Time Hoppers: The Silk Road Parent Guide

When masked men invade their Seattle home, Habib (Omar Regan) grabs his daughter, Layla (Jayce McKenzie) and flees to Vancouver. They settle in and Layla heads off to school at the Aqli Academy, where she soon befriends Aysha (Angel Haven Rey) and Abdullah (Emily Gin). Layla’s also happy to see her cousin, Khalid (Tareek Talati) and Aunt Hafsa (Aliyah Harris), who works at the school.

Aqli Academy isn’t just any school. The date is 2050 and Aqli Academy is a futuristic fantasy, even housing a time travel development lab, where Habib can continue the research that has made him a high value target. When one of Layla’s new friends accidentally sends himself back in time to 9^th century Baghdad, the only option is for Layla and her pals to retrieve him. 

While in Baghdad, the friends encounter the movie’s villain, Fasid (Morris Seng), who obtains one of their “go watches” and is soon skipping through time with the kids in pursuit. As they pop in and out of what’s now Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and Mali, the youngsters come across a number of remarkable historical figures, including Al-Khwarizmi (the father of algebra), Ibn Al-Haytham (a pioneer in optics), Mansa Musa (leader of the Mali Empire), and Maryam Al-Asturlabi (female astronomer and inventor). 

I wanted to like this movie. There’s a real need for films that tell stories about places and times we rarely see on screen. Islam’s Golden Age is a fascinating period and it would be wonderful if a movie could give audiences more Middle Eastern reference points than Disney's Aladdin. It would also be great to see more movies centered on kids who are biracial, or Muslim, or adjusting to life in another country. Time Hoppers: The Silk Road has all of those elements but they fail to coalesce into an enjoyable film.

The root of the problem is the script, which is incoherent and riddled with plot holes. We are never told what motivates Fasid  – and there’s no explanation for the archvillain who’s pursuing Habib in 2050. Without a clear understanding of the film’s antagonists, it’s difficult to focus the storyline, a problem made worse by unresolved story threads. As for the plot holes, there are too many to count, but I’ll hit the major ones. First, we’re informed that the kids have to retrieve Abdullah because adults can’t time travel with go watches – even though we see Fasid repeatedly using one. Second, there’s no explanation for why the kids always land exactly where they need to be whenever they arrive in a new place and time. Third, everyone speaks English so the foursome have no trouble understanding what’s going on in 9^th century Baghdad or 14^th century Timbuktu. I swear this movie made my brain itch, but to be fair, none of these issues will bother young viewers.

On top of the script’s issues is the quality of the animation, which looks like it was done on a Commodore 64. Blocky, sticky, and bland, this isn’t memorable for anything except its mediocrity. Now, I don’t want to sound harsh towards a film that clearly has a budget measured in thousands instead of millions, so I will note that even poor animation can be overcome by a good story – which this movie lacks. (Check out Hoodwinked for a film that entertains despite its low budget animation.)

If, for some reason, you are still determined to watch this film, you can rest assured that it’s almost entirely devoid of content issues. There are umpteen chase scenes (often for no reason at all) and a few people are wrapped up in carpets and abducted, but no one gets seriously hurt. This might be the least scary kids’ movie I’ve ever seen and it’s far less disturbing than any Disney film. You might fall asleep watching it (heaven knows I dozed off for five minutes), but your kids will be perfectly safe as they sit in front of the screen. They might even learn something.

About author

Kirsten Hawkes

Kirsten Hawkes has a BA in Political Science and English and has worked in international development and medical education and marketing. Kirsten enjoys reading, watching movies, and debating politics with her husband and sometimes unwilling children.