I Am Weasel

I Am Weasel

The series' title card featuring I.M. Weasel.
Genre Comedy
Slapstick
Created by David Feiss
Written by
Directed by
Voices of Michael Dorn
Charlie Adler
Theme music composer Bill Fulton
Opening theme "I Am Weasel", performed by April March
Ending theme "I Am Weasel" (Instrumental)
Composer(s) Bill Fulton
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 79 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Sherry Gunther
Larry Huber
Producer(s) Vincent Davis[1]
Supervising Producers:
Davis Doi (1997-1999)
Running time 7 minutes approx. (per episode)
Production company(s) Hanna-Barbera
Distributor Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network Cartoon Network
Picture format 480i (NTSC)
Audio format Stereo
Original release July 15, 1997 (1997-07-15) – March 2, 2000 (2000-03-02)
Chronology
Related shows Cow and Chicken

I Am Weasel is an American animated television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network, being the fourth of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. The series centers on I.M. Weasel, a smart, beloved and highly successful weasel, and I.R. Baboon, an unsuccessful and unintelligent baboon who is jealous of Weasel's success and constantly tries to upstage him.

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 (except in one occurrence, where it aired as a second segment between part one and two of The Ugliest Weenie). Eventually, I Am Weasel was spun off into its own series, which aired from 1999 to 2000, with both new episodes and the episodes that had aired on Cow and Chicken included in this series, totaling 79 episodes.

Premise

The central characters: I.R. Baboon (left) and I.M. Weasel (right).

The series chronicles the random adventures of two funny animal frenemies: I.M. Weasel (Michael Dorn), a famous, heroic, eloquent, highly intelligent, and many-talented weasel who is adored by everyone, and his totally opposite, I.R. Baboon (Charlie Adler), an ugly and idiotic hamadryas baboon who is envious of Weasel's success and constantly tries to be better than him, often failing and being hated by everyone. In season two, the Red Guy (Charlie Adler) became a main character on I Am Weasel, while still retaining 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.

Secondary characters include Loulabelle (Susan Blakeslee, Teresa Ganzel), Weasel's assistant who usually dresses herself as a nurse, and Admiral Bullets (Jess Harnell, Michael Gough), a naval officer who often relies on Weasel's help. Besides the Red Guy, some other characters from Cow and Chicken made cameo appearances in I Am Weasel from season two. These include Cow, Chicken (Charlie Adler), Mom, Teacher (Candi Milo), Dad (Dee Bradley Baker), Flem (Howard Morris), and Earl (Dan Castellaneta).

The show's 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]

Production and broadcast

I Am Weasel has a total of 79 episodes in 5 seasons that were produced from 1996 to September 1999.[5] A sneak peek for the series was aired on July 15, 1997 with the eleventh episode "Law of Gravity",[5][6] and then it continued its original run from July 22, 1997 with the second episode "I.R. on Sun",[5] 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.[7] With the separation, 52 I Am Weasel episodes originally aired on Cow and Chicken began to air in the show's own time slot, being joined by 27 new episodes, totaling 79.[8] The series' original run ended in 2000.[9]

Reruns of I Am Weasel aired prominently from March 3, 2000 to 2003. From September 2005 to April 10, 2006, it returned sporadically as segments on The Cartoon Cartoon Show, along with other Cartoon Cartoons from that era. On April 13, 2012, the series returned on Cartoon Planet before being removed in 2013. It was also aired on Boomerang, but only aired seasons 1–4 with the Cow and Chicken segments.

Merchandise

Home media 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.

Title Episodes included Release date
Cartoon Network Halloween: 9 Creepy Cartoon Capers I Am Vampire August 10, 2004
Cartoon Network Halloween 2: Grossest Halloween Ever Power of Odor August 9, 2005
Cartoon Network Christmas: Yuletide Follies I.R.'s First Bike
Dessert Island		 October 5, 2004
Cartoon Network Christmas 2: Christmas Rocks Happy Baboon Holidays October 4, 2005
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.[10]

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, a two-disc DVD release was launched on July 6, 2011, distributed by Madman Entertainment.[11] The same release was also launched in New Zealand on August 11, 2011.[12]

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

Video games

Cartoon Network Racing

In the kart racing video game, Cartoon Network Racing, available for PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, I.M. Weasel, I.R. Baboon and the Red Guy are playable characters. Also in the game, only in the PS2 version, the episodes "My Friend, the Smart Banana" and "Enemy Camp" are available as extras which can be unlocked by winning the I Am Weasel races.

Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall

In the MMO game, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, there was one item named "I.R. Baboon shorts", which were player-wearable shorts based on I.R. Baboon's buttocks.

Comics

I Am Weasel was featured in the comic series Cartoon Cartoons along with other Cartoon Cartoons from its time, 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

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". Archived from the original on December 12, 2006. 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. 1 2 3 Feiss, David (January 12, 2000). "Episode Guide: Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel". Archived from the original on December 12, 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
  6. ↑ Boedeker, Hal (July 14, 1997). "Cartoon Network zany relief". Reading Eagle. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
  7. ↑ King, Susan (June 10, 1999). "From MTV Awards to Olsen Twins". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  8. ↑ Kilmer, David (June 11, 1999). "Cartoon Network sets premiere for I AM WEASEL". Animation World Network. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ MVD Company Limited. "I Am Weasel - Season 2". Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  11. ↑ Madman Entertainment. "I Am Weasel - Vol. 1". Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  12. ↑ Madman Entertainment New Zealand. "I Am Weasel - Vol. 1". Retrieved July 6, 2011.
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