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 comic book series of the same name 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 mask that transforms him into the titular green-faced troublemaker that has the ability to cartoonishly alter himself and his surroundings at will. Filming began on August 30, 1993, and concluded in October 1993.

This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2024)

Quick Facts The Mask, Directed by ...

The Mask
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Chuck Russell
Screenplay by	Mike Werb
Story by	Michael Fallon Mark Verheiden
Based on	The Mask by Dark Horse Comics
Produced by	Bob Engelman
Starring	Jim Carrey Peter Riegert Peter Greene Amy Yasbeck Richard Jeni Cameron Diaz
Cinematography	John R. Leonetti
Edited by	Arthur Coburn
Music by	Randy Edelman
Production company	Katja Motion Picture Corporation[1]
Distributed by	New Line Cinema[lower-alpha 1]
Release date	July 29, 1994 (1994-07-29)
Running time	101 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$18–23 million[3][4]
Box office	$351.6 million[3]

Close

The film was released on July 29, 1994, by New Line Cinema, becoming a critical and commercial success. The film grossed over $351 million on an $18–23 million budget, which made it the most profitable film based on a comic up to that point. The film also influenced the resurgence of swing music in the 1990s. It cemented Carrey's reputation as a significant actor of the 1990s, and it established Diaz as a leading lady. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role, and the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, but lost to Forrest Gump. A standalone sequel without Jim Carrey, Son of the Mask, was released in 2005 to critical and commercial failure.

In Edge City, insecure bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss is frequently ridiculed by everyone except for his co-worker and best friend, Charlie Schumaker. Meanwhile, gangster Dorian Tyrell, whose boss Niko owns the Coco Bongo nightclub, plots to overthrow Niko. One day, Tyrell sends his dazzling singer-girlfriend, Tina Carlyle, into the bank to record its layout for an upcoming robbery. Stanley is attracted to Tina and she seemingly reciprocates.

After being denied entrance to the Coco Bongo to watch Tina perform, Stanley's faulty loaner car breaks down during his drive home. While looking over the harbor bridge in despair, he tries rescuing a humanoid figure in the waters but finds it to be a pile of garbage concealing a wooden mask. Upon returning to his apartment and donning the mask, he transforms into a green-faced, zoot-suited trickster known as "the Mask", who can cartoonishly alter himself and his surroundings at will. With newfound confidence, Stanley indulges in a comical rampage through the city, humiliating several of his tormentors, including his temperamental landlady, Agnes Peenman, and the mechanics who gave him the faulty car.

The next morning, Stanley encounters detective Lieutenant Mitch Kellaway and newspaper reporter Peggy Brandt, both of whom are investigating the Mask's activity. To obtain the funds necessary to attend Tina's performance, Stanley dons the mask and raids the bank, inadvertently foiling Tyrell's robbery. At the Coco Bongo, Stanley dances exuberantly with Tina, whom he ends up kissing. Shortly after, Tyrell confronts him for disrupting the robbery and Stanley flees, leaving behind a scrap of cloth from his suit, which reverts into a piece of his pajamas. After arresting Tyrell and his henchman, Kellaway finds the piece of cloth and suspects Stanley's involvement.

Later, Stanley consults psychiatrist Arthur Neuman, who has recently published a book on masks, and deduces that the mask may be a creation of Loki, the Norse god of mischief, and its powers are only active at night. Though Neuman believes it is mythology, he concludes that the Mask's personality is based on Stanley's repressed desires. That night, Stanley meets Tina at a local park as the Mask, until they are interrupted by Kellaway, who attempts to capture him. Stanley flees with Peggy after he distracts the police with a mass performance of the titular song from Cuban Pete; she then reluctantly betrays him to Tyrell for a $50,000 bounty. Tyrell dons the mask, becoming a bulky and malevolent green-faced being. Tyrell's henchmen force Stanley to reveal the location of the stolen money before turning him into the police.

When Tina visits Stanley in the station, he urges her to leave the city. Tina thanks Stanley for showing her kindness and tells him the mask was unnecessary. She attempts to flee, but is kidnapped by Tyrell and has her prepared for the charity ball at the Coco Bongo, hosted by Niko and attended by the city's elite, including Mayor Mitchell Tilton. Upon arrival, the masked Tyrell kills Niko and prepares to destroy the club with a time bomb. Stanley's dog Milo helps Stanley escape from the station by retrieving the keys from the guard. Stanley sets out to stop Tyrell, taking Kellaway hostage.

After locking Kellaway in his car, Stanley enters the club and enlists Charlie's help, but is quickly discovered and captured. Tina tricks Tyrell into removing the mask, which is recovered and donned by Milo, who battles his way through Tyrell's henchmen as Stanley and Tyrell fight each other. Stanley retrieves the mask, uses its powers to swallow the bomb seconds before it detonates, and then flushes Tyrell down the drain of the club's ornamental fountain; the police arrive and arrest Tyrell's henchmen. Kellaway tries arresting Stanley again, but Mayor Tilton intervenes, implicating Tyrell as the Mask and praising Stanley as a hero.

The following day, an exonerated and more secure Stanley returns to the harbor bridge with Tina. Tina throws the mask into the water before she and Stanley kiss. Charlie tries to retrieve the mask for himself only for Milo to swim away with it.

• Jim Carrey as Stanley Ipkiss / The Mask, a down-on-his-luck bank employee who is mistreated and taken advantage of by people. Carrey commented that he characterized Stanley after his own father: "a nice guy, just trying to get by". When he wears the Mask, Stanley becomes a mischievous, green-faced figure known as the Mask who has the ability to animate and alter himself and his surroundings at will.
• Peter Greene as Dorian Tyrell, a rogue mafia officer who desires to overthrow his superior, Niko. He is psychopathic, manipulative, and arrogant. When wearing the Mask, Tyrell becomes a bulky and malevolent being that speaks in a deep demonic voice.
  • Garrett T. Sato and Jeep Swenson perform Dorian Tyrell's Mask form.
• Cameron Diaz as Tina Carlyle, Tyrell's glamorous and beautiful girlfriend, who becomes attracted to Stanley. Tina is dissatisfied with Tyrell as a partner but does not defy him until Stanley has courted her.
  • Susan Boyd provides Tina's uncredited singing voice
• Orestes Matacena as Niko, Tyrell's superior and the owner of the Coco Bongo.
• Peter Riegert as Lieutenant Mitch Kellaway, a slightly cynical police detective lieutenant who pursues the Mask, Tyrell, and Stanley throughout the film
• Jim Doughan as Detective Doyle, Kellaway's amiable but slightly inept partner.
• Richard Jeni as Charles "Charlie" Schumaker, Stanley's best friend. Charlie is amiable but can be selfish or irrational at times.
• Amy Yasbeck as Peggy Brandt, a reporter looking for a scoop to get her out of the advice column.
• Jeremy Roberts as Bobby, one of Tyrell's top henchmen employed as the bouncer at the Coco Bongo. He is a friend of Charlie.
• Ben Stein as Dr. Arthur Neuman, a psychiatrist who tells Stanley about the mask being a creation of Loki. He is also the author of the book The Masks We Wear, which deals with people portraying themselves differently on the outside to be accepted by others.
• Ivory Ocean as Mayor Mitchell Tilton, the mayor of Edge City.
• Reg E. Cathey as Freeze, one of Tyrell's top henchmen and a loyal friend of his.
• Denis Forest as Sweet Eddy, one of Tyrell's henchmen.
• Eamonn Roche as Mr. Dickey, Stanley and Charlie's supervisor at Edge City Bank
• Tim Bagley and Johnny Williams as Irv and Burt Ripley, the car mechanics who overcharge Stanley and gave him a faulty loner car
• Nancy Fish as Agnes Peenman, Stanley's temperamental landlady.
• Nils Allen Stewart as Orlando, one of Tyrell's henchmen.
• Blake Clark as Murray, Peggy's supervisor at the city's local newspaper.
• Joely Fisher as Maggie, a client who comes to buy concert tickets and blows Stanley off for her friend. She appears only in the beginning of the film.
• Christopher Darga as Paramedic #3
• Richard Montes as Henchman #1
• Daniel James Peterson as Henchman #6
• Kevin Grevioux as Henchman #7
• Scott McElroy and Howard Kay as Niko's thugs
• Max as Milo, Stanley's Jack Russell Terrier. When wearing the Mask, Milo becomes quite aggressive and mischievous but is still friendly and loyal to his owner.^[5][6]

This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2022)

The film was released on VHS and Laserdisc on January 18, 1995, and on DVD on March 26, 1997. The VHS version included the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "The Mask", which features interviews with Jim Carrey and Chuck Russell. It was later released on Blu-ray Disc on December 9, 2008.^[33] It was the most rented title in the UK for the year 1995 with 3.8 million rentals.^[34]

After the success of the original, a sequel film was planned, with magazine Nintendo Power offering readers a chance, via sweepstakes, to win a cameo role in the film.^[35] Carrey eventually bailed on the project, forcing Nintendo Power to give the winner of the contest the equivalent cash value of the cameo role instead.^[36] A stand-alone sequel, Son of the Mask, featuring neither Carrey nor Diaz, was eventually released in 2005, but it was a critical and commercial failure upon release, and the franchise was put on hold indefinitely.

On the possibility of a direct sequel to the 1994 film with Carrey reprising the role of Stanley Ipkiss and Diaz as Tina Carlyle, Mike Richardson said in a 2014 interview, "We've been talking about reviving The Mask, both in film and in comics. We've had a couple of false starts".^[37]