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.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 10 wins & 28 nominations total
- Lemony Snicket
- (voice)
- Bald Man
- (as Luis Guzman)
- Constable
- (as Cedric the Entertainer)
- Grocery Clerk
- (as Robert Clendenin)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen 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.
- GoofsWhen 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 creditsThere is a credit for 'baby wrangler.'
- Alternate versionsWhen 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.
- SoundtracksLoverly Spring
By Thomas Newman and Bill Bernstein
Let me address the second group. WAKE UP!! The Lemony Snicket books are a pre-packaged, heavily-marketed series that was deliberately created to appeal to your age group...the Harry Potterites. Unlike the history of J. Rowling and the Potter books, the Snicket books were the result of some money-mad marketing guru coming up with the idea and finding a writer to execute it.
The Snicket series is not "classic children's literature," although I must say that the actual author has done a fun job with the idea (yes, I have read several of the books, in case you're wondering). One Snicket book does NOT equal one Potter book in length or quality; therefore it's perfectly suitable that they put three Snickets together for this movie. The little gimmicks that made the early books amusing (the author's asides to define words, the translations of the baby's gurgles) become tediously annoying tics in the later books. And if you're going to have a tantrum because someone's hair isn't the color you imagined, or an actor is taller than you thought he should be, WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD of movie adaptations! Perhaps if someone took liberties with Jane Austen, Dickens, or Tolstoy, it would be worth getting upset...but this is LEMONY SNICKET, for crying out loud! Read some real books for a change; not just cynically contrived kiddie lit designed to make big bucks with marketing deals and product tie-ins.
And to the first group I say...lighten up and read a couple of the Snicket books before you lament about the "dark tone," or the abuse of children, etc., etc. It's part of the joke, and one of the aspects of the books that the producers did a good job conveying on screen. In fact, the movie even softened the tone a bit with the touching flashbacks about the missing parents, building a "sanctuary," etc.
And what's with the wonderful, yet thrown-away closing credits? Seems to me these were made for the opening, but they realized that they would conflict with the "faux" Elf movie that starts the film. As someone else said, this is one of the most delightful parts of the film, but my son and I were the only ones who stayed to watch! DON'T LEAVE THE THEATER 'TIL IT'S OVER!
- LCShackley
- Dec 22, 2004
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
- Filming locations
- Stage 1, Downey Studios - 12214 Lakewood Boulevard, Downey, California, USA(opening scene by the lake; train scene; Damocles Dock; Lake Lachrymose)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- 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
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1