Johnny Bravo
Encyclopedia
Johnny Bravo is an American animated television series created by Van Partible
Van Partible
Van Partible is an American animator of Filipino descent, writer, and producer best known for creating the animated television series Johnny Bravo.Partible currently resides in Salinas, California....

 for 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 stars a muscular beefcake
Beefcake
Beefcake is a term denoting the use of nude or semi-nude male bodies. It can refer to a genre or a person. It often is used to denote male sexual attractiveness stemming from physical build but the definition has expanded to include anyone interested in physical fitness, bodybuilding and weight...

 young man named Johnny Bravo who dons a pompadour
Pompadour (hairstyle)
Pompadour is a tall style of men's haircut which takes its name from Madame de Pompadour.There are Latin variants of the hair style more associated with European and Argentine tango fashion trends and occasionally with late 20th century musical genres such as rockabilly and country.The pompadour...

 hairstyle and an Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

-like voice and has a forward, woman-chasing personality. Plots typically revolve around him trying to get a woman that he has targeted throughout the episode to fall in love with him. He is often beaten up or stunned by his target or companions, or is ditched by them in the end.

The series was originally part of a series of shorts on Cartoon Network's animation showcase series World Premiere Toons
The Cartoon Cartoon Show
What a Cartoon! , is an American animation showcase project created by Fred Seibert for Hanna-Barbera Cartoons to be run on Cartoon Network...

(also known as the What a Cartoon! Show.) The popularity of the shorts led to the network commissioning a full series for the show, which premiered on July 7, 1997. The series was renewed for multiple following seasons and finally ended its official run on August 27, 2004.

The series was the second series to be spun from World Premiere Toons, and is the second series under 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...

 (a collective name for early Cartoon Network original series). A spin-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...

 of the series, JBVO, was unsuccessful and ran for one season. Many of the writers and directors on the series went on to become famous for their own projects (writer Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...

 for Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...

and writer/director Butch Hartman
Butch Hartman
Elmer Earl "Butch" Hartman IV is an American animator, executive producer, animation director, storyboard artist, voice actor, occasional singer, producer, and creator of the animated series The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom and T.U.F.F. Puppy.-Childhood:Hartman was born in Highland Park,...

 for The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents is an American-Canadian animated television series created by Butch Hartman about the adventures of Timmy Turner, who is granted fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda. The series started out as cartoon segments that ran from September 4, 1998 to March 23, 2001 on Oh Yeah!...

). Johnny Bravo is today consider a classic Cartoon Network series, the title character is labeled as "iconic", and his catchphrases ("Oohh, Mama!") are relatively common in popular culture. Reruns of the show are played on Boomerang
Boomerang (TV channel)
Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...

.

An 11-minute short titled "Johnny Bravo Goes To Bollywood" was made in India in 2009, but it only aired on Cartoon Network India. After that a 70-minute movie with the same title was made, but this time it was made in the USA. It will first air in Australia on November 20, 2011, but it is unknown when it will air in the USA.

History

The series takes its roots from a senior thesis project creator Van Partible
Van Partible
Van Partible is an American animator of Filipino descent, writer, and producer best known for creating the animated television series Johnny Bravo.Partible currently resides in Salinas, California....

 did for Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...

, about an Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 impersonator. Mess O' Blues (1993) was shown by Partible's animation professor at the college to a friend working for Hanna-Barbera Cartoons
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...

 at the time. The studio loved the film and asked him to develop it into a pitch for a seven-minute short. Partible sold the project to Hanna-Barbera shortly afterward. The short would be aired 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....

's new animation showcase, World Premiere Toons
The Cartoon Cartoon Show
What a Cartoon! , is an American animation showcase project created by Fred Seibert for Hanna-Barbera Cartoons to be run on Cartoon Network...

. Also known as the What a Cartoon! Show, the series' short cartoons (three per half-hour episode) mirrored the structure of a theatrical cartoon, with each film being based on an original storyboard drawn and written by its artist/creator.

Partible initially roomed with Craig McCracken
Craig McCracken
Craig McCracken is an American animator and creator of The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.-Biography:...

 (creator of The Powerpuff Girls
The Powerpuff Girls
The Powerpuff Girls is an American animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera for Cartoon Network...

), Paul Rudish
Paul Rudish
Paul Rudish is an American animator who helped create Dexter's Laboratory, The PowerPuff Girls, Samurai Jack, and the Clone Wars. He worked in Hanna-Barbera and then in Cartoon Network Studios with Genndy Tartakovsky...

 (a designer on that series) and Genndy Tartakovsky
Genndy Tartakovsky
Genndy Borisovich Tartakovsky is a Russian-American television animator, director and producer. His best-known creations are Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Sym-Bionic Titan...

 (creator of 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...

.) The only two cartoonists fresh out of college were Partible and Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...

. Partible changed his character from Mess O' Blues around so that "he would be more of this '50s iconic James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...

-looking character that talked like Elvis". Partible picked voice actor Jeff Bennett
Jeff Bennett
Jeffrey Glenn "Jeff" Bennett is an American voice actor and musician, listed "among the top names in the voice-over field", best known as the voice of Johnny Bravo in the series of the same name...

 to play Johnny Bravo solely based on his young, hyped Elvis impression.

The short, Johnny Bravo, premiered on World Premiere Toons on March 26, 1995, and involved Johnny trying to score with a zookeeper girl by capturing a runaway gorilla. Partible, with a small team of animators, animated the short themselves in-house at Hanna-Barbera using digital ink and paint (the latter shorts and seasons 1 and early season 2 of the series would instead use the traditional ink and paint and film camera.) Two more shorts on the program followed (Jungle Boy in "Mr. Monkeyman", and Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women) and the shorts were so popular that Cartoon Network commissioned a first season of series based around Johnny Bravo, consisting of 13 episodes.

The crew of the first season of Johnny Bravo consisted of several writers, animators, and directors from World Premiere Toons, including the aforementioned MacFarlane and Hartman, Steve Marmel
Steve Marmel
Steve Marmel is an American Television writer and Producer who has worked on many animated TV series, among which are The Fairly Odd Parents, I Am Weasel, Danny Phantom, Family Guy and Yin Yang Yo!. During his work on The Fairly Odd Parents he frequently co-wrote episodes with Butch Hartman...

, and John McIntyre
John McIntyre (cartoonist)
Jonathan McIntyre is an animated series writer, director, and artist.-Films:-References:...

. Veteran cartoonist and animation legend Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....

 was also a creative consultant and a mentor for the first season of the series. Partible stated in a 1997 interview that the goal of the series was to have "animation reminiscent of the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons".

The series premiered on July 7, 1997 and the first season completed in December of that year. The series was put on hiatus, until it was picked up for an unexpected second season in 1999. During that season, the show undertook a major creative re-tooling, in which new characters were introduced, re-designs of characters with new personalities were prevalent, and the tone and humor of the show changed considerably. Some of the changes the show experienced during the re-tooled version were the heavy emphasis on Johnny's stupidity, the removal of the Jungle Boy characters and new catchphrases. Most viewers did not take kindly to the changes while others thought the show greatly improved and took off with a slapstick style. The show kept this format until the series' third season ended in 2002. The series sat in limbo once again until it was renewed for a fourth season in 2003, which aired in 2004. The final season of the series returned to the humor of the original shorts and first season of the series (Although the Jungle Boy characters from the first season never returned). The show was cancelled officially in late 2004. Reruns premiered on Cartoon Network's sister network Boomerang
Boomerang (TV channel)
Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...

 and the series returned for a short time to Cartoon Network in November 2009.

Today, the series is often 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 cartoons (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...

). For a short time, a live-action film was rumored to be in production. The catchphrases of the show are relatively common in popular culture. After the series ended in 2004, The #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet was given a special paint scheme with Johnny Bravo on the hood. It was driven by Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch, is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs in the Nationwide Series, and the No...

 in the 2005 Sharpie 500 NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 race. On the long lasting impact of the show, writer/director Butch Hartman states:
A large majority of the show's creative team has gone on to create many successful television series throughout the 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...

 and 2000s, most notably writer Seth MacFarlane, who is the creator of the popular animated series Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...

. Shortly after the series' first season was completed, writer/director Butch Hartman left to work on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...

's Oh Yeah! Cartoons
Oh Yeah! Cartoons
Oh Yeah! Cartoons is an American animation showcase that appeared on the Nickelodeon cable channel. Oh Yeah! was an animation project guided by Fred Seibert, former Creative Director of MTV Networks and President of Hanna-Barbera...

, from which those shorts spun off his own success, The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents is an American-Canadian animated television series created by Butch Hartman about the adventures of Timmy Turner, who is granted fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda. The series started out as cartoon segments that ran from September 4, 1998 to March 23, 2001 on Oh Yeah!...

. Steve Marmel, writer for Johnny Bravo, has been a producer and writer for The Fairly OddParents since its premiere in 2001. In addition to Johnny Bravo, director John McIntyre directed episodes of several other Cartoon Cartoons, and more recently served as a supervising director on Cartoon Network's original series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is an American animated television series produced for Cartoon Network that premiered on June 5, 2008 and ended on August 31, 2010...

.

The show is currently airing on Boomerang every Saturday & Sunday at 10:00 PM EST And all week long at 9:30/9:30 PM EST.

In 2009, IGN ranked Johnny bravo #71 for its Top 100 Animated Series list.

Voice cast

  • Jeff Bennett
    Jeff Bennett
    Jeffrey Glenn "Jeff" Bennett is an American voice actor and musician, listed "among the top names in the voice-over field", best known as the voice of Johnny Bravo in the series of the same name...

     and Marc Silk
    Marc Silk
    Marc Silk is a voice actor from Solihull, England.His work includes appearances in Chicken Run and as the U.S. voice of Bob in Bob the Builder, the roles of Aks Moe in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Johnny Bravo, and commissions for Disney.- Animation & Cartoons :* Bob The Builder -...

     as Johnny Bravo, various others
  • Brenda Vaccaro
    Brenda Vaccaro
    Brenda Buell Vaccaro is an American stage, television and film actress.-Early life:Vaccaro was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents Christine M. and Mario A. Vaccaro , both of whom were pioneers in Italian cuisine...

     as Bunny Bravo
  • Mae Whitman
    Mae Whitman
    Mae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...

     as Little Suzy
  • Tom Kenny
    Tom Kenny
    Thomas James "Tom" Kenny is an American actor, voice actor and comedian. He is especially known for his long-running-role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the television series of the same name, as well as the live-action character Patchy the Pirate, Gary the Snail and the French narrator based on...

     as Carl
  • Larry Drake
    Larry Drake
    Larry Drake is an American actor.Drake was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Lorraine, a homemaker, and Raymond Drake, a drafting engineer for an oil company. Drake is renowned for his portrayal of developmentally disabled Benny Stulwicz on the television show L.A...

     as Pops
  • Brian Tochi
    Brian Tochi
    Brian Keith Tochihara , better known as Brian Tochi, is a U.S. actor, screen-writer, movie director and producer. He was widely recognized as the most popular East Asian child actor working in U.S. television during the late 1960s through much of the 1970s having appeared in various T.V. series and...

     as Master Hamma
  • Cody Dorkin as Jungle Boy
  • Mark Hamill
    Mark Hamill
    Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...

     as King Raymond, Himself, various others
  • Lane hanrahan as himself, old man

Characters

  • Johnny Bravo (voiced by Jeff Bennett
    Jeff Bennett
    Jeffrey Glenn "Jeff" Bennett is an American voice actor and musician, listed "among the top names in the voice-over field", best known as the voice of Johnny Bravo in the series of the same name...

     and Marc Silk
    Marc Silk
    Marc Silk is a voice actor from Solihull, England.His work includes appearances in Chicken Run and as the U.S. voice of Bob in Bob the Builder, the roles of Aks Moe in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Johnny Bravo, and commissions for Disney.- Animation & Cartoons :* Bob The Builder -...

     impersonating Elvis Presley
    Elvis Presley
    Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

    ) — The muscular
    Beefcake
    Beefcake is a term denoting the use of nude or semi-nude male bodies. It can refer to a genre or a person. It often is used to denote male sexual attractiveness stemming from physical build but the definition has expanded to include anyone interested in physical fitness, bodybuilding and weight...

     main protagonist of the series. His middle name was rumored to be Boston. He has incredibly narcissistic and dim-witted traits, though still hardly the only questionable figure in town, which lead to a severely incorrigible inability to attract women, becoming a running gag throughout the series. He claims to dislike his "best friend", Carl Chryniszzswics. Johnny can also be interpreted as a male representation of the "dumb blonde
    Dumb blonde
    The blonde stereotype, the stereotypical perception of blond-haired women, has two aspects. On one hand, over the history, blonde hair in women has been considered attractive and desirable...

    " with the notable exception during Cartoon Network The 1st 13th Annual Fancy Anvil Awards Show Program Special: Live in Stereo
    Cartoon Network The 1st 13th Annual Fancy Anvil Awards Show Program Special: Live in Stereo
    The 1st 13th Annual Fancy Anvil Awards Show Program Special: Live in Stereo is an award show aired on Cartoon Network in March 2002. The show awarded cartoons and cartoons characters shown on the Cartoon Network.-Live people:* Al Roker...

    , during which Johnny served as the host and was very witty and suave. The character is memorable for his incredibly quick movements (usually done while trying to impress women), which were accompanied by the loud crack of a whip sound effect. Johnny's catch phrases are "She wants me!" and "Ohhh Mama!" after women beat him up for refusing to leave them alone. He dresses in a very big skin tight black t-shirt and very small jeans. Johnny's personality and his overall physical appearance are based on a relatively unknown personal trainer from England called Shane Dickens. Three running gags are his trademark sunglasses, which he always wears, never revealing his eyes; breaking the fourth wall
    Fourth wall
    The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...

     and Johnny being beaten up by women, who reject him. The name "Johnny Bravo" dates back to an episode of The Cheyenne Show, and was also Greg Brady's would-be stage name in an episode of The Brady Bunch
    The Brady Bunch
    The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...

    . However, Van Partible stated in an interview for Cartoon Network that he also derived the name from his full given name, "Efrem Giovanni Bravo Partible." It has also been said that his birthday is on Valentine's Day and he likes Kung-Fu chick shows. When voicing Johnny Bravo, Jeff Bennett made his voice sound like that of Elvis Presley
    Elvis Presley
    Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

    .
  • Bunny "Momma" Bravo (voiced by Brenda Vaccaro
    Brenda Vaccaro
    Brenda Buell Vaccaro is an American stage, television and film actress.-Early life:Vaccaro was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents Christine M. and Mario A. Vaccaro , both of whom were pioneers in Italian cuisine...

    ) — Johnny's mother. She has had a lively past and sometimes reveals a surprising hidden talent. The show's original format portrays her as a calm, nurturing woman, but was made into a louder, more extroverted character once the show was retooled. She's very dedicated to her son, but as a result of her awareness of his low intellect and womanizer attitude, does not always treat him and his problems seriously. Like Johnny, Bunny has her own trademark sunglasses which always cover her eyes. Bunny hopes that Johnny will find that special someone he's been looking for. Bunny is mostly referred in the show as "Momma" by Johnny, who pronounces it in an Elvis-esque manner.
  • Little Suzy (voiced by Mae Whitman
    Mae Whitman
    Mae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...

     as a child and Pat Musick
    Pat Musick
    Pat Musick is an American voice actress. She is the mother of Mae Whitman.-Television roles:* 2 Stupid Dogs - Additional Voices* The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda - Additional Voices...

     as an adult) — A little red-haired, intelligent girl from the neighborhood (often called "Little Neighbor girl" by Johnny), who is very cunning and talkative. In many episodes, Suzy is shown to have a major crush on Johnny (Although the feeling is not mutual). Her parents were never shown, but she is often shown to be related to big time celebrities. For example, it was revealed in an episode during her birthday that Farrah Fawcett
    Farrah Fawcett
    Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...

     is her cousin. She also has a crush on an 8-year-old country music
    Country music
    Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

     singer Lonnie Dash. In the early series, Suzy was more of a cute-type character with a round head, while in the retooled series, she is thin-looking and more grown up. Suzy has many interests (such as selling lemonade and participating in the Buttercup Scouts) and has proven to be very successful in most of those interests. It is very obvious that Johnny finds Suzy annoying as he won't even go to her birthday parties or school dances.
  • Carl Chryniszzswics (voiced by Tom Kenny
    Tom Kenny
    Thomas James "Tom" Kenny is an American actor, voice actor and comedian. He is especially known for his long-running-role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the television series of the same name, as well as the live-action character Patchy the Pirate, Gary the Snail and the French narrator based on...

    ) — A local nerd, also known as Carl Shocker, considered by many (especially Johnny) to be extremely annoying. He is Johnny's "best friend". He is a local genius and geek, who is very intelligent, but somewhat eccentric and timid. He was introduced after the show's retooling following the end of the first season, and seems to be Johnny's only friend, although Johnny often denies that. Carl sometimes uses Johnny for his experiments' sake. Carl really likes Johnny and he continues to hang out with him, even after all of the mean things that Johnny does to Carl and says about him. Carl remained in the show after the return to the original style, but was relegated to smaller roles.
  • Pops (voiced by Larry Drake
    Larry Drake
    Larry Drake is an American actor.Drake was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Lorraine, a homemaker, and Raymond Drake, a drafting engineer for an oil company. Drake is renowned for his portrayal of developmentally disabled Benny Stulwicz on the television show L.A...

    ) — The greedy owner of a local diner. He often gives tips and advice to Johnny; however, his advice often turns out to be useless, sometimes provoking trouble for Johnny. His diner's chili is made from rather suspicious ingredients and he serves food made from many animals, such as possums, pandas, cougars
    Cougars
    Cougars is a Chicago-based rock band signed to the New York-based label Go-Kart Records.The Cougars' music is often compared to that of Rocket from the Crypt...

    , seals
    Pinniped
    Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...

    , horses, and bald eagles. Like Carl, Pops was introduced in season two after the show's drastic retooling and remained even after the return to the original format, although he was relegated to brief cameo roles.
  • Master Hamma (voiced by Brian Tochi
    Brian Tochi
    Brian Keith Tochihara , better known as Brian Tochi, is a U.S. actor, screen-writer, movie director and producer. He was widely recognized as the most popular East Asian child actor working in U.S. television during the late 1960s through much of the 1970s having appeared in various T.V. series and...

    ) — A Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

    ese martial arts
    Martial arts
    Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

     instructor. Johnny has taken, and failed, several of his martial arts classes and frequently ruins Hamma's life trying to learn his lessons. Like Carl and Pops, Master Hamma was introduced after the series was retooled. His rival is another martial arts instructor named Panteen Claw who has a daughter named Ting.
  • Jungle Boy (voiced by Cody Dorkin) — A little boy with incredible strength, who lived in the jungle with talking animals (similar to Tarzan
    Tarzan
    Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...

    ). He shares a bitter rivalry with King Raymond (voiced by Mark Hamill, similar to Kerchak
    Kerchak
    Kerchak is a fictional ape character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's original Tarzan novel, Tarzan of the Apes, and in the Walt Disney-produced animated movie Tarzan based on it.-History:...

    ). His appearances on the series were short-lived and he and the other animals were removed from the show after Season 1.

Hallmarks

The series had many recognizable hallmarks, whether it is running gags or the humor revolving around Bravo's bravado itself.

Pop culture references

The series was abounding in pop culture references. The original short that preceded the series, Mess O' Blues, was based around an Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 impersonator. Even from the first season, creator Van Partible intended for the show’s middle segment to be a form of "Johnny Bravo Meets...", intended as a parody of The New Scooby-Doo Movies
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
The New Scooby-Doo Movies is the second incarnation of the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. It premiered on September 9, 1972 and ran for two seasons on CBS as the only hour-long Scooby-Doo series...

. An entire episode of the first season of the show is based around homages to "The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...

’’ (or, as the show dubs it, The Zone, Where Normal Things Don't Happen Very Often.) In that episode, which consisted of three Twilight Zone parodies, opened and closed by the words of a narrator
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...

, and would consist of Johnny encountering something strange, for example, being at the mercy of a boy who can seemingly alter reality at will
It's a Good Life (The Twilight Zone)
"It's a Good Life" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It is based on a 1953 short story of the same name by Jerome Bixby.-Synopsis:...

, or fighting a personal war with a clown trying to damage a plane's wing
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is a 1963 episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, based on the short story of the same name by Richard Matheson.-Plot summary:...

 (only to discover he was one of two clowns kept to "balance" the plane) - the episode also included a talking doll that attempted to commit murder
Living Doll (The Twilight Zone)
"Living Doll" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Little Christie's mother, Annabelle, buys her a new doll, trying to make up for her new stepfather's indifference. As they pull into the driveway, Annabelle instructs Christie to run upstairs with...

.

Johnny makes a references to Johnny Carson' Tonight Show, in an episode when he enters a bar announcing, "Heeeeerrreeee's Johnny!"

Johnny sings the first few lines of the Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...

 song "Just Can't Get Enough" in "A Johnny Bravo Christmas", as well as several other songs, films, and other TV shows. Also in the intro video the text "Johnny Bravo" can be seen written in the same font and style as the Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...

logo. As a testament to the show's pop culture references (which lasted for the show's entire seven-year long run), one of the Village People
Village People
Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....

 can be seen in the background of "The Island of Beautiful Men" in the series’ third pilot episode, Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women.

Humor

Much of the humor of the series revolves around the antics and dimwitted-ness of Johnny himself. The entire series revolves around Bravo's undying desire to go on a date with a woman, and most women beat him up when he asks them. In turn, Bravo asks them in a very confident, almost cocky manner. Johnny also has been seen to do absurd things just to see a woman. Though narcissistic, Johnny has a relatively innocent nature, which, in conjunction with his lack of intelligence, can occasionally land him in the middle of others' dastardly plots (where he often remains oblivious even as they unfold). When Johnny enjoys something, usually something he tastes or sees, he often exclaims enjoyment by saying, "Mmm, (object)-y!" This joke was introduced and was most prevalent in the second season. This is similar to one of Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...

 and Pee-wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his two television series and film series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that quickly led to an HBO special in 1981...

's catch phrases.

Sly adult humor is found in many early episodes of the show. In one episode, when Little Suzy calls Johnny to ask if he wants to come over, Johnny nonchalantly tells her to "[call] back in 15 years when [she is] a co-ed." In regard to the adult humor, Butch Hartman stated "...being concerned with the content of the episodes wasn’t our main focus", and creator Van Partible remembers that "No one was really watching Cartoon Network [...] As far as content, they were pretty lenient on all the kind of things that were going on."

Guest appearances

The series has had numerous guest stars, which include: Don Knotts
Don Knotts
Jesse Donald "Don" Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards...

, Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Biel is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven...

, Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...

, "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...

, Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield is an Australian-born singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single "Speak to the Sky" reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States...

, Luke Perry
Luke Perry
Luke Perry is an American actor. Perry starred as Dylan McKay on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990–95, and then from 1998–2000. Much publicity was garnered over the fact that even though he was playing a sixteen-year-old when 90210 began, Perry was actually in his...

, Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...

, Vendela Kirsebom
Vendela Kirsebom
Vendela Maria Kirsebom is a Norwegian-Swedish model and actress living in Nesodden, Norway.-Early life and career:Vendela Kirsebom was born in Stockholm, Sweden to a Norwegian mother; her Swedish father was of Turkish descent. At age 13, Kirsebom was discovered in a Stockholm restaurant by Eileen...

, Adam West
Adam West
William West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...

, Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....

, Jack Sheldon
Jack Sheldon
Jack Sheldon is an American bebop and West Coast jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He is a trumpet player and was a comedian on The Merv Griffin Show, as well as the voice heard on several episodes of the educational music television series Schoolhouse Rock.-Biography:Sheldon was born in...

, Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....

, Richard Simmons
Richard Simmons
Milton Teagle Simmons , known professionally as Richard Simmons, is an American fitness personality who promotes weight-loss programs, most famously through his Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos and DVDs and is known for his eccentric, outgoing and frequently flamboyant personality...

, Joey McIntyre, Mr. T
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...

, Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...

, Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...

, Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...

, Seth Green
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...

, Allyce Beasley
Allyce Beasley
Allyce Beasley is an American actress. She is known for her role as rhyming, love-struck receptionist Agnes DiPesto in the television series Moonlighting. For several years , she has been the announcer on Playhouse Disney, a morning lineup of programming for toddlers on The Disney Channel...

, Curtis Armstrong
Curtis Armstrong
Curtis Armstrong is an American actor best known for his portrayal as Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds movies, as Herbert Viola on Moonlighting, and as famed record producer Ahmet Ertegün in the film Ray.-Early life:...

, Chuck D
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour , better known by his stage name, Chuck D, is an American rapper, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious rap music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.- Early life :Ridenhour was born in Queens, New York...

, Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.-Early life:...

, Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...

, and Laraine Newman
Laraine Newman
Laraine Newman is an American comedienne, actress, and writer, and was part of the original Saturday Night Live cast.-Personal life:...

. Initially, the goal of the first season of the show was to have popular 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...

 icons (such as Osmond and Fawcett) to appear on the "Johnny Bravo Meets..." middle segment of the show, but guest stars were used informally after the second season began.

The episode featuring Adam West inspired Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...

, who also wrote the episode, to incorporate a similar character
Adam West (Family Guy)
Adam West, also known as Mayor West, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. The character, voiced by the actor of the same name, is the eccentric mayor of the town of Quahog, Rhode Island, where the series is set.-Character:...

 into Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...

. Other, more famous 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...

 characters have appeared in Johnny Bravo Episodes, including the cast of Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...

, Speed Buggy
Speed Buggy
Speed Buggy is a Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on CBS from September 8, 1973 to August 30, 1975.-Production:...

, Jabberjaw
Jabberjaw
Jabberjaw is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired from September 11, 1976 to September 3, 1978 on ABC.-Premise:...

, Fred Flintstone
Fred Flintstone
Frederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...

, Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...

, The Blue Falcon
Dynomutt, Dog Wonder
Dynomutt, Dog Wonder is an American animated television series produced for Saturday mornings by Hanna-Barbera about a Batman-esque super hero, the Blue Falcon and his assistant, a bumbling yet generally effective robot dog Dynomutt, who could produce a seemingly infinite number of mechanical...

, Black Widow
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...

, and Huckleberry Hound.

JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show

JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show was a short-lived television series on Cartoon Network. The series aired on Sundays from April 2, 2000 to May 21, 2001. It was hosted by Johnny Bravo, along with some infrequent guest stars such as Chicken (from 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...

). Callers would write in to the show via mail or through the Cartoon Network website to call the show and request a cartoon from Cartoon Network's cartoon library, which would then be played, with an exception of half hour-long shows. Notably, one caller of the show requested an episode of Dragon Ball Z. Being that it was a half hour long, Johnny regretfully had to fast-forward through the entire episode with Johnny providing only expositional commentary. Afterward, Johnny apologized to the caller for the inconvenience.

There was also a similar spin-off of the JBVO concept itself entitled Viva Las Bravo, a summer block that aired in 2005 and 2006 in certain European variants of Cartoon Network. Every day Johnny would announce three cartoons, with the one getting the highest votes via email or on CartoonNetworkHQ.net would be shown for two hours the next day. He would also constantly appear in commercial breaks, cracking jokes or answering humorous emails/phone calls.

DVD releases

Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

 stated in an interview that they are "...in conversations with 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....

" for DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 collections of various cartoons, among which is Johnny Bravo in 2006. Johnny Bravo: Season 1, a two-disc set featuring the complete first season which contains all 13 episodes, was released 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...

 in Australia and New Zealand (Region 4
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...

) on October 10, 2007. On November 4, 2009, the complete second season was released.
MVD Company Limited also released Season 1-5 in 2009.

A Region 1 release of the first season, with different cover art and new special features, was released 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...

 on June 15, 2010. The release is first in an official release of several 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...

 on DVD, under the "Cartoon Network Hall of Fame" name.

Region 1

Title Release date Episodes Description
Johnny Bravo: Season One June 15, 2010 1-13 This two-disc release includes all thirteen episodes from the first season, A look-back documentary, pencil tests, and episode commentaries.

Other releases

  • Scooby-Doo and the Toon Tour of Mysteries: "Bravo Dooby Doo", "Noir Johnny"
  • Cartoon Network Halloween: "Bravo Dooby Doo"
  • Cartoon Network Christmas: "A Johnny Bravo Christmas"
  • Cartoon Network Halloween 2: Grossest Halloween Ever: "Frankenbravo"
  • Cartoon Network Christmas 2: Christmas Rocks: "Twas the Night"

External links

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