Lemony Snicket (2004) - Deleted/Alternate Scenes
Jan 11, 2021 11:21:02 GMT -5
tk, urban-letter-opener, and 4 more like this
Post by gothicarchiesfan on Jan 11, 2021 11:21:02 GMT -5
Hello everyone,
after a lot of research, I have finally completed this masterpost of all the deleted and alternate scenes from the 2004 film that I could find solid evidence of. I gathered all my previous deleted scenes posts and put them all in chronological order and replaced most of the images with higher quality copies as well as adding a few new ones, too.
If any of you find pictures, footage etc of deleted/alternate scenes feel free to post them below and I'll add them here (crediting you, of course).
Keep in mind though, while I feel extremely confident about my analysis of these scenes and the order they are placed in, the movie was still being written as it was being shot and edited so not all the scenes may match with each other. Not to mention the fact that my efforts are still partially guesswork, so feel free to offer your own opinions.
As you can see, this movie was still being so drastically recut and restructured mere weeks before it came out, that the narration and music still weren't even close to being finished.


This was meant to be the opening shot of the Briny Beach sequence, with the photograph that Lemony Snicket was looking at dissolving into a wide shot of all 3 children before he introduced them. This specific shot can be found in one of the DVD's bonus documentaries.
However, this whole sequence was massively restructured and cut down to basically just the bare essentials, likely to get to Jim Carrey faster. The movie did keep the photograph dissolve but changed it to be a picture of Violet.






One of the more intriguing deletions is this shot from one of the tv trailers where either Bertrand and or Beatrice calls Violet down for breakfast, a moment which comes directly from Daniel Handler's original screenplay for the Barry Sonnenfeld film.
Apart from fitting the mandate of getting to Jim Carrey faster, this scene also seems to have been removed as part of a movie-wide attempt to downplay any direct and overt references to VFD and the Baudelaire parents. Presumably to leave the studio's casting and writing options open for the potential sequel.



Here we have yet another scene where Violet talks to the camera and introduces herself. Presumably, this was shot to replace the unfinished rock retrieving scene. This too can be found in one of the DVD's bonus documentaries.





Both of the film's US trailers used different footage of the Baudelaires going through their mansion's ruins, none of which was actually in the finished film itself.

One of the film's tv spots includes this deleted shot of Klaus picking up his sister's book-light. A lot of the evidence I've seen suggests that in the film's first cut, Klaus was originally much more inquisitive and interested in solving the mystery behind the fire than in the final cut.
This seems to have mostly been cut along with (or maybe because of) its relation to the V.F.D. subplot which ended up being mostly sheared out of the movie.


Several tv spots for the film include some deleted shots from the scene where the children first meet Count Olaf.


In this scene, Olaf recites one of Shakespeare's soliloquies on the subject of death and tries to pass it off as his own writing, looking very irritated when Klaus calls him out on it. It can be found in full on the DVD's deleted scenes section.
An alternate version of this scene was shown as a clip, on an Oprah episode that aired on November 24th, 2004. It features different dialogue and acting from Olaf, as well as a fully synched up musical score.
The fact that this scene was still in the movie just a couple of week before release, and differs greatly to the one on the DVD's deleted scenes section (seen below) shows just how much it was getting test screened and re-edited even just a couple of weeks before release.
That it also features a section of Thomas Newman's score that appears on the album but doesn't in the final film, is also further proof of just how much the music was edited in post-production.


Originally, Olaf's tour of his house was going to be much longer and encompass more areas, this got shortened in post-production, likely for timing reasons. This footage can be seen in one of the film's tv spots.


Another aspect that got dropped from this drastically recut sequence, was that the sequence originally focused on the children's reactions to what Olaf was saying. This section, for instance, was going to follow Count Olaf showing them his kitchen and telling them it could use "a little TLC".


This part of the sequence would have featured Count Olaf showing the children his backyard and the run-down stage area in much more detail, setting it up for its appearance in the third act.

A deleted shot from as tv spot showing Olaf scaring Klaus after he asks about the tower. One of the few examples, along with him asking about Monty's spyglass and Aunt Josephine's photo of their parents, of the inquisitive and suspicious Klaus from the first cut that actually survived into the final edit along.

Much like the sequence where Olaf gives a tour of his house, the montage of the children cleaning also got massively cut down to just a few shots.
Originally it would have followed the children fixing every single part of the house, matching up the exact order of Olaf's tour. My full thanks to urban-letter-opener , who alerted me to this photo's existence.

Another cut part of the montage featured Klaus cleaning up the broken-down stage area at the back of Count Olaf's garden until he's distracted by the daylight reflecting off the magnification lens in the tower room, leading him to wonder what could be up there.
This tiny clip of it can be found in the film's second US trailer.

One of the promotional wallpapers released with the movie also shows a moment after this, where Klaus has taken off the gas mask he was wearing and is looking at the tower with great interest. Yet another example of his inquisitive and suspicion-prone character trait/arc that ended up being cut out of the film.
This would have followed up his asking questions about the tower earlier on the film, and would have subsequently paid off when he found the lens design in Aunt Josephine's house and then eventually the lens itself, in the climax.

The trailer for the movie's video game tie in features this deleted shot of Sunny biting one of Olaf's plates as she cleans it.

This same commercial also contains this deleted shot of Olaf approaching the children.




In another deleted scene that can be found in the DVD's outtakes section, Olaf auditions the White-Faced Women for a role in his play and implies that they only way they'll be able to get the part is if they sleep with him.
The White-Faced Women's cut subplot seems to have been a desire to not only get bigger parts in Count Olaf's shows but also bed him while disliking each other intensely.

The outtakes also contain this sequence, where Olaf coaches the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender through a scene while they are suffering from a bout of stage fright. Their cut subplot seeming to be about a lack of confidence in themselves.



A deleted segment from the scene where Count Olaf impersonates a dinosaur that ended up in one of the TV Trailers.

Another deleted moment from the dinosaur scene, where Olaf wanders around the house and scares Klaus off while he and Violet are cooking the puttanesca. It can be found in the DVD's outtakes section.

The outtakes section also includes another cut moment where Count Olaf lounges around on the ground while the children finish cooking dinner and begin to serve it.



Interestingly, this behind the scenes photo shows a deleted moment from this already deleted scene, that didn't makes it way onto the DVD's version.


This sequence would have taken place after the scene where the children build their sanctuary. Instead of cutting directly to the custody hearing, all three would have been rudely awakened by Count Olaf who would then drag them out of the house and to the court.
This scene would also have shown the troupe lazing around in a drunken stupor on the house's ground floor with the two white-faced women in a state of undress, implying Olaf had slept with them.
This is a very rough attempt to show how it would've gone with a clip from one of the TV spots spliced into the finished movie.

This scene would likely have followed that one and shows the troupe lazing around in a drunken stupor on the house's ground floor with the two white-faced women in a state of undress, implying Olaf had slept with them. This would explain why the troupe weren't with Olaf at the Courthouse and the Last Chance General store.

This photo shows a moment that was either cut or replaced from the train sequence where Olaf says something very dramatic to the children while wearing his long top hat.

The DVD's outtakes include an alternate version of the scene where Count Olaf picks a soda. It shows him practising what he's going to say to Mr Poe after the children get killed by the train.

A deleted shot of the car on the railroad tracks that ended up in the international trailer.

As the children desperately try to foil his plan and divert the train, Count Olaf taste tests different sodas inside the Last Chance General Store and tries to guess their brands. This scene appears in one of the DVD's behind the scenes documentaries.


Footage from a tv spot and this photo shows a deleted moment from the scene where the Baudelaires get taken out of Olaf's custody.

Originally there was to have been a dialogue scene between Mr Poe and the children as he drives them to Uncle Monty's house and pulls into the drive. Intriguingly, this isn't a set photo but an actual still from the movie itself. One that was distributed to members of the press mere weeks before it was set to release.
This means that some version of the scene actually had completed VFX and colour grading before it got cut.
The aforementioned article in CINEFEX Magazine, also makes reference to this cut scene.
"Lousy Lane exteriors were created digitally, inspired by photographs Tang and other members of the crew took in a marshy area north of San Francisco. The exterior environment was created in 3D, from scratch, and was used in 10 shots of the car driving through the marshlands. Locked off establishing shots of Uncle Monty's house were created with 2D matte paintings"
This is notable because the final cut only has three shots featuring the car driving down Lousy Lane, and no 2D Matte Paintings establishing shots of Uncle Monty's house. This suggests that the scene would have been fairly lengthy, at least a minute long.

It's late deletion also explains why, in the finished movie, there's a very jarring cut from the car driving down Lousy Lane, to it pulling into Uncle Monty's driveway.

An alternate shot of Uncle Monty inviting the children into the Reptile Room from the film's second US trailer.

Here we have yet another still from the movie, this one showing a shot of the Incredibly Deadly Viper in its cage. For some reason, most of its scenes and close-ups got cut out of the movie. This one clearly stayed in for most of the post-production process before also being cut.


The DVD's deleted scenes section includes a montage of the children enjoying life at Monty's house. It's unclear whether these were originally meant to be longer scenes or if it was always intended to be like this.

An alternate version of Stephano's entrance from the film's international trailer.

A tv spot for the film shows an alternate line from the scene where the children first meet 'Stephano' where he says that [Count Olaf] "sounds like a very impressive title".


Two different tv spots also show a cut moment where Stephano fiddles with his glasses.

A cut moment from Stephano's conversation with Uncle Monty where he says "and then the unthinkable happened". It can be found in the film's second US trailer.


These behind the scenes photos show an alternate/extended version of the children discovering Uncle Monty's body.


It appears that one point, unlike in the finished film where he barely appears on camera and has few lines, Dr Lucafont would have joined Stephano in a back and forth dialogue with the Police detective and Mr Poe.
Interestingly, if you watch the scene as it plays out in the finished movie, you'll notice that it a number of moments appear to have been swapped around and cut entirely. For example, Lucafont will appear in some shots but then disappear in others.


Not to mention that most of the actual dialogue has clearly been dubbed over footage of the actors' backs and sometimes doesn't even match what they are doing on camera.
The most obvious moment of this is when Lucafont says that going to Peru "could be the only chance for them to get closure" while clearly facing away from everyone else in the scene and not moving his mouth. (This happens at roughly the 15 second mark in the video below)
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Here we have yet another lengthy scene, and indeed an entire supporting character, who appears neither in the movie or on the DVD. Instead of cutting away from the children at Damocles Dock, we would have followed them talking amongst each other as they walked towards the lakeside town.
The footage is from the film's first US trailer.

The children would've then been met by Captain Sam, a kindly local sailboat rental agent who would engage them in a friendly chat while putting up a sign on the dock. (At least, I'm assuming he put the sign up, since it's not there in the footage of the children walking towards the town.)

(Captain Sam was played by Canadian comedian Wayne Flemming, one of Jim Carrey's mentors and someone who often had small roles in his movies.)

This is a set photo of another cut scene between Violet and Klaus, where they would have talked about Aunt Josephine and Klaus' continuing suspicions about their parent's death and Aunt Josephine. Yet another scene from Klaus' character arc that got cut.

This picture shows another scene that would have likely followed that one (since there's no where else it can fit) which would showed the children attempting to relax in Aunt Josephine's creaky and cold home until she called them for lunch.

One of the outtakes on the DVD shows the first half of a scene that ended up being cut out of the film. In the finished movie after Aunt Josephine warns Klaus about going the fridge, it cuts to her asking the children if they would like to see some pictures.
The scene would have had Klaus return to the table as and Aunt Josephine telling the children about lonely she is and how much she misses Ike. Violet asks what her Ike did and Josephine reveals that he was "an explorer and an investigator". The scene is cut off by Kara (Or Shelby) Hoffman falling asleep in the middle of the take and the cast laughing.
Presumably, this would have been followed up by Klaus asking if Ike investigated fires and Aunt Josephine either denying it or being very vague. This would have been payed off later by the moment in the finished film when Klaus sees Ike's room and says "he was investigating fires".

Here we see the fate of the kindly Captain Sam. Josephine asks Captain Sham where he's gone and Olaf tells her that he had to leave as he was getting "that sinking feeling".

This behind the scenes photo also shows that the sign on Captain Sam's booth has now been hastily repainted to read "Captain Sham".

The DVD's outtakes include a short scene of Captain Sham flirting with Aunt Josephine as they stroll through town, walking towards Olaf's car.

One of the DVD's behind the scene documentaries includes a short snippet from the leach attack that didn't end up in the finished movie.

The DVD's deleted scenes contain an extended version of Count Olaf's approach towards the boat which includes him singing a sea shanty in his Captain Sham voice. Which can be heard here.

The deleted scenes also contain this moment where Count Olaf threatens Josephine's life far more directly than in the finished film and laughs at her terror.

Josephine's death was originally much longer and actually seen on screen but much of it also ended up getting cut. Luckily, some of it is also included in the DVD's deleted scenes section.

Originally, the audience was meant to see what every supporting character was up to during the Marvelous Marriage. In this scene from the Bluray's deleted scenes section (it is nowhere to be found on the DVD's), the bald-headed man is the play's only technician, running around making sure everything was being set up correctly.
Arthur and Polly Poe (her only appearance in any adaptation) excitedly make their way through the line at Marvelous Marriage premier. They, like a couple of other characters, were originally going to be commenting on the play as it unfolded.

The Bluray's outtakes show that Count Olaf was going to start off the sequence in his tower room, with the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender applying his makeup and wig.

In this scene, which can be found in the DVD's outtakes section, the critic and the cop would have introduced themselves to each other and begun to comment on the play. The sequence would've kept cutting back to them as various events unfolded and they gave their thoughts on them.


Another deleted scene on the DVD showed one of the White-Faced Women complains to Violet about the unpleasant life of an actor in the theatre while the other enters with Klaus in his camel costume, thus explaining why, in the finished film, he's wearing an odd brown blanket.

The Bluray's deleted scenes include The Hook Handed Man introducing the play and pretending to be a pirate, only to be yanked offstage by an angry Olaf.

This behind the scenes picture shows another cut moment of the Hook-Handed man interacting with the audience. (The Olaf bust done in the style of Brett Helquist's illustrations is a nice touch.)

The bluray's deleted scenes also includes this one of the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender trying to encourage Violet to look on the bright side of things. It doesn't work.

This scene shows the play in full swing as Olaf and the Hook Handed man play two men enlisted in the foreign legion. It appears in the DVD's deleted scenes section.

As the play goes on, Olaf responds to some hecklers (presumably from a section which isn't on the DVD) and throws a bloodied head at the audience.

Olaf gasps in shock when he sees his camel is not Klaus but the Bald Man, whom Klaus has convinced to switch place with, since it will give him a chance to actually be on stage during the show. Olaf angrily demands that the curtain be closed and Klaus found at once. This scene can also be found in the DVD's deleted scene section.

Klaus tries to avoid being found by the Hook0Handed man as he makes his way across the backyard and towards the house. This scene can also be found in the deleted scenes section on the DVD.


This snippet from a tv spot behind the scenes photo shows that there was originally a section of the scene where Violet was seen being led onto the stage.

The DVD's outtakes section includes this alternative version of Count Olaf's supposed punishments. I say supposed because in the original cut none of them were meant to be actually real. At the end of the sequence, Lemony Snicket was supposed to intone that he "wishes this were the story he could tell".

Given that all the effects were finished and it was still appearing in marketing in October/November, it's pretty clear that this was cut very close to release much like the Incredibly Deadly Viper shot and the scene where Mr Poe talked with the children as he drove down Lousy Lane.

HD Footage of Olaf Twirling from the deleted scene, which appeared in the trailer.


These pictures shoe various makeup and costume tests for the original Stephano design. Where he was modelled after swashbuckling European actors like Antonio Banderas, One where he was modelled after European swashbucklers like Antonio Banderas.
It was eventually changed at the last minute and the TRR section was subsequently rewritten. It's unclear how much, if any, footage was filmed with this incarnation but as all of Carrey's other costume fittings and voice improves were filmed in pre-production, it's likely that some footage of it in action does remain.

An easter egg of Jim Carrey playing with the lens while in costume is available on the DVD. It's unclear if this was ever even meant to be a part of the film at any point so I figured it should go here.

An alternate version of the film's logo used in the TV commercials.
after a lot of research, I have finally completed this masterpost of all the deleted and alternate scenes from the 2004 film that I could find solid evidence of. I gathered all my previous deleted scenes posts and put them all in chronological order and replaced most of the images with higher quality copies as well as adding a few new ones, too.
If any of you find pictures, footage etc of deleted/alternate scenes feel free to post them below and I'll add them here (crediting you, of course).
Keep in mind though, while I feel extremely confident about my analysis of these scenes and the order they are placed in, the movie was still being written as it was being shot and edited so not all the scenes may match with each other. Not to mention the fact that my efforts are still partially guesswork, so feel free to offer your own opinions.
This first one isn't a deleted scene per se, instead, it's actually an unfinished version of the Briny Beach section from a promotional disc given out just a few weeks before the movie's release. It has different narration from Lemony Snicket and a temporary score. The scene as it plays in the film is also included below.
As you can see, this movie was still being so drastically recut and restructured mere weeks before it came out, that the narration and music still weren't even close to being finished.


This was meant to be the opening shot of the Briny Beach sequence, with the photograph that Lemony Snicket was looking at dissolving into a wide shot of all 3 children before he introduced them. This specific shot can be found in one of the DVD's bonus documentaries.
However, this whole sequence was massively restructured and cut down to basically just the bare essentials, likely to get to Jim Carrey faster. The movie did keep the photograph dissolve but changed it to be a picture of Violet.


Here we have Violet's rock retriever device, and Violet herself, retrieving... a rock. This sequence was dropped from the film after most of it had been shot so sadly there is no complete version.
At the end of the scene, you can see that Violet looks toward the camera and says her movie catchphrase "there's always something". The idea of the children looking toward the audience and summing up their philosophies is another idea that seems to have been dropped during filming.
Parts of this scene can be found both in the DVD's deleted scene section and in one of the bonus documentaries.
At the end of the scene, you can see that Violet looks toward the camera and says her movie catchphrase "there's always something". The idea of the children looking toward the audience and summing up their philosophies is another idea that seems to have been dropped during filming.
Parts of this scene can be found both in the DVD's deleted scene section and in one of the bonus documentaries.


The sequence where Violet makes her reading light for Klaus was also meant to be much longer scene. Going in-depth on how she fashioned it out of materials she found around the house. This short section was found in one of the DVD's bonus documentaries.


One of the more intriguing deletions is this shot from one of the tv trailers where either Bertrand and or Beatrice calls Violet down for breakfast, a moment which comes directly from Daniel Handler's original screenplay for the Barry Sonnenfeld film.
Apart from fitting the mandate of getting to Jim Carrey faster, this scene also seems to have been removed as part of a movie-wide attempt to downplay any direct and overt references to VFD and the Baudelaire parents. Presumably to leave the studio's casting and writing options open for the potential sequel.


One of the DVD's bonus documentaries contains this deleted moment where we cut from Violet placing the book light down to her putting it on Klaus' head, thus serving as our original introduction to him.


Here we have yet another scene where Violet talks to the camera and introduces herself. Presumably, this was shot to replace the unfinished rock retrieving scene. This too can be found in one of the DVD's bonus documentaries.

This shot of Klaus with his glasses on was likely going to be part of his deleted original introduction, as the film would cut from him wearing Violet's book light, to him putting his glasses on while at Briny Beach. This shot comes from another one of the movie's tv spots.

I'm assuming that in keeping with the Violet section, the movie would then cut to him reading in the library until either Beatrice or Bertrand called him for breakfast. This shot comes from the film's second US trailer.




Presumably, Sunny would also have gotten a little vignette of her own. Likely involving this shot of her chewing on something in her room. This shot comes from yet another one of the movie's tv spots.

Most likely, the scene in the finished film where all the children are seen having breakfast together was originally intended to be the end of this sequence.


In keeping with the format of the children looking at the camera and saying their catchphrase, Klaus would then turn toward the audience and say "never underestimate the power of research".
Funnily enough, these are two different takes of the scene that somehow managed to wind up in a lot of tv commercials, despite the moment being cut from the film itself.

According to an article in CINEFEX Magazine, this short little sequence of Klaus playing with Sunny, which takes place directly during the scene where Lemony narrates about "first impressions" in the final cut, was originally part of the introduction sequence at Briny Beach.
"In a series of flashbacks, the scene establishes Violet (Emily Browning) as the young and brilliant inventor, Klaus (Liam Aiken) as the bookworm, and Sunny as the 'biter' with sharp, serrated teeth. "That is where you find the most remarkable digital Sunny shots," stated Jeff Olson. “They establish that she likes to bite things, and they show her biting a wooden spindle her brother throws for her — like a dog catching a Frisbee. We really establish her character in this scene."
Funnily enough, these are two different takes of the scene that somehow managed to wind up in a lot of tv commercials, despite the moment being cut from the film itself.

According to an article in CINEFEX Magazine, this short little sequence of Klaus playing with Sunny, which takes place directly during the scene where Lemony narrates about "first impressions" in the final cut, was originally part of the introduction sequence at Briny Beach.
"In a series of flashbacks, the scene establishes Violet (Emily Browning) as the young and brilliant inventor, Klaus (Liam Aiken) as the bookworm, and Sunny as the 'biter' with sharp, serrated teeth. "That is where you find the most remarkable digital Sunny shots," stated Jeff Olson. “They establish that she likes to bite things, and they show her biting a wooden spindle her brother throws for her — like a dog catching a Frisbee. We really establish her character in this scene."

Presumably, Sunny would also have gotten a little vignette of her own. Likely involving this shot of her chewing on something in her room. This shot comes from yet another one of the movie's tv spots.

Most likely, the scene in the finished film where all the children are seen having breakfast together was originally intended to be the end of this sequence.

The film's international trailer contains this deleted shot of Mr Poe approaching the children at Briny Beach.


Both of the film's US trailers used different footage of the Baudelaires going through their mansion's ruins, none of which was actually in the finished film itself.

One of the film's tv spots includes this deleted shot of Klaus picking up his sister's book-light. A lot of the evidence I've seen suggests that in the film's first cut, Klaus was originally much more inquisitive and interested in solving the mystery behind the fire than in the final cut.
This seems to have mostly been cut along with (or maybe because of) its relation to the V.F.D. subplot which ended up being mostly sheared out of the movie.


Several tv spots for the film include some deleted shots from the scene where the children first meet Count Olaf.


In this scene, Olaf recites one of Shakespeare's soliloquies on the subject of death and tries to pass it off as his own writing, looking very irritated when Klaus calls him out on it. It can be found in full on the DVD's deleted scenes section.
An alternate version of this scene was shown as a clip, on an Oprah episode that aired on November 24th, 2004. It features different dialogue and acting from Olaf, as well as a fully synched up musical score.
The fact that this scene was still in the movie just a couple of week before release, and differs greatly to the one on the DVD's deleted scenes section (seen below) shows just how much it was getting test screened and re-edited even just a couple of weeks before release.
That it also features a section of Thomas Newman's score that appears on the album but doesn't in the final film, is also further proof of just how much the music was edited in post-production.


Originally, Olaf's tour of his house was going to be much longer and encompass more areas, this got shortened in post-production, likely for timing reasons. This footage can be seen in one of the film's tv spots.


Another aspect that got dropped from this drastically recut sequence, was that the sequence originally focused on the children's reactions to what Olaf was saying. This section, for instance, was going to follow Count Olaf showing them his kitchen and telling them it could use "a little TLC".


This part of the sequence would have featured Count Olaf showing the children his backyard and the run-down stage area in much more detail, setting it up for its appearance in the third act.

A deleted shot from as tv spot showing Olaf scaring Klaus after he asks about the tower. One of the few examples, along with him asking about Monty's spyglass and Aunt Josephine's photo of their parents, of the inquisitive and suspicious Klaus from the first cut that actually survived into the final edit along.

Originally, Lemony Snicket's narration about first impressions often being wrong did not occur directly after the children are locked in their room by Count Olaf.
Instead, a deleted scene featured Violet and Klaus arguing about what to do. Yet again this would have shown off more of the Baudelaire's distinct personalities and approaches towards problem-solving. It can be found in full in the DVD's deleted scenes section.
Violet tells Klaus not to worry about Count Olaf since he just might not be able to make a very good first impression. This scene would then cut to Lemony's narration about first impressions and the Sunny/Klaus flashback.
Instead, a deleted scene featured Violet and Klaus arguing about what to do. Yet again this would have shown off more of the Baudelaire's distinct personalities and approaches towards problem-solving. It can be found in full in the DVD's deleted scenes section.
Violet tells Klaus not to worry about Count Olaf since he just might not be able to make a very good first impression. This scene would then cut to Lemony's narration about first impressions and the Sunny/Klaus flashback.

Much like the sequence where Olaf gives a tour of his house, the montage of the children cleaning also got massively cut down to just a few shots.
Originally it would have followed the children fixing every single part of the house, matching up the exact order of Olaf's tour. My full thanks to urban-letter-opener , who alerted me to this photo's existence.

Another cut part of the montage featured Klaus cleaning up the broken-down stage area at the back of Count Olaf's garden until he's distracted by the daylight reflecting off the magnification lens in the tower room, leading him to wonder what could be up there.
This tiny clip of it can be found in the film's second US trailer.

One of the promotional wallpapers released with the movie also shows a moment after this, where Klaus has taken off the gas mask he was wearing and is looking at the tower with great interest. Yet another example of his inquisitive and suspicion-prone character trait/arc that ended up being cut out of the film.
This would have followed up his asking questions about the tower earlier on the film, and would have subsequently paid off when he found the lens design in Aunt Josephine's house and then eventually the lens itself, in the climax.

The trailer for the movie's video game tie in features this deleted shot of Sunny biting one of Olaf's plates as she cleans it.

This same commercial also contains this deleted shot of Olaf approaching the children.

This scene, where the Hook Handed man tears off his fake hands and threatens the children with his hook was likely cut for being too scary. However, it's deletion ultimately caused massive problems for people like me, who hadn't read the books and thus had no idea he had hook-hands until the scene at the very end.
The movie massively edits the troupe's already small roles into basically being just background characters which is something of a problem since several scenes in the movie revolve around recognizing them instantly, even while in disguise, like the end of the TRR sequence.
However, the scene itself can be found in the DVD's deleted scenes section.
The movie massively edits the troupe's already small roles into basically being just background characters which is something of a problem since several scenes in the movie revolve around recognizing them instantly, even while in disguise, like the end of the TRR sequence.
However, the scene itself can be found in the DVD's deleted scenes section.


In this scene, Count Olaf gives a monologue to his troupe about the nature of acting and how much money they will all soon have thanks to Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. They then settle down for a nice drinking session. This scene can be found in one of the DVD's bonus documentaries.

This photo shows a moment that ended up getting cut from the Puttanesca scene.


In this scene, the troupe all call out characters for Olaf to play while rehearsing their upcoming production of the Marvelous Carriage. Olaf does them all except for the Hook Handed Man's request to play a pirate, which he meets with anger and annoyance.
Each member of the troupe seems to have had their own little subplots which ultimately ended up being discarded in the final product. The Hook Handed Man's being a desire to play pirate characters who share his hook hands so he doesn't have to cover them.
This DVD's outtakes section contains a portion of the scene, but as the attached photo attests, many more bits were left on the cutting room floor.

This photo shows a moment that ended up getting cut from the Puttanesca scene.


In this scene, the troupe all call out characters for Olaf to play while rehearsing their upcoming production of the Marvelous Carriage. Olaf does them all except for the Hook Handed Man's request to play a pirate, which he meets with anger and annoyance.
Each member of the troupe seems to have had their own little subplots which ultimately ended up being discarded in the final product. The Hook Handed Man's being a desire to play pirate characters who share his hook hands so he doesn't have to cover them.
This DVD's outtakes section contains a portion of the scene, but as the attached photo attests, many more bits were left on the cutting room floor.

In another deleted scene that can be found in the DVD's outtakes section, Olaf auditions the White-Faced Women for a role in his play and implies that they only way they'll be able to get the part is if they sleep with him.
The White-Faced Women's cut subplot seems to have been a desire to not only get bigger parts in Count Olaf's shows but also bed him while disliking each other intensely.

The outtakes also contain this sequence, where Olaf coaches the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender through a scene while they are suffering from a bout of stage fright. Their cut subplot seeming to be about a lack of confidence in themselves.

A behind the scenes documentary on the DVD includes this shot from another deleted scene of Olaf chatting with his troupe and getting drunk.

A deleted segment from the scene where Count Olaf impersonates a dinosaur that ended up in one of the TV Trailers.

Another deleted moment from the dinosaur scene, where Olaf wanders around the house and scares Klaus off while he and Violet are cooking the puttanesca. It can be found in the DVD's outtakes section.

The outtakes section also includes another cut moment where Count Olaf lounges around on the ground while the children finish cooking dinner and begin to serve it.


The DVD's deleted scenes includes this cut sequence. After the children fail to serve roast beef, Olaf hops onto the table and destroys all their hard work, leading to thunderous applause from his troupe.



This sequence would have taken place after the scene where the children build their sanctuary. Instead of cutting directly to the custody hearing, all three would have been rudely awakened by Count Olaf who would then drag them out of the house and to the court.
This scene would also have shown the troupe lazing around in a drunken stupor on the house's ground floor with the two white-faced women in a state of undress, implying Olaf had slept with them.
This is a very rough attempt to show how it would've gone with a clip from one of the TV spots spliced into the finished movie.

This scene would likely have followed that one and shows the troupe lazing around in a drunken stupor on the house's ground floor with the two white-faced women in a state of undress, implying Olaf had slept with them. This would explain why the troupe weren't with Olaf at the Courthouse and the Last Chance General store.

This photo shows a moment that was either cut or replaced from the train sequence where Olaf says something very dramatic to the children while wearing his long top hat.

The DVD's outtakes include an alternate version of the scene where Count Olaf picks a soda. It shows him practising what he's going to say to Mr Poe after the children get killed by the train.

A deleted shot of the car on the railroad tracks that ended up in the international trailer.

As the children desperately try to foil his plan and divert the train, Count Olaf taste tests different sodas inside the Last Chance General Store and tries to guess their brands. This scene appears in one of the DVD's behind the scenes documentaries.


Footage from a tv spot and this photo shows a deleted moment from the scene where the Baudelaires get taken out of Olaf's custody.

Originally there was to have been a dialogue scene between Mr Poe and the children as he drives them to Uncle Monty's house and pulls into the drive. Intriguingly, this isn't a set photo but an actual still from the movie itself. One that was distributed to members of the press mere weeks before it was set to release.
This means that some version of the scene actually had completed VFX and colour grading before it got cut.
The aforementioned article in CINEFEX Magazine, also makes reference to this cut scene.
"Lousy Lane exteriors were created digitally, inspired by photographs Tang and other members of the crew took in a marshy area north of San Francisco. The exterior environment was created in 3D, from scratch, and was used in 10 shots of the car driving through the marshlands. Locked off establishing shots of Uncle Monty's house were created with 2D matte paintings"
This is notable because the final cut only has three shots featuring the car driving down Lousy Lane, and no 2D Matte Paintings establishing shots of Uncle Monty's house. This suggests that the scene would have been fairly lengthy, at least a minute long.

It's late deletion also explains why, in the finished movie, there's a very jarring cut from the car driving down Lousy Lane, to it pulling into Uncle Monty's driveway.

An alternate shot of Uncle Monty inviting the children into the Reptile Room from the film's second US trailer.

Here we have yet another still from the movie, this one showing a shot of the Incredibly Deadly Viper in its cage. For some reason, most of its scenes and close-ups got cut out of the movie. This one clearly stayed in for most of the post-production process before also being cut.


The DVD's deleted scenes section includes a montage of the children enjoying life at Monty's house. It's unclear whether these were originally meant to be longer scenes or if it was always intended to be like this.

An alternate version of Stephano's entrance from the film's international trailer.

A tv spot for the film shows an alternate line from the scene where the children first meet 'Stephano' where he says that [Count Olaf] "sounds like a very impressive title".


Two different tv spots also show a cut moment where Stephano fiddles with his glasses.

A cut moment from Stephano's conversation with Uncle Monty where he says "and then the unthinkable happened". It can be found in the film's second US trailer.


These behind the scenes photos show an alternate/extended version of the children discovering Uncle Monty's body.


It appears that one point, unlike in the finished film where he barely appears on camera and has few lines, Dr Lucafont would have joined Stephano in a back and forth dialogue with the Police detective and Mr Poe.
Interestingly, if you watch the scene as it plays out in the finished movie, you'll notice that it a number of moments appear to have been swapped around and cut entirely. For example, Lucafont will appear in some shots but then disappear in others.


Not to mention that most of the actual dialogue has clearly been dubbed over footage of the actors' backs and sometimes doesn't even match what they are doing on camera.
The most obvious moment of this is when Lucafont says that going to Peru "could be the only chance for them to get closure" while clearly facing away from everyone else in the scene and not moving his mouth. (This happens at roughly the 15 second mark in the video below)

CINEFEX Magazine has a still frame from yet another deleted closeup of the Incredibly Deadly Viper.

A deleted shot of Sunny being "attacked" by the Incredibly Deadly Viper that appears in one of the DVD's bonus documentaries.


Another deleted shot of Sunny playing with the Incredibly Deadly Viper also appears in the same bonus documentary.

A deleted shot of Sunny being "attacked" by the Incredibly Deadly Viper that appears in one of the DVD's bonus documentaries.


Another deleted shot of Sunny playing with the Incredibly Deadly Viper also appears in the same bonus documentary.


Here we have yet another lengthy scene, and indeed an entire supporting character, who appears neither in the movie or on the DVD. Instead of cutting away from the children at Damocles Dock, we would have followed them talking amongst each other as they walked towards the lakeside town.
The footage is from the film's first US trailer.

The children would've then been met by Captain Sam, a kindly local sailboat rental agent who would engage them in a friendly chat while putting up a sign on the dock. (At least, I'm assuming he put the sign up, since it's not there in the footage of the children walking towards the town.)

(Captain Sam was played by Canadian comedian Wayne Flemming, one of Jim Carrey's mentors and someone who often had small roles in his movies.)

This is a set photo of another cut scene between Violet and Klaus, where they would have talked about Aunt Josephine and Klaus' continuing suspicions about their parent's death and Aunt Josephine. Yet another scene from Klaus' character arc that got cut.

This picture shows another scene that would have likely followed that one (since there's no where else it can fit) which would showed the children attempting to relax in Aunt Josephine's creaky and cold home until she called them for lunch.

One of the outtakes on the DVD shows the first half of a scene that ended up being cut out of the film. In the finished movie after Aunt Josephine warns Klaus about going the fridge, it cuts to her asking the children if they would like to see some pictures.
The scene would have had Klaus return to the table as and Aunt Josephine telling the children about lonely she is and how much she misses Ike. Violet asks what her Ike did and Josephine reveals that he was "an explorer and an investigator". The scene is cut off by Kara (Or Shelby) Hoffman falling asleep in the middle of the take and the cast laughing.
Presumably, this would have been followed up by Klaus asking if Ike investigated fires and Aunt Josephine either denying it or being very vague. This would have been payed off later by the moment in the finished film when Klaus sees Ike's room and says "he was investigating fires".

Here we see the fate of the kindly Captain Sam. Josephine asks Captain Sham where he's gone and Olaf tells her that he had to leave as he was getting "that sinking feeling".

This behind the scenes photo also shows that the sign on Captain Sam's booth has now been hastily repainted to read "Captain Sham".

The DVD's outtakes include a short scene of Captain Sham flirting with Aunt Josephine as they stroll through town, walking towards Olaf's car.

One of the DVD's behind the scene documentaries includes a short snippet from the leach attack that didn't end up in the finished movie.

The DVD's deleted scenes contain an extended version of Count Olaf's approach towards the boat which includes him singing a sea shanty in his Captain Sham voice. Which can be heard here.

The deleted scenes also contain this moment where Count Olaf threatens Josephine's life far more directly than in the finished film and laughs at her terror.

Josephine's death was originally much longer and actually seen on screen but much of it also ended up getting cut. Luckily, some of it is also included in the DVD's deleted scenes section.

Originally, the audience was meant to see what every supporting character was up to during the Marvelous Marriage. In this scene from the Bluray's deleted scenes section (it is nowhere to be found on the DVD's), the bald-headed man is the play's only technician, running around making sure everything was being set up correctly.
Arthur and Polly Poe (her only appearance in any adaptation) excitedly make their way through the line at Marvelous Marriage premier. They, like a couple of other characters, were originally going to be commenting on the play as it unfolded.

The Bluray's outtakes show that Count Olaf was going to start off the sequence in his tower room, with the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender applying his makeup and wig.

In this scene, which can be found in the DVD's outtakes section, the critic and the cop would have introduced themselves to each other and begun to comment on the play. The sequence would've kept cutting back to them as various events unfolded and they gave their thoughts on them.


Another deleted scene on the DVD showed one of the White-Faced Women complains to Violet about the unpleasant life of an actor in the theatre while the other enters with Klaus in his camel costume, thus explaining why, in the finished film, he's wearing an odd brown blanket.

The Bluray's deleted scenes include The Hook Handed Man introducing the play and pretending to be a pirate, only to be yanked offstage by an angry Olaf.

This behind the scenes picture shows another cut moment of the Hook-Handed man interacting with the audience. (The Olaf bust done in the style of Brett Helquist's illustrations is a nice touch.)

The bluray's deleted scenes also includes this one of the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender trying to encourage Violet to look on the bright side of things. It doesn't work.

This scene shows the play in full swing as Olaf and the Hook Handed man play two men enlisted in the foreign legion. It appears in the DVD's deleted scenes section.

As the play goes on, Olaf responds to some hecklers (presumably from a section which isn't on the DVD) and throws a bloodied head at the audience.

Olaf gasps in shock when he sees his camel is not Klaus but the Bald Man, whom Klaus has convinced to switch place with, since it will give him a chance to actually be on stage during the show. Olaf angrily demands that the curtain be closed and Klaus found at once. This scene can also be found in the DVD's deleted scene section.

Klaus tries to avoid being found by the Hook0Handed man as he makes his way across the backyard and towards the house. This scene can also be found in the deleted scenes section on the DVD.


This snippet from a tv spot behind the scenes photo shows that there was originally a section of the scene where Violet was seen being led onto the stage.

The DVD's outtakes section includes this alternative version of Count Olaf's supposed punishments. I say supposed because in the original cut none of them were meant to be actually real. At the end of the sequence, Lemony Snicket was supposed to intone that he "wishes this were the story he could tell".


Lemony would then show us what really happened as Count Olaf escaped from the theatre before anyone could catch him. Cryptically telling Violet that "there are more of us than there are of you" before yelling that he'll return. Only the second half of this scene is presented on the DVD, in the deleted scenes section.
Bonus Stuff

An HD version of Count Olaf's escape from the final trailer. Bonus Stuff

Given that all the effects were finished and it was still appearing in marketing in October/November, it's pretty clear that this was cut very close to release much like the Incredibly Deadly Viper shot and the scene where Mr Poe talked with the children as he drove down Lousy Lane.

HD Footage of Olaf Twirling from the deleted scene, which appeared in the trailer.


These pictures shoe various makeup and costume tests for the original Stephano design. Where he was modelled after swashbuckling European actors like Antonio Banderas, One where he was modelled after European swashbucklers like Antonio Banderas.
It was eventually changed at the last minute and the TRR section was subsequently rewritten. It's unclear how much, if any, footage was filmed with this incarnation but as all of Carrey's other costume fittings and voice improves were filmed in pre-production, it's likely that some footage of it in action does remain.

An easter egg of Jim Carrey playing with the lens while in costume is available on the DVD. It's unclear if this was ever even meant to be a part of the film at any point so I figured it should go here.

An alternate version of the film's logo used in the TV commercials.