Movies Like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a 2004 adventure, comedy, family film from Brad Silberling with a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Hugo and Hostile Territory.

Adventure Comedy Family

Hugo

2011

Orphaned and alone except for an uncle, Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Hugo's job is to oil and maintain the station's clocks, but to him, his more important task is to protect a broken automaton and notebook left to him by his late father. Accompanied by the goddaughter of an embittered toy merchant, Hugo embarks on a quest to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he can call home.

7.2

MagicScore

Hostile Territory

2022

Former P.O.W. Jack Calgrove moves Heaven and Earth to be reunited with his children following the Civil War. After returning home, Jack discovers that his wife has tragically died and his children, presumed to be orphans, are heading deep into the West on a train crossing enemy lines, with the intent of being placed into new homes. Calgrove and another soldier team up with a troop of Native American sharpshooters and a freed slave as they try to stop the train.

7.0

MagicScore

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?

1972

A demented widow lures unsuspecting children into her mansion in a bizarre "Hansel and Gretel" twist.

6.1

MagicScore

Howl's Moving Castle

2004

Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.

8.4

MagicScore

Mortal Engines

2018

Many thousands of years in the future, Earth’s cities roam the globe on huge wheels, devouring each other in a struggle for ever diminishing resources. On one of these massive traction cities, the old London, Tom Natsworthy has an unexpected encounter with a mysterious young woman from the wastelands who will change the course of his life forever.

6.2

MagicScore

The Golden Compass

2007

After overhearing a shocking secret, precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua trades her carefree existence roaming the halls of Jordan College for an otherworldly adventure in the far North, unaware that it's part of her destiny.

6.1

MagicScore

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

2016

A teenager finds himself transported to an island where he must help protect a group of orphans with special powers from creatures intent on destroying them.

6.8

MagicScore

The Wizard of Oz

1925

A farm girl learns she is a princess and is swept away by a tornado to the land of Oz.

5.4

MagicScore

My Happy Marriage

2023

An unhappy young woman from an abusive family is married off to a fearsome and chilly army commander. But the two learn more about each other, love may have a chance.

7.2

MagicScore

#10

Chestnut: Hero of Central Park

2004

Ray and Sal, two orphaned sisters, adopt and hide a Great Dane puppy from their two adopted parents living in a luxury downtown New York apartment that expressely forbids dogs.

7.2

MagicScore

#11

Lilo & Stitch

2025

The wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.

7.2

MagicScore

#12

The Brothers Bloom

2008

The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they've decided to take on one last job – showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.

6.6

MagicScore

#13

Escape to Witch Mountain

1975

Tia and Tony are two orphaned youngsters with extraordinary powers. Lucas Deranian poses as their uncle in order to get the kids into the clutches of Deranian's megalomaniacal boss, evil millionaire Aristotle Bolt, who wants to exploit them. Jason, a cynical widower, helps Tia and Tony escape to witch mountain, while at the same time Tia and Tony help Jason escape the pain of the loss of his wife.

6.4

MagicScore

#14

Hotel for Dogs

2009

Placed in a foster home that doesn't allow pets, 16-year-old Andi and her younger brother, Bruce, turn an abandoned hotel into a home for their dog. Soon other strays arrive, and the hotel becomes a haven for every orphaned canine in town. But the kids have to do some quick thinking to keep the cops off their tails.

6.0

MagicScore

#15

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

1968

A hapless inventor finally finds success with a flying car, which a dictator from a foreign government sets out to take for himself.

6.8

MagicScore

#16

Practical Magic

1998

Sally and Gillian Owens, born into a magical family, have mostly avoided witchcraft themselves. But when Gillian's vicious boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov, dies unexpectedly, the Owens sisters give themselves a crash course in hard magic. With policeman Gary Hallet growing suspicious, the girls struggle to resurrect Angelov -- and unwittingly inject his corpse with an evil spirit that threatens to end their family line.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Around the World in Eighty Days

1956

Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the world. Which has to be completed within 80 days, a very short period for those days.

6.6

MagicScore

#18

Time Bandits

1981

Young history buff Kevin can scarcely believe it when six dwarfs emerge from his closet one night. Former employees of the Supreme Being, they've purloined a map charting all of the holes in the fabric of time and are using it to steal treasures from different historical eras. Taking Kevin with them, they variously drop in on Napoleon, Robin Hood and King Agamemnon before the Supreme Being catches up with them.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

Grave of the Fireflies

1988

In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.

8.4

MagicScore

#20

Treasure Planet

2002

When space galleon cabin boy Jim Hawkins discovers a map to an intergalactic "loot of a thousand worlds," a cyborg cook named John Silver teaches him to battle supernovas and space storms on their journey to find treasure.

7.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events?

The top films similar to Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events by MovieMagicScore are Hugo (7.2), Hostile Territory (7.0), Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (6.1). Each shares adventure/comedy/family themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events worth watching?

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10 from 5,143 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events?

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) is a adventure, comedy, family film directed by Brad Silberling, starring Emily Browning, Liam Aiken, Kara Hoffman.

Where can I find more recommendations like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more adventure recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Hugo Movies like Hostile Territory Movies like Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?Movies like Howl's Moving Castle Movies like Mortal Engines Movies like The Golden Compass

About movies like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

This ranked list pairs Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), a adventure and comedy and family film from Brad Silberling, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Emily Browning take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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