bandits'' represents childhood, ''Film/{{Brazil}}'' represents adulthood, ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen'' represents old age.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TimeBandits.jpg]]

* BitterSweetEnding: What happens after Kevin is done surfing through time? [[spoiler:His parents explode and he is left alone beside his smoldering home. The last thing he says is a rather weak, "Mum...? Dad...?" as the camera pulls away, showing him very pitifully alone]]. However, [[spoiler:he's still got the map, and Agamemnon's presence as one of the firefighters implies he might be out to help Kevin as well]].

* GodIsInept: Also zig-zagged. The Time Bandits claim they stole the map from the Supreme Being, who spends many scenes ineffectually chasing them while nevertheless looking very impressive. Evil calls the Supreme Being a lunatic because of all of his pointless creations, like slugs and nipples for men. Ultimately the Supreme Being does resolve everything and states that it was all according to His plan, saying, "I'm not ''entirely'' dim." However, along the way he seems to be a little vague and distracted, doesn't put much effort into explaining why suffering must occur, and doesn't notice that the Bandits leave a chunk of Evil behind.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** This exchange:
-->''' Vincent:''' Pansy, look at me.\\
'''Pansy:''' Yes, Vincent.\\
'''Vincent:''' Do you... do you... love me?\\
'''Pansy:''' Of course I love you.\\
'''Vincent:''' You... you don't mind the thing... on my... on my nose...\\
'''Pansy:''' Oh you mean your...\\
'''Vincent:''' Yes, my...\\
'''Pansy:''' No, darling... of course I don't mind...\\
'''Vincent:''' You could get used to have a chap around the house with a... with a... with a damn thing on his nose.\\
'''Pansy:''' Of course, my love. Everyone has something odd about them. Why I've got an enormous...\\
'''Vincent:''' Pansy!