| I Am Weasel | |
|---|---|
Intertitle featuring the main character I.M. Weasel. |
|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Format | Animated series |
| 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(s) | Bill Fulton |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 79 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Sherry Gunther[1] Larry Huber[1] |
| Producer(s) | Vincent Davis[1] |
| Running time | 7 minutes approx. (per episode) |
| Production company(s) | Cartoon Network Studios Hanna-Barbera Cartoons |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Cartoon Network |
| Picture format | 480i (NTSC) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original run | May 11, 1995 – June 18, 1997 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Cow and Chicken |
I Am Weasel (also referred to as I.M. Weasel, after the character) is an American animated television series produced by Cartoon Network Studios in co-production with Hanna-Barbera, 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,[2] written by Richard Pursel, and sung by April March,[3] is based on the well-known musical version of the rhyme.[4]
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 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 Cartoon Network original programs (the collective Cartoon Cartoons).
Contents |
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 (Weasel for short) is the extremely gifted and talented protagonist of the series. He is a handsome young weasel who, although famous, is not snobby or stuck-up and is rather generous (for example, in one episode he donated his kidney to a sickly little boy in a kidney transplant)[5] 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.
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. He 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.[6] 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.[7]
I.R. wears a white T-shirt with his short name "I.R." handwritten[8] 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",[9] or when there were deceased ghosts trying to scare a D-movie actress portrayed by The Red Guy in the episode "I Are Ghost".[10]
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.[11]
Voiced by: Charlie Adler.
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.
I Am Weasel has a total of 79 episodes in 5 seasons that were produced from 1996 to September 1999.[13] The series original run started on July 15, 1997 with the airing of the eleventh episode "Law of Gravity",[13][14] 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.[15] 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.[16] The series original run ended in 2000.[17]
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.
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.[18]
| 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 |
In Australia, a two-disc DVD release was launched on July 6, 2011 distributed by Madman Entertainment.[19] The same release was also launched in New Zealand on August 11, 2011.[20]
| Title | Content | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| I Am Weasel - Collection 1 | Complete season one | July 6, 2011 (Australia) August 11, 2011 (New Zealand) |
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.
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.
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.
| Book: Cartoon Network
Book: Cartoon Cartoons |
|
| Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. | |