Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

2004, Kids & family/Comedy, 1h 47m

161 Reviews 250,000+ Ratings

critics consensus

Although it softens the nasty edges of its source material, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a gothic visual treat, and it features a hilariously manic turn from Jim Carrey as the evil Count Olaf. Read critic reviews

You might also like

See More

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets poster image

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone poster image

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban poster image

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride poster image

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

National Treasure poster image

National Treasure

Rent/buy

Subscription

Subscription

Rent/buy

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Videos

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

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

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Official Clip - The Baudelaire Children photo 2

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Official Clip - The Baudelaire Children

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Official Clip - Hurricane Herman photo 3

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Official Clip - Hurricane Herman

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Official Clip - We're Too Late photo 4

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Official Clip - We're Too Late

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Official Clip - Aunt Josephine photo 5

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Official Clip - Aunt Josephine

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Official Clip - The Letter That Never Came photo 6

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Official Clip - The Letter That Never Came

View all videos

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Photos

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 1

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 2

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 3

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 4

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 5

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 6

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 7

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 8

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 9

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 10

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 11

Jim Carrey as Count Olaf in "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events." photo 12

(Left to right) Jim Carrey as Count Olaf, Liam Aiken as Klaus, Kara/Shelby Hoffman as Sunny and Emily Browning as Violet in "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events." photo 13

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 14

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY. photo 15

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 16

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 17

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 18

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 19

A scene from the Film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events starring JIM CARREY photo 20

View All Photos

Movie Info

After the three young Baudelaire siblings are left orphaned by a fire in their mansion, they are carted off to live with their distant relative, Count Olaf (Jim Carrey). Unfortunately, Olaf is a cruel, scheming man only after the inheritance that the eldest Baudelaire, Violet (Emily Browning), is set to receive. The children escape and find shelter with their quirky Uncle Monty (Billy Connolly) and, subsequently, their phobic Aunt Josephine (Meryl Streep), but Olaf is never far behind.

Rating:

PG (Scary Situations|Brief Language|Thematic Elements)
Genre:

Kids & family, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure
Original Language:

English
Director:
Producer:

Albie Hecht, Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes
Writer:

Robert Gordon, Daniel Handler
Release Date (Theaters):

Dec 17, 2004 wide
Release Date (Streaming):

Apr 26, 2005
Box Office (Gross USA):

$118.6M
Runtime:

1h 47m
Distributor:

DreamWorks SKG
Sound Mix:

Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio:

Flat (1.37:1)

Cast & Crew

Jim Carrey
Count Olaf

Liam Aiken
Klaus Baudelaire

Emily Browning
Violet Baudelaire

Kara Hoffman

Kara Hoffman
Sunny

Shelby Hoffman

Shelby Hoffman
Sunny

Jude Law
Lemony Snicket
Voice

Show all Cast & Crew

News & Interviews for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Jim Carrey’s Best Movies

Jim Carrey’s Best Movies

Critical Consensus: "911" Is A (Mildly Funny) Joke; Count "23" Out

Critical Consensus: "911" Is A (Mildly Funny) Joke; Count "23" Out

Critical Consensus: "Superman" And "Devil" Are Certified Fresh

Critical Consensus: "Superman" And "Devil" Are Certified Fresh

Critic Reviews for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

All Critics (161) | Top Critics (49) | Fresh (116) | Rotten (45)

Full Review… Hank Sartin Chicago Reader

Full Review… Nell Minow Common Sense Media

Full Review… Derek Adams Time Out

Full Review… Caroline Westbrook Empire Magazine

Full Review… Nathan Rabin AV Club

Full Review… Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness

Full Review… Kevin Carr Fat Guys at the Movies

Full Review… Garth Franklin Dark Horizons

Full Review… Devin Faraci CHUD

Full Review… Kit Bowen Hollywood.com

Full Review… Joseph Proimakis Movies for the Masses

Full Review… Peter T. Chattaway Christianity Today

View All Critic Reviews (161)

Audience Reviews for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Jun 14, 2019

A Series of Unfortunate Events highlights the bizarre lore of Lemony Snicket's encapsulating vision by utilizing a plethora of stars including Meryl Streep and ever-iconic, multi-layered Jim Carrey. The charming adolescent/toddler trio and perilous, yet quirky plot is just enough satisfaction and entertainment to wonder what could have been for this potentially-developing franchise. 3.75/5

Super Reviewer
Nov 19, 2016

I decided to see this since Netflix is turning it into a TV series next year. A great performance from Jim Carrey and an engaging plot, set up for sequels that did not happen, doesn't do the book series justice. Very entertaining and funny.

Ian W Super Reviewer
Aug 04, 2013

Nowhere near the brilliance of Lemony Snicket's series, the film is a disappointment as far as adaptations go. It is aesthetically pleasing, however, with wonderful visuals. While there is some humor, most of the film is quite lifeless with wooden acting. If only the makers had spent as much time on the script as they did on the aesthetics, the film may feel a little less empty than it does. Ultimately, the film is pretty to look at, but nothing more. Its main failure not only comes from awkward pacing and a bland script, but an attempt to mix in secrets revealed in the last books of the series with the first three installations. Frankly, it doesn't work.

Matthew Samuel M Super Reviewer
Aug 05, 2012

Was quite different to the books, but offered some new elements and yet worked. The costumes were fantastic, acting was charming. It only the film can receive a Harry Potter treatment then it would be much better.

Super Reviewer

See All Audience reviews