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I was re-watching Jim Carrey in the Ace Ventura films, and was amazed they still made me laugh so well. Looking at them though, and taking in the deliberate "suspension of disbelief" and rule-of-comedy context, I was still amazed at how easily Ace managed to interact with the animals and make them heed his words.

The second film, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, especially upped the ante on this [again, for the sake of ridiculousness and visual gags, admittedly]. Aside from his almost human conversations he had with his pet monkey Spike, Ace seemed capable of full on controlling [or at least negotiating with] these wild animals to do what he wanted them to do specifically. It made it seem like an almost supernatural power. This level of animal-empathy seemed to continue within the cartoon sequel series.

Is this ever fully explained?

Is there some canonical reason which shows how and why Ace is so good with animals?

Is it that he grew up around them and thus has no fear for them to react to, was he specially trained somewhere?

Or is this meant to be an "implied" quasi-supernatural ability of some kind?

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  • I'm not sure if this is on topic, though I suppose the answer would tell us if it is or not.
    – TheLethalCarrot ♦
    Commented Nov 4, 2019 at 16:03
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    If we can consider the animated series canon, it does have two cross-overs with "The Mask: Animated Series", which obviously has supernatural elements. This would imply they take place in the same universe, and give some plausiblity that Ace's abilities may have a supernatural origin. Or at least, be on-topic as having a supernatural/fantasy elements.
    – Tronman
    Commented Nov 4, 2019 at 16:16
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    @Russhiro We've had another question recently where the answer would determine whether or not the work itself is even on-topic for this site (unfortunately I can't remember what work it was about). Personally I would lean towards saying that, regardless of the answer, this question is on-topic here. If the answer ends up being that there's nothing fantastical about his ability with animals, then future questions wouldn't be.
    – Anthony Grist
    Commented Nov 4, 2019 at 16:32
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    @Valorum I'd go so far for that in the first film, V-dude. The Second movie, though... Ace was in a completely foreign environment full of predatory wild animals, and Somehow he was able to rally them and get them to attack the villain's headquarters. From him eating with the lions [and not becoming desert! ] to him calling in an elephant to stampede, to making a skunk fire off it's spray at his intention, it really seems more like his simple "Affinity" plays out more similar to the kind of "compelling" we see Aquaman do with all manner of sea life.
    – Russhiro
    Commented Nov 4, 2019 at 21:38
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    In the 2nd movie, Ace also has some sort of psychic conference with the abbot of the Tibetan monastery he'd been staying in lately. That a) means that psychic powers are a real thing in the world of his movies, and b) at least raises the serious possibility that Ace himself has developed such powers, which is what lets him establish that long-distance contact with the abbot. (Unless you prefer to think the abbot's well-trained mind was doing all the heavy lifting.)
    – Lorendiac
    Commented Nov 4, 2019 at 21:50

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My answer is that apparently Ace Ventura simply has the gift.

An analysis of Ace Ventura's unique ability to "talk with the animals" is that it is almost certainly derived from the character of Doctor Doolittle, which appeared in the 1920 novel The Story of Doctor Dolittle (TSODD) by Hugh Lofting, which became a very popular series of novels. If you agree that Ace is a reincarnation or descendent of Doctor Dolittle, then it is useful to understand what is known about that character to best answer your question.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle has been adapted multiple times as a movie, including Doctor Dolittle (1967) starring Rex Harrison, Doctor Dolittle (1998) starring Eddie Murphy, and most recently Dolittle (2020) starring Robert Downey Jr.

In the 1967 movie, Dr. Dolittle, the main character describes that he learns the languages, and some are more difficult than others.

There is humor in all of the Dr. Dolittle works, and so it is natural to update the story and write the screenplay to turn Dr. Dolittle into a pet detective rather than a veterinarian and also to show off Jim Carrey's extraordinary funniness.

In Ace Venture: Pet Detective (1994) there is a reference to Dr. Dolittle with the quote,

Who let Dr. Dolittle in?

Dr. Dolittle connection to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) from IMDb

The Doctor Dolittle and Ace Ventura movies are not hard sci-fi and they are not meant to be, so there is no need to motivate the origin of their abilities. So, my conclusion is that Ace Ventura simply has the gift.

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    Do you have any evidence the two works are set in the same universe or is this simply headcanon? The reference in Ace Ventura would actually imply that it isn't and it's just a joke to a book/film.
    – TheLethalCarrot ♦
    Commented Apr 27, 2020 at 8:32
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    Ace Ventura is obviously a derivative work based on Doctor Dolittle. His reference to Doctor Dolittle is clearly a tip of the hat to the original.
    – EarthBorne
    Commented Apr 27, 2020 at 8:39
  • There's a difference to being inspired by a work when creating a new one and throwing in a joke reference to it like here and setting a work in the same universe.
    – TheLethalCarrot ♦
    Commented Apr 27, 2020 at 8:42
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    What is this "the same universe" concept? This is a commissioned work by someone in the Screenwriters Guild of America. There's no god with written stones for every TV show and movie.
    – EarthBorne
    Commented Apr 27, 2020 at 8:45
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat.
    – EarthBorne
    Commented Apr 27, 2020 at 8:45

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