After their parents are killed in a mysterious fire, the three Baudelaire orphans are packed off to live with their dastardly uncle, Count Olaf, who is determined to get his hands on their inheritance, no matter what it takes. The resourceful trio use their considerable talents (Violet is an inventor, Klaus is a bookworm with a photographic memory and Sunny can bite through almost anything) to stay alive. They manage to get away from the egomaniacal actor on more than one occasion. But Olaf has all manner of tricks up his sleeve…

Television-turned-film director Brad Silberling has landed on his feet with this potential franchise starter. He has previously directed only one film; the critically-acclaimed, semi-autobiographical “Moonlight Mile”. He rises to the challenge of realising a children’s movie with huge crossover potential with aplomb. His direction is deft yet sparing, allowing his actors free rein and this leads to some wonderful free-wheeling performances from a host of well-known faces. He shows his worth in the great deadpan turns he gets out of his young actors, especially in the face of such manic hamming from Jim Carrey.

“Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” is one of few recent films to make appropriate use of voice-over narration; it reflects the fictionalised author’s habit of addressing the audience directly, to set the tone or to explain characters’ thoughts or difficult vocabulary.

The story is book-ended by a bizarre and strangely upbeat introduction that comes in the form of an hilariously saccharine claymation film called “The Littlest Elf” and some dark end-credit animations that have an Eastern European flavour, thanks to the score and a style reminiscent of Indian or Balinese Shadow puppets. Both add immeasurably to what is already an extraordinarily enjoyable film. It works mainly because it plays on what is usually foisted on kids as entertainment and the darker stuff they really get their teeth into.

The popularity of the books is reflected in the quality of the supporting cast. Meryl Streep impresses as the neurotic and grammar-obsessed Aunt Josephine (“Don’t go near the fridge, it could fall over and squash you flat!”), all nervous tics and bewildered eyes and a complete departure from her last role as megalomaniac harridan Eleanor Prentiss in “The Manchurian Candidate”. She proves she has the timing for comedy, too. Billy Connolly finally proves he can act as the likeable herpetologist Uncle Monty, spending most of his time draped in snakes of one type or another (which is my own personal nightmare). Timothy Spall adds to his already impressive resume of big screen roles as the well-meaning but unfortunately oblivious Mr Poe, who places the kids with each of their guardians. Solid, recognisable character actors appear in tiny roles, with Luis Guzman, Jennifer Coolidge and Catherine O’Hara turning up as little more than window dressing. Look out too for Dustin Hoffman’s cameo as a theatre critic. Brit flavour of the month Jude Law is the voice of Lemony Snicket, managing to be serious yet sympathetic and never patronising as he explains new concepts. But that’s the joy of having a great script based on strong source material.

The piano-based score by Thomas Newman (who has penned music for “American Beauty”, “Finding Nemo” and “Six Feet Under”), gets the thumbs up. His music adds to an already spooky and melancholic atmosphere, without smothering the action. It has the air of a Danny Elfman score at times, thanks to the prevalence of twinkly pianos, but is nowhere near as obtrusive as Elfman’s work.

This is a film that will appeal to anyone with an appreciably dark sense of humour. It may be pegged as a kids’ movie, but it’s so good and works on so many levels that you don’t need to have little people to justify going to see it. It will make you laugh, but never snort with derision, is packed full of colourful characters and bizarre situations, all tinged with a gothic sensibility that makes this one of the most sumptuously detailed films for a long time. Unusually for a children’s film, it never resorts to cloying sentiment, instead opting to show the world as a black-hearted place where being good is no guarantee of a happy life. But it is presented in such a comic way that you can’t help but laugh at the grotesque absurdity of it all. Watch, digest, enjoy in flashback but make sure you see it.