A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) / Characters

The characters of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events 2004 film adaptation.

For the characters as portrayed in the book series, see A Series of Unfortunate Events.

For the characters as portrayed in its 2017 series adaptation, see A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017).

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The Baudelaire Children

In General

Adaptational Attractiveness: While their appearance outside of illustrations are never really detailed in the books, the movie makes them appear much more "pretty" (excepting Violet, who was described as being pretty in the books), making Klaus look much older than he probably should, and making him no longer need glasses, which would be a vital plot point in the fourth book. The reason for changing Klaus's glasses from Blind Without 'Em to a pince-nez he only wears while reading was to avoid making him look too similar to Harry Potter.
Limited Wardrobe: Aside from the coats given when they're sent to live with their aunt and the camel and bride costumes Olaf makes Violet and Klaus wear, the children wear the same set of clothes throughout the film. Justified since all their other clothes were burnt up by the fire and their guardians weren't able to get them any clothes before they were killed, or in Olaf's case, he just didn't care.
Only Sane Man: Frequently the Baudelaires are this, and Liam Aiken (who played Klaus) himself described the siblings as "the only sane people."

Violet

Violet Baudelaire

Played By: Emily Browning

The eldest of the Baudelaire orphans, she is an intelligent inventor who makes inventions out of everyday items.

Character Tics: Tying up her hair with a ribbon when she gets an idea. Klaus has taken note of this, asking her to tie up her hair in one scene as a way to tell her to think of a way to escape from a tricky situation.
Elegant Gothic Lolita: She tends to wear an elegant black dress, fishnet gloves and black boots throughout the movie.
Heroic BSoD: When Olaf has the kids in his custody once again and forces Violet to marry him in a ceremony disguised as a play, surrendering the family's fortune to him via marriage certificate, under the threat of dropping Sunny from a cage perched high above his mansion, Violet can't find any other way to get out of this than to follow Olaf's scheme. However, she later tries to make the marriage license void by signing it incorrectly and tells the audience that Olaf forcing her to do this against her will.
MacGyvering: Violet's specialty, she gets herself and her siblings out of countless predicaments by smartly using objects and items around her.
Not His Sled: In the novels, Violet avoids marriage to Count Olaf by signing the certificate with her left hand (there's a rule stating that signing with your non-dominant hand renders the marriage null and void). In the film, Count Olaf takes notice that she's trying that, tells her to sign it properly, causing a need for another method.

Klaus

Klaus Baudelaire

Played By: Liam Aiken

The middle child of the Baudelaire orphans, he's an intelligent bookworm who uses his knowledge of books to get himself and his siblings out of trouble.

Abled in the Adaptation: Downplayed. While he still needs glasses like he did in the books, he only has to wear them for reading, while his book counterpart was Blind Without 'Em.
Aloof Big Brother: When Sunny was born, Klaus resented her at first. As time went on, that resentment faded away and Klaus started caring about his baby sister.
Badass Bookworm: He uses the knowledge he obtained from books to help get him and his sisters out of Count Olaf’s clutches on multiple occasions.
Big Brother Instinct: When Count Olaf snatches his crying infant sister, Klaus demands that Olaf put her down. Also, he risked his life climbing Olaf’s tower to save both his sisters (Violet from being forced to marry Olaf and Sunny who was captured and being used as a hostage by Olaf).
Big Little Brother: There are a couple of scenes that show Klaus is a few inches taller than his older sister.
Brainy Brunette: He has dark brown hair and he has spent years reading books in his family’s library. When he and his sisters are in trouble, he’s able to recall important information, which helps him get them out of danger.

MacGyvering: While he’s not as big of an inventor like Violet, he was able to turn an old umbrella into a grappling hook and scale Olaf’s tower to rescue Sunny.
Survival Mantra: He borrows Violet's "There's always something," to inspire him to invent a way to rescue Sunny.

Sunny

Sunny Baudelaire

Played By: Kara and Shelby Hoffman

The youngest of the Baudelaire orphans, she is an infant with very sharp teeth who's quite sassy despite still not being able to speak.

Damsel in Distress: Count Olaf captures her off-screen and uses her as a hostage to force Violet to comply with his plans to marry her and legally get her fortune.
Deadpan Snarker: Sunny's baby talk has her be snarky to the adult characters, even though they can't understand her.
Intelligible Unintelligible: Even though it sounds like she’s babbling nonsense, it turns out she’s actually saying things in baby speak. Only her siblings and the audience know what she’s actually saying, though. The only time she says a real word is when Josephine explains that Ike was eaten by leeches, which prompts Sunny to say an awkward “okay.”
Little Sister Instinct: Bites Olaf when he seems to be threatening Klaus. Unfortunately the "little" part works to her disadvantage, as he's then able to pick her up with no trouble.

Count Olaf's Theater Troupe

Count Olaf

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Played By: Jim Carrey

A villainous stage actor who lusts after the Baudelaire family fortune, no matter where they go and how many stupid disguises he has to wear.

Adaptational Intelligence: Count Olaf, while a lot goofier and more comical than in the books, a definite Large Ham and prone to Evil Gloating, is also a good deal smarter and more competent than his book counterpart. Throughout the movie he's constantly one step ahead of everyone else, even managing to see though plots and schemes that his book counterpart fell for.
Adaptational Karma: In the novels and Netflix series, Count Olaf escapes justice, thus escaping comeuppance. In the film, however, Count Olaf ends up arrested and is forced to suffer everything the Baudelaire children had to go through before serving a life sentence. Unfortunately, he does survive all of those mishaps and his theater troupe ended up as part of the jury and overturned his life sentence, thus allowing Count Olaf to escape.
Adaptational Nice Guy: Very minor, but the implications that he might be attracted to the teenage Violet are removed; he still tries to force her to marry him, but there's no indication that he's interested in her for anything other than her inheritance.
Adaptational Villainy: The Film very clearly indicates that Olaf was the one who burned down the Baudelaires' mansion, killing their parents. In the books, while no definitive answer is given, Olaf's reaction to the accusation implies that he is innocent of that particular crime.
Adaptation Personality Change: Count Olaf was written as very sinister in the original books, and remains so in the movie. However, Jim Carrey's portrayal of Olaf made the character more over the top and hammy, leaning closer to comic relief.
And Now You Must Marry Me: Olaf tries to force Violet to marry him in a staged play for her inheritance, which he wouldn’t be able to get through her and her siblings’ deaths. His description of what he intends Violet strongly suggests that it would have been an Awful Wedded Life.
Beware the Silly Ones: Count Olaf in this version is a complete goofball who, while a terrible person, doesn't seem particularly dangerous. He is no less of a cold-blooded murderer than he was in the books.
Coattail-Riding Relative: Count Olaf spends most of the movie trying to get the Baudelaire orphans' inheritance.
Devil in Plain Sight: Count Olaf is almost always one of these, and no one believes the Baudelaires until they finally prove that his latest persona is a criminal.
Fauxreigner: Olaf as "Stephano" claims to be Italian, but he sounds more like a cross between Frank Oz (or more specifically, Fozzie Bear) and a vague foreshadowing of Heath Ledger as the Joker. Footage exists of Carrey getting make-up applied for a very different version of Stephano, with long greasy hair, an outrageous Italian accent, and generally very filthy looking. This was likely changed for being too similar to negative Italian caricatures.
Glove Snap: Count Olaf does this in his herpetologist disguise.
Hypocritical Humor: When Captain Sham (Count Olaf) says, "There ain't nothin' better than good grammar!" in front of Aunt Josephine, a Grammar Nazi.
Laser-Guided Karma: At the end of the film, after Olaf gets apprehended, he is tried and found guilty in court and put through most of the significantly harrowing situations the orphans were forced into before serving a life sentence.
Old Man Marrying a Child: His final plan to obtain the Baudelaire fortune is marrying Violet who is only fourteen years old.
Orphaned Punchline: As Count Olaf brings his acting troupe in near the beginning, he's saying, "...tub full of ice in Baja, and I realize that these clever girls had stolen my kidney! Imagine my surpreez!"
Paper-Thin Disguise:
- His first disguise, Stefano, is actually pretty convincing....in terms of makeup. What is supposed to tip others off is his incompetence. His introductory lines are a good example of Malaproper, and to young geniuses like Violet and Klaus an immediate giveaway. That said, the only evidence that ensures it's really Count Olaf is The Law of Conservation of Detail — Montgomery concludes just as quickly that "Stefano" is actually a spy from the Herpetological Society.
- Captain Sham, on the other hand, is so blatantly Olaf it's Played for Laughs. You can see a member of Olaf's acting troupe almost immediately after Sham appears to confirm it. "Sham" proceeds to romance Aunt Josephine in an equally blatant example of Adults Are Useless.
Pretentious Pronunciation: Count Olaf repeatedly mispronounces certain words, most noticeably sur-preez, the French way of pronouncing the word.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- Towards the end of the movie, Olaf rightfully calls out all of the adults present at his play that the children were telling them about Olaf and his intentions for them, but the adults didn’t listen. As such, they almost allowed Olaf to legally marry Violet and obtain her family’s fortune.
- When he’s initially thinking about sparing Josephine, he talks about how untrustworthy she is. Considering that she cowardly sold out the children placed in her care, he’s right to call her out on that front.

The Hook-Handed Man

Played By: Jamie Harris

One of Count Olaf's minions.

Hook Hand: Both of his hands are hooks. He sometimes wear fake hands over the hooks like when Olaf pretended to be Stephano and killed Monty.
Would Hurt a Child: He helps Olaf forcibly marry Violet by threatening to drop Sunny from the tower. When Klaus goes up the tower to save his sisters, the Hook-Handed Man tries to attack Klaus with his hooks.

The Bald Man

Played By: Luis Guzmán

One of Count Olaf's minions.

Race Lift: White in the book, but played by a Hispanic actor in the film.

The Person of Indeterminate Gender

Played By: Craig Ferguson

One of Count Olaf's minions.

Adaptational Attractiveness: They are described as very overweight in the book, but are rather thin in the movie.
Ambiguous Gender: No one knows what gender they are. Throughout their scenes, they were gender-neutral clothes and are never referred by gender pronouns.
No Name Given: Like the rest of Olaf’s troupe, we never learn their name.

The White-Faced Women

Played By: Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Adams

Two of Count Olaf's minions.

The Smurfette Principle: They are (maybe) the only women in Olaf’s troupe.

The Baudelaires' Guardians

Uncle Monty

Dr. Montgomery "Monty" Montgomery

Played By: Billy Connolly

An eccentric herpetologist and the Baudelaires' uncle who temporarily becomes their guardian.

Feather Boa Constrictor: In some of his early scenes, he has an albino Burmese python coiled around his neck.
Good Parents: Out of the three guardians the children have in the movie, Monty is easily the best one. He’s the only one who cares about the children’s welfare and does his best to make a comfortable home for them.
Ironic Echo: His Establishing Character Moment is echoing Count Olaf's sinister first line "Hello, hello, hello" in a much more sincere and friendly manner.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: He correctly suspects that “Stephano” is an imposter, but he thinks he’s a spy trying to steal the Incredibly Deadly Viper instead of Count Olaf who has come to kill him and take the children.

Aunt Josephine

Josephine Anwhistle

Played By: Meryl Streep

A paranoid, grammar-obsessed recluse and the Baudelaires' aunt who temporarily becomes their guardian.

Dirty Coward: Instead of trying to protect the Baudelaires from Olaf, she happily offers the children to him so that he’ll spare her.
Disproportionate Retribution: Count Olaf decides to let her die simply because he was offended by her correcting his grammar.
Faking the Dead: She fakes her suicide in order to escape Olaf.
Goodbye, Cruel World!: Subverted. The Baudelaires initially believe that Josephine committed suicide and left behind a note agonizing over Ike’s death. However, Klaus noticed the note contains improper grammar and uncovers the message “Curdled Cave”, suggesting that Josephine is alive and has fled to Curdled Cave.
Grammar Nazi: She absolutely loves grammar and can’t keep herself from correcting someone when they use poor grammar. This ultimately becomes her undoing when she corrects Count Olaf and he lets her die at the jaws of the Lachrymose Leeches.
Nervous Wreck: Ever since her husband died, she has become afraid of virtually everything.
Too Dumb to Live:
- Josephine ate a banana before she and the children set out on Lake Lachrymose. She knew that food attracts the leeches especially if you have eaten less than an hour before you get on the water, but she didn’t tell the children they should wait a while before setting sail.
- After dealing with the murderous Count Olaf, Josephine can’t help herself from correcting him when he uses improper grammar. He lets her die as a result.

Other Characters

Lemony Snicket

Played By: Jude Law

An introverted writer and the narrator of the story.

He Who Must Not Be Seen: The audience only gets to see Snicket’s silhouette, but never his face. This is very similar to the books, which never show what Snicket actually looks like.

Mr. Poe

Played By: Timothy Spall

A stuffy banker whose job is to take the Baudelaire children to their guardians, but is quite incompetent at keeping them safe.

Adaptational Nice Guy: To be sure, he's just as unhelpful as he is in the books, but is far less condescending and dismissive toward the Baudelaires. See Papa Wolf below.
Adapted Out: His coughing character tic is thrown away from his character, helping him speak more clearly.
Adults Are Useless: He has been placed in charge of helping the Baudelaires, but he fails to listen to them about Olaf. Even Lemony Snicket commentates on how clueless Poe is to the children’s predicament.
Papa Wolf: Even though he's just as oblivious to Olaf's evil intentions as everyone else, Mr. Poe shows some signs of this for the children... in some ways. The main examples are him being outraged that Sunny was "driving" a car and Olaf tried to gain the Baudelaire fortune by getting Justice Strauss to unknowingly marry Violet to Olaf.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: After Olaf tries to kill the orphans by parking his car with them inside on the grade crossing, Mr. Poe rightly removes them from his guardianship, but only because he believed Olaf let baby Sunny drive.

Justice Strauss

Played By: Catherine O'Hara

Count Olaf's kind neighbor and a judge.

My God, What Have I Done?: Upon learning she unknowingly married Violet to Olaf for real, she is horrified with her actions and flees the stage in tears.
Nice Girl: She’s arguably one of the nicest characters in the movie.

Constable

Played By: Cedric the Entertainer

A skeptical, well, constable.

Canon Foreigner: Has no counterpart in the books.
No Name Given: We never learn what his actual name is.
Police Are Useless: That he's a police constable doesn't mean that he's of any help to the Baudelaires, though his presence at least means that in this continuity they actually exist.

Characters / A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

The Baudelaire Children