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IMDbPro

A Series of Unfortunate Events

  • 20042004
  • PGPG
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
213K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,189
201
Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Shelby Hoffman, and Kara Hoffman in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Home Video Trailer from Paramount Home Entertainment
Play trailer1:45
1 Video
99+ Photos
AdventureComedyFamily
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.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
213K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,189
201
  • Director
    • Brad Silberling
  • Writers
    • Robert Gordon(screenplay)
    • Daniel Handler(books "The Bad Beginning", "The Reptile Room" and "The Wide Window")
  • Stars
    • Jim Carrey
    • Jude Law(voice)
    • Meryl Streep
  • Director
    • Brad Silberling
  • Writers
    • Robert Gordon(screenplay)
    • Daniel Handler(books "The Bad Beginning", "The Reptile Room" and "The Wide Window")
  • Stars
    • Jim Carrey
    • Jude Law(voice)
    • Meryl Streep
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 664User reviews
    • 181Critic reviews
    • 62Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 10 wins & 28 nominations total

    Videos1

    Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
    Trailer 1:45
    Watch Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

    Photos232

    Laurie MacDonald and Walter F. Parkes in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Shelby Hoffman, and Kara Hoffman in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Shelby Hoffman, and Kara Hoffman in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Meryl Streep and Brad Silberling in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, Liam Aiken, and Emily Browning in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Shelby Hoffman, and Kara Hoffman in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Jim Carrey in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Billy Connolly, Shelby Hoffman, and Kara Hoffman in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Jim Carrey and Liam Aiken in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Shelby Hoffman, and Kara Hoffman in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
    Timothy Spall, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Shelby Hoffman, and Kara Hoffman in A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jim Carrey
    Jim Carrey
    • Count Olaf
    Jude Law
    Jude Law
    • Lemony Snicket
    • (voice)
    Meryl Streep
    Meryl Streep
    • Aunt Josephine
    Liam Aiken
    Liam Aiken
    • Klaus
    Emily Browning
    Emily Browning
    • Violet
    Kara Hoffman
    Kara Hoffman
    • Sunny
    Shelby Hoffman
    Shelby Hoffman
    • Sunny
    Timothy Spall
    Timothy Spall
    • Mr. Poe
    Catherine O'Hara
    Catherine O'Hara
    • Justice Strauss
    Billy Connolly
    Billy Connolly
    • Uncle Monty
    Luis Guzmán
    Luis Guzmán
    • Bald Man
    • (as Luis Guzman)
    Jamie Harris
    Jamie Harris
    • Hook-Handed Man
    Craig Ferguson
    Craig Ferguson
    • Person of Indeterminate Gender
    Jennifer Coolidge
    Jennifer Coolidge
    • White Faced Woman
    Jane Adams
    Jane Adams
    • White Faced Woman
    Cedric the Entertainer
    Cedric the Entertainer
    • Constable
    Bob Clendenin
    Bob Clendenin
    • Grocery Clerk
    • (as Robert Clendenin)
    Lenny Clarke
    Lenny Clarke
    • Gruff Grocer
    • Director
      • Brad Silberling
    • Writers
      • Robert Gordon(screenplay)
      • Daniel Handler(books "The Bad Beginning", "The Reptile Room" and "The Wide Window")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When the children first meet Count Olaf and Jim Carrey says, "Wait, give me that last line again" was not actually in the script. It was Carrey staying in character and 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 reviews664

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Stay for the end credits
    The end credits is a ten minute long cartoon of such incredible beauty that it is a great shame that most people will never watch it. Simply its some of the best animation to come out all year.

    While I can give the end credits a 10 out of 10 I can only give the rest of the film a begrudging 7 out of 10, although it should probably be a 6.5. Certainly this is a fantastically well made movie, that is for the most part very well acted but something is amiss in the tone of the film and so it never really is what it should be.

    The story of three children who's parents are killed and who are forced from guardian to guardian by the murderous acts of Count Oloff is pretty bleak. And with a title like "A Series of Unfortunate Events" you really can't expect dancing elves, but the film makers have chosen to add a vein of madcap silliness to the proceedings that works against the rest of the film. It seems as if they were afraid that the material was going to be seen as too dark, which is a shame since its clear from the sequences where they left well enough alone that the film could have stood on its own.

    Its a good movie, instead of the great one it wants to be.

    Definitely worth seeing.
    helpful•93
    32
    • dbborroughs
    • Jan 14, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 17, 2004 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Germany
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Desventuras em Série
      • Desventuras em Série Brasil
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
    • Filming locations
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada(.)
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Dreamworks Pictures
      • Nickelodeon Movies
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $140,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $118,634,549
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $30,061,756
      • Dec 19, 2004
    • Gross worldwide
      • $211,468,235
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital EX
      • DTS-ES
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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