Johnny Bravo

Did You Know?

• A video game titled Johnny Bravo in The Hukka Mega Mighty Ultra Extreme Date-O-Rama! was released on June 9, 2009, for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2.
• The PlayStation 2 version of Cartoon Network Racing contains the episodes "Doommates" and "Johnny's Telethon" as unlockable extras.
• Johnny Bravo first appeared in the Cartoon Network Starring series from DC Comics from 1999 to 2001.

Premise

The series centers on Johnny Bravo, a conceited, muscular narcissist and dimwitted self-proclaimed womanizer with 1960s surfer vibes, a blonde pompadour, sunglasses, and an Elvis Presley-esque voice, apparently of Italian heritage, who lives in Aron City. Episodes typically revolve around his attempts to get a woman to go on a date with him, though his advances are usually rejected and result in the woman harming him comically due to his boorish manner. Johnny's companions are Bunny "Momma" Bravo, his lively, caring, extroverted, more sensible mother who wears cat eye sunglasses; and Little Suzy, a talkative and intelligent young girl from the neighborhood who likes to agitate Johnny, although he rarely remembers her name. Recurring characters include Carl Chryniszzswics, a geek who idolizes Johnny despite being bullied; Pops, the unscrupulous owner of the local diner; Master Hamma, a Japanese martial arts instructor; Donny Osmond, a cheery teen idol who irritates Johnny; and Jungle Boy, a feral child with super strength. Much of the humor derives from celebrity guest star appearances and references to popular culture, with numerous guest stars including Adam West, Shaquille O'Neal, and Seth Green. Many Hanna-Barbera characters also had cameo appearances.

Production

While attending Loyola Marymount University, Van Partible produced his senior thesis project Mess O' Blues, an animated short film about an Elvis Presley impersonator. After Partible accidentally destroyed the soundtrack during editing, his collaborator Lee J. Bognar assembled actors and musicians to perform the soundtrack live, which received a standing ovation. Partible's animation professor screened the film to a friend at Hanna-Barbera, leading the studio to ask Partible to develop it into a pitch for a seven-minute short. For the new short, Partible revised the main character, renaming him Johnny Bravo and making him a James Dean-looking character who talked like Elvis. Voice actor Jeff Bennett was cast based on his young, hyped Elvis impression. The short aired on Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons on March 26, 1995. Two more shorts followed: Jungle Boy in "Mr. Monkeyman" in 1996 and Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women in 1997. The name Johnny Bravo derived from Partible's middle name, Giovanni Bravo, as well as from The Brady Bunch episode "Adios, Johnny Bravo".

Reception and legacy

Johnny Bravo was Cartoon Network's highest-rated program in 1999, garnering a 2.2 rating in households and a 4.4 rating among children aged 6 to 11 years. In 2009, IGN ranked the series No. 71 on its Top 100 Animated Series list. After the series ended, a No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet with Johnny Bravo on the hood was driven by Kyle Busch in the 2005 Sharpie 500 NASCAR race. The show's creative team went on to create many successful television series, including writer Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, and writer/director Butch Hartman, who created The Fairly OddParents. In 2023, Indian Entertainment Journal Pinkvilla named Johnny Bravo among the top 10 cartoon shows of the 1990s, citing its running gag of Johnny chasing women and getting beaten up, as well as its comedic influence on future cartoons.

Spin-offs

JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show was a programming block that aired Sundays on Cartoon Network from April 2, 2000, to mid-2001, hosted by Johnny Bravo with infrequent guest stars such as Chicken and Dexter. Callers could request a cartoon from Cartoon Network's library, which would then be played. After the series ended, a spin-off named Toon FM was launched in Europe, featuring Godzilla presenting the weather and Brak as co-host. Another spin-off, Viva Las Bravo, was a summer block that aired from 2005 to 2006 on certain European variants of Cartoon Network, where Johnny would announce three cartoons and the one with the highest votes would be shown the next day.