If you’re anything like me, as a kid you could not wait to get your grubby little paws on the latest Lemony Snicket release. You also probably thought a man named Lemony Snicket actually wrote these books, but alas, it was good ole Daniel Handler all along. However, if you did read the books you know they were damn good children’s chapter books. So, how did the show measure up? Actually pretty well.
Given, I binged watched the entire series in a matter of four days, I think I still would have loved it just as much if I watched it like an actual human being with time management skills. So, let’s get down to it.
Violet, Claus and Sunny were cast accurately given Sunny is a baby, but is adorable so I guess that’s good casting for an infant. Violet seems a little too young to be playing her role. The character in the book is 14 and the actress that plays her in the Netflix series is 13 but has a really youthful look. Claus is probably the worst actor out of the bunch but I was never crazy about his character in the book so I guess there’s no way to win it all. Count Olaf is dramatic AF, and is played by Neil Patrick Harris, so it’s very fitting. His disguises are theatrical but it aligns with the image I’m sure all the readers already have in their minds.
The other characters like Mr. Poe and Aunt Josephine were cast with a modern audience in mind. There are minority groups represented which was a nice change of pace since many children’s shows are totally whitewashed.
As for the story, Daniel Handler wrote the show so it’s right on track with the plot of the books. In fact, they allude to the parents much more in the show than they did in the books, which is awesome since little background was provided about them. Your boy Will Arnett plays the Baudelaire father and Cobie Smulders is the mother. The scenes where they come into play add another rich layer to the already intricate plot of the show.
Lemony Snicket narrated the show and is played by Patrick Warburton who voices Joe on Family Guy, so if you can get past that you will probably like him. The narrations are almost verbatim to the books and are also pretty theatrical. The special affects have an animated quality to them so they aren’t very believable but still do the trick. I kept forgetting as I watched it that it was a show for a younger audience so the graphics didn’t need to blow the viewer away. Having the cartoonish vibe made it better in a sense, despite the dark undertones the show is supposed to have.
If you wish to experience the horror the Baudelaire children face, I would highly recommend watching the series, which only half of it is on Netflix. So, to finish you and I will both have to wait with baited breath, and more than likely binge watch it the day it comes out.
