Despite recent discussions arising about a possible sequel, Jim Carrey’sThe Maskalready has two sequels, and one is much better than the other. Released in 1994, alongside his breakout role inAce Venturaand the buddy comedyDumb and Dumber,The Maskis one of the prominentmovies that defined Jim Carrey’s career. Loosely based on a comic of the same name,the action-comedy sees a mild-mannered Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) discover a mythical mask which turns him into a cartoonish and violent troublemaker.
The Maskis a staple1990s Jim Carrey movie, acting as a brilliant example of physical comedy. Carrey’s over-the-top mannerisms and wild antics demonstrate his unique flair, and the setup makes it a really enjoyable movie. As a result, some audiences regardThe Maskas a timeless classic. With such a well-known legacy, it’s quite surprising that an officialThe Mask 2was never made, although this is likely down to Carrey’s stance on sequels. However,The Maskwas followed up by two sequel projects that didn’t feature Jim Carrey at all: an animated series andSon of the Mask.
The Mask: Animated Series And Son Of The Mask Are Both Sequels To Jim Carrey’s Movie
The Animated TV Series Was The Only One That Followed On From The Mask
Manykids movies are often turned into kids TV shows, especially when they have a great reception, as it means studios can increase the longevity of their profits.The Maskreceived this treatment in 1995, one year after the Jim Carrey movie was released, with a three-season, 54-episode animated TV series.The Mask: Animated Seriesfollowed on from the events of the movie, exploring Stanley Ipkiss’ exploits while wearing the mask, including becoming a personal assistant to the President of the United States, and defeating the show’s antagonist due to the destruction of his favorite nightclub, the Coco Bongo.
11 years afterThe Mask was firstreleased, another sequel project was released in 2005. Acting as a stand-alone movie which does not directly follow the events of the original film,Son of the Maskintroduces a new character called Tim Avery (Jamie Kennedy), whose child is born with the powers of the mask. Despite its $84-100 million budget,Son of the Maskwas a box office bomb, following atrend of bad comedy movie sequels that didn’t star Jim Carrey(despite Carrey appearing in the original), and has the worst Rotten Tomatoes scores; 6% Tomatometer and 16% Popcornmeter.
The Mask Animated Series Was A Surprisingly Great Follow-Up To The Movie
Considering Its Dark Comic Origins, The Animated TV Series Did Well
ConsideringThe Mask’sorigins, the animated series was a surprisingly great follow-up to the 1994 movie.Jim Carrey’sThe Maskmovie was originally a dark comic book seriesby Mike Richardson for Dark Horse Comics, and it was way more violent that the film portrayed. The comic had the same origin story, with a supernatural mask granting its wearer with special powers at the cost of their sanity, and was so well-received that it earned various spin-offs. However,The Maskcomic was also known for its extremely dark tone and graphic violence, something whichThe Masktoned down for marketability.
althoughThe Masktoned down its dark origins, a children’s cartoon seemed too difficult
Therefore, despiteThe Mask’s$351.8 million box office success (viaThe Numbers),when an animated TV series geared towards a younger audience was announced,it seemed strange; althoughThe Masktoned down its dark origins, a children’s cartoon seemed too difficult. However,The Mask: Animated Seriesactually managed to capture the bizarre comedy in a way that was faithful to Jim Carrey’s film, without straying too far into the comic’s dark tone, making it a great follow-up. In fact, it did so well that it ran for three seasons from 1995 to 1997, and earned its own comic.
The Good News Is Carrey & Diaz Are Open To Doing A Better The Mask Sequel
In contrast toThe Mask: Animated Series,Son of the Maskwas considerably less well-received. With a much higher budget thanThe Maskand over a decade of advancement, you would expect 2005’s sequel to do well. However, the filmreceived negative reviews and was a major box office bomb, with many feeling thatSon of the Maskwould’ve been better if Jim Carrey returnedinstead. In fact,Son of the Maskwas so bad that it was the most nominated film at the 2005 Golden Raspberry Awards, with 8 nominations, and it won 7 bad movie awards in total.
Worst Prequel or Sequel
Worst Sequel
Foulest Family Film
From bad scripts and acting, to an intrusive musical score, there are many reasons whySon of the Maskwas a terrible movie, and it could never live up to Jim Carrey’s 1994 classic. Recently, Carrey was asked if he would ever consider aThe Masksequel, revealing he would be open to it if “somebody had the right idea.” This comes after the success of theSonicmovies, which have seemingly changed the actor’s mind on sequels. Furthermore,Cameron Diaz’s additional enthusiasm forThe Mask 2has us hoping a realThe Masksequel will be on the horizon soon.
