SEATTLE — "Time Bandits" is a rollicking adventure through the space-time continuum. And the Apple TV+ series, itself, has emerged from a bit of a time machine.
It's based on a 1981 movie created by members of Monty Python.
The new version finds its funny thanks to another great comedic team, Kiwi filmmakers Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. The two write, direct and star in the series.
“Traditionally, I would be the one who would convince Taika to rein it in and make it more relatable,” said Clement. “But now it's the other way around.”
“Maybe we've switched,” Waititi jokingly replied.
The series follows the adventures of an 11-year-old boy who teams up with a group of hapless bandits, led by Lisa Kudrow. Their journeys bring them face to face with historical fact and fiction.
“We had a whole lot of historians come and talk to us about various time periods that we're visiting,” Clement said. “Some were just so amazing that you want to share or show it. And sometimes you just want to make a joke.”
“Was the Trojan Horse a factual thing?” Waititi asked Clement.
“They don't know,” he said. “Unlikely."
“Why would you not look inside that?” Waititi wondered.
Clement explained, “At the end of the war, you offer a gift to the victor: ‘You guys won.’”
“’Don't look inside!’” added Waititi with a laugh.
Waititi and Clement admit they each used their own children as unpaid consultants.
Clement said, “One of the first things I did was say, 'What time periods would you like to see?’”
The result is a journey for the whole family, a time-traveling heist of comic proportions.
“Time Bandits” begins streaming on Apple TV+ July 24.
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