The Mask: Animated Series

The Mask: Animated Series is an American superhero animated television series based on the Dark Horse comic book series and its film adaptation.^[2] The series aired for a total of three seasons and fifty-four episodes from August 12, 1995, to August 30, 1997.^[3] 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 films that premiered the same year. These included the 1995–2000 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective series, and the 1995–1996 Dumb and Dumber series.^[4]

The Mask: Animated Series focuses on the adventures of insecure bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss, who is often belittled or humiliated by others, while thrust into situations he sometimes hates to be caught in. To cope with life, he frequently uses an ancient mask that transform the wearer into a superpowered being based on the wearer's personality and mindset. In Stanley's case, his alter ego, referred to as The Mask, is a mischief maker who loves to party, but will save the day when something he loves is threatened or if a villian gets on his bad side, and uses powers that operate per "cartoon" law - a result of Stanley's love for cartoons. Often Stanley tends to find his alter ego a handful to cope with, especially when forming relationships with women, and often tries to abstain from using the mask but finds it often is needed when the situation requires the intervention of the Mask. The pair are often helped by Stanley's two closest friends: his dog Milo, who sometimes wears the mask either intentionally or by accident; and reporter Peggy Brandt, who is aware of his secret, and often gets in trouble when investigating a possible criminal act being committed.

Most episodes consist of a plot in which the Mask needs to defeat a villian causing havoc, while in some episodes Stanley finds himself having to recover the mask either because he loses it or someone else wears it, becoming superpowered but with a personality that is unstable. While the series is an adaptation of the 1994 film, the writers changed events pertaining to Stanley's acquisition of the mask, including writing out certain characters from the film, and establishing that Peggy was not killed (as per the original edit of the film).

• Stanley Ipkiss/The Mask (voiced by Rob Paulsen) –a shy and insecure bank clerk who found himself in possession of the mask of Loki, which turns him into a wisecracking, fun-loving, mischievous green-faced entity with superpowers that allow him to cartoonishly alter reality at will. Stanley and The Mask each have a distinct personality, such as Stanley being shy and meek, while the Mask is loud and confident, and refer to the other as a separate person, and display a brotherly rivalry. Stanley is conflicted about the mask and on several occasions tries to dispose of it but is forced to use the mask to get out of trouble, eventually coming to rely on it to fight supernatural enemies. During the late 1990s, Rob Paulsen discussed his role and the payment he got on the American TV talk show Donny & Marie, remarking that he got "to be Jim Carrey for a whole lot less cake."^[5]
• Milo (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) – Stanley's dog (a Jack Russell Terrier) and loyal sidekick. He is also a frequent wearer of the mask, and is shown to be quite intelligent, able to understand some of the human language.
• Lt. Mitch Kellaway (voiced by Neil Ross) – A grumpy and arrogant detective lieutenant of the Edge City Police Department who is overzealous in blaming The Mask for every big crime and disaster, and linking The Mask to other criminals and villains. For this attention, Kellaway is a frequent victim of atomic wedgies from The Mask.
• Detective Doyle (voiced by Jim Cummings) – Lieutenant Kellaway's dimwitted and lazy partner, who is somewhat friendly to the Mask and thinks of him more of a hero than a villain.
• Peggy Brandt (voiced by Heidi Shannon) – A tabloid reporter who mends her friendship with Stanley by rescuing him several times after having sold him out to the mob. Her career ambitions often put her in compromising situations from which The Mask rescues her. She is resourceful in outwitting certain rogues, and shows a motherly affection for The Mask.
• Charlie Schumacher (voiced by Mark L. Taylor) – The manager of the bank where Stanley works. He is Stanley’s best friend. He usually looks out for himself, pursues women, and takes advantage of Stanley as his friend. Although he promises to help Stanley's career, he is unhappy when Stanley finds success.

• Dr. Arthur Neuman (voiced by Ben Stein) – Stanley's therapist and the only character to be voiced by the same actor from the film. He believes that "The Mask" is the suppressed side of Stanley who wants to be outrageous and impulsive. In one episode he wears the mask and becomes a psychotic, delusional, cartoonish and polite supervillain who believes a disorder called Ipkissia Maskosis is the cause of people believing the Mask is real and teamed up with Pretorius to archive it.
• Mayor Mortimer Tilton (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) – The corrupt mayor of Edge City. Despite his selfishness, Tilton is a person of genuine gratitude and often thanks The Mask for saving the city and frees him from any legal trouble that he causes. This is opposite of the film version of Tilton, who is more straightforward and compassionate of ending corruption.
  • Smedley (voiced by Cam Clarke) – Tilton's nerdy assistant.
• Agnes Peenman (voiced by Tress MacNeille) – Stanley's cranky landlord.

• Doctor Septimus Pretorius (voiced by Tim Curry) – The primary antagonist of the series. He is a mad scientist who had his own head removed from his body and placed on tiny, spider-like robotic legs, which could attach to a larger android body. His plans revolve around either obtaining or controlling the mask, or increasingly insane and deadly scientific experiments. Pretorius is one of the few characters in the series aware of The Mask's true identity.
  • Walter – Pretorius's mute, indestructible goon.
  • Pretorius's Henchmen (various voices) – The henchmen of Pretorius are shown to wear black and purple outfits. They are often seen carrying out criminal errands to prepare for his criminal plots.
• Lonnie the Shark (voiced by Glenn Shadix) – A biker gang leader who has sharp teeth and a hairdo that resembles a shark's fin.
  • Pete (voiced by Charlie Adler) – Lonnie the Shark's lazy sidekick, who makes an excuse of "feeling pain" on any part of his body to ditch the gang's dirty work for his fat companions.
  • Biff, Muffy, and Brad – The three tough members of Lonnie the Shark's biker gang.
• The Terrible Two – Dak (voiced by Cam Clarke) and Eddie (voiced by Jeff Bennett) are two slow-witted, comic-book obsessed teenage boys who exposed themselves to radiation with the intention of becoming superheroes. Dak was transformed into "Putty Thing", a humanoid creature made of clay who can shapeshift and possesses superhuman strength. Eddie became "Fish Guy", a talking fish who has no powers and cannot swim or breathe underwater.
• Skillit (voiced by Jason Marsden in season one and by Benny Grant in season two) – A mischievous imp who hails from the Shadowland, and can suck the shadows from people, which preserves his youth while aging his victims. He is over 4,000 years old and has known everyone who possessed the mask.
• Kablamus (voiced by Jim Cummings) – Joe Blow is a green-haired man who had a chemical accident while experimenting on an unbreakable balloon, and gained the power to blow himself up like a balloon and explode without dying.
• Willamina Bubask (voiced by Conchata Ferrell) – A female criminal whose known crimes were dognapping, grand theft auto, and assaulting a police precinct. While Stanley was competing in a chili cook-off, Milo stumbled upon her dog-napping activities, to have dogs taste-test each recipe for Cheap Chucky. She has an unrequited love for Walter, who she met in prison.
  • Cheap Chucky – A crime partner of Willamina Bubask, who was defeated by Milo and later arrested by the police.
• Don Julovit (voiced by Cam Clarke in a Spanish accent) – The greatest bandit from Lispan. He arrived in Edge City for a crime in which every villain dressed as Santa Claus.
• Dynamite Joe (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – An explosives expert who disguises himself as Santa Claus for a crime spree.
• Chet Bozzack (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) – Stanley's reformed high school bully whose dark urges are reawakened when he accidentally wears half of the broken mask.
• Dr. Amelia Chronos (voiced by Victoria Carroll) – A mad scientist who builds time-manipulation devices that cause chaos as she seeks world dominance.
• Colonel Beauregard Klaxon (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A southern businessman who dumps nuclear waste under the city stadium, resulting in a monster abducting the city's sports team.
  • Billy Bob – Klaxon's henchman.
• Cookie Baboom (voiced by Cree Summer) - An exotic dancer and Mayor Tilton's former lover. She threatens to kill herself and assassinate Tilton during the Mayor's Bavariaville Day announcement.
• Channel Surfer (voiced by Gary Owens) – A madman with a gliding surfboard who teleports through televisions and can manipulate electricity and television content.
• Gorgonzola the Cheese Witch (voiced by Charity James) – An ancient villainess, she returns when her amulet is uncovered from a Mesopotamian tomb. Her powers include the Cheese-Eye (an eye laser that turns anything into cheese) and the Shot-Cheddar (an extra-sharp cheddar cheese arrow, that is fired from Gorgonzola's palm). Gorgonzola was created as the winner of a contest held by Disney Adventures to create a new villain for the series.
• Sly Eastenegger (voiced by Neil Ross) – An action star who tries to take revenge upon his critics by detonating a nuclear bomb during the filming of his movie.
  • Director (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) – An unnamed film director who looks like Steven Spielberg and helps Sly in his plot.
• Phony Frenchman (voiced by Jess Harnell) – A patriotic French terrorist with a bad French accent.
• The Devil (voiced by Jonathan Harris) – First appearing as Bub, he signs a contract to make Stanley a winner without using the mask, but then tries to take him and The Mask to Hell as payment. The Mask is able to save them by defeating the Devil in a dance competition.
• The Tempest (voiced by Bud Cort) – Alter ego of Fritz Drizzle, a former weatherman who was struck by lightning and gained weather-control abilities.
• The Hood (voiced by Jess Harnell) – A criminal wanted for loan sharking, smuggling, jewel heists, and other crimes. As Lawrence Lorenzo, he was hired to be the police chief, but kidnaps the mayor in an attempt to take over Edge City.
• The Stinger (voiced by Stuart Pankin) – Buzz Stingman is a beekeeper who was turned into a bee-human hybrid creature after being severely stung by genetically-altered bees. He had the ability to control the behavior of bees and hypnotized the entire city into building a giant beehive. He was eventually stopped by the Mask who removed his stinger and returned him to normal.
• Madame Suspiria (voiced by Candi Milo) – A carnival gypsy who believes her family's magic created the mask. She gives Stanley a love potion which is accidentally used on Mrs. Peenman and causes several men to fall in love with her. Suspiria siphons some of the mask's powers to gain revenge on Admiral Wombat, but The Mask tricks her into attacking him with magic which returns his powers.
• Sir Andrew Bedwetter (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – A Broadway director who adapts Mad Monkey, and is upstaged by The Mask, then tries to finance his next production through bank robberies.
• Government Guy (voiced by Frank Welker in normal form, Kevin Michael Richardson in Mask form) – The tyrannical future ruler of Edge City. At some point after a thermonuclear crisis, he found the mask and used it to power the city, while banning fun. Stanley time-travels to the future and uses his greater understanding of the mask to defeat him.
• Celia N. Airtight – A former researcher at Wrapmaster and founder of Putterware, whose products turn leftovers into monsters.
  • Harold – Airtight's right-hand man.
• Tex Clobber – A hunter and bounty hunter who is hired by Pretorius alongside Baxter Simon to capture The Mask. He uses normal hunting weapons.
• Baxter Simon - A businessman and bounty hunter who is hired by Pretorius alongside Tex Clobber to capture The Mask. He uses high tech gadgets.
• Selina Swint (voiced by Susan Silo) – A smuggler who brought counterfeit money to Edge City, but accidentally switches bags with Stanley.
• Davida Steelmine (voiced by Cree Summer) – An illusionist-turned-thief and a former schoolmate of Stanley, who had a crush on her.
• Cybermite (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A living computer virus who resembles a termite. It grows bigger by eating brain cells.
• The Dark Star Trio – A trio of villains who emerge from the first issue of Doyle's favorite comic book The Galactic Avenger. They mistake Kellaway for their fictional archenemy and try to kill him, before they are defeated by The Mask. Its members are:
  • War Machine (voiced by Jim Cummings) - A robot armed with deadly weapons.
  • Dragon Lady (voiced by Kath Soucie) - She can transform into a dragon, fly, and breathe fire.
  • Riptide (voiced by Frank Welker) - A punk-like villain with the ability to transform into water.
• Arthur "Art" Nouveau (voiced by Jim Cummings) – An art forger who threatened to blow up a dynamite factory.

• Francis Forthwright (voiced by Mary McDonald-Lewis) – One of Stanley's neighbors who sometimes wants Stanley to babysit her baby boy during random moments.
• Baby Forthwright (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) – Francis Forthwright's baby, who wears the mask on three occasions.
• Bank President (voiced by Jim Cummings) – The unnamed boss of Stanley and Charlie whose face is off-screen. He has a son in the film whom is the actual manager of the Edge City bank.
• Ace Ventura (voiced by Michael Daingerfield) – A Miami-based private pet detective specializing in the retrieval of missing animals who helps Stanley find Milo.
• Evelyn (voiced by Kath Soucie) – A petite, shy woman who accidentally puts on the Mask and becomes a tall woman named Eve who is loud and confident and in love with Stanley.

A two-part crossover between The Mask and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective – another animated series based on a Jim Carrey film – aired on August 30, 1997. The crossover begins with The Mask episode "The Aceman Cometh", and concludes with the Ace Ventura episode "Have Mask, Will Travel". At the time of the original airing, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was running in the adjoining time slot immediately following The Mask in CBS's Saturday morning lineup. During the crossover, Stanley/The Mask and Ace retain their respective animation styles while appearing within the other's show. The crossover also serves as the series finale of The Mask and the second-season finale of Ace Ventura. In "Have Mask, Will Travel", Stanley catches up to Ace in Miami just as he is recruited to solve a case on a space station, leading Stanley to become The Mask and join the investigation.

New Line Television sold the syndication rights of the series to Bohbot Entertainment in 1996, who aired it as part of their newly-created weekday broadcast of Amazin' Adventures.^[6] The second season premiered this way, although the show continued to air on CBS (airing seasons one and three).

It later aired on the Fox Family Channel from 1999 to 2000 (with "Flight as a Feather" removed due to risqué content).^[7] The show has rerun sporadically on Cartoon Network and Boomerang channels in other countries , with some markets skipping over the season two episode "Flight as a Feather," again, due to risqué content. Starting in 2024, reruns aired on MeTV Toons, with "Flight as a Feather" airing uncut and uncensored.

Eight VHS volumes of the series were gradually released by Turner Home Entertainment/New Line Home Video from 1995 to 1996, all of which are now out of print.

Upon the initial DVD release of Son of the Mask, Wal-Mart stores sold an exclusive 2-pack of the movie with the two-part pilot episode of the animated series.^[8] On April 10, 2018, Warner Bros. released the first season on DVD. As of this writing, the second and third seasons have not been released on DVD or Blu-ray.^[9] Despite this, iTunes, Amazon Video, YouTube, Google Play, and Tubi have every episode available (including the infamous "Flight as a Feather" episode) for streaming or digital download.

Taco Bell distributed toys based on the cartoon for a short time in 1997. In South Africa, the Spur franchise used to give out Mask toys with kiddies' burgers.

• The Mask: Animated Series at IMDb
• Official Website (via Internet Archive)
• Rob Paulsen on "Donny & Marie".