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I Am Weasel
File:IAmWeasel.jpgThe main character I.M. Weasel.
Created by	David Feiss
Voices of	Michael Dorn Charlie Adler
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	59 (80 shorts) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	18 minutes per episode (6 minutes per short)
Original release
Network	Cartoon Network
Release	August 30, 1997 – June 22, 2001

I Am Weasel was an American animated television series, created by David Feiss and broadcast on the Cartoon Network. Its basic premise is a somewhat twisted take on the classic nursery rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel; in fact, the theme song of the series, sung by April March, is based on the well-known musical version of the rhyme.

I Am Weasel was originally a part of the Cow and Chicken show, often airing as the middle of three segments, in between two Cow and Chicken segments. ("The Ugliest Weenie", a two-part Cow and Chicken story, even made reference to the I Am Weasel cartoon interrupting the storyline.) Eventually, I Am Weasel was spun off into its own series, airing between 1997 and 2001, with both new episodes and the episodes that had aired on Cow and Chicken included in that series (much like how Pinky and the Brain was spun off from Animaniacs).

The series usually consists of two anthropomorphic animal characters: I. M. Weasel and I. R. Baboon. Both characters' species are as suggested by their names.

I. M. Weasel is highly intelligent, and is skilled in most if not all known professions, anything from electronics and engineering to medicine and philosophy; he is also incredibly charming and well-versed in the social graces, and will often have a pretty girl named Loulabelle at his side (a recurring character, usually dressed as a nurse). Weasel's only real flaw is a secret desire to suck the yolk from eggs (though such behavior is actually a characteristic of the mongoose family, which is of a different order of mammals than weasels). He is usually the only successful character in a given episode. The standard image of Weasel wears no clothing, though he will often don outfits appropriate to his activities (such as a lab coat when working as a doctor or scientist). He is prone to declaring "I am Weasel!" before leaping into a situation.

In contrast, I. R. Baboon is considered dim-witted and slovenly, uses incorrect grammar when he speaks (for example, I. R. stands for "I are"), and is very envious of Weasel's success. He is often shown doing the opposite of what would be considered sensible, and sometimes displays obsessive-compulsive behavior (as when he was determined to plug every hole in the world). I. R. Baboon has few skills (either social or practical), but was discovered unexpectedly to be a virtuoso on the theremin (apart from the fact that the theremin is faulty and causes earthquakes when it is played). Baboon wears only a T-shirt with a handwritten, inverted "I. R." (as suggested in the opening video); his protruding red butt is often highlighted (as in the episode I Are Terraformer when he wore a spacesuit and there were two separate bubbles on the rear for his buttocks), and serves as a focus of others' ridicule. He attempts to outdo Weasel at everything, and when he believes he has succeeded, he performs a routine victory dance, placing his hands on his hips and jumping around in a circle while repeatedly chanting a declaration of his success. In some of the episodes, Weasel and Baboon are actually friends and work together.

Episodes usually star only Weasel and Baboon, but later episodes, beginning in 1998, usually have The Red Guy included, too. As in Cow and Chicken, The Red Guy plays a devil-like character, but I Am Weasel also grants The Red Guy a new catch phrase: "Hello!! It's me!", usually followed by his identity in that particular episode. The other Cow & Chicken charcters also appear in some episodes.

See also

• List of I am Weasel episodes

References

1. "I. R. Music Man": The Red Guy repeatedly switches from the theme tune and "Pop Goes the Weasel".

External links

• I Am Weasel at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• I Am Weasel music composer Bill Fulton

• Shows on Cartoon Cartoons
• Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel
• 1990s American television series
• 2000s American television series
• 1997 television program debuts
• Television spin-offs
• Animated television series
• Fictional weasels
• Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters