Johnny Bravo (TV series)

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This article is about the TV series. For other uses, see Johnny Bravo.
Johnny Bravo
JB S1 title card.png
Season 1's title card.
Created by Van Partible
Network Cartoon Network
Production company Hanna-Barbera Cartoons
Cartoon Network Studios
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Original release July 14, 1997July 24, 2004
Run time 22 minutes
Starring Jeff Bennett
Mae Whitman
Brenda Vaccaro
Tom Kenny
Larry Drake
Executive producer(s) Sherry Gunther
Van Partible
Producer(s) Cos Anzilotti
Kara Vallow
Victoria McCollum
Diana Ritchey-Berman
Brian Miller
Music composed by Louis Fagenson
Christopher Neal Nelson
Writer(s) Van Partible
Michael Ryan
Butch Hartman
Steve Marmel
Seth MacFarlane
Gene Grillo
Jed Springarn
John Crane
Paul F. Kozlowski
Craig Bartlett
Craig Lewis
Amy Keating Rogers
Director(s) Van Partible (also voices)
Rumen Petkov
Butch Harman
John McIntyre
Russell Calabrese
Kirk Tingblad
Nathan Chew
Robert Alvarez
James Tim Walker
Collette Sunderman (voices)
Second title card
JB S2 title card.png
Season 2-3's title card.
Third title card
JB S4 title card.png
Season 4's title card.

Johnny Bravo is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible. It was produced at Hanna-Barbera Cartoons (seasons 1-3) and Cartoon Network Studios (season 4) for Cartoon Network. It ran from 1997 to 2004, airing 65 episodes that spanned four seasons, as well as four specials (with two of them post-series).

In Aron City, lives a young man called Johnny Bravo, who seems to have the full package on the surface; being muscular, wearing sunglasses, and having a unique yellow pompadour. But underneath his macho physique is a dimwitted, self-absorbed, chauvinistic manchild, whose attempt to get a date leads him into bizarre and almost brutal situations. He lives with his sassy mother, and is often accompanied by an eclectic array of close friends he believes cramp his style and real-life celebrity guest stars.

Production

Development

While attending Loyola Marymount University in 1993, Van Partible produced "Mess O' Blues" as a senior thesis project; an animated short film about an Elvis Presley impersonator.[1] His animation teacher showed the film to a friend working at Hanna-Barbera, where it was loved by the studio. They asked Partible to develop it into a pitch for a seven-minute short, prompting him to sell the project to Hanna-Barbera.[2]

For the new short (titled "Johnny Bravo"), Partible redesigned the Elvis-like character of "Mess O' Blues" and renamed him "Johnny Bravo". He also made the character into what he described as "this '50s iconic, James Dean-looking character that talked like Elvis." Michael Jackson's heavy use of whip snaps and cracks (like in Captain EO) was an inspiration for whenever Johnny strikes a pose.[3]

Casting

Segments

  • Johnny Bravo
  • Jungleboy (1997)

Music

Throughout the series, Louis Fagenson's opening theme song was kept, but his ending theme was only used for the first and fourth seasons. He was also the composer for the first and fourth seasons. For the second and third seasons, Fagenson had been replaced with Christopher Neal Nelson, who performed the music and the ending theme. For the first season, Bodie Chandler was the director of music production.

Episodes

Title Original air date
0x01 March 26, 1995
0x02 January 1, 1997
1x01
  • "Johnny Bravo"
  • Jungleboy: "Mr. Monkeyman"
  • "Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women"
July 7, 1997
1x02 July 14, 1997
1x03 July 21, 1997
1x04 July 28, 1997
1x05 August 4, 1997
1x06 August 11, 1997
1x07 August 18, 1997
1x08 August 25, 1997
1x09 September 1, 1997
1x10 September 8, 1997
1x11 December 1, 1997
1x12 December 8, 1997
1x13 December 15, 1997
2x01 July 2, 1999
2x02 July 30, 1999
2x03 August 6, 1999
2x04 August 13, 1999
2x05 August 20, 1999
2x06 August 27, 1999
2x07 September 3, 1999
2x08 September 10, 1999
2x09 September 17, 1999
2x10 September 24, 1999
2x11 October 1, 1999
2x12 October 8, 1999
2x14 October 15, 1999
2x14 October 22, 1999
2x15 October 29, 1999
2x16 November 5, 1999
2x17 November 12, 1999
2x18 November 19, 1999
2x19 January 7, 2000
2x20 January 14, 2000
2x21 January 21, 2000
2x22 January 28, 2000
3x01 August 11, 2000
3x02 August 18, 2000
3x03 August 18, 2000
3x04 September 8, 2000
3x05 September 22, 2000
3x06 October 13, 2000
3x07 November 3, 2000
3x08 November 17, 2000
3x09 November 17, 2000
3x10 December 15, 2000
3x11 February 2, 2001
3x12 February 23, 2001
3x13 April 6, 2001
3x14 April 27, 2001
3x15 May 11, 2001
3x16 May 11, 2001
3x17 June 14, 2001
4x01 February 20, 2004
4x02 March 5, 2004
4x03 March 12, 2004
4x04 March 19, 2004
4x05 March 26, 2004
4x06 July 2, 2004
4x07 July 9, 2004
4x08 July 16, 2004
4x09 July 23, 2004
4x10 July 30, 2004
4x11 August 6, 2004
4x12 August 20, 2004
4x13 August 27, 2004

Specials

Title Original air date
"A Johnny Bravo Christmas" December 1, 2001
"It's Valentine's Day, Johnny Bravo!" February 14, 2004

Cast

Celebrity guests

Legacy

In the fall of 2002, it was announced that Warner Bros. Pictures had purchased the rights to produce a live-action film and intended to have Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson play the character after he revealed that he was a fan of the series. Neal Moritz and Marty Adelstein would produce through their production banner, Original Film. Series creator Van Partible was also to be an executive producer.[4]

Johnny Bravo is highly popular in India, so popular that in 2008, Van Partible wrote and produced a short called Johnny Goes to Bollywood, which was produced by Snap Toons. It was not recorded in English, although the opening title card and end credits are in English. Partible then wrote an English-language feature-length version in 2011 called Johnny Bravo Goes to Bollywood.

In popular culture

  • In the 2022 Disney+ film Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, there is a billboard advertising Johnny Bravo Fitness, with Johnny's left arm visible.

Gilmore Girls

  • "Haunted Leg" and "One's Got Class and the Other One Dyes:" Lorelai and Rory have a box of Kellogg's Rice Krispies with Johnny, the Powerpuff Girls, and Dexter on them.
  • "Application Anxiety:" Lorelai says Rory should send Harvard their photo of them with their faces sticking out of cardboard holes of Johnny Bravo and SpongeBob SquarePants.

References

  1. ^ Van Partible, Jeff Bennett, Butch Hartman, John McIntyre; et al. (2010). Johnny Bravo: Season One. Special Features: Bringing Up Johnny Bravo (DVD). Warner Home Video.
  2. ^ Azar, Philip (2010-04-28). "LMU-originated 'Johnny Bravo' on DVD". Los Angeles Loyolan. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  3. ^ Partible, Van (June 21, 2010). "Johnny Bravo and Michael Jackson". VanPartible.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  4. ^ Dunkley, Cathy (October 17, 2002) "WB to Rock with ‘Bravo’". Variety. Retrieved May 20, 2022.