The Cartoon Network show was created by Van Partible and followed the life of Johnny Bravo, a self-proclaimed gym buff and womanizer. He was loosely based on and inspired by rock legend Elvis Presley as well as James Dean. Down to his voluminously tall slicked hair, cheesy grin, and black leather aesthetic, the character completely fulfilled the typical ‘bad boy’ stereotype. The series chronicles Bravo constantly seeking out and pursuing women to date who always wind up ultimately rejecting him in the end. As Bravo searches for love in all the wrong ways, he gets caught up in some strange, sticky situations that he has to get himself out of.
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The character of Johnny Bravo was voiced by Jeff Bennett, who might be most well known for his work as Brooklyn in Disney’s Gargoyles and Kowalski in Nickelodeon’s Penguins of Madagascar series. Johnny Bravo was overall quite the success, as it ran for four consecutive seasons on Cartoon Network. The show also generally received positive reviews and featured a number of guest stars, including Adam West, Shaquille O’Neal, Seth Green, and Donny Osmond. Johnny Bravo helped launch the career of many creators and writers, including MacFarlane before his time on Family Guy. Unfortunately, as MacFarlane told Wired, his time with the show was short-lived.
MacFarlane is taking the time to look back on his experience with the series, or rather the end. In the most recent episode of Wired’s Autocomplete Interview series, MacFarlane answered many fans’ questions from the internet, revealing his past feelings towards his involvement with Johnny Bravo. He stated, “I did work on Johnny Bravo, that’s actually where I got my start at Hanna-Barbera/Cartoon Network. I was a writer and part-time storyboard artist for Johnny Bravo for season 1, and then they fired us all and got some new guys. That’s when the show went south.”
During the time MacFarlane was a part of Johnny Bravo, the show went into hiatus for two years due to the fact that Warner Bros. had just acquired the rights to Turner Broadcasting. Warner Bros. ultimately decided to fire original creator Partible from the series, along with the entirety of his creative team, including MacFarlane. Season 2 definitely brought a different stylistic tone to the series, but Partible did return to Johnny Bravo for season 4 in 2004, bringing back the show’s visual roots that made so many fans instantly hooked. Who knows, maybe if MacFarlane had never gotten fired from Johnny Bravo, he may have never ended up creating Family Guy, which has gone on to be one of the most infamous, hit adult cartoons to exist.
Family Guys airs on Sundays at 9:30 pm EST on Fox.
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Source: Wired
