I Am Weasel
Encyclopedia
I Am Weasel is an American animated television series
Cartoon series
A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...

 produced by Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio. A subsidiary of the Turner Broadcasting System , Cartoon Network Studios focuses on producing and developing animated programs only for and related to Cartoon Network...

 in co-production with Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...

, created by David Feiss
David Feiss
David Feiss is an American animator.Feiss was born in Sacramento, California. He joined Hanna-Barbera around 1978 while still a teenager....

, and broadcast on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....

.

The series chronicles the adventures of I.M. Weasel, an internationally famous, highly intelligent and much talented weasel
Weasel
Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....

 who is adored by everyone, and I.R. Baboon, an ugly and idiotic baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...

 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
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...

 "Pop Goes the Weasel
Pop Goes the Weasel
"Pop! Goes the Weasel" is an English language nursery rhyme and singing game. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 5249.-Lyrics:There are many different versions of the lyrics to the song...

"; in fact, the series theme song, composed by Bill Fulton, written by Richard Pursel, and sung by April March
April March
April March is an American indie pop singer/songwriter who sings in English and French...

, is based on the well-known musical version of the rhyme.

I Am Weasel was originally a part of the Cow and Chicken
Cow and Chicken
Cow and Chicken is an American animated series, created by David Feiss. The series shows the surreal adventures of a cow, named Cow, and her chicken brother, named Chicken. They are often antagonized by "The Red Guy", who poses as various characters to scam or hurt them...

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
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

 into its own series, aired between 1997 and 2000 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 the late 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...

 Cartoon Network original programs (the collective Cartoon Cartoons
Cartoon Cartoons
Cartoon Cartoons is a collective name for Cartoon Network original series. These cartoons were originally produced by Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Studios, but over the years, studios like a.k.a. Cartoon, Kino Films, Stretch Films, Blanky Blook and Curious Pictures produced these series for...

).

Characters

The series usually consists of two anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...

 animal characters: I.M. Weasel
Weasel
Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....

 and I.R. Baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...

. Both characters' species are as suggested by their names.

I.M. Weasel

I.M. Weasel (Weasel for short) is the extremely gifted and talented protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 of the series. He is a handsome young weasel
Weasel
Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....

 who, although famous, is not snobby or stuck-up and is rather generous (for example, in one episode he donated his kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...

 to a sickly little boy in a kidney transplant) and is the distinguished celebrity who everyone admires. He is highly intelligent and has many skills (both social and practical), and is proficient in most known professions.

Though Weasel was never a bully to him, the fellow main character, I.R. Baboon (see I.R. Baboon below), is always trying to top the admired Weasel because he wants an equal or better share in admiration. Unlike his rival, Baboon is extremely idiotic and the target for ridicule because of his bright red buttocks, but Weasel tries to generously help out his friend.

Weasel is often assisted by a beautiful woman named Loulabelle who likes to dress as a nurse.

Voiced by: Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn is an American actor, and voice artist who is best known for his role as the Klingon Worf from the Star Trek franchise.-Early life and career:...

.

I.R. Baboon

I.R. Baboon (I.R. or Baboon for short) is the deuteragonist
Deuteragonist
In literature, the deuteragonist is the second most important character, after the protagonist and before the tritagonist. The deuteragonist may switch from being with or against the protagonist depending on the deuteragonist's own conflict/plot.-History:Greek drama began with simply one actor,...

 of the series. He is the exact opposite of Weasel who he is always trying to top in order to be better than him. He is an unintelligent, jealous and ugly baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...

, willing to sniff his finger
Finger
A finger is a limb of the human body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates....

 half of the time and has no talent at most things. I.R. is in possession of a bright red butt
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...

 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
Bride
A bride is a woman about to be married or newlywed.The word may come from the Proto-Germanic verb root *brū-, meaning 'to cook, brew, or make a broth' which was the role of the daughter-in-law in primitive families...

 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
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....

 with his short name "I.R." handwritten upside-down on the front of it. He lives in a run-down trailer
Trailer (vehicle)
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....

 near Weasel's mansion. I.R. fails to use proper grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...

 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
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...

. 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

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
    Teresa Ganzel
    Teresa Ganzel is an actress, comedienne, and cartoon voice-over actress.-Career:Teresa Ganzel was best known as a recurring cast member of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, having replaced the late Carol Wayne as the Matinee Lady in the popular "Mighty Carson Art Players" skits...

     (in season 3).

  • Jolly Roger - A recurring character named for the ship flag
    Jolly Roger
    The Jolly Roger is any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today is the skull and crossbones, a flag consisting of a human skull above two long bones set in an x-mark arrangement on a black field. This design was used by...

    . He usually wears a white T-shirt
    T-shirt
    A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....

     (or in some episodes a tuxedo
    Black tie
    Black tie is a dress code for evening events and social functions. For a man, the main component is a usually black jacket, known as a dinner jacket or tuxedo...

    ) with shorts
    Shorts
    Shorts are a bifurcated garment worn by both men and women over their pelvic area, circling the waist, and covering the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to or even below the knee, but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they are a shortened...

     and a white sailor cap
    Sailor cap
    A sailor cap is a round, flat visorless hat worn by sailors in many of the world's navies. A tally, an inscribed black silk ribbon, is tied around the base which usually bears the name of a ship or a navy. The cap may be further embellished with a badge, cockade or other accessory...

    , and uses coke-bottle glasses
    Glasses
    Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...

    . He appears only in season five and in the episode "Unsinkable I.R.", from season three.
    Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker
    Dee Bradley Baker
    Dee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...

    .

  • Admiral Bullets - A Naval
    Navy
    A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

     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
    Jess Harnell
    Jess Q. Harnell is an American voice actor and singer, best known for voicing Wakko Warner on Animaniacs. Harnell has been the announcer for America's Funniest Home Videos since 1998.-Life and acting career:...

     (in season 1), Michael Gough
    Michael Gough (voice actor)
    Michael Gough is an American voice actor and singer.-Television roles:*Dog from WordWorld* Don Diego de la Vega and The lead role in The New Adventures of Zorro* "Goof Troop" - Fester Swollen...

     (in season 2).

  • Cow and Chicken characters - Besides the Red Guy, some other characters from Cow and Chicken made cameo appearance
    Cameo appearance
    A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

    s 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, the 52 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 2000.

DVD releases

Region 1
In United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, some episodes of the series were launched on Cartoon Network's special DVDs for Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

 and Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 released in 2004 and 2005 and distributed by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...

.
  • 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 4, 2005) - episode "Power of Odor".
  • Cartoon Network Christmas 2: Christmas Rocks (October 9, 2005) - episode "Happy Baboon Holidays".


Region 3
In Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, 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.
Title Content Release date
I Am Weasel - Season 1 / ข้าคือวีเซิล - ภาค 1 Complete season one December 23, 2009
I Am Weasel - Season 2 / ข้าคือวีเซิล - ภาค 2 Complete season two Unknown


Region 4
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, a two-disc DVD release was launched on July 6, 2011 distributed by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...

. The same release was also launched in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 on August 11, 2011.
Title Content Release date
I Am Weasel - Collection 1 Complete season one July 6, 2011 (Australia)
August 11, 2011 (New Zealand)

Video games

Cartoon Network Racing
In the cart racing game, Cartoon Network Racing
Cartoon Network Racing
Cartoon Network Racing is a creation of Cartoon Network Interactive, Eutechnyx, Firebrand Games and The Game Factory. It is for the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS.-Gameplay:...

, 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
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

 and Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

.

Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall
In the online game, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall
Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall
Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall is a massively multiplayer online game developed by Cartoon Network and Grigon Entertainment. FusionFall uses the Unity engine as its client technology basis....

, there is one item named "I.R. Baboon shorts" which are shorts
Shorts
Shorts are a bifurcated garment worn by both men and women over their pelvic area, circling the waist, and covering the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to or even below the knee, but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they are a shortened...

 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
Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter's Laboratory is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Cartoon Network Studios . The show is about a boy named Dexter who has an enormous secret laboratory filled with an endless collection of his inventions...

, Johnny Bravo
Johnny Bravo
Johnny Bravo is an American animated television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network. The series stars a muscular beefcake young man named Johnny Bravo who dons a pompadour hairstyle and an Elvis Presley-like voice and has a forward, woman-chasing personality...

, Cow and Chicken
Cow and Chicken
Cow and Chicken is an American animated series, created by David Feiss. The series shows the surreal adventures of a cow, named Cow, and her chicken brother, named Chicken. They are often antagonized by "The Red Guy", who poses as various characters to scam or hurt them...

, Ed, Edd n Eddy
Ed, Edd n Eddy
Ed, Edd n Eddy is an original animated television series created by Danny Antonucci and produced by Canadian-based a.k.a. Cartoon. It premiered on Cartoon Network on January 4, 1999. Ed, Edd n Eddy was one of Cartoon Network's longest running and most successful franchises and the longest-running...

, Courage the Cowardly Dog
Courage the Cowardly Dog
Courage the Cowardly Dog is an American animated television series created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network. Its central plot revolves around a somewhat anthropomorphic dog named Courage who lives with his owners, Muriel and Eustace Bagge, an elderly, married farming couple in the "Middle of...

, among others. The comic was published from 2001 to 2004 by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

 and had 33 issues.

External links

  • Official website (Internet archive)
  • I Am Weasel at the Cartoon Network
    Cartoon Network
    Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....

     Department of Cartoons (Internet archive)
  • I Am Weasel at The New York Times
    The New York Times
    The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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