Despite recent discussions arising about a possible sequel, Jim Carrey’s The Mask already has two sequels, and one is much better than the other. Released in 1994, alongside his breakout role in Ace Ventura and the buddy comedy Dumb and Dumber, The Mask is one of the prominent movies 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 Mask is a staple 1990s 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 regard The Mask as a timeless classic. With such a well-known legacy, it’s quite surprising that an official The Mask 2 was never made, although this is likely down to Carrey’s stance on sequels. However, The Mask was followed up by two sequel projects that didn’t feature Jim Carrey at all: an animated series and Son 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

Many kids 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 Mask received 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 Series followed on from the events of the movie, exploring Stanley Ipkiss’ exploits while wearing the mask, including becoming a personal ᴀssistant 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 after The Mask was first released, 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 Mask introduces 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 Mask was a box office bomb, following a trend 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

Considering The Mask’s origins, the animated series was a surprisingly great follow-up to the 1994 movie. Jim Carrey’s The Mask movie was originally a dark comic book series by 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 Mask comic was also known for its extremely dark tone and graphic violence, something which The Mask toned down for marketability.

Therefore, despite The Mask’s $351.8 million box office success (via The Numbers), when an animated TV series geared towards a younger audience was announced, it seemed strange; although The Mask toned down its dark origins, a children’s cartoon seemed too difficult. However, The Mask: Animated Series actually 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.

Son Of The Mask Is Not Just A Bad Sequel – It’s A Terrible Movie

The Good News Is Carrey & Diaz Are Open To Doing A Better The Mask Sequel

In contrast to The Mask: Animated Series, Son of the Mask was considerably less well-received. With a much higher budget than The Mask and over a decade of advancement, you would expect 2005’s sequel to do well. However, the film received negative reviews and was a major box office bomb, with many feeling that Son of the Mask would’ve been better if Jim Carrey returned instead. In fact, Son of the Mask was 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.

From bad scripts and acting, to an intrusive musical score, there are many reasons why Son of the Mask was a terrible movie, and it could never live up to Jim Carrey’s 1994 classic. Recently, Carrey was asked if he would ever consider a The Mask sequel, revealing he would be open to it if “somebody had the right idea.” This comes after the success of the Sonic movies, which have seemingly changed the actor’s mind on sequels. Furthermore, Cameron Diaz’s additional enthusiasm for The Mask 2 has us hoping a real The Mask sequel will be on the horizon soon.

Sources: The Numbers