The first of three Jim Carrey films turned into an
animated series, The Mask: The Animated
Series was based on the film The Mask,
which in turn was based on a series of comics published by Dark Horse.
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| The Masque's first appearance in Dark Horse Presents #10. |
Mike
Richardson devised the idea for the character in 1982 before making a
single sketch of him in 1985 for APA-5;
an amateur press publication created by Mark
Verheiden. After Richardson
started Dark Horse, he pitched the idea to writer/artist Mark Badger. Badger debuted the character as
Masque in 1987’s Dark Horse Presents #10. As Badger’s strips began to grow
increasingly political, Richardson put an end to them in order to restore his
original vision and hired Chris Warner
to devise the definitive look of the character. John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke were brought
in to create his adventures, and The Mask finally appeared in 1989’s Mayhem #1.
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| Stanley brings Kathy the mask, which seems to talk to him. |
Described as “a combination of Tex Avery and The Terminator,” the
character became incredibly popular. The
Mask centered on a magical
mask that granted its wearer superhuman abilities and the power to defy the
laws of physics. The wearer could move at super speed, contort their bodies in
impossible ways, become other people, pull objects out of thin air, heal
quickly and so forth. It amplified the wearer’s hidden desires and caused them
to act on them, while also driving them steadily crazy as they become
increasingly violent and destructive. When the mask was worn, the wearer gained
a large green head with giant teeth. After Mayhem’s
cancellation, The Mask continued on in a series of self-titled mini-series and
one-shots.
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| The Mask's violent rampage in Mayhem #2. |
Stanley Ipkiss was the first wearer, having bought the mask for his girlfriend, Kathy. Stanley violently avenged personal grudges, earning him the name Big Head as his rampages grew more brutal. When Kathy figured out who Big Head was, she killed Stanley and gave the mask to Lt. Mitch Kellaway for safe keeping. Kellaway donned the mask himself and used it to take down a mob family. The mask continued to find its way into the hands of various victims, becoming seduced and warped by its power as they violently acted out their deepest fantasies.
In 1994, The Mask was brought to the big screen by New Line Cinema in an action/comedy film starring Jim Carrey as the titular character. Directed by Chuck Russell off a script by Mike Werb, the film focused on meek pushover Stanley Ipkiss (the original wearer from the comics): a bachelor who lived with his dog, Milo, worked at Edge City Bank, and loved cartoons--particularly Tex Avery’s. Upon finding the mask of Loki, the Norse trickster god, Stanley put it on and became The Mask. As The Mask, Stanley was turned into a living cartoon and used his newfound powers to punish those that wronged him; from his bullying landlady, Mrs. Peenman (Nancy Fish), to auto mechanics that ripped him off. However, mobster Dorian Tyrell (Peter Greene) wanted the power of The Mask for himself while Lt. Mitch Kellaway (Peter Reigert) and his dimwitted partner, Det. Doyle (Jim Doughan), wanted to see The Mask behind bars. All the while, reporter Peggy Brandt (Amy Yasbeck) tried to uncover the story of The Mask while Stanley sought to win the heart of Dorian’s girlfriend, the lovely singer Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz in her first film role).
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| Cha-ching! |
The film was a box-office success, and work was quickly begun on a possible sequel. Carrey was offered $10 million to star, but turned it down due to his negative experience making Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls; noting that revisiting a character offered him no challenges as an actor. Carrey wouldn’t again star in a direct sequel to one of his movies until 2014’s Dumb and Dumber To. With Carrey out, the producers moved forward instead with an animated spin-off that would incorporate some of the ideas for The Mask II throughout its run.
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| Stanley Ipkiss and the dormant mask. |
Developed by Duane Capizzi,
the series picked up right from where the film ended, but with the usual
changes found in adaptations like this. Stanley (Rob Paulsen) kept the mask
instead of getting rid of it. The Mask himself went from being malicious to
simply mischievous with a greater heroic streak than in the film. The Mask’s
restriction of only working at night (due to Loki being a night god) was also
removed, meaning his insane antics could happen 24/7. His favorite hangout with
his friend, Charlie (Mark L. Taylor), the Cocoa Bongo Club, still existed, but
the character of Tina was eliminated completely. Despite being entirely a
cartoon, the show attempted the same balance of reality to counter The Mask’s
cartoonish abilities; but often circumstances would lead even the “real”
elements to be subjected to the laws of cartoon physics. Originally Stanley’s
design looked closer to Carrey’s appearance, but Carrey had asked them to
change it.
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| The Mask turns Pretorius over to Det. Doyle and Lt. Kellaway. |
Charlie was made the manager of the bank where he and Stanley worked, exhibiting
a blend of his film counterpart’s personality with their jerk of a boss’. Kellaway
(Neil Ross) and Doyle (Jim Cummings) continued their relentless quest to
capture and end The Mask’s career; however, Kellaway was portrayed taller and
younger like his comic counterpart. Kellaway was often the recipient of atomic
wedgies (where the back of his underwear was pulled up right over his head)
from The Mask in a running gag. Reporter Peggy Brandt (Heidi Shannon) became
the primary female character of the series, but not a love-interest for Stanley
due to her selling him out to Tyrell in the film. She had attempted to make
amends for her mistake and saved Stanley’s life several times, which was the
only reason he ever helped her on her quest to become a serious and respected
reporter.
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| The Mask vs. Pretorius. |
The show itself took on the vibe of a superhero parody. The police were completely inept as was the Mayor (Kevin Michael Richardson), relying on The Mask to save the city countless times. The Mask was given an arch-enemy in Pretorius (Tim Curry), a mad scientist who placed his head on tiny spider-like robotic legs that could attach to a larger android body. Other colorful foes populated the series with their own agendas or by joining forces with each other. Some of these foes included Walter, a mute strongman who could actually harm The Mask and split the mask in half (he appeared in the comics where Kellaway wore it); The Terrible Two, Dak (Cam Clarke) and Eddie (Jeff Bennett), were two comic book fanboys who tried to give themselves super powers via radiation exposure, turning themselves into Putty Thing and Fish Guy, respectively; Kablamus (Cummings, impersonating Sterling Holloway), became capable of self-explosion after being accidentally dropped into his chemicals while working on an unbreakable balloon formula; Channel Surfer (Gary Owens) teleported through televisions on his surfboard after throwing a fit when his favorite show was cancelled and his TV fell on him; and Gorgonzola the Cheese Witch (Cree Summer), created through a contest held by Disney Adventures magazine, could possess someone via an amulet and turn anything into cheese. Allusions and spoofs to other superheroes from other publishers were common, either in The Mask’s transformations or in the characteristics of his rogues.
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| Milo gets his own turn wearing the mask. |
Remaining from the movie were Stanley’s faithful dog, Milo (Frank Welker); antagonistic landlady, Agnes Peenman (Tress MacNeille), who constantly verbally abused Stanley and ended up the butt of The Mask’s pranks as a result; and Dr. Arthur Newman (Ben Stein), a psychologist who didn’t believe in The Mask’s existence despite having worn it once himself in “Shrink Wrap”. Stein was the only actor from the film to reprise his role; however, there were plans to bring Tyrell, the villain from the movie, back with his henchmen as ghosts, with Greene in talks to reprise his role along with Orestes Matacena as Niko. However, the idea was eventually scrapped. Integrated from the comics was the concept of the mask being worn by multiple people including friends and villains.
The Mask: The Animated Series debuted on CBS on August 12, 1995. Along with Capizzi and
Arcudi, it was written by Dean
Stefan, Ernie Jon, Henry Gilroy, Steve Roberts, Alexx Van Dyne, Marty Isenberg, Robert N. Skir, Brooks Wachtel, Julia Lewald, Mark Seidenberg, Thomas Hart, Sib Ventress, Steve Cuden, John Ludin, Adam Gilad, Ralph Soll, Richard Stanley, Mel Gilden, Stephen Levi, Tracy Berna, John Behnke, Rob Humphrey, Jim Peterson,
Steve Melching, David McDermott, Diane M. Fresco, Bob Ardiel and J.D. Smith. During its
three-season run, The Mask featured three different theme songs. All
were sung by Paulsen and written by Keith Baxter and Christopher Neal Nelson, and featuring a
swing-style reminiscent of the Coco Bongo Club from the film.
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| What else can you expect from a girl named "BaBoom?" |
The second season episode “Flight as a Feather” is rarely seen in American rebroadcasts of the show due to risqué material. The episode depicted the Mayor’s ex-girlfriend, exotic dancer Cookie BaBoom (Summer), crashing one of the Mayor’s many parties looking for revenge on him. She was depicted as wearing nothing but dynamite strapped to her body, and The Mask disarmed her by stripping the dynamite off. Her resulting implied nudity was used to distract Kellaway and Doyle from pursuing him. As a result of the suggestive themes, only certain markets would broadcast the episode when the series went into syndicated reruns.
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| Holy meta crossovers, Batman! |
After three seasons, the series ended its run on CBS and moved into syndication. To end it with a bang, it was decided that the final episode would be a crossover with another Carrey film-based show on CBS: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. In it, Milo’s brain was switched with a scientist’s resulting in his being dognapped, and Stanley called the only person qualified(?) to help: Ace (Michael Daingerfield). The episode, “The Aceman Cometh,” was part one of the crossover, with the second part airing on Ace’s show in the adjoining timeslot.
In 1996, Dark Horse published a comic series set in the world of the show called Adventures of the Mask, which had a 12-page promotional edition sponsored by Toys R Us, and Upper Deck released a set of trading cards. Toy Island made a series of action figures in 1997, although clips from the show were used in advertisements for Kenner’s own toy line based on the movie. Taco Bell also released a set of four figures and other toys in their restaurants, and Kellogg’s included pencil toppers in their cereals. Six VHS tapes were released with through New Line Home Video between 1995 and 1996; each containing two episodes. The opening two-part episode of the series was included on the Son of the Mask DVD (more on that below) as well as given its own individual release. In 2018, Warner Archive released the complete first season to DVD, and later made it available to purchase digitally for the film’s 30th anniversary. The entire series has been made available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, and became one of the debut programs for retro animation channel MeTV Toons in 2024.
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| Joker uses his new powers to re-brand himself in Joker/Mask. |
And what of The Mask himself? In 2000, The Mask met his final fate in the comics with the DC Comics crossover mini-series Joker/Mask. Kellaway followed the mask to Gotham City where it had gotten into the hands (and on the face of) The Joker. With Batman’s help, the mask was removed and Kellaway buried it in Stanley’s grave. 14 years later, the Mask would return to comics in some form in the opening arc of the Dark Horse series Itty Bitty Comics, which took an all-ages approach to established and original characters, and then re-embraced his violent roots in 2019 with The Mask: I Pledge Allegiance to The Mask.
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| Powered boy vs. masked dog in Son of the Mask. |
In 2005, New Line attempted a pseudo-sequel film without Carrey called Son of the Mask. Loki (Alan Cumming) was sent by Odin (Bob Hoskins) to retrieve the
mask. Cartoonist Tim Avery (Jamie
Kennedy) became owner of the mask when his dog, Otis (creating an allusion
to The Adventures of
Milo & Otis, played by Bear), found it in a creek. Conceiving a
child while wearing the mask, Tim’s son Alvey (Ryan and Liam Falconer) was born with
the powers of Loki. Stein again reprised his role as Dr. Newman, and Ross
provided Alvey’s deep voice. The film ended up being a tremendous flop, making
audiences wonder why anyone involved with the production didn’t declare
“SSSSSSSSSomebody stop me!”
Season 1:
“The Mask is Always Greener on the Other Side (Part 1)” (8/12/95) – Stanley tries to get rid of the mask but ends up needing it to save Milo and Peggy from Pretorius.
“A Comedy of Eras” (9/7/96) – Dr. Chronos sends Stanley back to the Salem Witch Trials and he needs to find the mask in order to return home.
“Magic” (7/5/97) – Stanley’s high school crush uses her magic act to commit crimes.
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