Ace Ventura

Last updated
Ace Ventura
Ace Ventura character
AceVenturaFilm.PNG
Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura in
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
First appearance Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Created by
  • Jack Bernstein
Portrayed by Jim Carrey
Voiced by Michael Daingerfield
( Ace Ventura: Pet Detective )
In-universe information
Gender Male
Occupation
  • Pet detective
  • Adventurer
  • Hero
SpouseMelissa Robinson Ventura
ChildrenAce Irwin Ventura Jr.
RelativesRex Ventura (father)

Ace Ventura is a title character created by screenwriter Jack Bernstein. Ace was performed by Jim Carrey in the films Ace Ventura: Pet Detective , released in 1994, and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls , released in 1995, and was voiced by Michael Daingerfield in the Ace Ventura: Pet Detective television series.

Contents

Biography

Ace is a Miami-based private detective specializing in the retrieval of missing animals, the son of Rex Ventura and descendant of such as "Ernest Ventura Shackleton" and "Jacques Ventura Costeau". It is not known whether the animated television series was contiguous with the feature-films, but if it was it may take place before them because the only one of his pets to appear in the series is his capuchin monkey, Spike. His eccentricities make him a laughing stock to the Miami-Dade Police Department in the early part of the first film, but he eventually earned their respect after his rescue of quarterback Dan Marino and the dolphin, Snowflake, the mascot of the Miami Dolphins.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

During the first film, Ace lives in an apartment alongside many different animals, all of whom hide from his landlord (to whom he owes money for rent), Mr. Shickadance (Mark Margolis) in his absence. He is tasked with not only finding a stolen dolphin, but also trying to prevent the kidnapping of Dan Marino from a psychopath ex-football player, Ray Finkle, bent on revenge for costing the Dolphins the game with the botched field goal against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX. He is certain that Finkle is the man responsible, but he can't find Finkle. Ace also learns of a missing hiker who coincidentally is named Lois Einhorn, who is a lieutenant of the Miami Police department and tries to figure out the connection she has with his suspect. Eventually, Ace not only discovers the connection that Finkle has with Einhorn, but also that they're the same person in disguise. As the real Lois Einhorn was still missing, Finkle had used the opportunity to steal her identity by having a sex-change and then joined the police force as part of his plan for revenge. Disgusted by the thought that when he had been previously kissed by Einhorn, he had actually been kissed by a man, Ace spends the night rinsing his mouth out and washing himself. Following Einhorn to the hideout inside a wharf, he tries to test his theory on her, but finds a normal feminine body and actual hair. Before Ace was about to give up, Marino secretly alerts him to a bulge sticking between her legs. With concrete proof, Ace makes a short humiliating speech at Einhorn while revealing to the entire Miami PD about her true motive in killing Roger Podacter, when he discovered her true identity as Finkle ("He found Captain Winky!"). He proves it by forcibly turning Einhorn over to reveal the bulge sticking out of her silk panties. Everyone in the PD, as well as Marino and Snowflake, reacts in disgust when they learned that Finkle had kissed them the same way as Ace. Now humiliated and exposed, Finkle makes his last attempt to kill Ace out of revenge, but he flips him over into the wharf. As he attempts to pull himself up, Ace steps over Finkle's hand and takes the ring which was indeed missing a stone to finalize his theory that Einhorn is no doubt the disgraced Ray Finkle. Ace begins a relationship with Miami Dolphins' press officer, Melissa Robinson, while Finkle is arrested for his crimes.

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

During the second film, Ace attempts monasticism after a failed rescue attempt of a raccoon, only to be called out of retirement to investigate a missing sacred animal named Shikaka, although he has a severe fear of bats. During meditation with the Abbot, he discovers Vincent Cadby who originally hired him to find the bat is the same kidnapper who wanted the war to happen so he can take control of the guano deposits there. His motive for hiring Ace was to have an alibi, that he tried to prevent the war. He thwarts Cadby's plans to have the two tribes go to war and returns the sacred bat. After the marriage between the Wachati chief's daughter and Tiny Warrior, Ace is eventually hunted down by both tribes, implying he had something to do with the princess no longer being a virgin.

Family and Ace Irwin Ventura Jr.

By the events portrayed in Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective , it is established that after resolving his case in Africa, Ace returned to Miami and started a family. He married Melissa and they had a son, Jr., but Ace has disappeared somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, and never appears in the film itself. [1] However, Ace Jr. inherited his ability to discern trouble, which he must rely on when he must assist in finding his classmates' pets along with the missing animals and clear his mother's name when she is accused of the theft. Ace Jr. believes her innocence and seeks the help of his grandfather, Rex, to help him investigate the whole thing. They begin to suspect that one of his classmates was involved in the theft and with the help of A-Plus, Ace Jr. suspects that Pennington Jr. had been involved with Dr. Sickenger (who is insane). Sickenger is found to be innocent and he helps lead Ace Jr. along with Rex to the true culprit, Quinton Pennington Sr. After finding the animals in the Pennington family home, Pennington Sr. confesses to his crime, admitting that he stole the pets along with the famous animals because he was trying to keep his son happy. He eventually got fed up with his spoiled nature when he refused to be satisfied. Melissa is cleared of the theft charges and Pennington Sr. is arrested for his crimes. Ace Jr. is rewarded as a hero for his efforts.

Personality

Ace Ventura is an eccentric self-styled "pet detective" who forsook regular police work to concentrate on this latter pursuit. Like other fictional detectives, he is notable for extraordinary powers of observation and deduction: he also possesses the ability to "understand" animals, and on at least one occasion, he has managed to escape being shot by catching a bullet in his teeth and is shown to be a capable hand to hand fighter.

Ventura's eccentricities include his persistent vulgarity and sarcastic tendencies, coupled with his exceedingly flamboyant behavior ranging from often imitating famous actors to crack jokes, to pronouncing the word loser as "Loo-hoo-Zu-her" as a form of disrespect; despite this, he is a dedicated detective, driven by an insatiable adoration of animals and a desire to protect them from human mistreatment. In Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective , it is implied that his abilities, personality, and appearance are hereditary. Although Ace is an animal lover, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls reveals that he has a deep-seated fear of bats.

Ace as he appears in the animated series AceVenturaAnimated.PNG
Ace as he appears in the animated series

In most appearances, Ace usually wears an unbuttoned Aloha shirt over a plain white A-shirt, with red and black striped trousers and black engineer boots.

Crossover with The Mask

In the episode "The Aceman Cometh" of The Mask: Animated Series , when Milo, the pet dog of Stanley Ipkiss, was stolen by Dr. Pretorius, Ipkiss calls Ace for help. Both Ipkiss/the Mask and Ace Ventura were the animated versions of characters portrayed by Jim Carrey himself. The crossover continued in the Ace Ventura: Pet Detective episode "Have Mask, Will Travel", in which Ace accidentally wears the mask on his buttocks, which assumes a face similar to his own and gains the ability to speak, suggesting a joke featured in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective of speaking while presenting his rump to the listener and moving it in semblance of a speaking mouth.

Reception

Ace was ranked the 59th Greatest Movie Character in a November 2008 list by Empire . [2] Despite his popularity, he was also voted one of the most annoying film characters ever in a British online poll. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XIX</span> 1985 Edition of the Super Bowl

Super Bowl XIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1984 season. The 49ers defeated the Dolphins by the score of 38–16, to win their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 20, 1985, at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, the first Super Bowl played in the San Francisco Bay Area. This also became the second Super Bowl after Super Bowl XIV where the game was coincidentally played in the home market of one of the participants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Carrey</span> Canadian-American actor and comedian (born 1962)

James Eugene Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy television series In Living Color (1990–1994). He broke out as a star in motion pictures with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber. This was followed up with Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Batman Forever and Liar Liar (1997).

<i>Ace Ventura: Pet Detective</i> 1994 film by Tom Shadyac

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is a 1994 American comedy film starring Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura, an animal detective who is tasked with finding the abducted dolphin mascot of the Miami Dolphins football team. The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, who wrote the screenplay with Jack Bernstein and Jim Carrey. The film co-stars Courteney Cox, Tone Loc, Sean Young, and then-Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and features a cameo appearance from death metal band Cannibal Corpse.

<i>Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls</i> 1995 American film directed by Steve Oedekerk

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls is a 1995 American detective comedy film and the sequel to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), and the second installment of the Ace Ventura franchise. Jim Carrey reprises his role as the title character Ace Ventura, a detective who specializes in retrieval of tame and captive animals, and has been summoned to Africa to locate a missing bat. Ian McNeice, Simon Callow, and Sophie Okonedo co-star. Tommy Davidson, who co-starred with Carrey on the show In Living Color, makes a cameo appearance in the film. The film was written and directed by Carrey's close friend Steve Oedekerk, who had also collaborated in the production and as a character consultant for the first film.

<i>Liar Liar</i> 1997 American fantasy comedy film by Tom Shadyac

Liar Liar is a 1997 American satirical fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur. It stars Jim Carrey as a lawyer who built his entire career on lying but finds himself cursed to speak only the truth for a single day, during which he struggles to maintain his career and to reconcile with his ex-wife and son whom he alienated with his pathological lying.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace the Bat-Hound</span> DC Comics character

Ace the Bat-Hound is a superhero dog appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is commonly featured as the canine crime-fighting partner of Batman and as an ally of other animal superheroes, such as Krypto, Streaky and the Legion of Super-Pets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Oedekerk</span> American filmmaker, actor, and stand-up comedian (born 1961)

Steven Brent Oedekerk is an American filmmaker, actor, and stand-up comedian. He is best known for his collaborations with actor and comedian Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac, his series of "Thumbmation" shorts and his film Kung Pow! Enter the Fist (2002), along with his films Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Santa vs. the Snowman 3D, Barnyard and The Nutty Professor remake.

Scott Allan Norwood is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for seven seasons with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He also played for the Birmingham Stallions in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons. As Buffalo's placekicker from 1985 to 1991, Norwood led the league in scoring for the 1988 season and played in their first two Super Bowl appearances. Despite his accomplishments, he is best known for missing a game-winning field goal attempt at the end of Super Bowl XXV.

<i>The Mask</i> (1994 film) Film by Chuck Russell

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 installment in the Mask franchise, based on the comics 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 green mask that transforms him into the Mask, a green-faced troublemaker with the ability to animate and alter himself and his surroundings at will. Filming began on August 30, 1993, and concluded in October 1993.

Peter Stoyanovich is an American football placekicker of Macedonian descent. His father Mijalce and his mother Slobodanka are from Ljubojno, North Macedonia. He played with the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and briefly the St. Louis Rams in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Dolphins in the eighth round of the 1989 NFL Draft. He attended college at Indiana University where he played both football and soccer.

<i>Ace Ventura: Pet Detective</i> (TV series) Canadian animated series based on the film of the same name

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is an animated television series based on the film of the same name. The series was produced by Morgan Creek Productions, Funbag Animation Studios, Nelvana Limited, for the first two seasons and Odyssey Entertainment for the third and final season. It aired for two seasons from 1995 to 1997 on CBS. A third season and reruns of previous episodes aired on Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2000.

<i>The Mask: Animated Series</i> American TV series or program

The Mask: Animated Series is an American animated television series based on the 1994 film of the same title. The series ran 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolphins–Jets rivalry</span> National Football League rivalry

The Dolphins–Jets rivalry is a rivalry between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets in the National Football League (NFL). The teams both play in the AFC East division, and play two scheduled games each season as a result. They have often competed for divisional supremacy, and have played a number of classic games. Currently, the Dolphins lead the series 58–56–1, while the Dolphins have won the lone postseason meeting, defeating the Jets in the 1982 AFC Championship.

T.D. is the official mascot of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins' official website jokingly states that T.D. was signed on April 18, 1997 by former head coach Jimmy Johnson. The Dolphins conducted a "Name the Mascot" contest that drew over 13,000 entries, covering all 50 states and 22 countries. 528 names were suggested and the winning entry was announced at the annual Dolphins Awards Banquet on June 4, 1997. T.D. first appeared at a Dolphins home game on August 10, 1997 against the Chicago Bears; his first Dolphins home playoff appearance was January 2, 1999 in a win against the Buffalo Bills. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and was the first NFL mascot to participate in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio in 2001. He was invited to Hong Kong to participate in the 2005 Chinese New Year's Day Parade, and recently on May 2, 2015, T.D. was invited to participate at 2015 NFL Draft Town in Chicago, Illinois.

<i>Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective</i> American TV series or program

Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective is a 2009 American made-for-television adventure comedy film standalone sequel to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, without involvement from either lead actor Jim Carrey nor writer Steve Oedekerk. The third installment in the Ace Ventura franchise, it began production in Orlando, Florida on September 17, 2007, and was directed by David M. Evans and written by Jeff Sank, Jason Heimberg, and Justin Heimberg.

<i>The Mask</i> (comics) Comic book series

The Mask is an American comic book series created by Doug Mahnke and John Arcudi and published by Dark Horse Comics. Its artists include Mark Badger, Chris Warner and Keith Williams. The series tells the story of a supernatural mask that grants its wearers nearly limitless power, often at the cost of their sanity. The original trilogy of The Mask, The Mask Returns, and The Mask Strikes Back was published as a limited series, from 1991 to 1995, and has since expanded into various spin-offs and other media. The series is known for its dark tone and graphic violence.

<i>Ace Ventura</i> (franchise) Media franchise created by Jack Bernstein

The Ace Ventura franchise, originally created by Jack Bernstein, consists of American detective-comedies, with two theatrical films, one made-for-television film, and one animated television series. The overall story follows the criminal investigations of the titular and comedic pet detective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Carrey filmography</span> Actor filmography

Jim Carrey is a Canadian actor and comedian who has appeared in various feature films, television films/series, along with one video game appearance. He is one of the top-50 highest-grossing actors of all time at the North American box office, with over $2.5 billion total gross and an average of $94.3 million per film. He has been involved with thirteen films that grossed over $250 million at the worldwide box office; the highest-grossing film being Bruce Almighty. Carrey gained his first lead role on the short-lived television series The Duck Factory in 1984, playing a young cartoonist. His first starring role in film was the 1985 comedy horror Once Bitten, with Lauren Hutton as a vampire countess and Carrey playing her victim. He landed supporting roles in films, such as Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), The Dead Pool (1988) and Earth Girls Are Easy. In 1990, Carrey received his commercial breakthrough on Fox's In Living Color (1990–1994), where he displayed his character work.

The 1st Blockbuster Entertainment Awards were held on June 3, 1995 at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. The awards originally had categories for both video and theatrical releases. Below is a complete list of winners.

Bohdan Tůma is a Czech actor and voice actor. He is one of the most famous actors in the dubbing industry of Czech Republic, being the main voice actor for Jack Black, Jim Carrey and Denzel Washington.

References

  1. Puccio, John J. (February 18, 2009). "ACE VENTURA JR.: PET DETECTIVE - DVD review". Movie Metropolis. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  2. "60. Ace Ventura". Empire. November 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2008.
  3. Handy, Bruce (June 2015), "The Daring Genesis of J.J. Abrams's Star Wars: The Force Awakens", Vanity Fair , retrieved November 7, 2015