The Mask: Animated Series facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Mask: Animated Series
Genre	Superhero Surreal humour Action Adventure Science fiction Comedy Slapstick
Developed by	Duane Capizzi
Directed by	Russell Calabrese
Voices of	Rob Paulsen Tim Curry Jim Cummings Tress MacNeille Kevin Michael Richardson Neil Ross Heidi Shannon Ben Stein Mark L. Taylor Frank Welker
Theme music composer	Keith Baxter Christopher Neal Nelson
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	54
Production
Executive producer(s)	Joe Bacall Tom Griffin C.J. Kettler Bob Friedman Mike Richardson Phil Roman
Producer(s)	Gary Hartle
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Dark Horse Entertainment Film Roman Sunbow Entertainment New Line Television Cuckoos' Nest Studio Daewon Media Philippine Animation Studio Inc. Plus One Animation Wang Film Productions
Distributor	Bohbot Entertainment Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	CBS
Audio format	CBS StereoSound (1995–1996) Dolby Surround (1996–1997)
Original release	August 12, 1995 (1995-08-12) – August 30, 1997 (1997-08-30)
Chronology
Preceded by	The Mask
Followed by	Son of the Mask

The Mask: Animated Series is a fun American cartoon show. It's based on the popular 1994 movie starring Jim Carrey. The series aired on CBS from August 1995 to August 1997. It had three seasons and 54 episodes. The show even had its own short comic book series called Adventures of The Mask.

The Mask was one of three cartoons based on Jim Carrey movies that came out around the same time. The others were Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1995–2000) and Dumb and Dumber (1995–1996).

What is The Mask: Animated Series About?

This cartoon keeps the main ideas from the movie. Stanley Ipkiss is a shy bank clerk. He finds an old, magical mask. When he puts it on, he gets amazing superpowers! He also turns into the wild and funny character known as The Mask.

One big change from the movie is that Stanley can use the mask day or night. After the movie's events, Stanley's friend Charlie thinks he threw the mask away. But Stanley's dog, Milo, finds it. Stanley decides to keep it for himself.

Peggy Brandt is a reporter and a main character in the show. Stanley was mad at her for selling him out to some bad guys in the past. But they become friends again. The character Tina Carlyle from the movie is not in the cartoon. Also, the main bad guys from the movie, Niko and Dorian Tyrell, are not mentioned.

Even though the show is set in a normal city called Edge City, it often uses very silly, cartoon-like humor. Sometimes, things happen that totally break the rules of reality! For example, in one episode, The Mask became a helper for the President of the United States. He just got the job easily!

The show also features the Coco Bongo nightclub. This fancy club is where many rich people in Edge City hang out. It's based on a real club called the Copacabana in New York City. The Mask loves going there. In one episode, the Coco Bongo gets destroyed. This makes The Mask very angry and gives him a reason to defeat the bad guy.

Rob Paulsen, who voices Stanley/The Mask, once joked about his role. He said he got to be like Jim Carrey "for a whole lot less cake!"

Main Characters

• Stanley Ipkiss / The Mask (voiced by Rob Paulsen) – Stanley and The Mask are like two different people. They even talk about each other as separate individuals. They have a bit of a friendly rivalry. Stanley often feels unsure about the mask and tries to get rid of it. But he usually has to use it to get out of trouble. Over time, he starts to rely on it to fight supernatural enemies. Even with their differences, they care about each other. The Mask is a playful superhero. He'd rather have fun than fight crime, but he always does the right thing in the end. He also cares deeply for his friends, like Milo and Peggy. The only things that can mess with The Mask's powers are a common cold or if Stanley tries to hold back his wild personality.

• Milo (voiced by Frank Welker) – Milo is Stanley's smart Jack Russell Terrier dog. He's a very loyal sidekick. Milo often gets to wear the mask himself! He's very clever and can understand a lot of what humans say.

• Lt. Mitch Kellaway (voiced by Neil Ross) – Kellaway is a detective who works for the Edge City Police. He's always sure that The Mask is behind every big crime. He often blames The Mask for everything. Because of this, The Mask loves to play pranks on him.

• Detective Doyle (voiced by Jim Cummings) – Doyle is Lieutenant Kellaway's partner. He's not very smart and can be a bit lazy. But he's somewhat friendly to The Mask and sees him more as a hero than a villain.

• Peggy Brandt (voiced by Heidi Shannon) – Peggy is a reporter. She and Stanley become good friends again after she helped him out of trouble. Her job often puts her in dangerous situations. The Mask usually has to rescue her. She's also good at outsmarting bad guys and acts very caring towards The Mask.

• Charlie Schumacher (voiced by Mark L. Taylor) – Charlie is the proud and self-centered manager at the bank where Stanley works. He usually looks out for himself and tries to impress women. He often takes advantage of Stanley while pretending to be his friend. He doesn't like it when Stanley becomes successful.

Other Characters and Villains

• Dr. Arthur Neuman (voiced by Ben Stein) – Stanley's therapist. He's the only character voiced by the same actor from the movie. He thinks The Mask is Stanley's hidden desire to be wild and impulsive.

• Mayor Mortimer Tilton (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) – The mayor of Edge City. He's a bit self-centered. But he's also genuinely thankful when The Mask saves the city. He often helps The Mask avoid legal trouble.
  • Smedley (voiced by Cam Clarke) – Mayor Tilton's nerdy assistant.

• Agnes Peenman (voiced by Tress MacNeille) – Stanley's grumpy and mean landlady.

• Doctor Septimus Pretorius (voiced by Tim Curry) – The main bad guy of the series. He's a mad scientist who removed his own head! His head is now on tiny, spider-like robot legs. These legs can attach to a bigger robot body. His plans usually involve getting or controlling the mask. He's one of the few characters who knows Stanley is The Mask. He also creates many crazy and dangerous science experiments.
  • Walter – Pretorius's strong, silent henchman. He's like Frankenstein's monster and can't be hurt by The Mask's powers.
  • Pretorius' Henchmen (various voices) – These bad guys wear black and purple outfits. They often help Pretorius with his evil plans.

• Lonnie the Shark (voiced by Glenn Shadix) – The leader of a biker gang. He has sharp teeth and hair that looks like a shark's fin.
  • Pete (voiced by Charlie Adler) – Lonnie's lazy sidekick. He always pretends to be hurt to avoid doing work.

• The Terrible Two – Dak (voiced by Cam Clarke) and Eddie (voiced by Jeff Bennett) are two not-so-smart teenage boys. They got exposed to radiation hoping to become superheroes. Dak became "Putty Thing" and Eddie became "Fish Guy."

• Skillit (voiced by Jason Marsden in season one and by Benny Grant in season two) – A tricky imp from the Shadowland. He can steal people's shadows, which keeps him young but makes his victims older. He looks about 12 years old, so he often gets stuck doing homework when caught. He's over 4,000 years old and has known everyone who ever owned the mask.

• Kablamus (voiced by Jim Cummings) – Joe Blow is a green-haired man who had a chemical accident. He gained the power to blow himself up like a balloon and explode without dying.

• Willamina Bubask (voiced by Conchata Ferrell) – A female criminal known for stealing dogs and cars. She also attacked a police station. She has a crush on Walter, Pretorius's henchman.

• Don Julovit (voiced by Cam Clarke) – A famous bandit from Lispan. He came to Edge City for a crime where all the villains dressed as Santa Claus.

• Dynamite Joe (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – An expert with explosives. He also dressed as Santa Claus for a crime spree.

• Chet Bozzack (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) – Stanley's old high school bully. His bad side returns when he accidentally wears half of the broken mask. Chet manages to stop his mask personality from hurting Stanley and apologizes later.

• Dr. Amelia Chronos (voiced by Victoria Carroll) – A mad scientist who builds devices that control time. She causes chaos as she tries to take over the world.

• Colonel Beauregard Klaxon (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A businessman who secretly dumps nuclear waste under the city stadium. This creates a monster that kidnaps the city's sports team.

• Cookie Baboom (voiced by Cree Summer) - An exotic dancer who threatens to blow up the mayor.

• Channel Surfer (voiced by Gary Owens) – A super-villain who loves TV. He has a gliding surfboard and can teleport through televisions. He can also control electricity and TV shows. He made everyone in Edge City watch his favorite shows and trapped The Mask inside the TV world. Peggy helped The Mask escape.

• Gorgonzola the Cheese Witch (voiced by Cree Summer) – Her powers include turning things into cheese with her "Cheese-Eye" laser. She can also shoot "Shot-Cheddar" arrows made of extra-sharp cheese. This character was created by a contest winner! She's an ancient villainess who returns when her amulet is found.

• Sly Eastenegger (voiced by Neil Ross) – A famous action movie star. He tries to get revenge on his critics by blowing up a stolen nuclear bomb during his movie filming.

• The Devil (voiced by Jonathan Harris) – He first appears as "Bub." He makes a deal with Stanley to make him lucky without the mask. But then he tries to take Stanley and the mask to Hell. The Mask saves them by beating the devil in a dance competition.

• The Tempest (voiced by Bud Cort) – The alter ego of Fritz Drizzle, a former weatherman. He was struck by lightning and gained the power to control the weather.

• The Hood (voiced by Jess Harnell) – A criminal wanted for many crimes. As Lawrence Lorenzo, he was hired as the police chief. But he kidnaps the mayor to try and take over Edge City.

• The Stinger (voiced by Stuart Pankin) – Buzz Stingman is a beekeeper. He turned into a bee-human creature after being stung by special bees. He could control bees and hypnotized the city to build a giant beehive. The Mask stopped him by removing his stinger, turning him back to normal.

• Madame Suspiria (voiced by Candi Milo) – A carnival gypsy. She believes her family's magic created the mask. She gives Stanley a love potion. It accidentally gets used on Mrs. Peenman, making several men fall in love with her. Suspiria tries to steal The Mask's powers for revenge, but The Mask tricks her.

• Sir Andrew Bedwetter (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – A Broadway director. He made a musical based on the Mad Monkey films, which angered The Mask. He then tried to rob banks to fund his next show. He is a funny version of the real Broadway writer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

• Government Guy (voiced by Frank Welker in normal form, Kevin Michael Richardson in Mask form) – The mean future ruler of Edge City. After a big disaster, he found the mask and used it to power the city. He banned all fun things. Stanley travels to the future and uses his knowledge of the mask to defeat him. He's a parody of a politician named Ross Perot.

• Cybermite (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A living, annoying computer virus. He looks like a fat termite in a leather jacket. He grows bigger by eating brain cells and tells bad jokes.

• The Dark Star Trio – Three villains who come out of a comic book. They think Kellaway is their enemy and try to defeat him. The Mask stops them. The members are:
  • War Machine (voiced by Jim Cummings) - A robot with dangerous weapons.
  • Dragon Lady (voiced by Kath Soucie) - She can turn into a dragon, fly, and breathe fire.
  • Riptide (voiced by Frank Welker) - A punk-like villain who can turn into water.

• Arthur "Art" Nouveau (voiced by Jim Cummings) – An art forger. He threatened to blow up a dynamite factory.

• Ace Ventura – (voiced by Michael Daingerfield) – A pet detective from Miami. He helps Stanley find Milo in a special crossover episode.

Episode Guide

Season 1 (1995)

Season 2 (1996–97)

Season 3 (1997)

Crossover Fun

There was a special two-part crossover event between The Mask and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Both cartoons were based on Jim Carrey movies. This crossover aired on August 30, 1997.

The story starts with The Mask episode "The Aceman Cometh." It finishes in the Ace Ventura episode "Have Mask, Will Travel." When these shows first aired, Ace Ventura played right after The Mask on CBS. During the crossover, Stanley/The Mask and Ace Ventura kept their own unique cartoon styles, even when they appeared in each other's shows. This crossover was also the final episode for The Mask series.

In the "Have Mask, Will Travel" episode, Stanley finds Ace in Miami. Ace is asked to solve a case on a space station. This leads Stanley to become The Mask and join the investigation.

Where to Watch and Collectibles

After it stopped airing on CBS, The Mask: Animated Series was shown on other channels. It was on Cartoon Network from 1997 to 1998. Then it aired on the Fox Family Channel from 1999 to 2000. Since 2000, it hasn't been shown much in the United States. In Australia, it has been rerun sometimes on Boomerang.

Taco Bell gave out toys based on the cartoon for a short time in 1997. In South Africa, the Spur restaurant chain also gave out Mask toys with their kids' burgers.

Images for kids

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  The main poster for The Mask: Animated Series.

See Also

In Spanish: La Máscara: la serie animada para niños