Johnny Bravo is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network.

The titular Johnny Bravo (voiced by Jeff Bennett), who is loosely based on Elvis Presley and James Dean, is a 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.

Partible pitched the series to Hanna-Barbera's animation showcase What a Cartoon!, basing it on his senior thesis project he produced while attending Loyola Marymount University.

Spin-off media include comic books, DVD and VHS releases, collectible toys, T-shirts with Johnny's well known phrase "Whoa Mama", and video games.

The series centers on Johnny Bravo (voiced by Jeff Bennett),[h] a sunglasses-wearing, muscular, conceited narcissist and dimwitted self-proclaimed womanizing person with 1960s surfer vibes, a blonde pompadour and an Elvis Presley-esque voice, apparently of Italian heritage, who lives in Aron City (a nod to Presley's middle name).

[2] The series has had numerous guest stars, including Adam West, Shaquille O'Neal, Seth Green and the aforementioned Donny Osmond.

[3][4] Many Hanna-Barbera characters had cameo appearances in the series, including the cast of Scooby-Doo, Speed Buggy, Jabberjaw, Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, The Blue Falcon, Black Widow, and Huckleberry Hound.

"[3] In the show's first and fourth seasons (when Van Partible was the showrunner), Johnny was a tad smarter and was not a complete doofus and was able to react with clever quips.

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.

[3] 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 rare spectacle of a live 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.

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.

[2] The short, titled Johnny Bravo, was aired on Cartoon Network's animation showcase, World Premiere Toons,[3] on March 26, 1995.

The crew of the first season consisted of several writers, animators, and directors from World Premiere Toons, including Seth MacFarlane, Butch Hartman, Steve Marmel, and John McIntyre.

Van Partible was fired during Warner Bros. takeover of Turner Broadcasting and Kirk Tingblad took over as director, leading to a major retooling in the show's visual style, tone, humor, and characters.

On the long lasting impact of the show, writer/director Butch Hartman states: When Johnny Bravo first came out, I don't think a lot of people had high hopes for it, and I think it was really cool that proved exactly what kind of character he was.

[26] 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.

[32] The PlayStation 2 version of the video game Cartoon Network Racing contains the episodes "Doommates" and "Johnny's Telethon" as unlockable extras.