100 Fun Facts About The Mask

Which one-word catchphrase does Jim Carrey's green-faced hero hiss in The Mask?

Smokin'!: he stretches the word out after flinging Tina around the dance floor, and the same character gave the film its other catchphrase, 'Somebody stop me!'

Where is The Mask set?

Edge City: the film gives it a deliberately retro, 1940s look so that it would not date, and the 2005 sequel moved the action on to Fringe City.

In The Mask, where does Stanley Ipkiss find the mask?

Floating in the harbour: he jumps in to save what looks like a drowning man and comes up with a clump of rubbish and an old mask.

In The Mask, a psychiatrist says the mask looks like a likeness of which Norse god?

Loki: the doctor says the god of mischief caused so much trouble that Odin banished him from Valhalla, and Stanley wonders whether he was banished into the mask.

Which actress made her acting debut as nightclub singer Tina Carlyle in The Mask?

Cameron Diaz: Tina was scripted as a good girl who turns out bad, but people warmed to the first-time actress so quickly that the part was rewritten.

Who was director Chuck Russell's first choice to play Tina in The Mask, before she backed out?

Anna Nicole Smith: she agreed, then left at the last minute for a small part in Naked Gun 33 1/3, and a crushed Russell thought the film should be cancelled.

What is the name of the nightclub where Tina sings in The Mask?

The Coco Bongo: the doormen turn Stanley away as himself, so the Mask robs a bank to pay for a far grander entrance.

Which 1943 MGM cartoon inspired the nightclub dance sequence in The Mask?

Red Hot Riding Hood: Stanley watches Tex Avery's short at home, but director Chuck Russell said he was told he could show only the howling Wolf, not the showgirl Red.

In The Mask, what does the Mask's last balloon animal turn out to be?

A Tommy gun: cornered by a street gang, he twists up a giraffe and a poodle for them first, then opens fire with the balloon and sends them running.

In The Mask, what breed is Stanley's dog Milo?

Jack Russell: when the dog gets the mask on in the finale, he turns into a snarling cartoon of himself and takes on Tyrell's gang.

In The Mask, how does Milo help Stanley escape from his police cell?

He fetches the guard's keys: Stanley then takes Lieutenant Kellaway hostage to get out of the station and back to the club.

Which song does the Mask perform to distract the police in the park?

Cuban Pete: Desi Arnaz had sung the rumba in the 1940s, and the Mask's version gets the whole squad singing and dancing along instead of arresting him.

Who plays the gangster Dorian Tyrell in The Mask?

Peter Greene: his Tyrell gets hold of the mask himself late in the film, and where it made Stanley a cartoon prankster it turns the gangster into a hulking monster.

What is the mask made of in the 1994 film The Mask?

Wood: the psychiatrist dismisses it as nothing more than a piece of wood, whereas the mask Stanley buys in the original comic is carved from jade.

Which reporter betrays Stanley to Tyrell for a $50,000 bounty in The Mask?

Peggy Brandt: the 'Ask Peggy' advice columnist hides him from the police first, then sells him out, saying she can't afford to lose her condo.

Which comedian plays Charlie Schumaker, Stanley's best friend and co-worker, in The Mask?

Richard Jeni: his Charlie gets the film's last gag, diving after the mask once Tina has thrown it away, only for the dog to swim off with it.

Who plays Lieutenant Mitch Kellaway, the detective hunting the Mask?

Peter Riegert: his Kellaway ends the film still trying to arrest Stanley, until the mayor steps in, calls Stanley a hero and summons the lieutenant to his office.

How does the Mask finally dispose of Dorian Tyrell?

Flushes him down the club's fountain: the Mask paints a flush handle beside the water and pulls it, sending Tyrell screaming down the drain.

Which comic publisher created The Mask, from which the film was loosely adapted?

Dark Horse: its comic is far bloodier than the film, with a Stanley who uses the mask to take murderous revenge on anyone he holds a grudge against.

In the original comics behind The Mask, what is the green-faced character called?

Big Head: in the comics the mask keeps changing hands, so Stanley is only the first of several wearers, among them the detective who hunts him in the film.

The Mask was first planned as the start of what, before Chuck Russell pushed for comedy?

A horror franchise: the comic was a blood-soaked 'splatterpunk' book, and Russell decided its killings and one-liners would only work on screen as cartoon comedy.

Which two actors were on The Mask's shortlist in case Jim Carrey said no?

Nicolas Cage and Matthew Broderick: director Chuck Russell kept them on his list, but the script had been written for Carrey, who read it and said it felt written for him.

Which sketch show was Jim Carrey starring in when he was cast in The Mask?

In Living Color: a studio executive sent the comic's creator a tape of Carrey contorting through one sketch, and he rang back to say, 'That's The Mask!'

Which word does the Mask spell aloud in The Mask before adding 'Because I gotta!'?

Party: he announces 'It's party time!' and spells P-A-R-T, turning the final letter into the question 'Why?' before answering himself.

Which effects house created the computer animation for The Mask?

Industrial Light & Magic: director Chuck Russell said its artists reckoned Carrey's rubber face had saved about a million dollars of planned effects.

Which 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme film came from the same comics publisher as The Mask?

Timecop: the publisher's founder dreamed up that story too, and the buzz around The Mask won his company an eight-film deal before its first weekend's takings were even in.

Which film beat The Mask for the Best Visual Effects Oscar?

Forrest Gump: its trick of dropping Tom Hanks into old archive footage beat the other two nominees, The Mask's cartoon elasticity and True Lies.

When The Mask finished its 1994 run, which was the only superhero film to have out-grossed it worldwide?

Batman: Tim Burton's 1989 film had taken about $411 million to The Mask's $351 million, a total reached without a famous hero, from a little-known independent comic.

The Mask's nightclub scenes helped bring which musical style back into fashion in the 1990s?

Swing: the film arrived as a retro scene was growing in Los Angeles clubs, four years before the craze peaked across America in 1998.

Which real band plays on stage at the nightclub in The Mask?

Royal Crown Revue: the Los Angeles band plays 'Hey Pachuco' for the Mask's big dance with Tina, and signed to Warner Bros. soon after the film.

Which piece of the Mask's outfit is shot off at the club and turns back into Stanley's pyjamas?

His tie: the scrap flutters to the dance floor as ordinary pyjama cloth, and the detective on the case notices it matches what Stanley wears to bed.

How does the Mask get rid of Tyrell's time bomb in The Mask?

He swallows it: the bomb goes off inside him, and he belches out the blast with the old Alka-Seltzer advertising line 'That's a spicy meatball!'

Which studio released The Mask in 1994?

New Line Cinema: Warner Bros. had offered more for the comic, but its creators chose the smaller studio because it guaranteed the film would actually be made.

Who plays Tim Avery, the animator whose baby is born with the mask's powers, in Son of the Mask (2005)?

Jamie Kennedy: Jim Carrey had turned the sequel down, and it took under $60 million in cinemas on a budget of at least $84 million.

Which actor plays the Norse god hunting for his lost mask in Son of the Mask?

Alan Cumming: his character has been sent by a furious Odin, played by Bob Hoskins, to get the mask back.

Which voice actor took over the role of Stanley Ipkiss in The Mask: Animated Series?

Rob Paulsen: his Stanley, unlike the film's, keeps the mask and goes on using it, in a cartoon that leaves Tina out altogether.

The Mask: Animated Series ended with a crossover with which other cartoon spun off from a hit film?

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: Stanley hires the pet detective to find his kidnapped dog, and the story continues in an episode of Ace's own cartoon.

Who voiced Pretorius, the mad-scientist villain of The Mask: Animated Series?

Tim Curry: his Pretorius has had his own head removed and mounted on tiny spider-like robot legs, which plug into a full-size android body.

Which Cartoon Network show made a special episode, with a Jim Carrey interview, for The Mask's VHS release?

Space Ghost Coast to Coast: the superhero-turned-chat-show-host interviewed Carrey and director Chuck Russell in a promotional special made only for the tape.

Which two Jim Carrey films of 1994 bracketed The Mask?

Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber: The Mask came out between them, yet it had been cast, shot and wrapped before Ace Ventura was even released, when Carrey was still an unknown.

In The Mask's finale, how does Tina get Tyrell to take the mask off?

She asks for one last kiss: Tyrell takes the mask off to oblige and she kicks it out of his hands, straight to Stanley's dog.

Chuck Russell hired Mike Werb to write The Mask after reading his script about which children's book character?

Curious George: Werb's tale of a manic monkey loose in New York convinced Russell, and his first draft of The Mask then took less than six weeks.

What is Tina secretly doing on her first visit to Stanley's bank in The Mask?

Filming the vault: a camera hidden in her bag sends the pictures back to her gangster boyfriend, who is planning to rob the place.

Who plays Dr. Arthur Neuman, the psychiatrist Stanley consults in The Mask?

Ben Stein: his Neuman has written a book called The Masks We Wear, but tells Stanley that its masks are only a metaphor and that he is suffering from a delusion.

In The Mask, when do the mask's powers work?

Only at night: Stanley works it out when the mask does nothing in the psychiatrist's office by day, and the later cartoon series quietly dropped the rule.

The Mask's dance scene was nominated for MTV's Best Dance Sequence in 1995 but lost to which film?

Pulp Fiction: John Travolta and Uma Thurman's twist contest beat the Mask and Tina's whirlwind routine to 'Hey! Pachuco!'.

In The Mask, what is the name of the crime boss Dorian Tyrell plots to overthrow?

Niko: he owns the nightclub Tyrell manages and gives him a week to get out of town, only to be killed by the masked Tyrell at his own charity ball.

Besides a Golden Globe nod for The Mask, Jim Carrey's 1994 films earned him which Razzie nomination?

Worst New Star: the Razzies lumped all three of his 1994 comedies into one nomination, in a category he then lost to a newcomer from a Naked Gun sequel.

Which 2019 film finally beat The Mask as the most profitable comic book movie ever?

Joker: made cheaply for a comic-book film, it earned more than 15 times its $62.5 million budget, passing the multiple The Mask had held since 1994.

Which magazine ran a sweepstakes offering a cameo in the planned sequel to The Mask?

Nintendo Power: when the sequel stalled, the winner was offered the choice of waiting indefinitely or taking $5,000 in cash, and took the cash.

Jim Carrey said he based The Mask's meek, put-upon Stanley Ipkiss on which member of his own family?

His father was the template: Carrey described him as a nice guy who was just trying to get by. Percy Carrey was a musician who took an accounting job to keep the family afloat.

An abandoned early idea for The Mask film had a mask-maker turning teenagers into what?

Zombies were the plan: the mask-maker would take faces off corpses and put them on teens. The comic's creator recalled it as one of several ideas dropped while the script stalled.

Which part of the Mask's look was meant to be left out of dialogue scenes until Jim Carrey mastered it?

The fake teeth were made for shots without dialogue, but Carrey learned to speak through them to play the character more convincingly. His makeup took four hours to apply each day.

Before The Mask, what was the day job of the 21-year-old newcomer cast as Tina Carlyle?

Modelling was her entire CV: she had never acted before the audition, and took her first acting lessons after landing the part. The studio worried the film would fail without established names.

In The Mask's finale, who stops Kellaway arresting Stanley by naming Tyrell as the masked culprit?

The mayor steps in at the charity ball, pinning the Mask's crimes on Tyrell and praising Stanley as a hero. Stanley had taken Kellaway hostage earlier that evening to break out of jail.

Which 2021 Warner Bros. film gives the Mask a cameo among a crowd of the studio's other characters?

Space Jam: A New Legacy puts the Stanley Ipkiss version of the Mask in the stands for the big basketball game. He watches beside two versions of the Penguin, one from 1966 and one from 1992.

The comic-book Mask was summed up as Tex Avery's cartoons crossed with which relentless movie killer?

The Terminator was the other half of the pitch, because the comics' masked figure is violent and almost impossible to stop. The film kept the cartoon half and dropped most of the carnage.

In the original Mask comic, where does Stanley Ipkiss buy the mask, intending it as a gift?

An antiques shop sells Stanley the old mask, which then begins to speak to him. The comic's Stanley is a far angrier man, and wearing it sends him on a violent revenge spree.

Which actor beat Jim Carrey to the Golden Globe when he was nominated for The Mask?

Hugh Grant took the comedy-actor Globe for Four Weddings and a Funeral, a part that also won him a BAFTA. The Mask brought Carrey the first Golden Globe nomination of his career.

The Mask finished as the fourth-biggest film of 1994, a year topped by which animated musical?

The Lion King led 1994 with an initial worldwide gross of $763 million. The Mask made its $351.8 million from a budget of roughly $20 million.

Which pair of TV critics gave The Mask two thumbs up after neither had liked Jim Carrey's previous film?

Siskel and Ebert both came round to him here: Siskel said Carrey was better used as an ingredient than as the plot. Ebert called the film a perfect vehicle for its lead.

Why did Jim Carrey refuse a big-money offer to make a sequel to The Mask?

He disliked repeating roles: making his one earlier sequel convinced him that returning to a character offered no challenge as an actor. The follow-up arrived in 2005 without him.

The Latin number the Mask sings to the police was the title song of a 1946 film starring which bandleader?

Desi Arnaz starred in the 1946 musical comedy built around the song, then performed it again on I Love Lucy. The tune itself dates from 1936, when a British orchestra first recorded it.

Which real city hosted The Mask's shoot in the autumn of 1993, standing in for its fictional setting?

Los Angeles hosted the shoot from 30 August 1993 into October. Carrey worked through a bout of flu, and one evening the producer had to coax him out of his trailer to get the scene.

In which Australian city was Son of the Mask filmed, mostly at the local Fox Studios?

Sydney hosted the shoot from November 2003 to April 2004, with suburbs such as Burwood and Leichhardt used on location. The front of the hero's house was built on a set of tennis courts.

Which British actor plays Odin, who orders the mask's recovery, in the 2005 sequel Son of the Mask?

Bob Hoskins plays Odin, who strips his troublemaking son of his powers when the search turns destructive. Odin later turns up in person, and the mortal hero talks the pair into making peace.

Which actor turned down the lead in Son of the Mask because he was committed to Blade: Trinity?

Ryan Reynolds was one of nine actors who passed on the part, a list that also included Will Ferrell and Steve Carell. Reynolds was already booked for the vampire sequel.

Which movie slasher helped inspire the comic-book Mask, alongside Jekyll and Hyde and the Green Goblin?

Freddy Krueger fed into the character along with comic-book villains, and the wearers in the comics duly turn cruel and violent. The film softened him into a mischievous trickster.

In The Mask: Animated Series, what does the villain Pretorius keep on tiny spider-like robot legs?

His own head scuttles about on the little legs and can plug into a larger android body when he needs one. He had it removed from his original body deliberately.

In The Mask: Animated Series, how does the Mask defeat the Devil to escape a contract on Stanley?

A dance contest saves them both after the Devil tries to haul Stanley and his alter ego away as payment. The deal had promised to make Stanley a winner without the mask.

What is the family dog called in Son of the Mask, a name chosen to pair with the first film's Milo?

Otis completes the pairing from the 1986 film about a cat and a pug, Milo and Otis. The dog who played him was really called Bear.

Which Arnold Schwarzenegger action film did Chuck Russell direct two years after The Mask?

Eraser cast Schwarzenegger as a US Marshal guarding a witness and opened at number one. Russell later gave the wrestler Dwayne Johnson his first lead in The Scorpion King.

Which 1958 sci-fi film did Chuck Russell remake in 1988, six years before directing The Mask?

The Blob was Russell's second film as director, and he co-wrote the script too. The remake lost money on release, then found a cult following that rates it above the original.

Which John Woo action thriller did The Mask's screenwriter Mike Werb go on to co-write?

Face/Off, another story about a man wearing someone else's face, was written by Werb with Michael Colleary. The script won the pair a Saturn Award for writing.

At which Sunset Strip stand-up club had Chuck Russell seen Jim Carrey before casting him in The Mask?

The Comedy Store is where Russell first saw Carrey live, and he kept following him on television afterwards. A tape of a single Carrey sketch also won over the comic's creator.

Which makeup artist, a five-time Academy Award winner, turned Jim Carrey green for The Mask?

Greg Cannom designed the makeup to bring out Carrey's own exaggerated expressions instead of burying them. His other transformations include Mrs. Doubtfire and Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Who composed and conducted the orchestral score for The Mask and returned for its 2005 sequel?

Randy Edelman, whose other scores include Kindergarten Cop and My Cousin Vinny, wrote the music for both films. His orchestral album came out separately from the song soundtrack.

Which jazz singer and pianist appears on The Mask's soundtrack album alongside the R&B group Xscape?

Harry Connick Jr. shares the album with soul acts and with Jim Carrey himself, who sings his number from the park scene. The record went on sale three days before the film opened.

Which actress played the newspaper reporter in The Mask?

Amy Yasbeck plays the advice columnist chasing a scoop. Her character died in the original cut, but the director removed those scenes so that she could come back in a sequel.

Which future House of Cards actor played Freeze, Dorian Tyrell's loyal henchman, in The Mask?

Reg E. Cathey played Freeze about two decades before winning an Emmy as the barbecue-joint owner in House of Cards. He was also known for The Wire and Oz.

Which part of Tina's nightclub act in The Mask was supplied by an uncredited double, Susan Boyd?

Her singing voice belongs to Susan Boyd, who received no credit for it. The role was first written as a good girl who is secretly bad, then rewritten as sincere once it was cast.

What is the surname of Agnes, the bad-tempered landlady the Mask torments in the 1994 film?

Peenman is her name: Agnes Peenman, played by Nancy Fish, is one of the tormentors Stanley humiliates on his first rampage. She comes back as a boss in the video game of the film.

What was the real name of the dog who played Stanley's loyal sidekick Milo in The Mask?

Max played Milo, who stays friendly and loyal but turns aggressive and mischievous once the mask is on him. In the finale Milo wears it to fight off the villain's henchmen.

Which professional wrestler played the hulking masked version of Dorian Tyrell in The Mask?

Jeep Swenson took over once the villain puts the mask on and turns bulky and deep-voiced. His nickname came from his soldier dad, known as Tank, on the logic that every tank needs a jeep.

Which comics publisher dreamed up the Mask in 1982 and later pitched the film to Hollywood himself?

Mike Richardson had the concept before he had even founded the company that published it, then took it to the film studio in 1989. His first version was a single amateur sketch.

In the original Mask comic, the talking mask that Stanley Ipkiss brings home is made of which stone?

Jade is the material in the comic, where the old mask starts speaking to Stanley as soon as he owns it. The film gave it a different material and a mythological backstory.

Who is the second person to wear the mask in the original Mask comic series, after Stanley Ipkiss?

His girlfriend Kathy keeps the mask after throwing Stanley out, then puts it on herself before handing it to the police. A lieutenant tries it next, to go after the local crime lords.

What is the name of the mute, pain-proof mob enforcer who is the Mask's arch-enemy in the comics?

Walter never speaks and never shows pain, and he is the one opponent who can really hurt whoever wears the mask. The cartoon series reused him as a mad scientist's goon.

In the 2019 comic revival of The Mask, what does a struggling politician use the mask to run for?

The US presidency is the goal of Abner Mead, whose uninhibited outbursts as the masked candidate win voters over. The story is titled I Pledge Allegiance to the Mask!

A version of The Mask video game for which Sega console was cancelled for arriving too long after the film?

Genesis owners missed out: the finished game reached a rival 16-bit console more than a year after the film, and the Sega port would have slipped to two years after it.

Which US network aired The Mask: Animated Series on Saturday mornings for its first and third seasons?

CBS showed seasons one and three on Saturday mornings, while the second went out on weekdays in syndication. The cartoon ran to 54 episodes between 1995 and 1997.

Which veteran voice actor supplied the barks and whines of Milo in The Mask: Animated Series?

Frank Welker supplied Milo's barks and whines. In the cartoon Milo is a frequent wearer of the mask, sometimes on purpose and sometimes by accident.

The Mask cartoon episode 'The Goofalotatots' is a parody of which Warner Bros. animated series?

Animaniacs was the target of the spoof, in an episode written by John Arcudi, the writer of the original Mask comics. He scripted two episodes of the cartoon in all.

The Mask cartoon villain Gorgonzola the Cheese Witch was invented by a competition winner in which magazine?

Disney Adventures ran the competition to design a villain for the show. The winning entry, an ancient witch who returns when her amulet is dug out of a tomb, can turn anything into cheese.

The first Mask film drew on Tex Avery; which Looney Tunes director's style guided Son of the Mask's animators?

Chuck Jones was the model for the sequel's cartoon gags, a deliberate change from the first film. One critic still wrote that the plot keeps running into the wall like Wile E. Coyote.

The savage reviews of Son of the Mask led its star to make which 2007 documentary about critics?

Heckler grew out of how personally he took the attacks, and it interviews comedians about hostile crowds and reviewers. It went straight to DVD after a festival premiere.

Which fast-food chain gave away toys based on The Mask: Animated Series for a short time in 1997?

Taco Bell handed out the toys with its kids' meals in 1997, the cartoon's final year on air.

Which Simpsons star voiced Chet Bozzack, Stanley's old school bully, in The Mask: Animated Series?

Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, plays the reformed bully whose old urges come back when he wears half of the broken mask.

Which Frankie Valli hit does the hero perform in shifting musical styles in Son of the Mask?

Can't Take My Eyes Off You gets an extended cover from the film's lead that jumps between genres. Valli's original reached number two on the American chart in 1967.

Which WildC.A.T.s hero teams up with the Mask to stop smugglers in Las Vegas in a crossover comic?

Grifter first mistakes the Mask for a target, then joins forces with him once a tourist's partner is threatened. The trouble begins when a holidaymaker ends up with the mask.