Line #111 Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2004


1	The characters of Lemony Snicket's ''Film/{{A Series of Unfortunate Events\|2004}}'' 2004 film adaptation.
2	->For the characters as portrayed in the book series, see ''Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.
3	->For the characters as portrayed in its 2017 series adaptation, see ''Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017''.
4	----
5	[[foldercontrol]]
6
7	!!The Baudelaire Children
8
9	[[folder:In General]]
10	* AdaptationalAttractiveness: 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 BlindWithoutEm to a pince-nez he only wears while reading was to avoid making him look too similar to Franchise/HarryPotter.
11	* LimitedWardrobe: 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.
12	* OnlySaneMan: Frequently the Baudelaires are this, and Liam Aiken (who played Klaus) himself described the siblings as "the only sane people."
13	[[/folder]]
14
15	[[folder:Violet]]
16	!!Violet Baudelaire
17	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/violet_violet_baudelaire_21320771_422_611.jpg]]
18	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/EmilyBrowning
19
20	The eldest of the Baudelaire orphans, she is an intelligent inventor who makes inventions out of everyday items.
21	----
22	* CharacterTics: 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.
23	* ElegantGothicLolita: She tends to wear an elegant black dress, fishnet gloves and black boots throughout the movie.
24	* HeroicBSOD: 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.
25	* MacGyvering: Violet's specialty, she gets herself and her siblings out of countless predicaments by smartly using objects and items around her.
26	* NotHisSled: In the novels, [[spoiler: 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, [[spoiler: Count Olaf takes notice that she's trying that, tells her to sign it properly]], causing a need for another method.
27
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Klaus]]
31	!!Klaus Baudelaire
32	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/klaus_baudelaire_film.png]]
33	!!!'''Played By:''' Liam Aiken
34
35	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.
36	----
37	* AbledInTheAdaptation: 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 BlindWithoutEm.
38	* AloofBigBrother: 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.
39	* BadassBookworm: He uses the knowledge he obtained from books to help get him and his sisters out of Count Olaf’s clutches on multiple occasions.
40	* BigBrotherInstinct: 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).
41	* BigLittleBrother: There are a couple of scenes that show Klaus is a few inches taller than his older sister.
42	* BrainyBrunette: 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.
43	%%* ButtMonkey
44	* 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.
45	* SurvivalMantra: He borrows Violet's "There's always something," to inspire him to invent a way to rescue Sunny.
46
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Sunny]]
50	!!Sunny Baudelaire
51	[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sunny_movie.png]]
52	!!!'''Played By:''' Kara and Shelby Hoffman
53
54	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.
55	----
56	* DamselInDistress: 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.
57	* DeadpanSnarker: Sunny's baby talk has her be snarky to the adult characters, even though they can't understand her.
58	* IntelligibleUnintelligible: 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.”
59	* LittleSisterInstinct: 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.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	!!Count Olaf's Theater Troupe
63	[[folder:Count Olaf]]
64	!!Count Olaf
65	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/undefined.jpg]]
66	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JimCarrey
67
68	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.
69	----
70	* AdaptationalIntelligence: Count Olaf, while a lot goofier and more comical than in the books, a definite LargeHam and prone to EvilGloating, 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.
71	* AdaptationalKarma: [[spoiler:In the novels and Netflix series, Count Olaf [[KarmaHoudini escapes justice, thus escaping comeuppance]]. In the film, however, Count Olaf ends up arrested and is forced to [[LaserGuidedKarma 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.]]
72	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: [[DownplayedTrope 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.
73	* AdaptationalVillainy: [[spoiler: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]].
74	* AdaptationPersonalityChange: 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.
75	* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: 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 AwfulWeddedLife.
76	* BewareTheSillyOnes: Count Olaf in this version is a complete goofball who, while a terrible person, doesn't seem particularly dangerous. [[NotSoHarmlessVillain He is no less of a cold-blooded murderer than he was in the books.]]
77	* CoattailRidingRelative: Count Olaf spends most of the movie trying to get the Baudelaire orphans' inheritance.
78	* DevilInPlainSight: 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.
79	* {{Fauxreigner}}: Olaf as "Stephano" claims to be Italian, but he [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent sounds more like]] a cross between Creator/FrankOz (or more specifically, [[Franchise/TheMuppets Fozzie Bear]]) and a vague foreshadowing of [[Film/TheDarkKnight 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.
80	* GloveSnap: Count Olaf does this in his herpetologist disguise.
81	* HypocriticalHumor: When Captain Sham (Count Olaf) says, "There ain't nothin' better than good grammar!" in front of Aunt Josephine, a GrammarNazi.
82	* LaserGuidedKarma: At the end of the film, after Olaf gets apprehended, [[spoiler: 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.]]
83	* OldManMarryingAChild: His final plan to obtain the Baudelaire fortune is marrying Violet who is only fourteen years old.
84	* OrphanedPunchline: 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!''"
85	* PaperThinDisguise:
86	** 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 TheLawOfConservationOfDetail -- Montgomery concludes just as quickly that "Stefano" is actually a spy from the Herpetological Society.
87	** Captain [[MeaningfulName Sham]], on the other hand, is so blatantly Olaf it's PlayedForLaughs. [[spoiler: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 AdultsAreUseless.
88	* PretentiousPronunciation: Count Olaf repeatedly mispronounces certain words, most noticeably ''sur-preez'', [[BilingualBonus the French way of pronouncing the word]].
89	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
90	** Towards the end of the movie, Olaf [[VillainHasAPoint 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.
91	** 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.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:The Hook-Handed Man]]
95	!!The Hook-Handed Man
96	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JamieHarris
97
98	One of Count Olaf's minions.
99	----
100	* HookHand: Both of his hands are hooks. He sometimes wear fake hands over the hooks like when Olaf pretended to be Stephano and killed Monty.
101	* WouldHurtAChild: 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.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:The Bald Man]]
105	!!The Bald Man
106	!!!'''Played By:''' Luis Guzmán
107
108	One of Count Olaf's minions.
109	----
110	* RaceLift: White in the book, but played by a Hispanic actor in the film.
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:The Person of Indeterminate Gender]]
114	!!The Person of Indeterminate Gender
115	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/CraigFerguson
116
117	One of Count Olaf's minions.
118	----
119	* AdaptationalAttractiveness: They are described as very overweight in the book, but are rather thin in the movie.
120	* AmbiguousGender: No one knows what gender they are. Throughout their scenes, they were gender-neutral clothes and are never referred by gender pronouns.
121	* NoNameGiven: Like the rest of Olaf’s troupe, we never learn their name.
122	[[/folder]]
123
124	[[folder:The White-Faced Women]]
125	!!The White-Faced Women
126	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JenniferCoolidge and Creator/JaneAdams
127
128	Two of Count Olaf's minions.
129	----
130	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: They are (maybe) the only women in Olaf’s troupe.
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	!!The Baudelaires' Guardians
134	[[folder:Uncle Monty]]
135	!!Dr. Montgomery "Monty" Montgomery
136	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BillyConnolly
137
138	An eccentric herpetologist and the Baudelaires' uncle who temporarily becomes their guardian.
139	----
140	* FeatherBoaConstrictor: In some of his early scenes, he has an albino Burmese python coiled around his neck.
141	* GoodParents: 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.
142	* IronicEcho: His EstablishingCharacterMoment is echoing Count Olaf's sinister first line "Hello, hello, hello" in a much more sincere and friendly manner.
143	* RightForTheWrongReasons: 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.
144	[[/folder]]
145
146	[[folder:Aunt Josephine]]
147	!!Josephine Anwhistle
148	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MerylStreep
149
150	A paranoid, grammar-obsessed recluse and the Baudelaires' aunt who temporarily becomes their guardian.
151	----
152	* DirtyCoward: Instead of trying to protect the Baudelaires from Olaf, she happily offers the children to him so that he’ll spare her.
153	* DisproportionateRetribution: Count Olaf decides to let her die simply because he was offended by her correcting his grammar.
154	* FakingTheDead: She fakes her suicide in order to escape Olaf.
155	* GoodbyeCruelWorld: 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.
156	* GrammarNazi: 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.
157	* NervousWreck: Ever since her husband died, she has become afraid of virtually everything.
158	* TooDumbToLive:
159	** 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.
160	** 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.
161	[[/folder]]
162
163	!!Other Characters
164	[[folder:Lemony Snicket]]
165	!!Lemony Snicket
166	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JudeLaw
167
168	An introverted writer and the narrator of the story.
169	----
170	* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: 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.
171	[[/folder]]
172
173	[[folder:Mr. Poe]]
174	!!Mr. Poe
175	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/TimothySpall
176
177	A stuffy banker whose job is to take the Baudelaire children to their guardians, but is quite incompetent at keeping them safe.
178	----
179	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: 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 PapaWolf below.
180	* AdaptedOut: His coughing [[CharacterTics character tic]] is thrown away from his character, helping him speak more clearly.
181	* AdultsAreUseless: 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.
182	* PapaWolf: 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.
183	* RightForTheWrongReasons: 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.
184	[[/folder]]
185
186	[[folder:Justice Strauss]]
187	!!Justice Strauss
188	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/CatherineOHara
189
190	Count Olaf's kind neighbor and a judge.
191	----
192	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Upon learning she unknowingly married Violet to Olaf for real, she is horrified with her actions and flees the stage in tears.
193	* NiceGirl: She’s arguably one of the nicest characters in the movie.
194	[[/folder]]
195
196	[[folder:Constable]]
197	!!Constable
198	!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/CedricTheEntertainer
199
200	A skeptical, well, constable.
201	----
202	* CanonForeigner: Has no counterpart in the books.
203	* NoNameGiven: We never learn what his actual name is.
204	* PoliceAreUseless: 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''.
205	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2004