Lemony's dark fun

December 8, 2004 - 11:51AM

In the opening scenes of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, 14-year-old Violet Baudelaire, her 12-year-old brother Klaus and toddler sister Sunny are told their parents have been killed in a house fire.

The message comes from a mysterious man who appears from the fog while the kids are playing beside a dark and gloomy lake.

There is little colour.

The scenery is stark and surreal.

The news of the deaths sets off a chain reaction of bad events for the Baudelaire children as their distant relative, the vile Count Olaf, played by comedian Jim Carrey, attempts to kill them and steal the inheritance their wealthy parents left behind.

There are plenty of laughs in this dark comedy.

There's also some not so pleasant issues.

In one scene the dastardly Count Olaf slaps Klaus across the face.

In another, Sunny is locked in a steel cage and hung from the top of a building while Violet is forced to marry the much older Count Olaf so he can legally take ownership of the inheritance. If Violet does not go through with the wedding, Sunny will crash to the ground.

This is not SpongeBob SquarePants.

But it is a film that is expected to have children lining up at the box office when it opens in Australia on December 16 and elsewhere around the world over Christmas.

At an advanced screening in Hollywood's famed Grauman's Chinese Theatre last week hundreds of children and their parents queued for hours for a chance to see the film, with most turned away because there was not enough seats in the theatre to hold them all.

Based on the first three books in the 11 Lemony Snicket's series, the film already has a huge built-in audience with almost 30 million copies sold worldwide.

While some scenes and themes are dark, the film's director, Brad Silberling, says the way Violet, Klaus and Sunny take on and beat the wicked adults is what appeals to kids around the globe and made the Lemony Snicket's books almost as popular as the Harry Potter phenomenon.

The three Baudelaire children each have a talent that, while working together, save them no matter what predicament they find themselves in.

Violet, played by 16-year-old Melbourne schoolgirl Emily Browning, is an inventor who creates life-saving contraptions in seconds and other fun items, such as a bed that makes itself.

Klaus (New York-born 14-year-old Liam Aiken) is an avid reader with an endless amount of knowledge. He has an instant answer to any problem.

Sunny (San Diego twins Kara and Shelby Hoffman) has razor sharp teeth that bite through anything.

"The fantastical element of these stories is the kids are always victorious," Silberling explained during an interview in Beverly Hills this week.

"They have to come up against the most extreme examples of cruelty, but the kids always manage to be hopeful and resourceful.

"They are examples of kids who use their talents and resources to get past the minefield of adults and I think that's what kids really love."

Both Silberling and Carrey, the rubber faced star of some of Hollywood's most successful comedies - Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Liar Liar and Bruce Almighty - defend the dark themes in the film.

Most adults, they say, grew up reading or watching the tales spun by the Brothers Grimm and were moved by the pain in Oliver Twist.

"What about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with the child kidnapper character?" Carrey asked.

"That freaked me out when I was a kid, but I loved it.

"I loved creepy fun when I was a kid."

Count Olaf's character wears a number of disguises to trick the children and the adults trying to protect them, but it is only the kids who recognise Count Olaf while the adults are fooled.

"I love the idea Count Olaf thinks the children are so stupid they would never recognise him in a million years," Carrey said.

"That's the gist of this piece of material is that no-one believes the kids, but they immediately nail him every time out. I think that's a really cool thing that comes from the books."

The slapping scene is the most controversial.

Klaus and his siblings have been kidnapped by Count Olaf and locked away in his creepy, filthy mansion. Count Olaf strikes Klaus across the face with an open hand.

Browning, who celebrated her 16th birthday in Los Angeles this week while promoting the film, says children and teenagers watching Lemony Snicket's won't be traumatised.

"I can understand how some people might feel a little bit uncomfortable about that, but I don't think it's going to scare kids," says Browning.

"I don't think it's going to teach kids to be violent in any way because kids are going to see that the bad guy is doing it and it's not going to make them do it.

"... I think it's a good thing to show because unfortunately it happens in real life and I'm pretty sure kids know it happens."

There were discussions between Carrey, Silberling and the movie's producers about dropping the scene, which also takes place in the Lemony book.

Carrey fought to keep it and won.

"There was controversy as to whether to have that in the movie or not and I said 'You know what? Bambi dies dudes. Bambi dies'," Carrey said.

"In most really great movies that connect with people there's some kind of tragedy involved and some kind of pain involved.

"It is a strange kind of balance we are striking here. I'm not sure if it's been done this way before. Although I want to be entertaining, the bottom line is Olaf is a fucker.

"OK, for the kids version, Olaf is not a nice person.

"He has to be that way.

"I said to them (the producers and director) early on 'I want them to laugh, but at the same time the danger has to be real or we have nothing'. The movie is meaningless without real danger."

So what should be the age limit of the child audience?

Silberling says kids aged from eight upwards should be able to watch it, although he adds maturity levels are different from child to child.

"I wouldn't bring your four-year-old maybe," Carrey said.

"But, I think that it is more than just entertainment. It is entertaining and funny, but at the same time as the books did, I'm hoping the movie taps into something that is going on with young kids and teenagers."