The Mask (animation)/Characters

Some or all of these characters need descriptions. A list of tropes is not a description.

Stanley Ipkiss / The Mask

• Acting Unnatural - Once he gets ahold of the Mask, it happens a lot.
• Adaptation Distillation: Though much of Ipkiss' personality is the same in the beginning of both the comics and the movie. In the comics Stanley becomes more psychotic and abusive whenever he doesn't have the mask on.
• Bad Liar - Somebody stole his pajamas!
• Becoming the Mask: Literally as Stanley wears the ancient mask and becomes a green-headed man named The Mask.
• Beneath the Mask: Stanley is shy, a doormat and is socially awkward, but underneath there is a side of him who wants out which the ancient mask does it and The Mask comes out in the open who is wild, love-crazy, and confident.
• Butt Monkey Whether it's the comic, the movie or the animated series, Stanley tends to get treated like crap by almost everyone other than his closiest friends. In the comic, that serves as his motive for revenge. In the film, he Took a Level In Badass at the end. In the animated series, it's to the point that he becomes The Woobie. Averted in the film, as The Mask gets more luck than Stanley does, but in the animated series, it's downplayed as The Mask is confident with facing his enemies which he comes out on top and successfully pulls pranks on people who bullied Stanley, but he does not get any luck with any girls, because of his too strong nature, but he does make up for it, by being a sweet and friendly guy, which does get them to be attracted to him because of it.
• Chekhov's Gag - Stanley's favourite cartoons become the traits of The Mask (for starters, he spins like Taz).
  • His head even morphs into the Tex Avery wolf from Red Hot Riding Hood.
  • Any gags made by The Mask is used later on as he uses them to defeat his enemies or trick them into thinking he is dead or defeated, only to show them that they have not.
• Cloudcuckoolander - The Mask is wacky, impulsive, cartoonish, and genuinely insane, but he does have a good heart, as he saves innocent people in danger from time to time.
• Comically Invincible Hero - Again, with the powers of the Mask.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath - The Mask is a genuine maniac and causes trouble, even becoming a gangster at first, but does have a good heart as he stops Dorian by the end of the film and in the animated series despite still causing mischief, is now a superhero. He also cares about his friends, his dog Milo and the people in Edge City. Except in the comics, where he's a straight-up Villain Protagonist.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Played straight in the film, as Stanley is not very well-liked by almost everyone, except his closest friends, his dog Milo and the woman he loves Tina, and The Mask ends up getting a bad reception of being seen a troublemaker, a criminal and even become a gangster at first, but both of them do have good hearts as they save everyone from Dorian in the end. In the animated series, it is Zig-Zagged, as The Mask still has bad relations with most members of the police department thanks to his troublemaking antics, and his wild and chaotic nature, but he is very well-liked by the public, some members of the police department like Doyle and the ones with high ranks, and even by the government as well, thanks to being a sweet, polite, well-mannered, kind, gentleman towards them, and Stanley does not have a good reception with most people in Edge City still, but he is still well-liked by his friends, his dog and even some members of the public.
• I Have This Friend - Stanley claims to be friends with "The Mask".
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The Mask is a genuine troublemaker, a bit of a jerk and a lazy troll, but he does care about his friends along with the people who live with in Edge City as well, so he will protect them from the villains at all times.
• Friend to All Children: The Mask cares about children very much and he is a surprisingly stern, but still a fun-loving father figure to younger children, and is a laidback, fun-loving, caring, older brother figure to the older children.
• Jim Carrey: His actor in the movie (in the animated series, Stanley is voiced by Rob Paulsen)
• Large Ham: both as the Stanley and the Mask in the movie. In the animated series, Stanley is portrayed as a bit less hammy and more shy, but the Mask is still incredibly hammy.
• Nice Guy: Stanley is shy and doormat, but he is kind, friendly and polite towards people and The Mask is the same as well despite being too strong, wild, and love-crazy.
• The Mad Hatter: The Mask is insane and a lunatic, but he is aware of that, and is proud of being one. The fact he only causes goofy and harmless chaos, shows he is a lot more sane than he appears to be.
• Sexier Alter Ego - Note that he's not more physically attractive (unless you're into that sort of thing), but more confident and impulsive (and gets Reality Warper powers), and that's why he gets the Love Interest in the end.
• Papa Wolf: Stanley and The Mask care very much about Milo and love him like he is their little kid, so when Pretorius forces The Mask to kick him, Stanley and The Mask both show him why it was a bad idea to do that. The Mask is also this with children as well, as he takes his babysitting job seriously while he's taking care of a baby, and will go after anyone who tries to hurt any children.
• Only Sane Man: Stanley is one of the few people who has common sense unlike most in Edge City, and The Mask also has his moments of being this as he also has common sense as well.
• Obfuscating Insanity: Downplayed, as The Mask is genuinely insane and chaotic, but is a lot more orderly and sane than he appears to be at first, as it is implied he puts on facade of being more insane to throw the people he does not like and his enemies off guard.

Milo

• Badass
• Frank Welker: His voice actor on the cartoon series
• Non-Human Sidekick
• Team Pet - To an extent.

Tina Carlyle

• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome - When the movie was adapted into a Saturday morning cartoon, Tina was never seen and her existence was not acknowledged.
• Defrosting Ice Queen - Not cold, just a little aloof at first
• Expy: Of Kathy, Stanley's girlfriend, from the comics.
• Femme Fatale
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold - Starts out as a criminal, but reforms.
• Ms. Fanservice
• Shallow Love Interest - Becomes way less shallow by the end of the film.

Charlie Schumaker

• Only Friend - Charlie does appear to be Stanley's only friend.
• With Friends Like These... - He's not always good at being there for Stanley, see below.
• ...Who Needs Enemies? - He'll drop a conversation with Stanley to talk to a pretty girl.

Lieutenant Kellaway

• Butt Monkey / The Chew Toy
• Hero Antagonist: He is this in the comic. In the film and the animated series, he is this, as he is a law abiding officer of the law, but can be too blind to see the obvious clues in front of him at times, and while he is right about The Mask being chaotic and wild, as it is his job to keep things in order, The Mask is harmless as he only causes goofy chaos and is a genuine hero as well.
• Inspector Javert: In the cartoon, he's got a grudge. In the comics though, it's justified.
• The Comically Serious: He is always serious in the comic, the film and the animated series, which gets to the point of actually being funny to watch.
• No Sense of Humor - See below.
  • Moreso in the comics, where he's trying to hunt down and stop an artifact that turns anyone who wears it into an unstoppable, psychotic mass-murderer.
• Shout-Out - In the cartoon, he wears a brown raincoat, much like another TV police lieutenant with no first name given.
• Straight Man - With almost no sense of humor.

Detective Doyle

• Butt Monkey
• Captain Obvious
• Clueless Detective - Don't bother trying to give him a hint in Pig Latin.
  • He's even more clueless in the cartoon, making one wonder how the hell could he have passed the police academy.
• Jim Cummings - His voice actor on the animated series
• Plucky Comic Relief: He is this in the film and the animated series, to the point that The Mask is a lot more serious than him at times.
• Friendly Enemy - Tried to shake Stanley's hand after he saved the day. In the animated series, he is this with The Mask as well, to the point that The Mask comes to like him as well, making him one of the few police officer that he doesn't pull his pranks or wedgies on.
• Took a Level In Dumbass - In his initial scene at the bank, Doyle seems to be quite intelligent. By the time we see him at the park, he's suddenly a ditz and by the film's end he's a certified idiot. The cartoon made him even dumber.

Detective Lionel

• Angry Black Man - Lionel turned into one when Kellaway/Big Head started fighting the police, and challenged Big Head to a fist fight. Big Head almost killed him, and would have if Kellaway hadn't regained control of himself.
• Black Best Friend - Oh hell, Lionel is Kellaway's ONLY friend.
• Black Dude Dies First - Subverted, as Lionel is one of the few people Big Head doesn't end up killing.
• Canon Defilement - A rather odd official example- Lionel was completely ignored for the film and cartoon. Instead, they gave the role of Lt. Kellaway's partner to Doyle, a character so completely different it's not even safe to say he's based on Lionel.
• Idiot Ball - Lionel challenged Big Head to a fist fight. This went as well as one would expect...
• The Watson - He's not only Kellaway's partner, but one of the few people in the police force that Kellaway even trusts.
• Token Minority - Lionel is the only member of the named main cast who's black.
• White Dude, Black Dude - Subverted. With Kellaway and Lionel it's more "angry dude, calm dude"., respectively.

Mrs. Peenman

• Butt Monkey: And how! Especially in the animated series (though, given how much of a mean old lady she is, Peenman is more of an Asshole Victim).
• Cranky Landlord
• Hair-Trigger Temper
• Jerkass
• Tress MacNeille: Her voice actress in the cartoon series

Peggy Brandt

• Face Heel Turn: In the movie, she turns Stanley over to Tyrell for money.
• Going for the Big Scoop: In the cartoon, even to the point of wearing the mask at one point, out of curiosity of putting it on just for one time and it turns her into a egotistical, British, wacky, polite woman who does have a good heart like The Mask.
• Hot Scoop: Peggy is attractive to the point, that The Mask has a crush on her.
• Intrepid Reporter: In the cartoon.
• Karma Houdini: In the movie, since the scene of Peggy getting shoved in the printing press by Dorian and coming out as a bloodied newspaper that has her death on the front page was cut. She and Stanley became friends in the cartoon, on the other hand. But he never got over her selling him out.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: She disappears after Dorian wears the mask. Originally, he would follow by tossing her into a newspaper printing press

Dorian Tyrell

• Big Bad: In the movie.
• Domestic Abuser - Don't see too much in the movie, but it seems pretty obvious anyway.
• Berserk Button - DON'T COME ANYWHERE NEAR HIS GIRL!
• Hair-Trigger Temper
• Law of Disproportionate Response - Get pushed around by the "Big Boss"... Blow up his Casino and everyone in it.
• Unstoppable Rage - When he wears the Mask.

Dr. Pretorius

• Arch Enemy / Big Bad: Of the animated series.
• Cyborg
• Expy: He looks a lot like Eugene Rapaz, a drug dealer from the comics. Tone down the mohawk and replace the eye lenses with glasses...
• Hammerspace: The tiny circular base of his head has the mechanisms to drive six small legs, a computer interface jack, various tools, a neural interface and circuitry, and one would assume a complex life support system to keep him alive without a body(albeit such a system may be meant for short term use as he's almost always attached to his robotic body).
• Losing Your Head: When it happens, it grows spider legs!
• Mad Scientist
• Shout-Out: He shares his name with the mad scientist from Bride of Frankenstein.
• Tim Curry: His voice actor on the cartoon.

Dr. Neuman

• Affably Evil: In the animated series, when he puts on the mask, he becomes delusional and psychotic, but still retains his politeness and professional demeanour, as the first thing he did is putting Stanley in a therapy session instead of killing him despite clearly annoyed at him. After doing he puts him in a wedgie straitjacket and does the same to everyone else he meets at first sight, though he does show that he can lose his temper when he finds out that Charlie knew about Stanley is to perform a lobotomy on him, but when his appointment alarm goes off, he decides to go to his appointment and puts Charlie in a wedgie straitjacket instead. After he does hears what Pretorius has to say, he actually agrees with everyone else that he is insane, but thinking there is an outbreak of a disorder called Ipkissa Maskosis and that he is not so different from him, he decides to help him with his plan, but does it through protocols to get him into his care, instead of breaking out him of the police station.
• Cloudcuckoolander: In the animated series, while wearing the mask, though he is serious and aggressive, he is somewhat childish and loony, as his ways of transportations are a child bicycle, a book and finally a bouncy stick. His ways of keeping people safe is by putting them in wedgie straitjackets, and even does it to a gorilla as well. He also bounces his head on the pavement as well.
• The Cameo: He is the only one to appear in the movie's sequel as the curator to history of the mask in the beginning, and gets his face removed by the mask's creator Loki.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: In the animated series, when he puts on the mask, he still denies that he is wearing it, even though he changes his voice from deep to high-pitched and popped his eyes out three times with springs attached while seeing Stanley.
• Psycho Psychologist: In the animated series, after putting the mask on, he goes on a rampage putting Stanley and anyone else he sees into wedgie straitjackets. He is loony as he believes there is an disorder called Ipkissia Maskosis that causes everyone to think The Mask is real, and even agrees to team up with Pretorius to help him with his plan to destroy Edge City in an attempt to get rid of the disorder once and for all.
• Laughably Evil: Masked Dr. Neuman though serious and scary is also funny, childish and bizarre like The Mask is at times.
• There Are No Therapists: Downplayed, as he is one, but thinks The Mask is not real and Stanley is making it up, even though there are reports of The Mask around the city lots of times.
• Ben Stein His actor in the film and the animated series.

Walter

• Arch Enemy: In the comics to Big Head, and in the animated series to The Mask as he is the only one that The Mask is genuinely afraid of.
• The Brute: Moreso in the comics than the cartoon, where he was a mob hitman and enforcer.
• The Dragon: To Dr. Pretorius in the cartoon, to the mob in the comics.
• The Dreaded: In the animated series, he is this to The Mask, as while The Mask is confident and brave towards his enemies, Walter is the only one that he is genuinely scared of, to the point that the only way to get rid of him, is sending him somewhere else, instead of using his usual methods to take him down.
• Implacable Man: In the comic and the animated series he cannot be stopped even by Big Head in the comic and The Mask in the animated series.
• Nigh Invulnerable: In the cartoon. In the comics he could be taken down with enough of a beating.
• President Evil: A comic (likely based on the cartoon) had him running for Mayor of Edge City.
• Self-Mutilation Demonstration: Just to be clear here- comic Walter can bleed, though it doesn't seem to really hurt him. Cartoon Walter is impervious to wounds. That said... in the comics he had a disgusting habit of cutting himself just to mess with people's heads.
• The Voiceless

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