A Series of Unfortunate Events

2004
PG
1h 48m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

224K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:45

Dark Comedy Fantasy Epic Psychological Drama Quirky Comedy Adventure Comedy Family Fantasy

When a massive fire kills their parents, three children are delivered to the custody of cousin and stage actor Count Olaf, who is secretly plotting to steal their parents' vast fortune.When a massive fire kills their parents, three children are delivered to the custody of cousin and stage actor Count Olaf, who is secretly plotting to steal their parents' vast fortune.When a massive fire kills their parents, three children are delivered to the custody of cousin and stage actor Count Olaf, who is secretly plotting to steal their parents' vast fortune.

Director
- Brad Silberling
Writers
- Robert Gordon
- Daniel Handler
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

224K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,778

204

Director
- Brad Silberling
Writers
- Robert Gordon
- Daniel Handler
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Oscar
- 10 wins & 28 nominations total

Trivia
When the children first meet Count Olaf and Jim Carrey says, "Wait, let me do that one more time. Give me the line again, quickly, while its fresh in my mind." was not actually in the script. Carrey accidentally forgot his line and staying in character, wanting to try it again, but they kept the cameras rolling and felt it worked the way it happened.

Goofs
When Count Olaf asks why the children haven't cooked him roast beef, he is standing on the ground in front of his acting troupe. In the next shot, about a second later, he is shown jumping down from the table (This is due to cutting an extended scene where Olaf gets onto the table and ruins the dinner they have prepared).

Quotes
Count Olaf: I must say, you are a gloomy looking bunch. Why so glum?
Klaus Baudelaire: ...Our parents just died.
Count Olaf: Ah yes, of course. How very, very awful. Wait! Let me do that one more time. Give me the line again! Quickly, while it's fresh in my mind!
Klaus Baudelaire: [uncertainly] Our parents just died?
Count Olaf: [gasps dramatically]
Sunny: [in baby talk] What a schmuck!

Crazy credits
There is a credit for 'baby wrangler.'

Alternate versions
When aired on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, lines with profanity such as "Damn it, this was such a good character" have the offending language removed. In this case the line simply becomes "this was such a good character." However, what is odd is the line "No one knows the precise cause of the Baudelaire fire. My colleagues and I have investigated as best we can. But all we've discovered is that the blaze was started from a great distance through the refraction and convergence of light. And within moments, the entire mansion was in flames." is removed entirely, which is odd since it's an important plot point. However the line " And as mysterious as the source of the blaze, other mysteries began to unfold before the children's eyes. Every family has its secrets, doors left unopened. But as Klaus now realized, the smallest discovery would send his mind reeling with questions." is kept intact.

Connections
Featured in A Terrible Tragedy: Alarming Evidence from the Making of the Film - A Woeful World (2004)

Soundtracks
Loverly Spring
By Thomas Newman and Bill Bernstein

User reviews673

Review

Featured review

8/10

One of Jim Carrey's better performances in years.

My Take: Jim Carrey at his outrageous self. An superb adaptation of the Snicket chronicles.

I honestly say that I have always liked Jim Carrey's comedy movies, and he's also one of my favorite comedians (though I'm not much of a comedy fan). "Liar Liar" and "Bruce Almighty" were amongst my favorites of Carrey's wild antics. But when I viewed this film, I was surprised to see Jim Carrey in a whole new look. His performance here was of the villainous Count Olaf, and he was more than just making me laugh, but also a villainous character. He's really a villain here, but yet, you can't help but actually laugh at some of his antics. This is really he's best performance that I've seen. Surely, there would be more, but this is by far the best that I've seen (Though I haven't seen "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind").

Do I need to say that this movie was great? For I already see that many agree with me on that. A very colorful production, with excellent costume design, make-up and special effects, and yet, also a wonderful story, well pressed from Lemony Snicket's "unfortunate" account on the Baudelaire siblings. I wouldn't mind a franchise myself. There are still a few other books still left, so why not?

Rating: **** out of 5.