The Ace Ventura franchise, originally created by Jack Bernstein, consists of American detective-comedies, with two theatrical films, one made-for-television film, and one animated television series. The overall story follows the criminal investigations of the titular and comedic pet detective.
| Ace Ventura | |
|---|---|
 Official franchise logo | |
| Created by | Jack Bernstein |
| Original work | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) |
| Owner | Morgan Creek Productions |
| Years | 1994–present |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) Untitled Ace Ventura film (TBA) |
| Animated series | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1995–2000) |
| Television film(s) | Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective (2009) |
While the first and second films were met with mixed reviews, they were successful at the box office and are credited with launching the career of Jim Carrey. The two films have earned the status of cult classics.[1][2][3][4]
Background
Ace Ventura
Bernstein later acknowledged that the concept for the character of Ace Ventura came from wanting to do a comedic version of Sherlock Holmes and watching the Stupid Pet Tricks segment on Late Night with David Letterman.[5]
Films
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | February 4, 1994 | Tom Shadyac | Jack Bernstein, Tom Shadyac & Jim Carrey | Jack Bernstein | James G. Robinson |
| Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls | November 10, 1995 | Steve Oedekerk | |||
| Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective | March 1, 2009 | David Mickey Evans | Jason Heimberg, Justin Heimberg, Jeffery Sank & David Mickey Evans | Jason Heimberg, Justin Heimberg & Jeffery Sank | James G. Robinson & David Robinson |
| Untitled Ace Ventura film | TBA | TBA | Pat Casey & Josh Miller | TBA | |
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Ace Ventura is hired to rescue Snowflake, the bottlenose dolphin mascot of the Miami Dolphins. Despite his best efforts to save Dan Marino, Ace is also kidnapped. When Ace finds out a murder is connected, he soon begins to suspect that disgraced football player Ray Finkle is behind it all. However, Ace can't find Finkle, until Ace discovers that Finkle has been masquerading as Lt. Lois Einhorn.
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
Ace is dispatched to Africa to investigate the disappearance of a sacred white bat battling his fear of bats along the way.
Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective (2009)
Ace Ventura, Jr. follows in his father's footsteps in being a pet detective. Years ago his father has disappeared, after voyage through the Bermuda Triangle. Now a number of animals go missing, and his mother is placed in jail after suspicion of guilt is ordered. Ace works with a number of friends to uncover the true culprit, and rescue his mother from conviction.
Possible sequel
In December 2019, a third Ace Ventura film starring Jim Carrey was revealed to be in early development.[6] By March 2021, the film was officially announced to be in development with Pat Casey and Josh Miller signed on as co-screenwriters. The project will be a joint-venture production within Morgan Creek Entertainment, Amazon MGM Studios, and Prime Video Original Films, with plans to be released simultaneously theatrically and via streaming as an Amazon Prime Video exclusive.[7][8] In August of the same year, Carrey confirmed his involvement and stated that he was "more than ready for the next chapter".[9] By April 2022 however, Carrey revealed that he was considering retiring from acting. The actor stated that "[he] might continue down the road, but [he's] taking a break from acting", while elaborating that if a script is presented to him that he feels like is needed to be created he may reconsider.[10] Carrey later stated that while there are no official plans for the film, he joked that he would star in the film if Christopher Nolan was to direct.[11]
Television
| Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | Network | Showrunner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||||
| Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | 1 | 13 | December 9, 1995 | April 27, 1996 | CBS | Duane Capizzi |
| 2 | 13 | November 7, 1996 | August 30, 1997 | |||
| 3 | 15 | October 29, 1999 | February 4, 2000 | Nickelodeon | ||
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1995–2000)
An animated series, titled Ace Ventura: Pet Detective – The Animated Series, aired from December 1995 to February 2000. Created by Duane Capizzi for Warner Bros. Television, the first two seasons aired on CBS. In 1999, when reruns debuted on Nickelodeon, a third season was developed and aired. Many of the characters from the movie were retained, though voiced by a new cast. While the original movies had a strongly cartoon-style comedic aesthetic, the animated series is characterized by slapstick and children-friendly cartoon humor. Seth MacFarlane was among the writers over the course of the show's run, displaying similar humor to his later series.[12]
The titular character, voiced by Canadian actor Michael Hall, continues his goofy antics as a private investigator for animals of all species.[13] Despite running in a time slot after another popular Jim Carrey movie-based cartoon, The Mask: Animated Series, and debuting a crossover episode between the two series (with "The Aceman Cometh"), the series failed to garner enough views to be renewed. Ultimately, both The Mask and Ace Ventura were cancelled. A third season followed the cancellation, before once again being cancelled.[14]
Main cast and characters
- A U indicates an actor or actress was uncredited for their role.
- A V indicates the actor or actress lent only his or her voice for his or her film character.
- A dark gray cell indicates the character was not in the film.
| Character | Films | Animated series | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls | Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | ||||
| Principal cast | |||||||
| Ace Ventura | Jim Carrey | Michael HallV | |||||
| Spike | BinksU | Richard BinsleyV | |||||
| Melissa Robinson-Ventura | Courteney Cox | Ann Cusack | |||||
| Ray Finkle Lt. Lois Einhorn | Sean Young Uwe von SchamannY | ||||||
| Fulton Greenwall | Ian McNeice | ||||||
| The Grand Abbot | Arsenio "Sonny" Trinidad | ||||||
| Prince Ouda | Maynard Eziashi | ||||||
| Vincent Cadby | Simon Callow | ||||||
| Ace Ventura Jr. | Josh Flitter | ||||||
| Laura | Emma Lockhart | ||||||
| Arnold "A-Plus" Plushinsky | Austin Rogers | ||||||
| Quenton Pennington, Sr. | Brian Patrick Clarke | ||||||
| Quenton Pennington, Jr. | Reed Alexander | ||||||
| Supporting cast | |||||||
| Sgt. Aguado | John Capodice | Al WaxmanV | |||||
| Mr. Shickadance | Mark Margolis | Vince CorazzaV | |||||
| Ofc. Emilio | Tone Loc | Bruce TubbeV | |||||
| Woodstock | Raynor Scheine | D.G. BeattyV | |||||
| Dan Marino | Himself | ||||||
| Ronald Camp | Udo Kier | ||||||
| Roger Podacter | Troy Evans | ||||||
| Burton Quinn | Bob Gunton | ||||||
| Hitu | Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje | ||||||
| Wachati Princess | Sophie Okonedo | ||||||
| Wachati Chief | Damon Standifer | ||||||
| Rex Ventura | Ralph Waite | ||||||
| Dr. Sickinger | Cullen Douglas | ||||||
Additional crew and production details
| Film | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Cinematographer | Editor | Production companies | Distributing companies | Running time | ||
| Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | Ira Newborn | Julio Macat | Don Zimmerman | Morgan Creek Entertainment | Warner Bros. Pictures | 86 minutes | |
| Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls | Robert Folk | Donald E. Thorin | Malcolm Campbell | Morgan Creek Entertainment, O Entertainment | 94 minutes | ||
| Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective | Laura Karpman | Mark Irwin | Danny Saphire | Four Aces Productions, Morgan Creek Entertainment | Cartoon Network, Warner Home Video | 93 minutes | |
Reception
Box office performance
| Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Home video sales | Budget | Worldwide Net income | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | |||||
| Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | $72,217,396 | $35,000,000 | $107,217,396 | #1,127 | #2,213 | information not available | $12,000,000 | $95,217,396 | [15] |
| Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls | $108,360,063 | $104,039,937 | $212,400,000 | #651 | #907 | information not available | $30,000,000 | $182,400,000 | [16] |
| Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective | — | — | — | — | — | $117,421 | $7,500,000 | $109,000,000 | [17][18] |
Critical and public response
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | 48% (60 reviews)[19] | 37/100 (14 reviews)[20] | A−[21] |
| Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls | 31% (26 reviews)[22] | 45/100 (17 reviews)[23] | B+[21] |
| Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | —[24] | —[25] | — |
| Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective | —[26] | — | — |
Music
Soundtracks
- Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Video games
Various licensed video games for various arcade and home console systems were released:
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective – a handheld LCD video game released in 1995, to coincide with the release of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls – a handheld LCD video game released in 1995, to coincide with the titular film.
Ace Ventura: The CD-Rom Game – developed by 7th Level, the game was released on PC CD-ROM in 1996. Based on the animated series Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the gameplay was an example of the point-and-click adventure genre. The game was met with mixed reception, including a 6.6 out of 10 from GameSpot,[27] while Gamezilla gave it 58 out of 100.[28]
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective - The Case of the Serial Shaver – developed by Brilliant Digital Entertainment, the game was released on PC CD-ROM in 2000. The gameplay involved a choose your own adventure mechanic.[29] Jack Feldstein was the writer/developer of this interactive story.