Ace Ventura is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
, created by screenwriter Jack Bernstein. Ace was played by
Jim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and stand-up comedian. Carrey is best known for his performances as multiple characters in the sketch comedy show In Living Color, as the title character in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, as the unlucky TV...
in the films and was voiced by Michael Daingerfield in the animated television series.
Ace was the son of Rex Ventura. He spent his adult life working as an investigator on cases involving animals, cases that took him all over the United States, as well as the world. It is not known if the Ace Ventura animated television series was
canonA canon, in terms of a fictional universe, is a body of material that is considered to be "genuine" or "official", that can be directly referenced as, or as if it were, material produced by the original author or creator of a series...
with the films, but if it was it likely takes place before them due to the fact that the only one of his pets from the movies to appear in the series is his
capuchin monkeyThe capuchins are the group of New World monkeys classified as genus Cebus. The range of the capuchin monkeys includes Central America and South America as far south as northern Argentina...
, Spike (this suggests that he may not have gotten the rest of his pets until some point between the movies and series).
Ace Ventura is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
, created by screenwriter Jack Bernstein. Ace was played by
Jim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and stand-up comedian. Carrey is best known for his performances as multiple characters in the sketch comedy show In Living Color, as the title character in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, as the unlucky TV...
in the films and was voiced by Michael Daingerfield in the animated television series.
Biography
Ace was the son of Rex Ventura. He spent his adult life working as an investigator on cases involving animals, cases that took him all over the United States, as well as the world. It is not known if the Ace Ventura animated television series was
canonA canon, in terms of a fictional universe, is a body of material that is considered to be "genuine" or "official", that can be directly referenced as, or as if it were, material produced by the original author or creator of a series...
with the films, but if it was it likely takes place before them due to the fact that the only one of his pets from the movies to appear in the series is his
capuchin monkeyThe capuchins are the group of New World monkeys classified as genus Cebus. The range of the capuchin monkeys includes Central America and South America as far south as northern Argentina...
, Spike (this suggests that he may not have gotten the rest of his pets until some point between the movies and series). During the second film, Ace becomes a Buddhist monk after a failed rescue attempt of a
raccoonProcyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most widespread species, the Common Raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
. At some point he had a son, named Ace Jr., with Melissa, Courtney Cox's character from the first film in the series, who eventually became a zookeeper so that her son could see animals anytime he wanted to. Ace went missing while leading a flock of geese on their natural migration route, accidentally flying the plane he was using to lead the geese into the
Bermuda TriangleThe Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which a number of aircraft and surface vessels are alleged to have mysteriously disappeared and cannot be explained as human error, piracy, equipment failure, or natural disasters...
while his son was still an infant. Ace Jr. would eventually continue his father's legacy.
Development
Bernstein had wanted to do a comedic version of Sherlock Holmes, and when watching the
Stupid Pet Tricks segment on
Late Night With David LettermanLate Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to The Late Show on CBS. Late Night with Conan O'Brien then filled the time slot...
, got the idea for a pet detective.
Intentional or not, the character of Ace Ventura has several similarities with the earlier character of Detective Lawrence "Larry" Zito from NBC's 1984 TV show
Miami ViceMiami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The show became noted for its heavy integration of music and visual effects to tell a story. The series starred Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in...
. The look of both characters is similar in style (Hawaiian shirts and extravagantly parted hair) and are both detectives in the Miami area.
Personality
Ace Ventura is an
eccentricEccentricity may refer to:* Eccentricity , unusual or odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal"* Eccentricity , a parameter associated with every conic section* Eccentricity vector...
, possibly
insaneInsanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
, self styled 'pet detective' who gave up regular police work so he could focus more on crimes against animals. Like all the great fictional sleuths, he is also an insufferable narcissist with incredible powers of observation. Ventura's many personality quirks include his persistent, almost pathological, vulgarity and exceedingly flamboyant, extroverted behaviour. Despite his frequently psychotic personality, he is an intelligent, dedicated gumshoe driven by an insatiable love of animals and a desire to protect them from the sinister machinations of man. It is revealed in Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective by Rex (Ace Sr.'s father) that his love for animals, detective skills, personality, insanity, and even hairdo are due to a mutated chromosome which has been in the Ventura family for thousands of years. This is reinforced by the fact that Ace's son, Ace Jr., developed his father's personality and hair style in his absence.
As mentioned above, Ace is an animal lover; in fact, the only animals that he is known to despise are
batBats are flying mammals in the order Chiroptera . The forelimbs of bats are webbed and developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, glide rather than...
s, which caused problems in
the second filmAce Ventura: When Nature Calls is the sequel to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective . Jim Carrey reprises his role as the title character Ace Ventura, a detective who specializes in cases involving animals. This is the only sequel to a film starring Carrey in which Carrey reprised his role to date. Ian...
.
Regarding appearance, he usually wears an unbuttoned
Aloha shirtThe Aloha shirt is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. It is currently the premier textile export of the Hawaii manufacturing industry. The shirts are printed, mostly short-sleeved, and collared. They usually have buttons, sometimes as a complete button-down shirt, and sometimes just...
over a plain white A-shirt, with red and black striped trousers. Many of Ace's mannerisms (such as his laugh) are drawn from the character Fire Marshall Bill, played by Jim Carrey during his time on
In Living ColorIn Living Color was an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
. He lives in an apartment alongside many different animals, all of whom he hides from his pet-hating landlord Mr. Schickadance.
Phrases
Ace has many sayings, including 'Alrighty then!', 'Gravy!', "Spank You", 'Yummy!', 'Losers' (often being pronounced as 'Lohoo - sehers!'), "Re-he-he-heally" and sometimes 'Like a glove!' when he parks his car.
Other Ventura productions
Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective is the third installment, featuring the son of the original Ace, which aired on Cartoon Network March 1, 2009 and was released straight-to-DVD two days later. Jim Carrey, however, wasn't involved this entry, and early in the film it is mentioned the character's wild ways may have caught up to him. Ace's father Rex is also introduced in this film.
Appearance in The Mask: The Animated Series
In the episodes
"The Aceman Cometh/Have Mask, Will Travel" of
The Mask: The animated series, when Milo, the pet
dogThe dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history...
of
Stanley IpkissThe Mask is a famous Dark Horse comic book series created by writer John Arcudi and artist Doug Mahnke, and based on a concept by publisher Mike Richardson. The series follows a magical mask which imbues the wearer with reality-bending power and physical imperviousness, as well as bypassing the...
, was stolen by Dr. Pretorius, Ipkiss calls Ace for help. Both Ipkiss/the Mask and Ace Ventura were the animated version of characters portrayed by
Jim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and stand-up comedian. Carrey is best known for his performances as multiple characters in the sketch comedy show In Living Color, as the title character in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, as the unlucky TV...
himself, who appeared face to face. Ace wears the mask (accidentally) on his butt, turning into a face similar to his own and having the ability to speak, ironizing his gag of making his butt "talk" (as in the "ass a few questions" joke from the
original filmAce Ventura: Pet Detective is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. It co-stars Courteney Cox, Tone Loc, and Sean Young among others. Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino also portrays himself in a major role...
).
Reception
Ace was ranked the 60th Greatest Movie Character in a November, 2008 list by Empire Magazine. Cyborg Franky from Japanese anime and manga
One Pieceis a long-running shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, that has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997. The individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997 and the 55th volume released...
is based on the character.