''Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'' (also known as ''Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls'') is a 1995 American

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

and the sequel to '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'' (1994), and the second installment of the ''Ace Ventura'' franchise.

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...

reprises his role as the title character

Ace Ventura Ace Ventura is a title character created by screenwriter Jack Bernstein. Ace was performed by Jim Carrey in the films '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', released in 1994, and '' Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'', released in 1995, and was voiced by ...

, a detective who specializes in retrieval of tame and captive animals that have escaped, who has been summoned to Africa to locate a missing bat.

Ian McNeice Ian McNeice (born 2 October 1950) is an English film and television actor. On television, he has played government agent Harcourt in the 1985 television series ''Edge of Darkness'', Bert Large in the comedy-drama '' Doc Martin'', the Newsreade ...

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFT ...

, and

Sophie Okonedo Sophie Okonedo (born 11 August 1968) is a British actress and narrator. The recipient of a Tony Award, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, three BAFTA TV Awards, an Emmy Award, two Laurence Olivier Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. She ...

co-star.

Tommy Davidson Tommy Davidson (born Anthony Reed, November 10, 1963) is an American actor and comedian. He was an original cast member on the sketch comedy TV show ''In Living Color'', and portrayed Mitchell on '' Between Brothers'' (1997–1999), Dexter on '' ...

, who co-starred with Carrey on the show ''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990, to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions ...

'', makes a cameo appearance in the film. The film was written and directed by Carrey's close friend

Steve Oedekerk Steven Brent Oedekerk (born November 27, 1961) is an American filmmaker, actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known for his collaborations with actor and comedian Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac (particularly the '' Ace Ventura'' franc ...

, who had also collaborated in the production and as a character consultant for the first film. The film was produced by

Morgan Creek Entertainment Morgan Creek Entertainment, LLC is an American film production company, former sales agent and investor, that has released box-office hits including '' Young Guns'', '' Dead Ringers'', '' Major League'', '' True Romance'', '' Ace Ventura: Pet Det ...

and was released on November 10, 1995 by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, but unlike the previous installment, it received mainly negative reviews from critics, despite being financially successful, earning a total of $212.4 million at the box office against a budget of $30 million.

Plot

After failing to save a raccoon from falling to its death,

becomes depressed and joins a monastery. He is approached by Fulton Greenwall about a job. The Monastery’s Abbott, desperate to be rid of Ace’s antics, tells Ace he has achieved enlightenment and should leave with Fulton. Greenwall wants Ventura to find the sacred white

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

, Shikaka. Ace arrives in Nibia and meets with consul Vincent Cadby. Ace begins his investigation, but must overcome his

fear of bats The English suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe (from Greek φόβος ''phobos'', "fear") occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, abnormal, unwarranted, persistent, or disabling fear as a mental dis ...

. He eventually befriends the tribe's princess, who tries to seduce Ace. Ace admits his oath to

clerical celibacy Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because thes ...

. Ace also befriends the prince, who assists Ace. Ace's investigation involves eliminating suspects and enduring the escalating threats between the Wachati and the Wachootoo. Ace suspects the medicine-man of the Wachootoo of taking the bat, attempts to infiltrate the Wachootoo village, but is immediately captured. The Wachootoo believe Ace as the "White Devil", and they are convinced he wants to fight them and have him go through many challenges to gain their trust. He passes them all, and his final challenge is a "Circle of Death" fight with their toughest warrior, who defeats Ace. Despite losing, Ace's comical antics entertain the Wachootoo, and release Ace and Ouda but warn them war will be tomorrow at Noon. As he departs the Wachootoo village, the Wachootoo shoot Ace one final time with a dart for laughs. Ace suddenly realizes a tranquilizer dart he was shot with earlier is not the same as the Wachootoo's darts, and was carved from an

acala or Achala (, "The Immovable", ), also known as (, "Immovable Lord") or (, "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a Fierce deities, wrathful deity and ''dharmapala'' (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana, Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Budd ...

. This leads him to find two poachers with the bat. They tranquilize Ace and tie him to a raft which is sent over a waterfall. Ace survives and continues to investigate how the poachers are involved with the war between the tribes. Ace consults the Abbott via spiritual projection. With the Abbott’s help, Ace deduces that Cadby has taken the bat in order to turn the tribes against each other so that Cadby can seize control of the lucrative market for

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

. When Ace confronts Cadby about his suspicions, Cadby confesses to the plot, explaining that he hired Ace as an alibi. The local law enforcement is loyal to Cadby, and Ace is arrested. Ace summons various animals to facilitate his escape and subsequent attack on Cadby’s mansion. Cadby tries to shoot Ace, but is stopped by Greenwall. Cadby escapes with the bat in a Rover, but Ace follows him in a

monster truck A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock p ...

, eventually overtaking him and destroying his car. Ace returns the bat just as the tribes are about to fight each other on the battlefield. Cadby is noticed by Ouda, who calls him the "Devil" and incites both tribes to pursue him. Cadby is able to escape them but then encounters a gorilla, who mistakes him for a mate. The Wachati Princess is married to the Wachootoo Prince, who is revealed to be the warrior who defeated Ace during the "Circle of Death" challenge earlier. It is discovered that the bride is no longer a

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

, on Ace's account. Peace between the tribes is still achieved when the two tribes join together and chase after Ace.

Cast

as Fulton Greenwall *

as Vincent Cadby * Maynard Eziashi as Prince Ouda *

Bob Gunton Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ...

as Burton Quinn *

as the Wachati princess *

as Tiny Warrior / Wachootoo prince *

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (; ; born 22 August 1967) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in '' Oz'', Mr. Eko in '' Lost'', Lock-Nah in '' The Mummy Returns'', Nykwana Wombosi in '' The Bourne Identity'', Heavy Duty ...

as Hitu * Damon Standifer as the Wachati chief * Arsenio 'Sonny' Trinidad as Ashram monk / Grand abbot * Danny Daniels as Wachootoo shaman * Andrew Steel as Mick Katie *

Bruce Spence Bruce Robert Spence (born 17 September 1945) is a New Zealand-born Australian actor. Spence has amassed over 100 film and television credits and has also acted in theatre. Career Spence won an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in the 197 ...

as Gahjii * Michael Reid McKay as Skinny husband / Monopoly guy * Kristin Norton as Pompous woman

Production

Filming

Filming began under Tom DeCerchio, who later directed ''

Celtic Pride ''Celtic Pride'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film written by Judd Apatow and Colin Quinn, and directed by Tom DeCerchio. It stars Daniel Stern and Dan Aykroyd as Mike O'Hara and Jimmy Flaherty, two passionate Boston Celtics fans, and Damo ...

'' (1996). Because of the success of the first film,

Morgan Creek Entertainment Group Morgan Creek Entertainment, LLC is an American film production company, former sales agent and investor, that has released box-office hits including '' Young Guns'', '' Dead Ringers'', '' Major League'', '' True Romance'', '' Ace Ventura: Pet Det ...

gave lead actor Jim Carrey the power to decide the director. In April 1995, Carrey had DeCerchio replaced with

, who had worked on the film's predecessor as a script consultant and wrote the screenplay for this film, but had no previous experience with directing feature films.

Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...

wanted to direct the film, but Carrey turned him down as he also had no experience but he mainly did not know him well enough. Carrey claims this to be one of his biggest regrets. However, Carrey reiterated he does not regret enlisting Oedekerk to direct as they were friends with creative similarities, which included improvising, changing scenes during filming, and had a vast understanding of the main character. Carrey was sometimes absent from the set which caused the production to go behind schedule. In June 1995, scenes were shot in South Carolina. The following month, filming took place outside Hondo, near

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas. Part of the film was also shot in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. The film was shot in

Super 35 Super 35 (originally known as Superscope 235) is a motion picture film format that uses exactly the same film stock as standard 35 mm film, but puts a larger image frame on that stock by using the space normally reserved for the optical a ...

. Carrey was paid $10 million, a third of the entire budget, for his role due to Oedekerk's authority as director.

Music

Soundtrack

''Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'' is a 1995 soundtrack on this film by composer

Robert Folk Robert Elms Folk (born March 5, 1949) is an American film and television composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupat ...

. # "Africa (What Made You So Strong)" - 3:28 (

Johnny Clegg and Savuka Savuka, occasionally referred to as Johnny Clegg & Savuka, was a multi-racial South African band formed in 1986 by Johnny Clegg after the disbanding of Juluka. Savuka's music blended traditional Zulu musical influences with Celtic music and ro ...

) # "

Spirits in the Material World "Spirits in the Material World" is a song by the British rock trio The Police, written by Sting. The opening track for their 1981 album ''Ghost in the Machine'', it was released as a single in 1981 and reached No. 12 in the United Kingdom

" – 4:41 (

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

and

Pato Banton Pato Banton (born Patrick Murray; 28 January 1961) is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname Pato Banton from his stepfather: its first name derives from the sound of a Jamaican owl calling "patoo, patoo", ...

) # " Secret Agent Man" – 2:16 (

Blues Traveler Blues Traveler is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1987. They are known for their extensive use of segues in live performances, and could be considered a key part of the re-emerging jam band scene of the 1990s, sp ...

) # "

Don't Change "Don't Change" is a song by Australian rock band INXS. It was released as a single from the album '' Shabooh Shoobah'' in October 1982. It has been described as the song that made the band internationally famous. Reception ''Cash Box'' reviewe ...

" – 3:41 (

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986. After starting ...

) # "Burnin' Rubber" – 3:18 (Mr. Mirainga) # "

Boll Weevil The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. The boll weevil feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19 ...

" – 3:17 ( The Presidents of the United States of America) # " Blur the Technicolor" – 4:09 ( White Zombie) # " Watusi Rodeo" – 2:35 (

The Reverend Horton Heat The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath (born 1959) as well as the name of his psychobilly trio from Dallas. Heath is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. A reviewer for the magazine Prick (magazine), ''Pr ...

) # "

Here Comes the Night "Here Comes the Night" is a 1964 song, written by Bert Berns. It became a hit for Northern Irish band Them, fronted by Van Morrison, in March 1965, charting at No. 2 in the UK and No. 24 in the US. Them's single is listed at either No. 33 or No ...

" – 3:28 (

Native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

) # "Jungle Groove" – 5:13 (

Montell Jordan Montell Du'Sean Jordan (born December 3, 1968) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and producer. Best known for his 1995 single " This Is How We Do It", and " Get It On Tonite", Jordan was the primary male solo artist on Def Jam's Def Soul ...

) # "Ife" – 4:23 (

Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960) is a Beninese- French singer-songwriter, actress and activist noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Kidjo has won five Grammy A ...

) # "My Pet" – 2:47 (

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

) # "It's Aliright" – 4:54 ( Blessid Union of Souls) # "Ace in Africa" – 4:40 (

)

Release

Theatrical

''Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'' originally premiered on November 8, 1995 at the

Regency Village Theater The Regency Village Theatre (formerly the Fox Theatre, Westwood Village or the Fox Village Theatre, commonly called the Westwood Village Theatre) is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood, Los Angeles, California in the heart of the Mediterra ...

, and was released two days later on November 10, 1995.

Home media

''Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'' was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

on March 12, 1996, on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on October 28, 1997, and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

on September 3, 2013, and on April 23, 2019 by

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $37,804,076 during its opening weekend, taking the #1 spot. In the U.S. and Canada, the film grossed $108.3 million, and in other territories, it grossed $104 million. The worldwide gross was $212.3 million. Against its $30 million budget, ''Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'' was a major financial success, surpassing its predecessor.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 23% based on 30 reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "''Nature Calls'' in this ''Ace Ventura'' sequel, and it's answered by the law of diminishing returns". On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film received a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F.

Accolades

1996 ASCAP Award * Top Box Office Films –

(Won) 1996 American Comedy Award * Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) –

(Nominated) 1996 Kid's Choice Awards * Favorite Movie – (Won) * Favorite Movie Actor – Jim Carrey (Won) 1996 MTV Movie Awards * Best Male Performance – Jim Carrey (Won) * Best Comedic Performance – Jim Carrey (Won) * Best Kiss – Jim Carrey and

(Nominated) 1996 Razzie Awards * Worst Remake or Sequel – James G. Robinson (Nominated) 1996 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards * Worst Picture – James G. Robinson (Nominated) * Worst Actor – Jim Carrey (Nominated) * Most Painfully Unfunny Comedy – James G. Robinson (Won) * Worst Sequel – James G. Robinson (Won) * The Sequel Nobody Was Clamoring For – James G. Robinson (Nominated)

Sequel

standalone Standalone or Stand-alone may refer to: *Stand-alone DSL, a digital subscriber line without analog telephone service; also known as ''naked DSL'' *Stand-alone expansion pack, an expansion pack which does not require the original game in order to us ...

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

sequel, titled ''Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective'', was released in 2009 to poor reception. In March 2021, there were reports that a direct sequel under the working title ''Ace Ventura 3'' is in development at

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

. Pat Casey and Josh Miller, writers of ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...

'', were attached as writers for the film. Although there are no official plans for the film, Jim Carrey joked that he would star in the movie if

Christopher Nolan Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...

were to direct the film. Jim Carrey himself would also take to his Instagram in August 2021, posting a picture of Ace and writing on the post, "More than ready for the next chapter."

References

External links

*
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
exclusive clip and still licensing at Visual Icon * {{Steve Oedekerk Ace Ventura 1995 films 1995 comedy films 1990s comedy mystery films American comedy mystery films 1990s English-language films Morgan Creek Productions films Warner Bros. films American sequel films Films about Tibet Films set in the Himalayas Films shot in South Carolina Films shot in San Antonio Films shot in British Columbia Films directed by Steve Oedekerk Films scored by Robert Folk Films with screenplays by Steve Oedekerk Swahili-language films Films set in Africa Films shot in Kenya Films shot in Uganda Films about elephants 1995 directorial debut films Films about monkeys Films about gorillas Films about bats Films about lions Films about horses Films about birds Films about reptiles American war comedy films Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award–winning films 1990s American films English-language comedy mystery films