Jim Carrey’s failed mid-2000s fantasy franchise starter that was intended to emulate the success of other book-to-screen adaptations like Harry Potter just started streaming for free on Tubi. The free streamer has a pretty extensive catalog of fantasy films ranging from ‘80s classics like Labyrinth and The Neverending Story to recent hits such as Poor Things, and the lineup just grew with a film that was meant to launch a lucrative series but ultimately failed to secure a sequel.
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Lemony Snicket‘s A Series of Unfortunate Events joined Tubi on April 1st. The 2004 movie was intended to be the first in a franchise of films aiming to adapt all 13 books in Daniel Handler’s beloved children’s series, but its $210 million worldwide box office gross couldn’t overcome its high $150 million budget, squashing sequel plans. The movie condensed the first three books—The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window—into a single feature and starred Carrey as the evil Count Olaf, a villainous stage actor and master of disguise seeking the Baudelaire family fortune. When young Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire’s parents perish in a suspicious fire and they’re placed under Count Olaf’s care, they must outwit his elaborate schemes.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events Remains a Cult Favorite
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events never launched the franchise it deserved, but it did secure a lasting legacy as a cult favorite. The film, which notched a 72% critic score and 63% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, rejected the traditional happily ever after narrative in favor of a dark, satirical tone that was rare for family films. It wasn’t afraid to embrace a deeply gloomy, gothic aesthetic and dark humor, and perfectly captured a surreal world of misery and the darker-than-dark tones of the books. It was also packed with humor and satire accessible to both kids and adults, and the underlying mysteries were easy to get lost in.
Fans of the 2004 films never got to see Handler’s vision for the future of the Lemony Snicket universe, but they were eventually welcomed back to the fantastical world of Handler’s books. In 2017, Netflix launched its own adaptation of the books, A Series of Unfortunate Events. The show saw Neil Patrick Harris take over as Count Olaf. The show was a highly successful adaptation, particularly in contrast to the 2004 film, earning praise for its faithfulness to the source material. It ran for three seasons and 25 episodes before wrapping in 2019 with a near-perfect average 96% critic score.
Other Fantasy Movies Now on Tubi
Tubi’s fantasy lineup just keeps on growing, and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events isn’t the only new arrival to the catalog. This April, the free streaming service has added titles like Beautiful Creatures, Eragon, and The Golden Compass to its fantasy roster. There are plenty of great titles outside of fantasy, too, with movies like 3 Days to Kill, Grown Ups, House of Gucci, and fellow Carrey-starring movie Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls also now streaming completely free.
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