Van Partible | |
|---|---|
| Born | Efrem Giovanni Bravo Partible (1971-12-13)December 13, 1971 (age 53) Manila, Philippines |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1993–present |
| Notable work | Johnny Bravo |
| Website | vanpartible |
Van Partible (bornEfrem Giovanni Bravo Partible;[1] December 13, 1971) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, director, and animator best known for creating theanimated television seriesJohnny Bravo.
Partible was born inManila but moved to the United States when he was nine months old.[2][3] He grew up inSalinas, California with an avid love of drawing.[1][3][4] Despite growing up copying artwork from collections of old comic books, it was not until college that Partible decided to pursue a career inanimation.[4] Partible attendedLoyola Marymount University where he began work on a senior thesis project titledMess O' Blues (1993).[1] Initially a film about threeElvis Presley impersonators, the short time to produce thecartoon influenced Partible to shorten it to one.[2][5]
Upon graduation in 1993, Partible was 22 and did not have the extensive experience and portfolio that studios were looking for, and for a while worked in a daycare program for a local elementary school.[4]Mess O' Blues was shown by Partible's animation professor, Dan McLaughlin, to a friend working forHanna-Barbera Cartoons.[1] The studio loved the film and asked Partible to do a pitch for a seven-minute cartoon based on it – what would becomeJohnny Bravo.[2][6]
The short was produced forCartoon Network's new animation showcase titledWorld Premiere Toons.[1][5] Partible initially roomed withCraig McCracken (creator ofThe Powerpuff Girls,Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, andWander Over Yonder),Paul Rudish (a designer on that series) andGenndy Tartakovsky (creator ofDexter's Laboratory,Samurai Jack, andStar Wars: Clone Wars).[5] The only two cartoonists who worked at Hanna-Barbera fresh out of college were Partible andSeth MacFarlane (creator ofFamily Guy,American Dad!, andThe Cleveland Show).[5] Partible changed his character fromMess O' Blues around so that "he would be more of this '50's iconicJames Dean-looking character that talked like Elvis". Partible picked voice actorJeff Bennett to play Johnny Bravo solely based on his young, hyped Elvis impression.[5]
The short premiered onWorld Premiere Toons on March 26, 1995, and involved Johnny trying to score with a zookeeper girl by capturing a runaway gorilla. Partible, with a small team of animators, animated the short themselves in-house at Hanna-Barbera usingdigital ink and paint (the latter shorts and first three seasons of the series would instead use the traditional ink and paint and film camera).[7] Two more shorts on the program followed (Jungle Boy in "Mr. Monkeyman", andJohnny Bravo and the Amazon Women), and the shorts were so popular that Cartoon Network commissioned a first season of series based around Johnny Bravo, consisting of 13 episodes.[8]
The crew of the first season ofJohnny Bravo consisted of several writers, animators, and directors fromWorld Premiere Toons, including MacFarlane,Butch Hartman,Steve Marmel, andJohn McIntyre. Veteran cartoonist and animation legendJoseph Barbera was also a creative consultant for the first season of the series.[9] The series premiered on July 14, 1997, and three additional seasons followed.[2] Partible was fired following the first season amid theWarner Bros.takeover of Turner Broadcasting; he returned to produce "A Johnny Bravo Christmas" and its fourth season.[10]
Partible was a guest in aSpace Ghost Coast to Coast episode, "President's Day Nightmare", which premiered February 20, 1995; the episode also featuresGenndy Tartakovsky, Eugene Mattos,Dian Parkinson,Craig McCracken and Pat Ventura.[11]
Partible created a short calledThe Phabulizers forDisney Channel as a part of a short series calledShorty McShorts' Shorts.
He has produced original materials forFilm Roman,Walt Disney Television Animation,Fox Kids and for NBC'sMedium, for which he was the animation producer for the premiere of the third season.[12][13] Partible served as an executive producer forCartoon Network Asia's original programming from 2007 to 2012.[1]
Partible worked on a video game titledDancers of War alongside Scott Eaton (Call of Duty,Medal of Honor) andVince Clarke (ofDepeche Mode,Yaz), although the project ended after the Kickstarter campaign was unsuccessful.[14]
He currently teaches animation workshops at Loyola Marymount University, works as a director at Surfer Jack Productions inVenice, California, and is directing thePete the Cat series forAmazon, based onthe children's books by James Dean.[1][3][15][16]
