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I Am Weasel
Intertitle featuring the main character, I.M. Weasel.
Genre	Comedy
Created by	David Feiss
Directed by	David Feiss Robin Steele
Voices of	Michael Dorn Charlie Adler
Theme music composer	Bill Fulton
Opening theme	"I Am Weasel Theme"
Ending theme	"I Am Weasel Theme" (instrumental)
Composer	Bill Fulton
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	79 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Sherry Gunther Larry Huber Brian A. Miller Linda Simmensky Khaki Jones
Producer	Vincent Davis
Running time	7 minutes approx. (per episode)
Production companies	Hanna-Barbera Cartoons Cartoon Network Studios
Original release
Network	Cartoon Network
Release	July 15, 1997 (1997-07-15) – 2000 (2000)
Related
Cow and Chicken

I Am Weasel (or I.M. Weasel, after the character) is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera with Cartoon Network Studios, created by David Feiss, and broadcast on Cartoon Network.

The series chronicles the adventures of I.M. Weasel, an internationally famous, highly intelligent and much talented weasel who is adored by everyone, and I.R. Baboon, an ugly and idiotic baboon who is envious about Weasel's success and constantly tries to be better than him. The show premise begins from a humorous take on the classic nursery rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel"; in fact, the series theme song, composed by Bill Fulton, written by Richard Pursel, and 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 third of three segments in an episode, after two Cow and Chicken segments. Eventually, I Am Weasel was spun off into its own series, aired in 1999 with reruns airing until April 2006, with both new episodes and the episodes that had aired on Cow and Chicken included in this series, totaling 79 episodes.

Today, the series is labeled a classic of Cartoon Network's late 1990s collection of Cartoon Cartoons (a collective name for the network's original animated programming). Since April 13, 2012, it is being aired on Cartoon Network, on the block Cartoon Planet.

Characters

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

I.M. Weasel

I.M. Weasel is a globally-celebrated, heroic, kindhearted anthropomorphic weasel who serves as the titular character of the program. He is noted and admired for his endless, humongous assortment of unselfish, amazing, brilliant talents or achievements, and is honored and respected deeply for his extensive skill, knowledge, or experience in virtually every field imaginable. Wealthy and immensely successful, he resides in a mansion beside I.R. Baboon's filthy trailer. However, he is the primary object of I.R.'s animosity and envy for his admirability and fame, and I.R. often tries to emulate or surpass him with no success out of jealousy. On some occasions, I.R.'s hazardous goals may require Weasel's assistance in either rescuing him or helping him. Weasel is commonly accompanied by Loulabelle, an attractive young lady costumed as a nurse.

Voiced by: Michael Dorn

I.R. Baboon

I.R. Baboon (I.R. or Baboon for short) is the deuteragonist of the series. He is the exact opposite of Weasel who he is always trying to top in order to be better than him. I.R. is an unintelligent, jealous and ugly baboon, willing to sniff his finger half of the time and has no talent at most things. I.R. is in possession of a bright red butt that he never wears pants to cover, and therefore is ridiculed for it. He is often depicted doing the opposite of what most would consider sensible. As Weasel has good luck, I.R. seems to have bad luck: for instance, when he was about to get married, his bride fell in love with someone else and left him standing at the altar. I.R. is also the adoptive father of Grampa, a baby who was left on his doorstep in the episode "I.R. Mommy"; I.R. named it after his grandfather, whom he seems to greatly respect; at the end of the episode, Grampa grows up.

I.R. wears a white T-shirt with his short name "I.R." handwritten upside-down on the front of it. He lives in a run-down trailer near Weasel's mansion. I.R. fails to use proper grammar sometimes, explaining the titles for some episodes ("I Are Big Star", "I Are Music Man", "I Are a Artist", "I Are Bellhop", among others), and also refers to himself in third-person. He frequently attempts to outdo Weasel in everything, and when he believes that he has done so, will perform a routine victory dance which consists of putting his hands on his hips and jumping around in a circle while repeatedly chanting a declaration of his success. However, in some episodes, I.R. and Weasel are shown to be friends and partners instead of rivals, such as when they were pilots assisting in an "air-migration" service in the episode "I Am Bush Pilot", or when there were deceased ghosts trying to scare a D-movie actress portrayed by The Red Guy in the episode "I Are Ghost".

In the series finale "I Are Legend", Baboon finally becomes the star of the show, after Weasel quit in an attempt to release people from the horrors of television.

Voiced by: Charlie Adler.

The Red Guy

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Starting with season two, The Red Guy became a regular character on I Am Weasel while still keeping his role on Cow and Chicken. In the series, he is also referred as "I.B. Red Guy", an allusion to Weasel's and Baboon's names.

Voiced by: Charlie Adler.

Minor characters

• Loulabelle - Weasel's assistant who usually dresses as a nurse. She debuted in the episode "I.R. Mommy", from season two. Her appearances are mostly in that season, with her only appearance in other season in the episode "Time Weasel", from season three, which is also her last appearance in the series. She is supposed to be a girlfriend to Weasel in some episodes.
  Voiced by: Susan Blakeslee (in season 2), Teresa Ganzel (in season 3).

• Jolly Roger - A recurring character named for the ship flag. He usually wears a white T-shirt (or in some episodes a tuxedo) with shorts and a white sailor cap, and uses coke-bottle glasses. He appears only in season five and in the episode "Unsinkable I.R.", from season three.
  Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker.

• Admiral Bullets - A Naval officer who relies on Weasel's help. He made appearances only in the episodes "This Bridge, Not Weasel Bridge" and "I.R. Mommy", from seasons one and two, respectively.
  Voiced by: Jess Harnell (in season 1), Michael Gough (in season 2).

• Cow and Chicken characters - Besides the Red Guy, some other characters from Cow and Chicken made cameo appearances in I Am Weasel from season two. These include Cow (and Supercow), Chicken, Flem, Earl, Mom, Dad and Teacher.

Episodes

I Am Weasel has a total of 79 episodes in 5 seasons that were produced from 1996 to September 1999. The series original run started on July 15, 1997 with the airing of the eleventh episode "Law of Gravity", yet as a series of segments on Cow and Chicken. Later on, the series was separated and premiered as a half-hour show on June 10, 1999. After the separation, 51 I Am Weasel episodes originally aired on Cow and Chicken began to air in the show own time slot, later being joined by 27 new episodes, totaling 79. The series original run ended in early 2000.

In popular culture

At 30 minutes into the horror film The Ring (film), you can see the TV playing I.M. Weasel meaning it is on channel Boomerang or Cartoon Network. A young girl was watching this while sitting next to a table.

Merchandise

DVD releases

Region 1

In United States, some episodes of the series were launched on Cartoon Network's special DVDs for Halloween and Christmas released in 2004 and 2005 and distributed by Warner Home Video.

• Cartoon Network Halloween: 9 Creepy Cartoon Capers (August 10, 2004) - episode "I Am Vampire".
• Cartoon Network Christmas: Yuletide Follies (October 5, 2004) - episodes "I.R.'s First Bike" and "Dessert Island".
• Cartoon Network Halloween 2: Grossest Halloween Ever (August 9, 2005) - episode "Power of Odor".
• Cartoon Network Christmas 2: Christmas Rocks (October 4, 2005) - episode "Happy Baboon Holidays".

Region 3

In Thailand, the series seasons have been released on DVD since 2009 by the Thai company MVD Company Limited. The season one's DVD was launched on December 23, 2009, and the season two's was officially announced in the company's website, but not launched yet.

Region 4

In Australia, a two-disc DVD release was launched on July 6, 2011 distributed by Madman Entertainment. The same release was also launched in New Zealand on August 11, 2011.

Video games

Cartoon Network Racing

In the cart racing game, Cartoon Network Racing, I.M. Weasel, I.R. Baboon and The Red Guy are playable characters. Also in the game, the episodes "My Friend, the Smart Banana" and "Enemy Camp" are available as bonus that can be viewed if unlocked by winning the I Am Weasel races. The game is available for PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS.

Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall

In the online game, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, there is one item named "I.R. Baboon shorts" which are shorts used to wear a character, based on I.R. Baboon's buttocks.

Comics

I Am Weasel was featured in the comic book "Cartoon Cartoons" along with other Cartoon Network's cartoons, such as Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Ed, Edd n Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, among others. The comic was published from 2001 to 2004 by DC Comics and had 33 issues.

See also

• Cow and Chicken
• Cartoon Cartoons

References

1. The New York Times. "I Am Weasel - Cast, Credits & Awards". Retrieved November 20, 2010.
2. Fulton, Bill. "Music Production". Retrieved September 29, 2010.
3. Feiss, David (2000). "Songs from both shows - I Am Weasel". Retrieved July 6, 2011.
4. Episode 19 / Season 2, Episode 6: "I Are Music Man" (1998): In a scene of the episode, The Red Guy repeatedly sings switches from the series' theme song and "Pop Goes the Weasel".
5. Season 3, Episode 37: "I.R. Do" (1998)
6. Season 2, Episode 14: "I.R. Mommy" (1998)
7. In the opening of the series, I.R. Baboon appear writing his short name with a pen on his T-shirt.
8. Season 3, Episode 30: "I Am Bush Pilot" (1998)
9. Season 4, Episode 44: "I Are Ghost" (1999)
10. Season 5, Episode 79: "I Are Legend"
11. Season 3, Episode 32: "Unsinkable I.R." (1998)
12. ^ Feiss, David (January 12, 2000). "Episode Guide: Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel". Retrieved May 29, 2011.
13. Boedeker, Hal (July 14, 1997). "Cartoon Network zany relief". Reading Eagle. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
14. King, Susan (June 10, 1999). "From MTV Awards to Olsen Twins". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
15. Kilmer, David (June 11, 1999). "Cartoon Network sets premiere for I AM WEASEL". Animation World Network. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
16. Lenburg, Jeff (2006). Who's Who in Animated Cartoons. New York: Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-55783-671-7. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
17. MVD Company Limited. "I Am Weasel Season 2". Retrieved April 26, 2011.
18. Madman Entertainment. "I Am Weasel - Vol 1". Retrieved May 12, 2011.
19. Madman Entertainment New Zealand. "I Am Weasel - Vol 1". Retrieved July 6, 2011.

External links

Template:Misplaced Pages books

• I Am Weasel at the Cartoon Network's Department of Cartoons (archive)
• I Am Weasel at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• I Am Weasel at IMDb
• I Am Weasel at TV.com

• Cartoon Network
• Animation
• Television
• United States
• Comedy

• 1990s American animated television series
• 1997 American television series debuts
• 1999 American television series endings
• American children's comedy series
• Cartoon Network programs
• Hanna-Barbera series and characters
• Cartoon Network Studios series and characters
• Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
• Television spin-offs
• Fictional weasels
• English-language television series