Johnny Bravo: Difference between revisions

'''''Johnny Bravo''''' is an American [[animated]] comedy television series created by [[Van Partible]] for [[Cartoon Network]] and distributed by [[Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution]]. The second of the network's [[Cartoon Cartoons]] (after [[Dexter's Laboratory]]), it aired from July 14, 1997, to August 27, 2004. The titular Johnny Bravo (voiced by [[Jeff Bennett]]), who is loosely based on [[Elvis Presley]] and [[James Dean]], is a [[blonde stereotype|blonde-haired]] sunglasses-wearing, muscular, and dimwitted young man who lives with his mother and attempts to get women to date him, though he always falls short because of his actions. He ends up in bizarre situations and predicaments, often accompanied by [[celebrity]] guest characters such as [[Donny Osmond]] or [[Adam West]]. Throughout its run, the show was known for its [[adult humor]] and [[pop culture]] references.

The series centers on Johnny Bravo (voiced by [[Jeff Bennett]]),{{efn|name=SilkVoice| [[Marc Silk]] has also voiced Johnny Bravo, in bumpers for [[Cartoon Network UK & Ireland]], when the character hosted a programming block on the channel. Silk did not play the character in the show itself.}}), a [[sunglasses]]-wearing, muscular, conceited [[narcissist]] and dimwitted self-proclaimed [[womanizing]] person with a [[Pompadour (hairstyle)|pompadour]] and an [[Elvis Presley]]-esque voice, apparently of Italian heritage, who lives in Aron City (a nod to Presley's middle name). Episodes typically revolve around him trying to get a woman to go on a date with him, though his advances are usually rejected and result in the woman in question harming him in a comedic way due to his boorish manner. Johnny's companions are Bunny "Momma" Bravo ([[Brenda Vaccaro]]), his lively, caring, extroverted, equally dimwitted mother, who wears cat eye sunglasses; Little Suzy ([[Mae Whitman]]), a talkative and intelligent young girl from the neighborhood who likes to agitate Johnny, although he rarely remembers her name; Carl Chryniszzswics ([[Tom Kenny]]), a geek who idolizes Johnny despite being bullied and bossed around by him; and Pops ([[Larry Drake]]), the unscrupulous owner of the local diner who provides advice to Johnny, along with food made from atypical ingredients.

Recurring characters include Master Hamma ([[Brian Tochi]]), a [[Japan]]eseJapanese [[martial arts]] instructor who teaches Johnny but never considers him a student due to being the weakest and most pathetic student in the dojo; [[Donny Osmond]] (himself), a cheery and optimistic [[teen idol]] who irritates Johnny; and Jungle Boy (Cody Dorkin), a jungle-dwelling [[feral child]] with super strength and the [[Human–animal communication|ability to speak to animals]].

Much of the series' humor is derived from celebrity guest star appearances and references to [[popular culture]]. For example, an episode in season 1 is based around homages to ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'',<ref name="commentary2">{{Cite AV media |title=Johnny Bravo Season One DVD Commentary for "The Man Who Cried "Clown!" / Johnny, Real Good / Little Talky Tabitha!" |date=2010 |last=Partible, Van |type=DVD |publisher=Warner Home Video}}</ref> and in another episode, one of the [[Village People]] can be seen in the background.<ref name="commentary" /> The series has had numerous guest stars, including [[Adam West]], [[Shaquille O'Neal]], [[Seth Green]] and the aforementioned Donny Osmond. In the first season, creator Van Partible intended for the show's middle segment to be a form of "Johnny Bravo Meets...", a parody of ''[[The New Scooby-Doo Movies]]'', which would feature appearances from popular 1970s icons, but guest stars were used informally after the second season began.<ref name="dvdint1" /><ref name="vaninterview">{{Cite web |last=Azar |first=Philip |date=2010-04-28 |title=LMU-originated 'Johnny Bravo' on DVD |url=http://www.laloyolan.com/entertainment/lmu-originated-johnny-bravo-on-dvd-1.2243967 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103132307/http://www.laloyolan.com/entertainment/lmu-originated-johnny-bravo-on-dvd-1.2243967 |archive-date=2013-01-03 |access-date=2010-06-16 |publisher=Los Angeles Loyolan}}</ref> Many [[Hanna-Barbera]] characters had cameo appearances in the series, including the cast of ''[[Scooby-Doo]]'', [[Speed Buggy]], [[Jabberjaw]], [[Fred Flintstone]], [[Yogi Bear]], [[Dynomutt, Dog Wonder|The Blue Falcon]], [[Space Ghost (TV series)|Black Widow]], and [[The Huckleberry Hound Show|Huckleberry Hound]].

Adult humor is a frequent presence. In one episode, when 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", and in another, when Johnny is hit by a tranquilizer dart and is informed he has only six seconds of consciousness left and to "use it wisely", he immediately pulls out a [[List of men's magazines|girlie magazine]]. In regard to the adult humor, Hartman stated that "being concerned with the content of the episodes wasn't our main focus", and creator Partible remembers: "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."<ref name="dvdint1" />

While attending [[Loyola Marymount University]], [[Van Partible]] produced his senior thesis project ''Mess O' Blues'' (1993), an animated short film about an [[Elvis Presley]] impersonator.<ref name="dvdint1" /> His roommate, actor Chistopher Keene Kelly (Blacklist, Succession) and recent LMU Film School graduate, Writer/Producer/Voice Actor, Lee J. Bognar (The Expatriat Act, Sioux Me, SNL, The Man Show) worked with Partible to punch up his short story and lend their voice talents to the project, as well as animating some of the cells. That partnership proved key when Partible accidentally destroyed the soundtrack while editing the final cut just before the screening for grading, in front of a live packed theater at LMU. Bognar, who already had several feature films under his belt at Disney (Sister Act) and Paramount (Thing Called Love), swooped in and quickly assembled the actors and musicians to perform the soundtrack - live. The musicians played acoustically and the voice actors did the sound effects when they weren't speaking their lines. The rare spectacle of a live [[Foley (filmmaking)|Foley]] session presentation, expertly executed by such young, inexperienced performers is a great source of pride for Loyola Marymount's School of Film and Television to this day. It received a standing ovation from the packed theater, and caught the attention of a Rep from Hanna-Barbera. Shortly after, Partible's animation professor screened the film to a friend who also worked for [[Hanna-Barbera]], and the studio loved it. They asked Partible to develop it into a pitch for a seven-minute short, which they would own.

For the new short, Partible revised his main character from ''Mess O' Blues'', renaming him "Johnny Bravo" and making him "this '50s iconic [[James Dean]]-looking character that talked like Elvis." He was also inspired by [[Michael Jackson]]'s "impetus for using whip snaps and cracks" (like in ''[[Captain EO]]'') for whenever Johnny striked a pose.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Partible |first=Van |author-link=Van Partible |date=June 21, 2010 |title=Johnny Bravo and Michael Jackson |url=https://www.vanpartible.com/blog/2016/11/9/johnny-bravo-and-michael-jackson |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812034231/https://www.vanpartible.com/blog/2016/11/9/johnny-bravo-and-michael-jackson |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |website=VanPartible.com}}</ref> Voice actor [[Jeff Bennett]] was cast as Johnny, based solely on his young, hyped Elvis impression.<ref name="dvdint1" /> Partible, with a small team of animators, animated the short themselves in-house at Hanna-Barbera using [[digital ink and paint]].<ref name="commentary">{{Cite AV media |title=Johnny Bravo Season One DVD Commentary for "Johnny Bravo / Jungle Boy in "Mr. Monkeyman" / Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women" |date=2010 |last=Partible |first=Van |author-link=Van Partible |type=DVD |publisher=Warner Home Video}}</ref>

=== ''[[JBVO|JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show]]'' ===

'''[[JBVO|JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show]]''' was a programming block that aired Sundays on Cartoon Network from April 2, 2000, to mid-2001. It was hosted by Johnny Bravo, along with some infrequent guest stars such as Chicken (from ''[[Cow and Chicken]]'') and Dexter (from ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]''). Callers would write into the show via mail or through the Cartoon Network website<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cartoon Network: JBVO |url=https://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv/jbvo/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815063324/http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv/jbvo/index.html |archive-date=2000-08-15 |access-date=2011-05-29}}</ref> 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. One caller of the show named Jennifer 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Cristina |date=2023-05-15 |title=JBVO's Lost Dragon Ball Z Episode Has Finally Been Found |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/jbvos-lost-dragon-ball-z-episode-has-finally-been-found |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref> Afterward, Johnny apologized to the caller for the inconvenience.<ref name=":0" />

After the series ended, a spin-off of ''[[JBVO]]'' named '''Toon FM''' was launched in Europe. The series had a few unique changes, such as Godzilla presenting the weather. The spin-off also had [[Brak (character)|Brak]] from [[Space Ghost]] as the co-host.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Cartoon Network UK - Toon FM Advert |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwq2edUPafA |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202223521/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwq2edUPafA |archive-date=2022-12-02 |access-date=2022-12-02 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

There was also a similar spin-off of the ''[[JBVO]]'' concept itself entitled '''Viva Las Bravo''', a summer block that aired from 2005 to 2006 on certain European variants of Cartoon Network.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cartoon Network EMEA - Viva Las Bravo Promo (2006) *INCOMPLETE* | date=19 May 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbElHOSgjS0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202223521/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbElHOSgjS0 |archive-date=2022-12-02 |access-date=2022-12-02 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> Every day Johnny would announce three cartoons, and 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 and phone calls.