Ali Ardekani, Aliyah Harris, Angel Haven Rey, animation, Anwar Arafat, Emily Gin, Flordeliza Dayrit, Jayce McKenzie, Jenna Abu Tineh, Morris Seng, movies, Omar Regan, reviews, Tareek Talati, Time Hoppers: The Silk Road
February 8, 2026
by Carla Hay
Directed by Flordeliza Dayrit
Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in North America in 2050 and in Baghdad in 825, the animated film “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” (based on the video game of the same name) features a predominantly Middle Eastern and black cast of characters (with some white people) who are connected in some way to a time-traveling invention.
Culture Clash: Four North American adolescents from the year 2050 travel back in time to Baghdad in 825, to prevent an evil alchemist from erasing the contributions of groundbreaking scientists so he can get the credit for himself.
Culture Audience: “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in entertaining, family-oriented animated films that.
“Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” has a somewhat messy plot and a very predictable ending, but there’s still a lot to like about this children-friendly animated adventure film. It mostly succeeds in combining science/history lessons with entertainment. This low-budget independent animated film lacks the visual sophistication of a big-budget animated film from a major movie studio, but only elitist animation snobs will be bothered by the movie’s basic animation. The movie’s engaging story and memorable characters are what stand out the most about “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road.”
Directed by Flordeliza Dayrit, “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” was written by Dayrit and Sakina Fakhri, who adapted the screenplay from Muslim Kids TV’s 2024 “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” video game. The movie takes place in primarily in North America in 2050, and in Baghdad in 825, with a brief stop in Timbuktu in 825, and an epilogue taking place in the Syrian city of Aleppo in the year 950. The epilogue makes it obvious that the filmmakers of “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” intend to have at least one sequel for this movie.
“Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” begins in Seattle in 2050. Layla (voiced by Jayce McKenzie) is an intelligent and curious 12-year-old girl who is feeling quite lonely in her home. Her widower father Habib (voiced by Omar Regan) has grown distant from Layla ever since her mother died. Layla says, “My father has always had an obsession with time.” And lately, he’s been spending most of his time working on a secret project. Layla says that she not only misses her mother but she also misses her father, who used to spend more time with Layla.
One night, several mysterious men dressed in robotic suits invade the home of Habib and Layla, who are both able to escape in Habib’s car. Habib tells Layla that the home invaders are looking for the secret “tool” that he discovered. Habib says that this tool could be very dangerous if it’s in the possession of people who want to use it for the wrong reasons.
Habib is vague about what this tool is, but he promises Layla: “I’ll tell you when the time is right.” In the meantime, Habib says that he and Layla have to leave everything behind in Seattle, including their real names. Habib tells Layla that she has to be brave and strong, just like her mother was. Habib says that Layla is a lot like her mother by having these qualities.
Layla and Habib end up hiding out in Vancouver, where Habib’s sister Hafsa (voiced by Aliyah Harris) works at a science-oriented school for children called Aqli Academy. Hafsa is a single mother to a son named Khalid (played by Tareek Talati), who is about the same age as Layla. Khalid has the nickname Calculator because he’s a whiz in mathematics and science.
Layla enrolls in Aqli Academy and soon makes the acquaintance of Khalid’s schoolmate friends Aysha (played by Angel Haven Rey) and Abdullah (played by Emily Gin). Aysha is the most athletic of the four kids. Abdullah is the goofiest and most likely to be involved in mischievous pranks. Khalid and Abdullah also like to play video games together.
In a room at Aqli Academy, Habib eventually reveals to Layla, Khalid, Aysha and Abdullah what Habib’s sister Hafsa already knows: Habib’s secret “tool” is more than a tool: It’s actually a time-travel machine that Habib says can transport drone cameras to the past. “This project is our secret,” Habib tells the children and Hafsa. “No one else can know.”
The invention is in the room, so Habib begins to demonstrate how it works. However, Abdullah accidentally gets caught in a transporter beam, which takes him to the city of Baghdad in the year 825. During this year, the nation of Iraq did not exist. Baghdad was part of a territory called Abbasid Caliphate.
Habib, Hafsa and the kids are frantic to find Abdullah. Habib explains that the time machine cannot transport adults, so it’s up to the kids to find Abdullah and bring him back. Khalid warns everyone that they can’t interfere with anything in the past, or else it could permanently alter the future.
Not long after the kids are in Baghdad to look for Abdullah, they encounter a corrupt alchemist named Fasid (played by Morris Seng), who is bitter that he hasn’t gotten enough recognition as a scholar. Fasid wants to steal other scientists’ ideas and inventions and pretend that they are his own. The rest of the movie is about the four children trying to stop Fasid from altering history with his intended deception.
“Time Hopper: The Silk Road” tends to get repetitive by showing Abdullah being found by his friends and then he gets separated from them again. This cycle happens at least three times in the movie. Fasid is also a stereotypical villain, but his sinister motives are very realistic to what can happen when a scientist feels jealous and competitive with other scientists.
“Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” is the first Muslim-American-made children’s animated film with modern-day Muslims as the central characters to get a significant theatrical release in the United States. The movie doesn’t make Islam central to the story, but “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” does make some references to Islam and Muslim heritage in a few light-hearted and deliberately hokey jokes. For example, there’s a joke using the double meaning for the word “fast” (which can mean quick or the act of abstaining from eating) as a pun in a mention of Ramadan.
The movie’s racial diversity (including having black Muslims as prominent characters) is presented in a matter-of-fact way, not in a self-congratulatory or preachy way. “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” shows members of a large community that exists in contemporary North America but is rarely seen on screen in American-made, family-oriented animated films. Most Muslims depicted as main characters in animated films, such as Disney’s 1992 movie “Aladdin,” are usually portrayed as fantasy characters from ancient times. It’s taken a very long time to have representation of modern Muslims as the majority of characters in a theatrically released, American-made animated film, but “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” is a step in the right direction.
“Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” features some characters representing real-life historical figures in science. Ibn al-Haytham (voiced by Ali Ardekani), also known as “the father of modern optics,” is targeted by Farsid for Farsid’s main evil scheme. Also featured in the movie are Maryam al-Asturlabi (voiced by Jenna Abu Tineh) as an adolescent child, before she would grow up to be a trailblazing astronomer/engineer who helped pioneer astrolabes. Her father Al-ʻIjliyy (voiced by Anwar Arafat), another astrolabe maker, is another character in the movie.
The voice performances in “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” range from mediocre to very good. Standouts include McKenzie as Layla, Regan as Habib, Gin as Abdullah and Talati as Habib. All of the movie’s principal characters have unique personality traits and personal styles that make it easy to tell these characters apart from one another.
“Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” has a lot of vibrant energy, to the point where the movie might move too fast and might be too jumbled for some viewers. However, “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” is not boring and has a way of celebrating academic topics that is easy to digest for people of any generation. It’s the type of movie where adults as well as underage kids can learn a few things while being entertained.
Fathom Entertainment released “Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” in U.S. cinemas on February 7, 2026.