The Mask (franchise)

Last updated
The Mask
Created by Mike Richardson
Original work Dark Horse Presents #10 (September 1987)
Owner Dark Horse Entertainment
Years1989–2020
Print publications
Comics
Films and television
Film(s)
Animated series
Games
Video game(s)

The Mask is an American media franchise based on the comic book series of the same name by Mike Richardson. [1] 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.

Contents

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.

Background

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. [2]

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. [3] 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. [4]

Comic books

Films

FilmU.S. release dateDirector(s)Screenwriter(s)Story byProducer(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 KhazeiErica Huggins and Scott Kroopf

The Mask (1994)

Unfortunate bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) finds a magical mask that transforms him into a mischievous, good-hearted gangster with cartoon-like superpowers.

Son of the Mask (2005)

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.

Television

SeriesSeasonEpisodesFirst releasedLast releasedShowrunner(s)Network(s)
The Mask: Animated Series 354August 12, 1995August 30, 1997 Duane Capizzi CBS

The Mask: Animated Series (1995–1997)

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.

Cast and characters

Key
CharacterFilmsAnimated series
The Mask Son of the Mask The Mask:
Animated Series
Season 1Season 2Season 3
Stanley Ipkiss
The Mask
Jim Carrey Rob Paulsen V
Dr. Arthur Neuman Ben Stein Ben Stein V
MiloMax 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" TiltonIvory 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
OtisBear
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

Additional crew and production details

FilmCrew/Detail
Composer(s)CinematographerEditor(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

Video games

The Mask (1995)

A side-scrolling action game based on the first film was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995.

Son of the Mask (2005)

A video game based on the second film, published and developed by Indiagames, was released for mobile phones on February 10, 2005. [5]

Unauthorised adaptations

Between 2018 and 2020, Lance Kawas released four unauthorised short film adaptations of The Mask, receiving a generally positive critical reception: the original-storyline-films Rise of the Mask (2018), Revenge of the Mask (2018), and Rise of the Mask: Odin's 9 (2020), and the The Mask Returns/The Hunt for Green October adaptation Revenge of the Mask 2 (2020). [6] [7] [8] In 2022, Kawas announced that a "supercut" editing these films into one feature-length fan film, featuring an additional 45 minutes of new footage, and also titled Revenge of the Mask, to be in active development. [9]

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References

  1. Sunu, Steve (August 7, 2014). "Exclusive: Richardson Details Dark Horse's "Itty Bitty Mask" Plans". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  2. Brennan, Judy (July 31, 1994). "'Mask' Makes Dark Horse Into Sure Bet for Spinoffs : The booming comic-book publisher gets a multi-picture deal before the Jim Carrey film even opens". Los Angeles Times . ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  3. Read, Ben (May 23, 2016). "THN Exclusive: Chuck Russell talks I Am Wrath, The Mask and Freddy Krueger". The Hollywood News. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  4. Shapiro, Marc (August 1994). "Mask Maker". Starlog . No. 205. pp.  32–35. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  5. "Son of the Mask". GameSpot . Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  6. DeFellipo, Michael (August 23, 2018). "Lance Kawas Readies Horror Thriller Fan Film 'Revenge Of The Mask.'". Horror Society. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  7. Krug, Kurt Anthony (November 26, 2018). "Farmington Hills filmmaker reimagines "The Mask" in YouTube release". The News-Herald . Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  8. Graff, Gary (November 29, 2018). "Detroit filmmaker's darker "Mask" hits YouTube". Royal Oak Tribune . Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  9. Kawas, Lance (August 5, 2022). Revenge of the Mask Supercut "Official Teaser". ROTM Channel 2. Retrieved August 5, 2022 via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)