Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

Director:

Brad Silberling

Writers (WGA):

Robert Gordon (screenplay)
Daniel Handler (books)

Release Date:

17 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

On December 17, Christmas cheer takes a holiday.

Plot:

Three wealthy children's parents are killed in a fire. When they are sent to a distant relative, they find out that he is plotting to kill them and seize their fortune.

Plot Keywords:

Count | Orphan | Fire | Inheritance | Disguise

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Jim Carrey	...	Count Olaf
Liam Aiken	...	Klaus
Emily Browning	...	Violet
Kara Hoffman	...	Sunny
Shelby Hoffman	...	Sunny
Jude Law	...	Lemony Snicket (voice)
Timothy Spall	...	Mr. Poe
Catherine O'Hara	...	Justice Strauss
Billy Connolly	...	Uncle Monty
Meryl Streep	...	Aunt Josephine
Luis Guzmán	...	Bald Man (as Luis Guzman)
Jamie Harris	...	Hook-Handed Man
Craig Ferguson	...	Person of Indeterminate Gender
Jennifer Coolidge	...	White Faced Woman
Jane Adams	...	White Faced Woman

Also Known As:

A Series of Unfortunate Events (USA) (original script title)
Lemony Snicket (USA) (working title)
Lemony Snicket - Rätselhafte Ereignisse (Germany)
Una serie de eventos desafortunados (Chile) (Venezuela) [es]
Лемони Сникет: 33 несчастья (Russia) [ru]
Desventuras em Série (Brazil) [pt]
Lemony Snicket - Mia seira apo atyhi gegonota (Greece) [el]
Lemony Snicket - Niz nesretnih dogadaja (Croatia) [hr]
Lemony Snicket - Rätselhafte Ereignisse (Austria) [de]
Lemony Snicket - Una serie di sfortunati eventi (Italy) [it]
Lemony Snicket no yonimo fushiawase na monogatari (Japan) [ja]
Lemony Snicket, una serie de eventos desafortunados (Argentina) [es]
Lemony Snicket: Ellendige avonturen (Netherlands) [nl]
Lemony Snicketi sari õnnetuid lugusid (Estonia) [et]
Lemony Snicketin surkeiden sattumuksien sarja (Finland) [fi]
Lemony Snickets - Én ulykke kommer sjældent alene (Denmark) [da]
Lemony Snickets berättelser om syskonen Baudelaires olycksaliga liv (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Lemony Snickets berättelser om syskonen Baudelairs olycksaliga liv (Sweden) [sv]
Les désastreuses aventures des orphelins Baudelaire (France) [fr]
Les désastreuses aventures des orphelins Baudelaire d'après Lemony Snicket (Canada: French title) [fr]
Serija nesrecnih dogadjaja Lemonija Sniketa (Serbia) [sr]
Syskonen Baudelairs olycksaliga liv (Sweden) [sv]
Talihsiz serüvenler dizisi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Un seguit de desgràcies catastròfiques de Lemony Snicket (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Una serie de catastróficas desdichas de Lemony Snicket (Spain) [es]
Una serie de infortunados eventos. Lemony Snicket (Chile) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, scary situations and brief language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | DTS-ES

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | France:U | Iceland:L | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Malaysia:U | South Korea:All | Brazil:10 | Sweden:7 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:MG6 | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | UK:PG | USA:PG (NO. 41164)

Filming Locations:

Downey Studios - 12214 Lakewood Boulevard, Downey, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Industrial Light and Magic did over 505 visual effects-shots for this movie.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In Aunt Josephine's supposed suicide note, she purposely included spelling errors as a code for Klaus. She also misuses "it's" instead of "its", which is not one of the clues. However, in the book it is explained that the misuse of "it's" and "its" was to get their attention and prompt them to discover the real meaning.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lemony Snicket: [the Littlest Elf has just come to an abrupt halt] I'm sorry to say that this is not the movie you will be watching. The movie you are about to see is extremely unpleasant. If you wish to see a film about a happy little elf, I'm sure there is still plenty of seating in theatre number two. However, if you like stories about clever and reasonably attractive orphans...

Movie Connections:

References Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (1926)

Soundtrack:

Hungarian Dance #5

No Lemons In This Snicket

Some movies are just plain fun to watch. This is one.

It's funny, it's dramatic and it's a great visual treat with Tim Burton-esquire wild images throughout. This is a superb job of combining great visuals, special effects and an entertaining story.

The two kids, played by Emily Browning and Liam Aiken, should get top billing since they are in every scene while Jim Carrey is in about half.

Everyone in this film is a hoot, especially Carrey who plays "Count Olaf" and then disguises himself by pretending to be other people throughout the story. Whomever he was playing he was hilarious. With his crazy persona, Carrey was good choice for this role. The lines he delivers are so hammy they make me just laugh out loud. I appreciated his work even more on the second viewing.

The kids are likable, good-looking and decent actors and the "baby" is given the funniest "lines" in the movie - all in subtitles.

This film is too dark for the little kids but fun for adolescents on up. There is almost no profanity in here and no sex. The sets are particularly strange and interesting, from the various houses to the clothing to the computer-enhanced scenery, with gorgeous colors. Make no mistake: this is a very pretty film with so many fascinating objects in here to view that even multiple viewings can't possibly pick them all up.

Obviously, there is a lot to like. I hope there is a sequel.