7 best movies to watch if you like The Mask (1994)

Jim Carrey’s 1994 hit The Mask is a mix of live-action cartoon style, noir romance, and chaotic comedy. The film’s key feature is how it lets a quiet bank clerk turn into a green-faced trickster who acts on his inner desires while following comic-book rules.

Fans who watch The Mask again often seek that same exciting blend of physical comedy, strange visual jokes, and a flexible lead performance. Hollywood has tried similar styles for years: stories where normal people meet the supernatural, animated elements, or wild behavior, creating dreamlike comedy.

The seven films below each share a part of The Mask’s appeal, such as exaggerated comedy, reality-changing effects, or the fun of seeing a held-back hero break free, while being fun to rewatch on their own.

Disclaimer: The following movies are ranked in no particular order. This article solely contains the writer’s opinion.

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Beetlejuice, Ace Ventura, and 5 other must-watch movies for fans of The Mask

1) Beetlejuice (1988)

Beetlejuice (1988) (Image via Apple TV)

Tim Burton’s 1988 ghost comedy drops newly deceased couple Adam and Barbara Maitland into a bureaucratic afterlife. Trapped in their own home, they hire “bio-exorcist” Betelgeuse, an obscene, shape-shifting ghost in a black-and-white striped suit, to scare away the yuppie Deetz family now living upstairs.

The plan backfires when the ghoulish con artist sets his sights on marrying the Deetzes’ death-obsessed daughter, Lydia. Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse is the inner self set free, a cruder and more ghoulish counterpart to Carrey’s green-faced charmer, with fast talk and quick-changing clothes.

The film’s practical effects, from shrinking heads, sandworms, a dinner table dance number, to Harry Belafonte, give every joke a real, handmade feel that modern digital comedies often lack.

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2) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Set in 1947 Hollywood, this 1988 blockbuster imagines a world where “Toons” share the studio backlot with flesh-and-blood humans. Hard-drinking private eye Eddie Valiant is hired to prove cartoon star Roger Rabbit didn’t murder nightclub owner Marvin Acme.

The investigation uncovers a corporate scheme to dismantle Toontown, forcing Eddie to confront both his own prejudice and a terrifying judge who can kill cartoons with a vat of turpentine dip. The jokes work when Roger smashes plates over his head or Baby Herman stalks off-set with a cigar the size of a broomstick.

They succeed because they break spatial rules, an effect also seen in Ipkiss’s dance scenes. From a bitter man who hates “Toons” because one killed his brother to their protector, Eddie’s story matches Stanley’s path from ordinary to hero with the mask.

Also read: 7 best action movies based on true stories

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3) Liar Liar (1997)

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/Universal Pictures)

In this 1997 hit, Carrey plays Fletcher Reede, a slick attorney whose chronic fibbing costs him his ex-wife’s trust and his son Max’s affection. On Max’s birthday wish, Fletcher is cursed to tell the truth for 24 hours.

The spell sabotages courtroom shenanigans, divorce negotiations, and even flirtatious elevator encounters, forcing the lawyer to rebuild his life one honest sentence at a time. Liar Liar removes the green makeup but keeps Carrey’s full-body movements, showing his face is a special effect.

Director Tom Shadyac, who also directed Carrey in Ace Ventura, knows the audience wants Carrey’s inner energy in everyday settings.

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4) Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) (Image via Apple TV)

Released only months before The Mask, this 1994 surprise smash casts Carrey as Ace Ventura, a Miami-based tracker of missing animals. When the NFL’s Miami Dolphins mascot is kidnapped, Ace’s eccentric investigation uncovers a former kicker’s plot to sabotage the Super Bowl.

The case involves shark tanks, a transphobic reveal, and a talking ass that could win an Oscar for Best Supporting Derriere. Ace Ventura is an early version of Stanley Ipkiss’s wild energy. Carrey’s exaggerated physical comedy includes moments like talking out of his butt and swinging from helicopter skids, traits also seen in The Mask.

Both characters wear outfits that show change: Ventura’s Hawaiian shirt and hair become signs of confidence, like the mask turns Stanley into a suited hero.

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5) Men in Black (1997)

Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1997 comedy follows James Edwards, who was recruited into a clandestine agency that polices extraterrestrial immigrants on Earth. Paired with veteran Agent K, Edwards, now “J,” must stop a giant cockroach in an Edgar suit from stealing a galaxy the size of a marble and triggering an interstellar war.

The film ends with a neuralyzer flash, making the whole adventure feel like a dream. Where The Mask gives one man great power, Men in Black gives it to officials in sunglasses. When J chases an alien and sees it grow wings on a sidewalk, it has the same surprise as Ipkiss’s green face changing fast.

The designs, like old-style neuralyzers and small galaxy marbles, add the same fun whimsy that makes The Mask feel like an old cartoon in modern times. Will Smith’s new agent also shares Carrey’s ordinary guy appeal.

Also read: 5 best movies of Sydney Sweeney

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6) The Cable Guy (1996)

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/SonyPictures)

Ben Stiller’s 1996 dark comedy stars Matthew Broderick as Steven Kovacs, a newly single engineer who befriends Chip Douglas, an overly enthusiastic cable installer played by Carrey.

Chip’s who favors premium channels, karaoke nights, and medieval-themed restaurant brawls, come with strings that tighten into stalking, sabotage, and a showdown at a satellite tower during a rainstorm. The Cable Guy reverses The Mask’s power story: the villain has it, leaving the normal hero to escape the chaos.

Chip’s changing voice and karaoke song feel like extra scenes from Stanley Ipkiss’s style, but the film asks what happens if the mask stays on. Visually, the film uses The Mask’s bright style. Chip’s apartment is full of TVs, like a real Edge City where shows replace morals.

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7) Jumanji (1995)

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/SonyPictures)

Joe Johnston’s 1995 fantasy adventure begins in 1969 when young Alan Parrish disappears into a supernatural board game. Twenty-six years later, siblings Judy and Peter roll the dice, freeing Alan (now Robin Williams) and unleashing jungle hazards into small-town New Hampshire.

To reverse the chaos, they must finish the game, confronting monsoons, stampedes, and a hunter who looks suspiciously like Alan’s own father. Jumanji makes The Mask’s main idea real: games as a doorway.

Where Stanley Ipkiss uses a mask to release his inner fun, Alan Parrish rolls the dice to bring out his past pain. Both stories have growing action like flooded rooms, plant-covered stairs, and monkeys on bikes, which make heroes grow or fail. Williams’s role connects Carrey’s energy and real emotion.

Also read: 9 most popular James Gunn movies: ranked from best to worst

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From ghost tricks to magic games to alien offices, the seven films above each share a part of The Mask’s bright energy.

Edited by Toshali Kritika