Movies · TV

A Series of Uncanny Connections in A Series of Unfortunate Events

By  · Published on January 26th, 2017

Comparing the 2004 film with the 2016 TV series.

When director Brad Siberling released his film of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events more than a dozen years ago, it was intended to be the start of a new franchise. After all, they had star Jim Carrey anchoring the film and with 13 novels by Daniel Handler to work from, there was plenty of potential for longevity. Unfortunately, though it was somewhat of a success with audiences, it was also a box office disappointment, only recouping $118 million of its $140 million budget. It was the first real sign that Carrey’s dabbling in drama had hurt his comedic appeal, and the end of his reign as a box office stalwart. As a result, that Series didn’t turn into a series at all, and instead fell flat on the spot.

Flash forward to now, when the novels are still as popular as they ever were, which means the potential for adaptation is still there, but these days when you have something as large and spread out as Unfortunate Events¸ you don’t make a bunch of movies out of it – Divergent etc taught us that – you take the project to TV, which is exactly what Handler has done with the help of director/executive producer Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black): he’s taken it to Netflix.

Lemony Snicket’s Unlikely Journey

With a much more relevant and capable leading man in Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), and more room to tell its story, A Series of Unfortunate Events has finally found its proper home and is poised for a nice long run on the streaming service. But besides the cast and the time that’s passed, has anything really changed from the film version to this one?

Not so much if you take into account the following video from Sergio Rojo who has gathered images from both the movie and the television series to reveal that despite the revamp, this is still the same story, with a lot of the same images, as the 2004 disappointment. Funny what a little context and time can do.

The entire first season of A Series of Unfortunate Events is now streaming on Netflix; if you’re looking for the film version, check the bargain bin at WalMart or, I don’t know, Jim Carrey’s house?

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