What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this movie may be upsetting to some kids. The children in the movie are orphans who are continuously mistreated. There are constant scenes of peril and tension; though most of the violence is offscreen, we see the aftermath. An adult strikes a child and there are other assaults and murders and an apparent suicide. There is one scary surprise and several shots of creepy creatures, including rats, bugs, bats, and snakes. Some children will understand that this is intended as macabre humor but others will not, so parents should be particularly cautious about deciding whether the film is appropriate for their kids. Other parental concerns include some very crude language "said" by a baby ("shmuck," "bite me"), and a forced marriage with a 14-year-old (predatory, but only with regard to her money).
- Families can talk about how we learn to respond to the unexpected, and the importance of having a Plan B (and Plans C through Z). Some kids will want to be reassured about who their guardians would be if something happens to their own parents. And families could talk about what messages they would want to read in a letter like the one from the Baudelaire parents and why books with such terrible abuse are so popular with kids.