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. |
Created by John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke from a concept
by Mike
Richardson, Richardson devised the idea in 1982 before making a single
sketch of the character 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 Dark Horse Presents #10, 1987. As Badger’s strips began to
grow increasingly political, Richardson ended the strip in order to restore his
original vision and hired Chris Warner
to devise the definitive look of the character. Arcudi and Mahnke were brought
in to create his adventures, and The Mask finally appeared in Mayhem #1, 1989.
Described as “a combination of Tex
Avery and The
Terminator,” the character became incredibly popular. After Mayhem’s cancellation, The Mask
continued on in a series of self-titled mini-series and one-shots.
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| Stanley brings Kathy the mask, which seems to talk to him. |
The
Mask was centered on a magical mask that grants its wearer superhuman
abilities and the power to defy the laws of physics. The wearer can 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, driving them steadily crazy as they become increasingly violent
and destructive. When the mask is worn, the wearer gains a green head with
giant teeth.
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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. Only mute, muscle-bound Walter
could stand up to Big Head’s power. 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 on 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 gained a new confidence and powers that turned him into a living
cartoon, which he used to punish those who had wronged him; from his bullying
landlady, Mrs. Peenman (Nancy
Fish), to auto mechanics that ripped him off. However, mafia officer Dorian
Tyrell (Peter Greene) wanted
the power of The Mask for himself while Lt. Mitch Kellaway (Peter Reigert) and his 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 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 some changes.
Stanley (Rob Paulsen) kept the mask instead of throwing it away in the river.
The Mask himself went from being malicious to simply mischievous, with a
greater heroic stroke than in the film. The Mask’s restriction of only working
at night (due to Loki being a night god as well) 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 times 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 all the characteristics as their boss from the movie (self-serving,
womanizer, letting Stanley do all the work) while maintaining a friendship with
Stanley. Lt. Mitch Kellaway (Neil Ross) and his dim-witted partner, Det. 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 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 during the movie. 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 break serious scoops.
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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
carryover from the comics, the mute strongman who could actually harm The Mask and
split the mask in half; 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 canceled
and his TV fell on him; and Gorgonzola the Cheese Witch (Cree Summer), created through a
contest held by Disney Adventures magazine, who 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, from
friends to several 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 featured a
swing-style like what was featured in 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 show on CBS: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. In it, Milo’s brain is 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 as part of 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. The entire series has been made available to stream on
Amazon
Prime Video.
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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 (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!”
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