This family film is based upon the first three installments in the "Lemony Snicket" series of books that have sold over 27 million copies and been translated into 39 languages. After becoming orphans because of a fire that kills their parents, the three Beaudelaire children are forced to rely on their own intelligence, wit and creativity to escape the clutches of Count Olaf (Jim Carrey). He literally wants to eliminate them so he can inherit the family fortune. Forget the funny donkeys and overweight superheroes on this one.

In some movies, this would mean a series of perilous situations where the kids consistently, at the last second, escape death or some other terrible event. While there is plenty of that, the wit of the three kids and the various dangers they manage to escape make for an interesting and possibly classic film. Violet (Emily Browning) is one of the finest 14 year old inventors the world has ever know, which includes creating a device that can retrieve a rock after it has been skipped into the ocean. Klaus (Liam Aiken) has read more books at the age of 12 than most people read in their entire lives. Youngest sister Sunny (played by twins Kara and Shelby Hoffman) is especially effective in communicating with the toddlers in the audience. Some might say she has the funniest lines in the movie, as her baby gibberish is shown in subtitle at the bottom of the screen. The "bite me" comment captures how speech probably follows cognitive thinking.

A little bit of Jim Carrey goes a long way and the dosage we get is just about right on. Meryl Streep, as tremulous Aunt Josephine, brightens the story, along with the wonderful Billy Connolly, the children’s reptile loving Uncle Monty.

Some of those perilous situations involve snakes, a house that hangs over a cliff, leeches that attack a boat, a sinister wedding scene and we have a film for parents and children that is edgy with an eerie charm. "Lemony Snicket’s" is a humorous, heart-warming and timeless movie in the manner of "Harry Potter."