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Son of the Mask
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLawrence Guterman
Written byLance Khazei
Based onThe Mask
byMike RichardsonJohn ArcudiChris WarnerDoug Mahnke
Produced byErica HugginsScott Kroopf
StarringJamie KennedyAlan CummingTraylor HowardSteven WrightKal PennBob Hoskins
CinematographyGreg Gardiner
Edited byMalcolm CampbellJohn ConiglioDebra Neil-Fisher
Music byRandy Edelman
Production
companies		Radar Pictures[1]Dark Horse Entertainment[1]
Distributed byNew Line Cinema (United States)Warner Bros. Pictures (Germany)
Release datesFebruary 18, 2005 (United States)March 10, 2005 (Germany)
Running time94 minutes[2]
CountriesUnited States[1]Germany[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$84–$100 million[3][4]
Box office$59.9 million[4]

Son of the Mask is a 2005 superhero comedy film[1][5] directed by Lawrence Guterman. A sequel to The Mask (1994), it is the second film in The Mask franchise, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Dark Horse Comics. The film stars Jamie Kennedy as Tim Avery, an aspiring animator whose child is born with the powers of the Mask. It co-stars Alan Cumming as Loki, whom Odin has ordered to find the Mask, alongside Traylor Howard, Kal Penn, Steven Wright, Bob Hoskins as Odin, and Ryan and Liam Falconer as Tim baby Alvey. Ben Stein cameos as Doctor Arthur Neuman from the original film.

Plans for a second film started as early as 1996 when an issue of Nintendo Power held a promotional contest,[6] but since Jim Carey declined to return to the sequel due to his personal experiences with Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, the contest ultimately failed.[7] Development would eventually restart in 2001 with Kennedy starring in the role, and the majority of the film was shot in Sydney, Australia from late-November 2003 to early-April 2004.[8] After being delayed from a tentative Summer to October 15, 2004 release, the film was eventually released to theatres on February 18, 2005 by New Line Cinema in the United States and on March 10, 2005 by Warner Bros. Pictures in Germany. Upon release, Son of the Mask was panned by critics and audiences, with large criticism pointed directly towards its script, lack of the original cast, and moments too inappropriate for a PG-rated film. The film only managed to gross $59.9 million worldwide, less than its $84–$100 million budget, making it a box-office bomb, especially compared to its predecessor’s critical and commercial success. It is widely considered as one of the worst films of all time.

Plot

Some time after the events of the first film, Doctor Arthur Neuman is giving a tour of the hall of Norse mythology in Edge City’s local museum. Neuman mentions that Loki, the God of Mischief, created the mask and unleashed it on Earth to spread chaos among humankind and that those who wear it are granted his powers. When Neuman mentions Loki’s imprisonment at his father Odin‘s hands, a stranger becomes furious and transforms, revealing himself to be Loki. The tourists panic and flee, but Neuman stays to argue with Loki, who takes the mask in the display case, only to realize it is a replica. In anger, he removes Neuman’s face and puts it in the case, disposes of the arriving authorities, and storms out of the museum, frantically searching for his Mask.

In Fringe City, the real mask is found in a river by a dog named Otis who belongs to Tim Avery. An aspiring animator, Tim is reluctant to accept parenthood with his wife Tonya. On a tropical island, Loki is relaxing until Odin orders him to resume the search for the mask, believing it has caused too much chaos for mankind. Loki asks his father for help, but Odin says that he has to take responsibility for his actions.

Tim puts on the mask for his studio’s Halloween party, and becomes a green-faced party animal who can magically alter his surroundings. When the party turns out to be a bore, Tim uses his newfound powers to perform a remix of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You“, invigorating the event and giving Tim’s boss Daniel Moss the inspiration for a new cartoon. That night, Tim returns to his house and has sex with Tonya, while still wearing the mask. A baby is conceived and is born with the same powers as the mask, which alerts Odin. Possessing a store clerk, Odin informs Loki and tells him that if he finds the child, he will find the mask.

Months later, Tonya goes on a business trip, leaving Tim with their son Alvey. Tim, now promoted, desperately tries to work on his cartoon at home, but is continuously disrupted by Alvey. To get some peace and quiet, Tim lets Alvey watch various cartoons on television, which inspire Alvey to torment his father using his powers. Otis, who has been feeling neglected by Tim, accidentally dons the mask, gains its power, and tries to get rid of Alvey, but his attempts are foiled by the craftier infant.

Loki eventually finds Alvey and confronts Tim for the mask, but Alvey uses his powers to protect his father. Odin, possessing Tim’s body, finally had enough of Loki, scolds his destructive approach, and strips him of his powers. Tim is later fired after failing to impress Moss during a pitch but reconciles and bonds with Alvey. Loki, determined to please his father, sneaks into the Avery household and completes a summoning ritual and appeals to Odin to restore his powers. Odin agrees, but only for a limited time, stating this is his last chance.

Loki kidnaps Alvey in exchange for the mask. Tonya returns home and goes with Tim and Otis, to whom Tim had apologized for his negligence, to make the exchange. Loki, impressed by his powers of the mask and growing fond of him, decides to keep Alvey despite the exchange, forcing the group to chase after them as Tim becomes the Mask once more. The subsequent confrontation is evenly matched, prompting Loki to halt the fight, suggesting they let Alvey decide who to be with. Although Loki tries to lure Alvey to him with promises of fun, Tim takes off the mask and convinces his son to choose him. Enraged, Loki tries to kill Tim, but his time and powers run out at the last minute, before Odin appears in person, again scolding Loki for his failure. Tim, however, feels sympathy for Loki and reminds Odin that regardless of their problems, they are still family. After Tim gives them the mask, Odin reconciles with Loki, and the duo returns home.

Sometime later, Tim is rehired when his cartoon, based on Alvey and Otis competing for his attention, becomes a success. After the Avery family watches the cartoon’s premiere, Tonya reveals that she is pregnant again.

Cast

Production

Development

After the release of The Mask, Nintendo Power announced that Jim Carrey would be returning in a sequel called The Mask II. The magazine held a contest where the first prize would be awarded a walk-on role in the film.[6] Chuck Russell, who directed the original film, expressed his interest in a Mask sequel in his 1996 Laserdisc commentary. He was hoping Carrey would come back as the title character, along with Amy Yasbeck, who played reporter Peggy Brandt in the original. Russell decided to cut scenes when Peggy dies and leave the character open for the sequel. In a 1995 Barbara Walters Special, Carrey revealed that he was offered $10 million to star in The Mask II.[9] Carrey turned it down, because his experiences on Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls convinced him that reprising a character he had previously played offered him no challenges as an actor. Due to Carrey declining to reprise his role, the project never came to fruition, and the concept for the sequel was completely changed. The winner of the failed contest was given $5,000 and other prizes as compensation and was issued an apology in the final issue of Nintendo Power in 2012.[7]

Pre-production

In 2001, it was reported that Lance Khazei was asked by New Line Cinema to do the script for a sequel to The Mask.[10] Addressing the differences between the sequel and the original film, director Lawrence Guterman compared it to the differences between Alien and Aliens, stating that, “Son of the Mask is a completely different story.”[11] Jack Black, Chris Rock, Breckin Meyer, Will Ferrell, Marlon Wayans, and Ryan Reynolds were initially offered the role of Tim Avery, but all have turned it down, with the latter already committed to Blade: Trinity at the time.[12][8] Ben Stein reprises his role as Dr. Arthur Neuman from the original film, re-establishing the relationship between the mask and its creator, Loki. He is the only actor to appear in both films as well as in The Mask cartoon series. The dog’s name, Otis, connects with the dog from the original film and comic book, Milo, as a reference to The Adventures of Milo and Otis. The naming of the Avery family pays homage to Tex Avery as its patriarch and the film’s protagonist, Tim Avery, wants to be a cartoonist.

Jamie Kennedy was offered the lead role after a couple of other projects he was to make with Warner Bros.‘s own television unit did not go into production. He had initially turned down the offer to star due to scheduling conflicts with his television series The Jamie Kennedy Experiment. Both the studio and network managed to work his schedule and he was signed. However, Kennedy was once again hesitant due to Tim only having minuscule time as the Mask and considered instead playing the role of Loki due to the versatile nature of the character. A chance encounter with Jim Carrey convinced him to take the role as well as talks with the director and producers who pitched the film as a romantic-comedy of a simple man going through relatable circumstances as a newly married man and sudden father. Kennedy stated that he was also impressed with the special effects and hoped that the film would at least succeed in that aspect.[13]

Filming

Principal photography began on November 24, 2003 and wrapped on April 3, 2004.[citation needed] The film had a budget of $84-100 million,[4][3] and was primarily shot at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney. Kennedy stated that filming was exhausting, primarily due to the Falconer twins and Bear the dog’s constant maintenance. This combined with the heavy deadline and constant onset rewrites made it difficult to determine how the film would turn out. Its delayed filming caused its distributor New Line to delay its potential Summer 2004 release to an October 15, 2004 release and then eventually delaying it to February 18, 2005.[14]

Post-production

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Tippett Studio created the visual effects. In contrast to the first film, which was inspired by the works of Tex Avery, and comparing the live-action animation-hybrid techniques of both Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Space Jam, the animators for Son of the Mask drew from the style of Chuck Jones. ILM shared technology it developed for the computer-generated infant in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.[15] Kurtz & Friends provided digital paint for the 2D animation segments.

The original cut was roughly two hours long and only went through minor changes before getting screened for executives. Kennedy claimed that this version was much more accessible and had “scope and tones”; praising Guterman’s attention to detail. However, the film was deemed “not funny” and was demanded to have thirty-eight minutes cut from the film. This resulted in what Kennedy described as an “ADHD clusterfuck” with numerous VFX-based scenes added that focused on Alvey and Otis.[16]

Music

The musical score was composed by Randy Edelman, who also composed the first film. The film contained the extended version of Kennedy’s cover of the 1967 hit single “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli, which in the film had various musical genre styles. The soundtrack was released by New Line Records on February 8, 2005.[17][18] For its Japanese release, the theme song is “Mask” by Tackey & Tsubasa.[19]

Release

The film was originally scheduled for a Summer 2004 release in the United States by New Line Cinema, but was delayed to October 15, 2004, before eventually being pushed to February 18, 2005.[14] The studio paid $20 million of that for the North America distribution rights while international partners paid the rest, as it was expected to do well in its home media release.[20] The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in Germany on March 10, 2005.

Home media

Son of the Mask was released on VHS and DVD on May 17, 2005.[21] On April 23, 2012, the film was released on Blu-ray by Warner Home Video.[22]

Reception

Box office

The film opened on February 18, 2005, earning 4th place with $7.7 million during its Presidents’ Day weekend behind three other newcomers, Hitch, Constantine, and Because of Winn-Dixie.[20][23] In its release in Germany on March 10, 2005, the film opened earned 13th place with $227,064.[24] In total, it earned $17 million domestically in North America, $524,093 in Germany and $42.9 million internationally, earning back $59.9 million worldwide of its $84–$100 million budget, making it a disaster at the box office,[3][4] especially when compared to its predecessor‘s successful box office gross of $351.6 million against its $18-23 million budget just ten years prior.[25][26]

Critical response

Reviews for Son of the Mask were overwhelmingly negative. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 6% of 104 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3/10. The website’s consensus reads: “Overly frantic, painfully unfunny, and sorely missing the presence of Jim Carrey.”[27] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 20 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating “generally unfavorable” reviews.[28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B−” on an A+ to F scale.[29]

In his review Richard Roeper stated, “In the five years I’ve been co-hosting this show, this is the closest I’ve ever come to walking out halfway through the film, and now that I look back on the experience, I wish I had.”[30] Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 stars and stated, “What we basically have here is a license for the filmmakers to do whatever they want to do with the special effects, while the plot, like Wile E. Coyote, keeps running into the wall.” He later named it the fifth-worst film of 2005. On their television show, Ebert & Roeper, they gave the film “Two Thumbs Down”.[31] Nell Minow of Common Sense Media gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: “This movie is dumb and loud, which some kids will confuse with entertaining, but others will just find it overwhelming.”[32]

Jim Schembri of The Sydney Morning Herald was more positive, writing that the film was “a bright, fast, kiddie-oriented lark with US TV comic Jamie Kennedy doing well as the beneficiary of the magical mask that turns anyone who wears it into a dazzling display of computer-animated effects.”[33]

Accolades

In 2006, Son of the Mask was the most nominated film at the Golden Raspberry Awards with eight, winning for Worst Remake or Sequel,[34] and won several Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, including Worst Actor (Jamie Kennedy), Worst Sequel, and Worst Couple.[35] In a 2007 countdown of the 94 “worst to best” comic book to film adaptations, Rotten Tomatoes listed the film 94th.[36]

AwardCategoryRecipientResult
Golden Schmoes Awards[37]Worst Movie of the YearWon
Golden Raspberry Awards[34]Worst PictureNominated
Worst DirectorLawrence GutermanNominated
Worst ActorJamie KennedyNominated
Worst Supporting ActorAlan CummingNominated
Bob HoskinsNominated
Worst ScreenplayLance KhazeiNominated
Worst Screen CoupleJamie Kennedy and “anybody stuck sharing the screen with him”Nominated
Worst Prequel or SequelWon
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards[35]Worst PictureErica Huggins and Scott KroopfNominated
Worst ActorJamie KennedyWon
Most Intrusive Musical ScoreRandy EdelmanWon
Worst Song or Song Performance in a Film or Its End Credits“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Jamie KennedyNominated
Worst On-Screen CoupleJamie Kennedy and anyone forced to co-star with himWon
Most Annoying Fake Accent (Male)Kal PennNominated
Most Painfully Unfunny ComedyNominated
Worst SequelWon
Foulest Family FilmWon
Least “Special” Special EffectsNominated

Video game

A video game based on the movie of the same name released for the mobile phones on February 10, 2005. The game was published and developed by Indiagames.[38]

Legacy

Retrospective

The poor reception of Son of the Mask inspired Jamie Kennedy to co-create the 2007 documentary film Heckler, an examination of hecklers and professional critics.[39] Starting in 2021, Kennedy released a series of in-depth videos on his YouTube channel about his experience making the film.[8]

Possible sequel

On the possibility of a third film, Mike Richardson stated in 2014, “We’ve been talking about reviving The Mask, both in film and in comics. We’ve had a couple of false starts.”[40] In December 2024, Jim Carrey revealed that he was still interested in portraying the Mask in a sequel depending on the idea used.[41] In January 2025, Diaz also expressed interest in returning “if Jim’s on board”.[42]

See also

References

  1.  “Detail view of Movies Page”. AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  2.  “SON OF THE MASK – British Board of Film Classification”. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  3.  “Son of the Mask (2005)”. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  4.  “Son of the Mask (2005)”. The Numbers. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  5.  “The 10 Worst Superhero Movies of All Time, Ranked”. Collider. August 30, 2024.
  6.  “Player’s Poll Contest”. Nintendo Power. No. 77. October 1995. pp. 82–83.
  7.  Ponce, Tony (February 4, 2015). “Meet the winner of Nintendo Power’s The Mask II contest”. Destructoid. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  8.  Son of the Mask: The Untold Story. YouTube. Jamie Kennedy. March 25, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
  9.  Retroist: The Barbara Walters Special: Jim Carrey Interview. March 27, 1995. Retrieved April 15, 2024 – via YouTube.
  10.  “‘Mask’ Sequel in the Works but Will Carrey Be Back?”. Yahoo! News. July 31, 2001. Archived from the original on August 6, 2001. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  11.  Johnson, Kim Howard (April 2005). “Mask Amuck”. Starlog (333): 57–61.
  12.  “Jack Black Passed up Son of the Mask”. September 5, 2003. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  13.  Son of the Mask: The Untold Story PART 2. YouTube. Jamie Kennedy. May 12, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
  14.  “Son of the Mask: Think Baby Geniuses with a $93M Budget”. Bomb Report. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  15.  Bielik, Alain (February 17, 2005). “‘Son of The Mask’: Channeling Chuck Jones in CGI”. Animation World Network. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  16.  Filming Son of The Mask: The Untold Story. YouTube. Jamie Kennedy. November 23, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
  17.  “Son of the Mask | Songs, Reviews, Credits”. AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  18.  “Son of the Mask (2005) – Soundtrack.Net”. Soundtrack.Net. May 15, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  19.  “「仮面/タッキー＆翼」の歌詞 って「イイネ！」”. www.uta-net.com (in Japanese). Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  20.  Snyder, Gabriel (February 21, 2005). “‘Hitch’ richer as Keanu raises hell”. Variety. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021. “Mask” carried an extraordinarily hefty $84 million pricetag.
  21.  “Son of the Mask”. Amazon. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  22.  “Son of the Mask Blu-ray (Le Fils du Mask / My Collection) (France)”.
  23.  “Massive Turnout for Presidents’ Weekend”. February 22, 2005. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  24.  “Son of the Mask (Germany)”. Box Office Mojo. May 11, 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  25.  “The Mask (1994)”. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  26.  “The Mask (1994)”. The Numbers. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  27.  “Son of the Mask (2005)”. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2021. 
  28.  “Son of the Mask”. Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  29.  “Home”. Cinemascore. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  30.  Roeper, Richard (February 22, 2005). “Ebert & Roeper”. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on September 6, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  31.  Ebert, Roger (February 18, 2005). “‘Son of the Mask’ fails even cartoon logic test”. Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on March 20, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
  32.  Minow, Nell (April 22, 2010). “Son of the Mask – Movie Review”. Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  33.  Schembri, Jim (October 4, 2005). “Son Of The Mask”. The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  34.  “Razzies© 2003 Press Release”. Razzies.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  35.  Weinberg, Scott (March 3, 2006). “2005 Stinkers Awards Announced”. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  36.  “Comix Worst to Best”. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 8, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  37.  “Golden Schmoes Awards (2005)”. IMDb. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  38.  “Son of the Mask”. GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  39.  Crockford, C.M. (September 22, 2021). “The Superhero Comedy That Ruined Jamie Kennedy’s Career”. Looper. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  40.  Sunu, Steve (August 7, 2014). “EXCLUSIVE: Richardson Details Dark Horse’s “Itty Bitty Mask” Plans”. Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  41.  “Jim Carrey Says What Fans Want to Hear About a Possible ‘The Mask’ Sequel”. December 12, 2024.
  42.  “Cameron Diaz Says She’s Open for a ‘Mask’ Sequel as Long as Jim Carrey is ‘On Board’: ‘I’ve Been Riding Those Coattails from Day One'”. January 18, 2025.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Son of the Mask.

vteThe Mask
vteFilms based on Dark Horse Comics
vteGolden Raspberry Award for Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel

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