Society’s trend toward historical ignorance is nothing new or recent. Terry Gilliam’s original “Time Bandits” presents it as a kind of passive villainy, although if you were among the kids who saw it in 1981 you might not have recognized that.

Instead, Gilliam banked on the relatable appeal of making a nerdy little boy that nobody listens to, his parents least of all, something every child understands. But when Kevin Haddock is drawn into the adventures of six small beings leaping between portals in space and time with a stolen map, his knowledge becomes his superpower.

Apple TV 's modern “Time Bandits” doesn’t change this, although the 2024 version of Kevin (played by Kal-El Tuck) is geekier and more settled into his outcast status than the boy who actor Craig Warnock originated some 43 years ago.

Whether the plot loses something significant in casting Lisa Kudrow and four other average-sized actors instead of casting little people in those roles as Gilliam did in 1981 is also debatable. Less so, we should say, than the fact that such meaty roles remain rare for actors with dwarfism, as the granddaughter of Jack Purvis, who plays Wally in the original movie, pointed out in 2022.

"'Time Bandits' is the only film that's ever represented people like me in a way that isn't seen as a goblin or one of Snow White's seven little men,” Abbie Grace Purvis shared in a TikTok video that has since vanished. "This was a film that changed the times and it was ahead of the times, to be honest, because people like me weren't treated the same as they are now.

"For a generation that is so big on talking about inclusivity and diversity and making sure that everyone's heard, this whole casting choice just seems absurd," Purvis added.

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The revival’s creators Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris and Taika Waititi took some of that criticism to heart, writing little people into the show and setting them up to play more expansive roles if Apple TV picks up a........

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