In Time Bandits, Evil has plans. The Supreme Being has plans. The dwarves have plans. Agamemnon, Napoleon, Robin Hood? They all have pretty strong ideas about what they want to do and how the world should look. Kevin is the only one willing to just go with the flow, and it's his dreams that more or less come true. There's a subtle idea at work here, tied into that old phrase "man plans, God laughs." The characters all get in the way of their own dreams by trying too hard to make them happen.
Questions about Dreams, Hopes, and Plans
- How many plans in the film actually come to fruition? Do the characters ever get what they want?
- Is it wiser in this universe to go without plans and stick with your dreams, like Kevin does? Why or why not?
- What is the difference between plans and dreams in this film?
Chew on This
Take a peek at these thesis statements. Agree or disagree?
Dreams depend on spontaneity and always upend any plans you make to fulfill them.
Plans can be fulfilled; it's just that the characters here are too foolish to fulfill them.