Johnny Bravo originated from Van Partible's senior thesis film Mess O' Blues (1993), an animated short about an Elvis impersonator, made while he was a student at Loyola Marymount University.

During the public grading screening of Mess O' Blues at LMU, Partible accidentally destroyed the soundtrack just before the show; his collaborator Lee J. Bognar quickly assembled actors and musicians to perform the entire soundtrack live, including Foley sound effects, earning a standing ovation.

A Hanna-Barbera scout saw Mess O' Blues after Partible's animation professor screened it to a friend at the studio, leading Hanna-Barbera to commission a seven-minute short pitch that became Johnny Bravo.

Voice actor Jeff Bennett was cast as Johnny Bravo based solely on his young, hyped Elvis impression.

The character's name Johnny Bravo combines creator Van Partible's own middle name, Giovanni Bravo, with a reference to the Brady Bunch episode 'Adios, Johnny Bravo,' in which Greg Brady adopts the stage name Johnny Bravo for a record deal.

Johnny's signature pose-striking whip-crack sound effect was inspired by Michael Jackson's use of whip snaps and cracks, as seen in Captain EO.

Van Partible was fired amid Warner Bros.' takeover of Turner Broadcasting after the first season, leading Kirk Tingblad to take over as director and retool the show's visual style, tone and humor for seasons two and three; Partible returned for the fourth season to restore the original style.

After the series ended, Kyle Busch's No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet featured a special Johnny Bravo paint scheme on the hood for the 2005 Sharpie 500 NASCAR race.

In October 2002, Variety reported that Warner Bros. had secured film rights for a live-action Johnny Bravo movie intended as a potential starring vehicle for Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, though the project never materialized.