Stanley Ipkiss

"S-S-S-SMOKIN'!"

- Stanley's famous quote in the film

Stanley Ipkiss is the Edge City Bank teller and the main protagonist of the 1994 live-action film, The Mask, and the animated series that followed. He was voiced by Rob Paulsen in the animated series and was played by actor Jim Carrey in the film, who plays Ace Ventura from Ace Ventura Pet Detective, Cable Guy the main antagonist from The Cable Guy, Johnny Squares from The Dead Pool and Hank Evans from Me Myself and Irene.

The Mask
Stanley Ipkiss is a shy and unlucky bank clerk working at the local Edge City bank. He is frequently ridiculed by everyone around him, except for his Jack Russell Terrier Milo, and his co-worker and best friend Charlie Schumaker. Meanwhile, gangster Dorian Tyrell, owner of the Coco Bongo nightclub, plots to overthrow his boss Niko. One day, Tyrell sends his singer girlfriend Tina Carlyle into Stanley's bank to record its layout, in preparation to rob the bank.

Stanley is attracted to Tina Carlyle, and she seems to reciprocate. After being denied entrance to the Coco Bongo, he finds a wooden mask near the city's harbor. Placing it on his face transforms him into a zoot-suited, green-faced, bizarre trickster known as the Mask, who is able to cartoonishly alter himself and his surroundings at will. Stanley scares off a street gang that attempts to rob him by turning a balloon into a Tommy gun, and then he exacts revenge on his tormentors.

The next morning, Stanley encounters detective Lieutenant Kellaway and newspaper reporter Peggy Brandt investigating the Mask's activity of the previous night. To attend Tina's performance, he again becomes the Mask to raid the bank, inadvertently foiling Tyrell's plan in the process. At the Coco Bongo, Stanley dances exuberantly with Tina, whom he ends up kissing. Following a confrontation with Tyrell, Stanley flees leaving behind a scrap of cloth from his suit that transforms back into his pajamas, while Tyrell is arrested by the police as a suspect for the bank robbery.

Based on the shred of cloth, Kellaway suspects Stanley to be the bank robber. Stanley later consults an expert on masks named Arthur Neuman, who tells him that the object is a depiction of Loki, the Norse god of darkness and mischief. The same night, Stanley transforms into the Mask and meets Tina at the local Landfill Park, but the meeting is interrupted by Kellaway, who attempts to arrest him. Stanley tricks a large group of police officers into joining him in a mass-performance of the Desi Arnaz song "Cuban Pete", takes off the mask and flees with Peggy, but she betrays him to Tyrell for a $50,000 bounty. Tyrell tries on the mask and becomes a malevolent green-faced monster. Forced to reveal the location of the stolen money, Stanley is kept hostage in one of the mob's cars while Tyrell's henchmen reclaim the money, and is later given to Kellaway, along with a rubber green mask, to be detained.

When Tina visits Stanley in his cell, he urges her to flee the city. Tina thanks Stanley for treating her with respect and tells him that she knew that he was the Mask all along. She attempts to leave the city, but is captured by Tyrell's enforcer Orlando and taken to a 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 both the club and Tina. Milo helps Stanley escape from his cell, and Stanley brings Kellaway as a cover and hostage in a desperate attempt to stop Tyrell.

After securing Charlie's assistance, Stanley is spotted and captured. Tina tricks Tyrell into taking off the mask, which is recovered and donned by Milo, turning the dog into a cartoonish pitbull who defeats Tyrell's men, while Stanley fights Tyrell himself. After recovering the mask, Stanley uses its abilities to save Tina by swallowing Tyrell's bomb and flushing Tyrell down the drain of the club's ornamental fountain. The police arrive and arrest Tyrell's remaining henchmen, while Kellaway attempts to arrest Stanley once again. Tilton arrives and debunks Kellaway's statements, announcing to everyone that Tyrell was The Mask all throughout. He then goes on to thank Stanley for saving lives and having Stanley free to go, then Tilton then tells Kellaway that he needs to have a serious meeting with him in the morning and all charges against Stanley are dropped. As the sun rises the following day, Stanley, Tina, Milo, and Charlie take the mask back down to the harbor. Tina throws the mask into the water, and she and Stanley kiss. Charlie attempts to retrieve the mask for himself, only to find Milo swimming away with it.

The Mask: Animated Series
Coming soon

Trivia

 * Matthew Broderick, Steve Martin, Rick Moranis and Martin Short were considered for the role of Stanley Ipkiss before Jim Carrey was cast.