Time Bandits (1981)

Kevin (Craig Warnock) is a boy fascinated by history.  After bed one night, a mounted knight burst from his wardrobe, leapt over his bed, and galloped down a tree-lined path.  What?  Kevin's father appeared moments later to demand Kevin go to sleep and not make so much noise.  There was no sign of the knight's passage.  The following night, Kevin was prepared; he had a camera and a flashlight.  He awoke to find six dwarves emerging from the wardrobe.  They were soon followed by a disembodied head that demanded they "Return what you have stolen from me!"  Caught up in the rush, Kevin plunges into a time hole with the dwarves.

The dwarves have a map - which they stole - that shows where holes in time exist, allowing them to travel time and plunder the best stuff.  Their leader is Randall (David Rappaport).  Fidgit (Kenny Baker) is the nice one, Og (Mike Edmonds) is the dumb one, Wally (Jack Purvis) is the angry one, Strutter (Malcolm Dixon) is four foot one, and Vermin (Tiny Ross) eats whatever is at hand.

1796 Italy.  Kevin tried to flee from the dwarves only to run into French cavalry.  Soon, they encounter Napoleon (Ian Holm) who, being sensitive about his height, eagerly recruits the dwarves as his new generals.  They use the opportunity to steal all the plunder and escape through another time hole.

Middle Ages England.  Finding themselves captured by ruffians, Randall convinces them that they too are ruffians and want to join the gang.  It turns out these are Robin Hood's (John Cleese) men!  Robin is most pleased with all the treasure they have brought and commence to redistribute it to the poor.  Once again forced to flee from the disembodied head, they find two gates.  Kevin goes through one that quickly closes, separating him from the dwarves.

Ancient Greece.  Kevin falls upon a Greek warrior who is battling a minotaur.  The Greek warrior proves to be King Agamemnon (Sean Connery) and Kevin quickly grows attached and even becomes his adoptive son and chosen successor!  But the dwarves have not forgotten Kevin and come to rescue him from his peril and steal some booty while they're at it!

In the Age of Legends, Kevin and the dwarves face an ogre, a giant, and finally Evil incarnate.  All their adventures had led to this point, as Evil (David Warner) lured them there to steal the map.  With the map, he will change all of creation!

I originally saw this movie when it was released.  We were spending the weekend in Palm Desert and my mother dropped my brother and me at the theater to see this.  Great fun.  I've seen it several times over the years and have always enjoyed it.  Highly recommended.

Jabberwocky (1977)

Taking Lewis Carroll's poem as an inspiration, Terry Gilliam's first non-Monty Python film sets the ground for his future films.  The hero, Dennis Cooper (Monty Python alum Michael Palin), has dreams of marrying the shrewish Griselda.  His plans go awry when his father disinherits him; Dennis is forced to find a place for himself in the capitol city where King Bruno the Questionable reigns.  Through a series of mishaps and dumb luck, Dennis finds himself questing with a knight named Red Herring to slay the monster that terrorizes the kingdom.

Like his later films, there are outlandish outfits, capricious killings for petty causes, crumbling edifices, claustrophobic settings, bizarre customs, counterproductive commands from leadership, almost universal incompetence, and a hero who is mostly out of his depth.  Though he is the hero, Dennis is hard to like.  His infatuation for Griselda is pathetic rather than comical.  That he is so clueless to the fact that she has no interest in him is sad rather than funny.  The merchant class are portrayed as villains who want the Jabberwock to continue its rampages since the price for their goods is inflated and they have grown immensely wealthy.  In search of a champion, King Bruno holds a joust - to the death! - in which the last survivor will set out to slay the beast.  Why not send a host of knights?

Though it feels like a Terry Gilliam film (e.g., Brazil, Time Bandits, 12 Monkeys), it is missing a likeable character to follow.  There is plenty of crazy, but very little charming.  Dennis Cooper is an oaf who fails his way into a princess bride and half a kingdom, and the result is bland and disappointing, whereas competent and likeable Sam Lowry fumbles into a dystopian bureaucracy that lobotomizes him, and it is brilliant!

Watch Brazil instead, which also has Michael Palin in a much better role.