I Am Weasel

I Am Weasel is an American animated television series created by David Feiss, produced by Hanna-Barbera with Cartoon Network Studios, and broadcast on Cartoon Network.

I Am Weasel was originally a segment of Cow and Chicken, 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, premiering in 1999 with reruns airing until April 2006, with both new episodes and the episodes already aired on Cow and Chicken included, the series totaled 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, the series is being aired on Cartoon Network, on the Cartoon Planet block, while also airing on Boomerang.

Plot
The series chronicles the adventures of I.M. Weasel, an internationally famous, rather eloquent, highly intelligent and talented weasel who is adored by everyone, and I.R. Baboon, an ugly and idiotic baboon who is envious of Weasel's success and constantly tries to outdo him. The show premise comes 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.

Characters
I.M. Weasel (voiced by Michael Dorn) — I.M. 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.

I.R. Baboon (voiced by Charlie Adler) — I.R. is Weasel's rival; a dimwitted, ugly, and ridiculed baboon characterized by his intense stupidity and hunger for attention, and he therefore despises Weasel because of his success and talent. I.R.'s main goal throughout the series is to acquire fame and somehow surpass his nemesis, though his utter lack of talent or skill presents numerous disadvantages in his chances of achieving this entirely unattainable goal. His supreme willingness to top Weasel may endanger him severely, and his unintelligence burdens him with great vulnerability to hazards, leaving Weasel to race to his aid in many occasions. I.R. is characterized by his large, red buttocks, the subject of ridicule on countless occasions, and he resides in a dilapidated trailer outside of Weasel's immaculate mansion.

The Red Guy (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 to as "I.B. Red Guy", an allusion to Weasel's and Baboon's names.

Episodes
I Am Weasel has a total of 79 episodes spread over 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", but as a series of segments on Cow and Chicken. Later on, the series was separated and premiered as a half-hour series on June 10, 1999, the 51 I Am Weasel segments that originally aired on Cow and Chicken began to air in the I Am Weasel time slot, later being joined by 27 new segments, totaling 79. The series original run ended in 2000.