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The Mask | |
---|---|
Created by | Michael Fallon Mark Verheiden |
Original work | The Mask (1994) |
Owners | Dark Horse Comics Films and TV series: Warner Bros. Entertainment |
Years | 1994–present |
Based on | The Mask by Mike Richardson and Mark Badger |
Films and television | |
Film(s) | The Mask Son of the Mask (2005) |
Animated series | The Mask: Animated Series |
Games | |
Video game(s) | The Mask (1994) |
The Mask is an American media franchise based on the comic book series of the same name by Dark Horse Comics. It revolves around a mask that gives various individuals cartoonish and god-like superpowers. The individuals are ultimately faced with the challenge of overcoming the obstacles and conflicts they create while wearing it.
The first film, The Mask, was released in 1994 after six years of development, with a stand-alone sequel, Son of the Mask , released in 2005. An animated series was also produced and ran for three seasons. The first film was widely successful, while the second film was critically panned and a box-office failure.
In 1989, Mike Richardson and Todd Moyer, respectively the founder and Executive Vice President of Dark Horse Comics, first approached New Line Cinema about adapting the comic series The Mask into a film, after having seen other offers. The main character went through several transformations, and the project was stalled a couple of times. [1]
With New Line Cinema initially intending for The Mask to start a new horror franchise, the company offered the job of directing the film to Charles Russell, known for directing such films. [2] However, Russell found the violence of the comic to be off-putting, and wanted the film to be less grim and more fun than the source material. [3]
Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Mask | July 29, 1994 | Chuck Russell | Mike Werb | Michael Fallon and Mark Verheiden | Bob Engelman |
Son of the Mask | February 18, 2005 | Lawrence Guterman | Lance Khazei | — | Erica Huggins and Scott Kroopf |
Unfortunate bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) finds a magical mask that transforms him into a mischievous, good-hearted gangster with cartoon-like superpowers.
After Loki (Alan Cumming) is dispatched to Earth to retrieve the Mask, cartoonist Tim Avery (Jamie Kennedy) inadvertently uses it to conceive a child, who inherits its powers.
On the possibility of a direct sequel to the 1994 film with Carrey reprising the role of Stanley Ipkiss and Diaz as Tina Carlyle, Mike Richardson said in a 2014 interview: "We've been talking about reviving The Mask, both in film and in comics. We've had a couple of false starts". [4] In December 2024, Carrey revealed that he was still interested in portraying the Mask a sequel as long as the idea is good. [5]
Series | Season | Episodes | First released | Last released | Showrunner(s) | Network(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Mask: Animated Series | 3 | 54 | August 12, 1995 | August 30, 1997 | Duane Capizzi | CBS |
Stanley Ipkiss (voiced by Rob Paulsen) continues to use the magical mask to fight crime and the supervillains as the mischievous, cartoonish, good-hearted superhero known as the "Mask", while having fun and partying at the same time. In this continuity, Stanley still has the mask. He either pretended to throw it away, or Milo retrieved it from the river. As well, in this series, Stanley can use the mask during both day and night, whereas in the film, it only worked at night.
Key
- A V indicates the actor or actress lent only his or her voice for his or her film character.
Character | Films | Animated series | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Mask | Son of the Mask | The Mask: Animated Series | |||||
Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | |||||
Stanley Ipkiss The Mask | Jim Carrey | Rob Paulsen V | |||||
Dr. Arthur Neuman | Ben Stein | Ben Stein V | |||||
Milo | Max | Frank Welker V | |||||
Lt. Mitch Kellaway | Peter Riegert | Neil Ross V | |||||
Detective Doyle | Jim Doughan | Jim Cummings V | |||||
Charlie Schumaker | Richard Jeni | Mark L. Taylor V | |||||
Peggy Brandt | Amy Yasbeck | Heidi Shannon V | |||||
Mayor Mitchell "Mortimer" Tilton | Ivory Ocean | Kevin Michael Richardson V | |||||
Dorian Tyrell The Mask | Peter Greene | ||||||
Tina Carlyle | Cameron Diaz | ||||||
Niko | Orestes Matacena | ||||||
Loki God of Mischief | Alan Cumming | ||||||
Tim Avery The Mask | Jamie Kennedy | ||||||
Alvey Avery Son of the Mask | Ryan and Liam Falconer | ||||||
Joyce Kurtz V | |||||||
Mona Marshall V | |||||||
Mary Matilyn Mouser V | |||||||
Neil Ross V | |||||||
Tonya Avery | Traylor Howard | ||||||
Otis | Bear | ||||||
Bill Farmer V | |||||||
Richard Steven Horvitz V | |||||||
Odin | Bob Hoskins | ||||||
Daniel Moss | Steven Wright | ||||||
Jorge | Kal Penn | ||||||
Chad | Ryan Johnson | ||||||
Betty | Magda Szubanski | ||||||
Doctor Septimus Pretorius | Tim Curry |
Film | Crew/Detail | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Composer(s) | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | ||
The Mask | Randy Edelman | John R. Leonetti | Arthur Coburn | New Line Productions AFI Catalog of Feature Films Dark Horse Entertainment | New Line Cinema | 101 minutes | |
Son of the Mask | Randy Edelman | Greg Gardiner | Malcolm Campbell, John Coniglio and Debra Neil Fisher | Radar Pictures Dark Horse Entertainment | New Line Cinema (United States) Warner Bros. Pictures (Germany) | 94 minutes |
A side-scrolling action game based on the first film was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995.
James Eugene Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian primarily known for his energetic slapstick performances. After spending the 1980s honing his comedy act and playing supporting roles in films, Carrey gained recognition when he was cast in the American sketch comedy television series In Living Color (1990–1994). He broke out as a film star after starring in a string of box office hits, such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, and Batman Forever. The success of these five films led to Carrey being the first comic actor to receive an upfront $20 million salary for performing in films, beginning with The Cable Guy (1996).
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon, comic book shops known as Pegasus Books and founded in 1980.
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Son of the Mask is a 2005 superhero comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman. A standalone sequel to The Mask (1994), it is the second film in The Mask franchise, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Dark Horse Comics. The film stars Jamie Kennedy as Tim Avery, an aspiring animator whose child is born with the powers of the Mask. It co-stars Alan Cumming as Loki, whom Odin has ordered to find the Mask, alongside Traylor Howard, Kal Penn, Steven Wright, Bob Hoskins as Odin, and Ryan and Liam Falconer as Tim's baby Alvey. Ben Stein cameos as Doctor Arthur Neuman from the original film. The film was a critical and financial failure upon release, grossing $59.9 million against its $84–100 million budget.
The Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film directed by Chuck Russell and produced by Bob Engelman from a screenplay by Mike Werb and a story by Michael Fallon and Mark Verheiden. It is the first film in the Mask franchise, based on the comic book series of the same name by Mike Richardson, published by Dark Horse Comics. It stars Jim Carrey in the title role along with Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni, and Cameron Diaz in her film debut. Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, an ordinary man who finds a magical wooden mask that transforms him into the titular green-faced troublemaker who can cartoonishly alter himself and his surroundings at will. Filming began on August 30, 1993, and concluded in October 1993.
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The Mask is a 1995 side-scrolling action video game created by American studio Black Pearl Software for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System which is based on the film of the same name. The film, in turn, was loosely based on the Dark Horse comic book series of the same name.
The Mask: Animated Series is an American animated television series based on the 1994 film of the same title. The series aired for a total of three seasons and fifty-four episodes from August 12, 1995, to August 30, 1997. It spawned its own short-run comic book series, Adventures of The Mask. John Arcudi, former writer of the original comics, wrote two episodes of the series. The Mask was one of three animated series based on Jim Carrey movies that premiered the same year. These included the 1995–2000 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective series, and the 1995–1996 Dumb and Dumber series.
The Mask may refer to:
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