Kevin is an ordinary 11-year-old boy living in suburban England, obsessed with history and mythology while feeling ignored by his parents who are more interested in buying the latest consumer gadgets than in Kevin’s dreams. One night, strange things begin: a knight on horseback crashes through his wardrobe, disappearing into a forest that Kevin glimpsed in one of his own photographs. The next evening, Kevin waits in bed with a camera and a flashlight, only to have six dwarfs file out of his wardrobe. The dwarfs have stolen an ancient map belonging to the Supreme Being. This map shows all the holes or portals in the fabric of time, allowing travel between different historical epochs.
Kevin, initially shocked, decides to join them on their journey when they accidentally reveal that one portal is hidden behind the wall of his bedroom. Along the way, they travel to several eras: Napoleonic battlefields, Medieval Sherwood Forest with Robin Hood, and the court of King Agamemnon in ancient Greece. The dwarfs—named Randall, Fidgit, Strutter, Og, Wally, and Vermin—are adventurers and thieves who loot treasures wherever they go, pursued by the Supreme Being, who demands return of his map.
As the dwarfs and Kevin leap through portals, they also face a darker force: the Evil Genius, a malevolent entity seeking to seize the map and use its power to reshape or control time and reality. The Evil Genius’s fortress looms as a destination of greatest danger. The group discovers that history is not merely backdrop but a living stage of wonders and horrors; each era brings new perils, new moral questions, and often comedic absurdities of encountering the past.
One of the more memorable episodes is aboard the sinking ship (Titanic) or trying to outwit swordsmen or meeting mythical creatures—fanciful set pieces that mix whimsy, satire, and surreal imagery. Kevin becomes more involved, emotionally and morally, as he witnesses the consequences of greed, manipulation, and the caprice of power. He isn’t just a tag-along; his presence matters, his curiosity gives moral weight to the dwarfs’ exploits.
The climax occurs in the Fortress of Ultimate Evil, where the dwarfs are tricked into giving up the map and are imprisoned along with Kevin. There is a confrontation of ideals: good vs evil, free will, creative power, and responsibility. The Supreme Being reappears, explaining that much of the adventure was allowed as a test—to see how much free will, how much bravery or foolishness would emerge. Evil is defeated, but not without cost, and the map is taken back.
The film ends ambiguously and fantastically. Kevin wakes up at home in a fire-filled bedroom where his house is burning down because of an appliance that contains a smoldering piece of “Evil.” His parents, oblivious, are in danger, and Kevin tries to warn them. After the firemen rescue him, one of them resembles King Agamemnon, hinting that the boundary between fantasy and reality remains porous. Finally, Kevin’s photos from his adventures turn out to be real, showing that although he is back in his everyday life, something from those travels was not imagined.
