Ssssssssmokin’ news for nostalgic ’90s kids: Warner Bros. Discovery has released The Mask: The Animated Series —The Complete First Season to own on Digital today. The arrival of the uncontrollably zany, zoot-suited 2D superhero celebrates the 30th anniversary of the original movie The Mask, starring Jim Carrey (and a range of ultra-cartoony, Oscar-nominated VFX).
Synopsis: When he dons an ancient Nordic mask, Stanley Ipkiss moves at warp speed, knows your every desire, satisfies your every whim and dances like Fred Astaire, Gumby and Barishnikov combined. He’s s-s-s-smokin’! Based on the film The Mask, this animated series tells the story of sweet, socially inept bank teller Ipkiss, who discovers a mask that transforms him into a superhero … but one whom you may not want to call for help.
Rob Paulsen (Animaniacs, Goof Troop) stepped into Carrey’s shoes as the voice of Stanley/The Mask. The series also features the voices of Neil Ross (Voltron) as Lt. Kellaway, Jim Cummings (Winnie the Pooh) as Detective Doyle, Tim Curry as arch-nemesis Doctor Pretorius and Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo) as Milo the dog. Over the show’s three-season run (1995-97, 54 episodes), recurring characters and villains du jour were also played by celebs like Ben Stein and Sylvester Stallone, as well as animation regulars like Kevin Michael Richardson, Tress MacNeille, Charlie Adler, Dan Castellanata, Cree Summer, Carlos Alazraqui, Jess Harnell, Candi Milo and Jeff Bennett.
The Mask series was developed for television by Duane Capizzi (Transformers: Prime, Carmen Sandiego) and produced by Dark Horse Ent., New Line Television and Film Roman for CBS, with animation serviced by Sunbow. The series aired for a total of three seasons and 54 episodes from August 12, 1995, to August 30, 1997 on CBS and syndication.
Season 1 is available now for purchase digitally from Prime Video, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango at Home and more.
Based on the Dark Horse Comics series created by Mike Richardson, The Mask motion picture was directed by Chuck Russell (Witchboard, The Scorpion King). The visual effects were produced by ILM (led by animation director Wes Takahashi) and Dream Quest Images; supervisor Scott Squires, Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams, Tom Bertino and Jon Farhat were nominated for the Academy Award Best Visual Effects. Additionally, Carrey received a Golden Globe nomination for his very animated performance.
