The film stars Jamie Kennedy as Tim Avery, an aspiring animator whose child is born with the powers of the Mask.
Neuman mentions that Loki, the God of Mischief, created the mask and unleashed it on Earth to spread chaos among humankind, and that those who wear it are granted his powers.
The tourists panic and flee, but Neuman stays to argue with Loki, who takes the mask in the display case, only to realize it is a replica.
In Fringe City, the real mask is found in a river by a dog named Otis, who belongs to Tim Avery.
On a tropical island, Loki is relaxing until Odin orders him to resume the search for the mask, believing it has caused too much chaos for mankind.
Otis, who has been feeling neglected by Tim, accidentally dons the mask, gains its power, and tries to get rid of Alvey, but his attempts are foiled by the craftier infant.
Loki, determined to please his father, sneaks into the Avery household and completes a summoning ritual and appeals to Odin to restore his powers.
The subsequent confrontation is evenly matched, prompting Loki to halt the fight, suggesting they let Alvey decide who to be with.
He was hoping Carrey would come back as the title character, along with Amy Yasbeck, who played reporter Peggy Brandt in the original.
[7] Carrey turned it down, because his experiences on Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls convinced him that reprising a character he had previously played offered him no challenges as an actor.
[11][12] Ben Stein reprises his role as Dr. Arthur Neuman from the original film, re-establishing the relationship between the mask and its creator, Loki.
In contrast to the first film, which was inspired by the works of Tex Avery, the animators for Son of the Mask drew from the style of Chuck Jones.
He had initially turned down the offer to star due to scheduling conflicts with his television series The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.
[15] Kennedy stated that filming was exhausting, primarily due to the Falconer twins and Bear the dog's constant maintenance.
The site's consensus reads: "Overly frantic, painfully unfunny, and sorely missing the presence of Jim Carrey."
[19] In his review Richard Roeper stated, "In the five years I've been co-hosting this show, this is the closest I've ever come to walking out halfway through the film, and now that I look back on the experience, I wish I had.
"[20] Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 stars and stated, "What we basically have here is a license for the filmmakers to do whatever they want to do with the special effects, while the plot, like Wile E. Coyote, keeps running into the wall."
[21] Nell Minow of Common Sense Media gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "This movie is dumb and loud, which some kids will confuse with entertaining, but others will just find it overwhelming.
"[22] Jim Schembri of The Sydney Morning Herald was more positive, writing that the film was "a bright, fast, kiddie-oriented lark with US TV comic Jamie Kennedy doing well as the beneficiary of the magical mask that turns anyone who wears it into a dazzling display of computer-animated effects.