There are not many children’s animated adventures that include 9th-century Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age among their settings, or which can boast the historical figure Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi as a featured character. Who he? As one of a plucky quartet of gifted children explains, “That’s the father of mathematics! … he’s why we have algorithms!”
This interesting backdrop is one of several – as the title suggests, the kids hop to different timelines – which is among the film’s strengths. Another boon are some pretty good Christmas-cracker style jokes, usually made in passing by background characters such as these two guards trading witticisms: “Why should you never race a Muslim during Ramadan? Because they fast.”
