Out of some morbid curiosity, and because I watched the franchise beginner again the other day, I watched Son of the Mask on TV earlier today.
It wasn't horrible. It was a lot better than I expected (which honestly says more about my expectations than the movie), but no where near as good as The Mask. The shining light in the whole thing was Loki*, honestly, even if they failed epicly and made Loki Odin's son... but the kid... wasn't as bad as I expected. Jamie Kennedy's character was an idiot... ("He's doing the Michigan J Frog dance right after you sat him in front of the TV and you expect him to sing and dance for an audience? you're an idiot and an insult to cartoonists everywhere...")
It was enjoyable enough to keep me from changing the channel, but that's about it. Loki was a saving grace for me, even if they made him Odin's son (he isn't), but then I like Loki. Even if they made Loki far more silly than I really see him being (and I don't think the god of mischief who let a goat tug on a rope tied to his nutsack would be bothered much by a dog chomping on it), I like Loki, they did some good things with him (when he's in action mode, he's got the directness of the Original Mask's antagonist, with Mask Wearing Stanley's style).
One "major" plot point was Otis, the cartoonist's dog, felt ignored when baby came along, and put on the mask to get the baby out of the spotlight in some Tom and Jerry style antics, this is a good enough idea to be made into a series of cartoon shorts, as they did in the movie at the end, but it's not enough for an actual movie, though I suspect that's why they threw in Loki looking for his mask while being berated by Odin, and the mother having to leave town for business so dad has to watch the kid. That wasn't enough to save the story though. Loki looking for his mask and confronting Stanley would've been awesome, I think, even if they kept this story line but used the original characters, it would've been a much better movie, though I have a feeling they approached Carey and he declined.
Ok, just checked a thread on IMDB, a sequel to the Mask was planned right after the success of the first, and Carey was offered $10-20 million, but apparently after "When Nature Calls" he hates sequels and refuses to do any he's not contractually obligated to do.
Damn. Some jerk off thought the mask could stand on it's own merits... and it really can't, it's needs a "strong" character and actor underneath it, and to be placed in a suitable storyline.
Apparently I was almost right earlier, only Michael Richardson- Producer (SotM)/ Exec. Prod. (TM) carried over from the original, no one else major worked on both movies (I'm defining major as producers, writers, directors, the main people who determine the feel, style, content, etc. of a movie).
*played by Alan Cumming as I just found out, who also played Glitch in Tinman ("That's where I knew his voice from!")