A Series of Unfortunate Events (Movie)

A Series of Unfortunate Events (Movie)
Plot:

The Baudelaire children are orphaned and must live with Count Olaf. However, when Count Olaf tries to kill them on the train tracks for their inheritance money, the children are removed from his custody. Which was just as well, because he is crazy, his house is dirty, and he is using them for their money. However before the children leave, Olaf vows to find them and still get their money somehow. The children then go to live with their Uncle, who seems actually nice (despite the fact that he has a giant room full of snakes). The uncle divulges that they are going to Peru with his assistant. But lo and behold, the assistant that shows up is Count Olaf in disguise! The children try to warn Uncle Monty, but he fails to hear in time and is killed by Olaf. Olaf escapes just as the authorities start to figure out what has happened. Then the children go to live with their aunt, and Olaf shows up as a fisherman trying to woo the aunt. The children start to see a pattern of their family members being targeted and many, including their parents, perishing in fires. In the end, the children are placed back with Olaf who tries to marry Violet in a final attempt to get the Baudelaire fortune. Before Violet is forced to say, "I do" in the play, Klaus discovers a giant glass in Olaf's tower that can be used to set fire to things (including the Baudelaire mansion). Klaus burns the wedding contract and Olaf goes to prison.


Comparison to book:

I have only read book 1 (The Bad Beginning), and the movie is a combination of the first three books. The end of the movie is where the plot from book 1 comes into play with the marriage debacle. However, the movie is very very different from the book in many ways, especially ending with Klaus discovering Olaf's secret.


Review:

Lemony Snicket's series is extremely popular with tweens, and the movie is funny and appropriate for this age group. The movie is a few years old, but tweens still talk about it and seek it out in relation to the series. New tweens are discovering the series each year, and as a result seek out the books or vice versa. The movie will remain significant because of its connection to this series for quite some time. Librarians can use the movie's popularity to introduce the series to young readers. Many tweens have seen and enjoyed the movie, but are unaware that there is a whole series of books that connect to the movie. We can use the popular Jim Carrey movie to attract readers, which is always a good thing. We can also encourage children reading the books to watch the movie and compare and contrast the two. Kids really love pointing out the differences.