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As much as the tv show was technically more faithful, the movie felt like it actually captured to the spirit of the books in such a special way

The reason why Klaus didn’t have glasses was because he would look like Harry Potter too much - and ironically, Liam Aiken originally had the title role until the author said she wanted Brits to play the characters

"Yes, roast beef. It's the Swedish term for beef that is roasted."

That Netflix series was fire 🔥 glad they got to go through the whole story!! The 2004 movie was amazing too heavily underrated.

When I was a kid, the sequence of the kids figuring out how to divert an oncoming train from a locked car was one of the most exciting things I’d ever witnessed

Jim Carrey’s Olaf is funny around everyone else, but scary when he’s alone with the kids.

“i was more of a Lemony Snicket kid than a Harry Potter kid” you just summed up my whole childhood in one eloquent sentence

To this day when I see words like “penultimate” and “denouement” I remember the exact definitions Lemony Snicket gave in the books. They are embedded in my brain.

I'll give the movie one thing: That end credits sequence is Absolutely incredible. That haunting, hypnotic music playing over the stick puppet style animation is something I always stick around for.

hello! i just wanted to hop in to clarify something, Midnight mentions that the idea that Olaf in the film is subjected to all the obstacles the Children had to endure felt tacked on, which i would agree, but infact it didn't actually happen in the film, Snicket literally says after showing all of those scenes that 'if only that were true' and explained that Olaf had skipped town before the Trial, its super easy to miss but i just thought i'd clarify!

Jim Carrey's performance in this movie brings me immense joy.

I remember one of the bloopers featured the Beaudelaires and Aunt Josephene doing the cucumber soup scene, only as it went on, one of the twin girls playing Sunny fell asleep. The take stops when everyone finally notices, and their reactions were very adorable and sweet: Emily Browning (Violet) tries tickling her awake while talking in baby talk, Liam Aiken (Klaus) had a bashful smile, and Meryl Streep (Aunt Josephene) was cooing "Hello Sleepy Peep."

The mystery and aesthetic of this movie made it one of my favorites as a kid. I would sit for hours and think about the lost secrets and information lost to fire or houses falling off cliffs

those books are just so FUN to read...sentences almost written like puzzles. jokes made using alliteration and diction and syntax. you'd think books like that would be difficult to adapt and still be fun. especially with such a tragic story about abuse and neglect. yet both adaptions do a REALLY good job. the tone is so specific and could have easily been made too dark or too light and it's honestly impressive that they're both so good.

That line about you being a Lemony Snicket kid than a Harry Potter kid was me in a nutshell. I didn't wanna read, but I got the first 3 books, and ended up adoring them. Read them all, but pretty vague on the details.The movie was REALLY solid, but combing the first three books, and making The Bad Beginning the first section and plus the original train sequence bugged me, but in hindsight, it was for the best, because those books always had downer endings. What you said about the cast was spot on, no matter what Carey rightfully steals the show, and i never thought Emily Browning would take off as she did. From this, the Uninvited, Sucker Punch, American Gods, that Sleeping Beauty movie and a bunch of other movies were she's always in the buff, she's had a steady career. Haven't seen most of the new series, but has good reviews, so i'm happy a complete version is iut there, but I have say two things to close out on: The movie game was honestly freakin' rad! I beat it on the PS2, and Tim Curry was Lemony Snicket, so that's a win, and the Thomas Newman score, especially the end credits "Driving Away" is some of his best work, I still have it in my music library.

In the ending, didn't they say the Judge making Olof do all that was just a fantasy? That he had actually escaped custody to search for the siblings in the future (there was a deleted scene on the DVD of his escape as well I remember)

A series of unfortunate events is the most underrated modern children’s series don’t @ me

Liam Aiken probably didn't get glasses to portray his character of Klaus to further him away from the similar book and screen looks of Harry Potter. 🤓

Always loved this movie for correct portrayal of snakes. "Do you know that snakes are afraid of you more than you are of them? Few people do. When threatened, a snake retreats to place that is quiet, safe... remote. A *sanctuary* where it can feel out of danger. That's why Peru"

To be fair, the ‘happy’ ending with the Road Runner style was a fake out that was revealed to not be what happened

I didn’t read the books before seeing the movie, but Count Olaf scared me as a kid. The way he’d go from over the top and silly to threatening (when he tells the kids in the car he’s basically going to track them down and kill them, no matter where they go) haunted more than a few nightmares of mine at the time. He had the charm of a classic Disney villain, and part of the fear of him also came from the fact that the other adults were either stupid or oblivious as hell.

In the version of the movie I remember seeing, the finale was not happy at all. The narrator started describing Count Olaf receiving these cartoonish punishments, but then concluded it with "If justice were fair" and explained that in reality, the whole sequence is a fakeout and Olaf got away with it all.

This movie actually made me read the novels. I think that says it all. I wasn't a kid though, but loved it completely. One of my favourite series of novels. Absolutely amazing. The humour, the despair, everything. I even loved the spin-off All the Wrong Questions.

Jim Carey gives 100% in every role he adapts

All I know about the movie is the part where Jim Carrey forgets his line and asks for it in character.

Thomas Newman’s score in this movie is amazing. Also, I’m gonna say it, I liked this a lot more than the Netflix adaptation. The movie was just more entertaining and I didn’t hate a majority of the characters like I did in the Netflix show.

I was so obsessed with these books in middle school. Way more than any other book series. So whenever this movie came out, it was the cinematic event of the decade for me. It was the first time that a book series that i was interested in was adapted into a book.

I thought the reason that the ending sequence was so cartoony was because it's revealed that he didn't actually go through all that and is still on the run.

The bit that made me scared of him was the "do you have a hall pass.... I didn't think so" whilst being seen with a blade in his hand. Think Jim did a FANTASTIC job.

As an adult, jim carreys olaf is a eccentric theatrical dude, as a child, he's a tall creepy EVIL unpredictable stranger nothing short of the bogey man

I remember wishing to have a museum/house as their herpetologist uncle.

The movie definitely had its charm but I definitely felt it was better adapted as a series. Giving it the chance to be more fleshed out and casting is absolutely amazing as well. Especially love Neil Patrick’s adaptation of Count Olaf, not that I didn’t love Carrey’s adaptation also

The biggest problem I had with the Netflix show, and it was actually the reason a friend of mine stopped watching it, it can be TOO farcical. To the point where you're not feeling the tension at all because you know it'll be undercut by a joke or a wink to the audience. The film has ambience, when those violins darkly creep in, there's legitimate dread. Like the scene where Olaf creeps up to kill Uncle Monty is scarier than anything from the Netflix show.

I never picked up that the ending with Olaf being punished didn't actually happen until I saw others point it out in the comments, but even so, I loved it when I was a kid. Eleven of the books were out at the time, and after so many depressing adventures, it was great fan service to see Count Olaf get a comeuppance. Did anyone else feel that way?

I can't speak for the books and how well they were adapted because I haven't read them - but I love the film. Jim Carrey's over the topness if you think about it, is perfect for playing a character who is so full of himself and has to be the centre of attention.

I love the movie and the tv series. I haven't seen the movie in a long time, are you sure you remember the ending with Olaf getting pummeled correctly? If I remember correctly, it was a comedic "what if" scene. The scene ends with saying "sadly, this didn't happen. Olaf escaped and..." etc. So that whole him getting through all the stuff kids did was just a very Snicket style narrator line.

I just wanted to mention that, for me, the soundtrack to this film was just as satisfying as the art direction. I was entranced by both as a child.

I loved the movie. I thought it’s transitioned well to film with additions like the Happiest Elf, and the soundtrack is one of my all-time favourites. I still listen to it.

I'm glad someone else feels the way I do about this movie. It was a tragedy this version didn't get sequels

I never read the books and I was a huge Harry Potter fan when this movie came out. I still loved it more than HP movies tbh and I felt kinda jealous of Snicket’s fans because they got a great adaptation and I was constantly complaining of every Harry Potter movie it came out 🤣

I remember the MAD parody where Wario was Count Olaf and the kids were Lemminngs.

This movie was what introduced me to the book series as a kid. I loved it, but after enjoying it so many times, I decided to give the book series a try and absolutely adored it. It was the only true book series to have me hooked as a kid, since I tend to hate narrative structures that most stories are refined to. The narrator telling the story as a character really sold it for me. I don't think I could ever get rid of my collection, and I really do need to check out the Netflix series sometime.

Thomas Newman's score was amazing! Listen to the Letter That Never Came and Finding Nemo's intro.

When the netflix show aired I felt like I knew the story from the start, it wasn't until the third chapter that I realised that I saw this movie in the TV when I was little.

The score to this film SLAPS! Used to fall asleep with my cd player tucked under my pillow and the headphones blasting the awesome themes.

They probably took his glasses away so he wouldn’t look as much like Harry Potter

you're just preaching to the choir with this video (at least for me anyway)

I loved and still love this movie. I watched it in theatre with my mum and I had never watched anything like it before. The cinematography was beautiful and the production value still holds up today.

This is one of amy all time favourite films growing up and i'm happy someone is talking about it!!! It's so morbidly fantastical and rewatching it brings me immense joy. The music is also so so amazing, especially the "the letter that never came" 😭😭 i always tear up

i’ve never read the books, so… i love this movie. have always done so. the tone, the characters, the visuals… always fascinated me

As a person that knew nothing of this book title, I really enjoyed the movie. It was a lot of fun, and all the actors were great. The artsiness was fun , dark, and felt great.

I really enjoyed the books far more than the film and Netflix show. Although I must admit that the movie was the closest decent on screen adaptation. Jim Carrey was amazing.

Strange how the Netflix version has the same downfall. It focused so hard on count Olaf and make him comedic relief which breaks the scariness of him and makes it the count Olaf show

Thank you for this! Ive been preaching this for years. ❤

One of my fav shows from Netflix

I love how you work to make your own take on things without relying on what other people say. Half the time I watch your videos, I just go “YES that’s what I thought!”. So glad to have more opinions in the film world for the common person.

Also the costume design here was INCREDIBLE! I remember loving it as a kid and I still do now, I feel like it kinda plays into the ambiguity of the time period. It played into the aesthetic very well and helped balance with the set design.

Great video. A few months ago I rewatched the movie ( for the first time since seeing it with my younger brother years ago in theaters) and loved Jim Carrey's Olaf so much that I and decided to try the audiobooks. I just finished Book 13 today, and it's been amazing, even though I'm a grown man in his 30s the plot still had me guessing and left me with so many unanswered questions. I completely agree about Monty not getting enough time to shine, as he was one of my favorite characters from the series and one of the few genuinely likeable adults. Still, Carrey's Olaf is so good and I had fun imagining him as the character throughout the series as I listened to it. Some of my favorite bits in the movie were "Do you have a hall pass?" "What did you call me?" (in response to the puttanesca sauce) him on stage and his Captain Sham character.

It’s just too bad that we never got live action movies from the Magic treehouse, the last unicorn or Bones Comic! I would love to see Jim Currey play Freakazoid!

The movie is amazing, how it could convey a huge cast and that the actors gave it tons of personality and history in the little time that they were away.

CLICKED THIS AS SOON AS I SAW THE NOTIFICATION THE MOVIE DESERVES MORE RESPECT AND IM A FAN OF THE BOOKS AND TV SHOW

I haven't read the books ever, I didn't even know this existed as book series. But when I was little, we had this dvd at home (and for some reason PS game) and me and my sister watched it over and over again. I remember how at first I didn't quite get it, but the film's tone and style were just so weird, fascinating and unique that I ended up loving it, and watching it again again.

The atmosphere of this movie is so cool and I've never seen it recreated anywhere, except maybe coraline

Thank you. I have always loved this movie and I have kinda alot of issues with TV show with how much they bubblegum and sugared it with the look and the really lackluster acting compared to the movie.

Honestly, my experience with this movie was a lot different. Like you, I totally loved A Series of Unfortunate Events way more than any other children's series at the time. Between my brother and I, we had the entire collection of the series and Harry Potter. Once we got older and went to college, we did have to start divvying up our book collection. I easily traded everything to have A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I still have those original copies today. Now, years later as a teacher, I'm thrilled to introduce my students to them as well. When the movie was first announced, I was super stoked. I was in 7th grade at the time and still very much into the series. I remember right before the movie released, we had a massive blizzard that Christmas. Power went out all over town. So, nope, wasn't going to get to see it before we left to go visit family for the holidays. Got to our destination for Christmas and tried to see it then. One theater was sold out and another had its power go out (we were in a different state for the holidays, so different reason altogether). In a way, I now see that as the universe giving me the warning signs that I should not have seen this movie. Eventually, my aunt found a theater that still had tickets and we went to go see it. I was pretty bummed after seeing this movie. And it wasn't entirely the fact that they put the three books out of order. I think it was Jim Carrey that totally made it such a flop, in my opinion. Now that I'm older, I realize it's because an actor like Jim Carrey is more of an acquired taste. He's capable of good acting in more serious films, but you either love him or hate him in more comedic roles, and Count Olaf is not meant to be a comedic role. He's an absurdist role, to be sure, which has humorous elements, but not fully comedic and Carrey just couldn't hit that sweet spot, I think. I ended up really enjoying the Netflix series so much more. While I agree the sets and costumes are "different," I find that I like that style a little more as feeling truer to the book. While the designs are more CGI, they're meant to evoke a sort of "twisted fairytale" setting that just fits the aesthetic more, I think. It reminds me of the kinds of designs for another TV show I used to like: Pushing Daisies. It gives the atmosphere a dark, yet light, and slightly cartoonish feel, which I think is what Handler was going for in the storytelling. It was a twist on the common tale of clever children outsmarting evil adults, and it just fit. That being said, I get that people have different opinions between the movie and the TV series. I think a lot of that comes down to how you see the portrayals of the characters, and everyone feels differently about them.

The cinematography in this movie is stunning. It will always be one of my favorites. Working in the film business, I often use certain shots in this film for style boards and inspirations.

I feel like I’ve been waiting for this video essay my whole life. Seriously, you perfectly summed up why I think the 2004 film is an amazing adaptation. The Netflix series doesn’t hold a candle to it in my opinion.

Just watched this movie on my home theater setup and to say that it is a timeless artistic masterpiece would be an understatement

I like the score a lot. The end credit song Drive Away is especially hypnotic.

I feel the point of that tacked on “good ending” being cartoonish is to show that it’s a pipe dream and will never happen. The reality is that Count Olaf escapes and keeps harassing the children. Snicker often tells the reader that they should just stop watching and pretend something else happened before things go wrong in the books. That tacked on but is supposed to represent how silly that idea is.

Although I never saw the movie and only got introduced to the lemony snicket universe through the netflix series, I can say that this whole world is exquisite. I never got so excited to watch a show until this one, and the cliffhanger (a cliffhanger for me because I never read the books) from the second season left me in SHAMBLES until the third season came.

Masterful cinematography by Lubezki just noting that he is is the DP

Great points. I always felt that the overall tone of this film was melancholy and mysterious (sans a few mid-2000s children’s comedy moments). I think the biggest way it overshadows the Netflix series (which I thought was fun and clearly very Wes-Anderson-esque) was the mystery. We read the series through the Baudelaires eyes, and they were typically out of the know. Sometimes tantalizingly close to a breakthrough, only to be thwarted by Count Olaf or even a heinous crime from the past. The show makes things clearer by showing the background info and having B and C plots that eventually converge with the main plot, but the movie and book series really piques your interest by showing you the spyglass, hints of VFD, Josephine’s old photo albums, etc., but never letting you, nor the Baudelaires, put it all together. It was a shame the only reason a sequel was nixed despite being successful at the box office was because the actors just got too old to reprise their roles. I don’t think Nickelodeon was prepared for the success and only planned for a one-off which is why they seemed to only half-heartedly set up a sequel.

I haven't read the books but the movie was one of my favourite films as a kid, I think most of the criticism is fans not seeing as much detail as in the books but the character stuff and plot did not seem rushed at all to me. I actually prefer the movie to the series as it contains much more of a sad tone and the series is too lighthearted.

i watched it in the theater with my grandmother and i can barely remember it. You've convinced me to give it a rewatch!

Thank you Mr Midnight , one of my all time favorites

You should cover the golden compass! I fondly look back on that film!

I saw this movie at the cinema when it came out and LOVED it, has always been a favourite of mine

These books were what occupied my childhood. I never shut up about them to my mother, who was always so enthralled to hear about them vicariously. And I must say, 15 years later... they are still my favorite books.

First off: Thank you captainmidnight for giving some much needed attention to this misunderstood masterpiece. But I have to say you missed something about the happy ending: It didn't happen.The narrator says so that he wishes it were true but Count Olaf was actually found innocent by a jury of his peers. This through me off as well and I thought for years that he survived all of those ordeals until re-watching the film again (500th time probably) as an adult. I am also a huge fan of the books and this movie so once again thanks for making this vid.

Thanks for making this video. As a huge fan of the Netflix series, I pretty much wrote this movie off. But there’s quite a bit to appreciate here.

I never read the books being older but I really enjoyed everything about this movie. Didnt linger too longer, great music and a good group of actors. I liked it much more than the TV Series though I again really liked the cast but felt that one went way to slowly.

Finally, someone agrees with me and can articulate my thoughts! Great video :)

in the behind the scenes you can see clips of Carry practicing a more dark Count olaf, i wonder how different a darker olaf would be in that movie with Carry.

Clicked so fast! I loved SOUE books as a kid, still do. I did like Neil Patrick Harris but Jim Carrey will always be my favorite count Olaf. The show was🔥🔥🔥

Man, can you please make a video about the series on netflix? I loved it so much, and actually, before your video i didn't even knew it was base on a series of books, that just made me appreciate it even more

Thank you for making this because so many people hate on this movie and I've always really liked it. I was a HUGE fan of the books and while I was upset it didn't get everything right, what it did get right was the tone & characters, and those are the most important things.

I really enjoyed this film too in spite of the departures from the book. The art direction/atmosphere and wardrobe was on point, great acting, and the music was memorable.

I didn’t even realize just how bright the Netflix series was until you contrasted it with the movie! I love the Netflix series, but you make so many good points great video

When I was in middle school I had read the first 3 books and I did the first one as a project. A teacher from my school who worked with kids with autism pulled me aside and gave me all 13 books because he liked my project and said his students hadn’t really taken to them. I will never forget how cool of a guy he was overall and how much he cared about all his students.

I really appreciate this positive outlook and trying to highlight the good in this film. It's easy to shit over unpopular films so I really appreciate this positive review

The montage at the end I took (and honestly thought it was clear, but maybe I've imagined it) as the children's imagining of what happened to Olaf. A way to uplift was is a realistic and dreary ending. Also, I'd recommend watching again and paying super close attention to Carey's microexpressions. The terror is there, the fear of never being safe is there. I love this movie as a true movie-to-book gateway. Most movies don't make you want to read the book other than to see what happens next. This movie makes you want to start from the beginning of the series.

thank you for this! i loved this movie when it came out, and i still love it. it's not a perfect adaptation, but it works well as its own thing. and NPH has nothing on JC as Olaf in terms of creepiness - nothing can make me feel afraid of or intimidated by NPH, but Jim Carrey sitting in that rocking chair with a knife? gets me every time. the thing with the glasses was completely intentional though - they were afraid of comparisons to Harry Potter, and wanted Klaus to be distinguishable from him.

I loved seeing Billy in this. I've always felt he's been underrated as an actor. Love that man. (Also I'd love to see you give your take on The Man who sued god)

I still own the original DVD copy I've had since childhood, and it remains one of my favorite, formative films despite not being the best. On Letterboxd, you can only have 4 films marked as your "Favorites." In mine, I have, in order of importance to me, The End of Evangelion (1997), Poltergeist (1982), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), and A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004). Eva obviously came into my life much later, in my teens, but the other 3 have been a part of my life since I was very young, and left a strong impression on me. (Shoutout to Poltergeist 2 and kinda to 3, I owned the double feature DVD of those as well).

The movie had that 2000s gothic tim burton Victorian esque that i love.

Lemony Snicket is soooooo friggin cool! Still one of my favorite authors 💯👑 Back in 5th grade, my teacher had the class write a letter to send to our favorite authors, and I remember writing my letter to Lemony Snicket. A week or two comes by, and my letter comes in with my teacher handing the envelope to me! Opening the envelope, Snicket had sent a letter in the classic frayed paper fashion, and within the letter, certain words had letters missing. After deciphering the missing words like code, it spelled out the line "Olaf Nearby." Snicket was ahead of his time on the real. 🐐👑💯

I really enjoy the film, even though it differs from the books. From what the film lacks (It's clever running gags on wordplay, and incredibly bleak setting with incredibly dry humour), it certainly makes up for with fun thrilling set pieces and Jim Carrey being wild and constantly enjoyable to watch. The Netflix show is clearly the superior adaptation. But for an hour and a half big budget studio adaptation of 3 books, the film somehow does a pretty good job of making something good!

I always loved this film, especially the visual aesthetics, it just looks so perfectly moody and gothic.