Johnny Bravo Wiki
Johnny Bravo Wiki
Advertisement
Johnny Bravo Wiki

Silly Johnny! You can't put anodized titanium in the microwave.

—Carl, seconds before Johnny does exactly that

Carl Chryniszzswics is Johnny Bravo's neighbor who debuted in Season 2. Carl is Johnny's best friend, a local genius, and a geek. He is often considered annoying by others, mostly due to his high-pitched nasal voice.

He appears in most episodes during Seasons 2 and 3 -- unfortunately, by the fourth and final season of the show, his character gets a downgrade in the form of only having minor roles and cameos. In fact, the only major role that Carl has in the show's final season is in "Run Johnny Run," where he offers to give Johnny a ride in his car to help the meathead get to his date in time.

Appearance[]

Carl wears a baggy light blue t-shirt, baggy teal pants, teal shoes, and diamond-shaped glasses that are often tinted blue or white. He has reddish-brown hair. One of his most recognizable features is his oversized mouth and overbite.

Carl (My Funny Looking Friend)

Carl's redesign in Season 4.

In Season 4, Carl was redesigned to fit the art style used in the first season of the show. This resulted in him becoming more average-looking with rounder features.

Personality[]

Carl is intelligent, inventive, eccentric, timid, and friendly. He is often over-enthusiastic, talking a lot and clapping his hands or exclaiming words such as "Yay!" and "Okay!" when excited.

His main interests are science, sci-fi (especially Trip McCoy: Galaxy Boy), and bugs. Carl's other interests include history, mythology, and various cultures. He also knows a lot about nature, such as plants, wildlife, recycling, etc.

Carl is a huge fan of role-playing. In "Carl Be Not Proud", Carl makes Johnny play the role of Biff Proton while he plays Trip McCoy, dressing in full costume. In "Law And Disorder", Carl stalls for time by suggesting a therapeutic role-playing session between he and the mall burglar where he poorly sings as cabaret singer Billie Holiday. While part of the town fire brigade, Carl claims the activity is his favorite part of being a fireman, shortly before playing the role of a cat in a tree and frightening both Johnny and Pops in the process.[2]

Carl seems to have a strong sense of justice. In "Hail To The Chump", after Johnny's new law as mayor lands him in prison, Carl tries to rally the townspeople together to end Johnny's rule. In "Lord Of The Links", Carl helps Johnny cheat in a golf tournament and reveals that one competitor was cheating via magnets and iron shavings. Due to their cheating being just as unfair, Carl gives the trophy to The Prospector, getting beaten by the angry losers as a result.

Carl's social skills can vary, as he can also be impulsive, forceful, or misunderstand a situation (i.e., "I didn't know you liked her!"). Carl's nowhere near as girl-crazy as Johnny, but he has been shown to have crushes at various points in the series -- also, despite not being as girl-crazy and his wimpier/nerdier appearance, Carl tends to be more successful with women than Johnny is, which (of course) irritates the meathead.

Intelligence[]

As a self-proclaimed scientist, Carl has the knowledge to invent many things in his spare time, such as a small robot named Sparkly, a Fountain Of Youth potion, the Nougat 2000 computer (made completely out of nougat and recycled cans), a dream research machine, and a molecular body mass teleportation device.

Some of his more bizarre ideas like the single piece jigsaw puzzle, Baby's First Lettuce Farm, and Mr. Radish Face toys were well-received by the president of Zammo Toys, although Johnny took all the credit for said inventions.[3]

Biography[]

Childhood[]

Little Carl (Get Stinky!)

Carl as a child laughing at one of Stinky's pranks.

In "Rashomoron", Carl begins to tell his life story to Bunny Bravo before being interrupted, claiming that he was born in a log cabin and his father split silicon chips for a living.

In an old photograph of Johnny and his classmates, Carl can be seen as a child.[4] He wears the same outfit in a smaller size and has a noticable gap in his teeth.

School[]

Bully Carl (Freudian Dip)

Carl as a bully in school.

During school, Carl used to bully a much shorter and acne-ridden Johnny.

High School[]

While in high school, Carl took a rubber duck as his date to the prom.[5]

Relationships[]

Johnny Bravo[]

Johnny & Carl (Cover Boy)

Carl is treated as an annoyance by Johnny, in a similar way to Little Suzy, and Johnny denies any friendship he may feel toward he or Suzy in his attempt to be a macho "lone wolf." Johnny finds Carl incredibly geeky and weird, not to mention much less masculine than himself.

Johnny and Carl do not seem to have any friends around their age besides each other, as they are viewed as nuisances by most of the town. Tagging along on many misadventures and occasionally offering advice, Carl is something of a sidekick to Johnny and his closest friend, as much as he would hate to admit it.

Carl Sacrifice (Biosphere Johnny)

Carl offering himself as sacrifice in the biosphere.

Whenever Johnny gets himself into grave danger, Carl tries to save him in some way.[6][7] He also once saved him from drowning at the beach in "Endless Bummer."

Despite Johnny insisting that he hates Carl, he misunderstands that Carl is dying in "Carl Be Not Proud", making him regret his behavior for a short time. Johnny also implies he has mistreated Carl since they were kids, and that Carl has always viewed him as his best friend, although this is not expanded upon:

Johnny: And here I was, being mean to you for the past two decades. From here on, I vow to be the best friend you always fantasized I was. And I swear, I will do anything, anything, to make your last day on earth a happy one.

While mostly passive and forgiving of Johnny treating him badly, Carl is not oblivious to it. In the aforementioned episode, it is implied Carl had Johnny mention "the awful way [he] treats him" in a cheer.

In episodes such as "Brave New Johnny" and "Johnny Goes To Camp", Johnny is so annoyed by Carl's company that he wishes to be anywhere else. Over time, Johnny begins to tolerate Carl a bit more, although he still insults or hurts him. The two also share a few "geeky" interests, such as comic books, which Carl once caught Johnny reading.[8]

Despite Carl's friendliness, he occasionally snaps and insults Johnny. The two are prone to arguing and getting themselves into serious trouble.[9][10][11] Carl is often blunt and makes comments about Johnny or his lack of intelligence (i.e. saying he has the driving skills of a "deranged howler monkey"). In "Rashomoron", Carl acts more jealous than usual, telling his side of the story as a childish fantasy where he was "playing" with Johnny before an evil temptress tried to take him away. Otherwise, Carl shows little interest in Johnny's love life and sometimes gives him advice on how to impress women.[12][13] Carl's loyalty to Johnny can also change, usually as a gag where he realizes he is better off without him.

Johnny gives Carl many insulting nicknames, most notably calling him "(a) weed". Some end in "-boy", such as "geek boy" and "weasel boy". One running gag between the two involves Carl reacting to something Johnny said, exclaiming "You're funny!" or "Silly Johnny!".

Three

In "Freudian Dip", Suzy's therapy session with Johnny causes a flashback to him in school, getting bullied out of his lunch money by Carl. When asked why, Carl explains that he is bigger and older than Johnny by three weeks, before giving him a wedgie. Later in the episode, Johnny gets revenge on Carl when he finds out a runaway experiment is to blame for his nightmares, giving him a wedgie.

In a reality where Johnny had never been born, Carl is a stuck-up multi-billionaire, a master of Chinese Kenpo and adored by women after the success of the Nougat 2000 (which Johnny accidentally broke in their original reality.)[14] His success also put their town "on the map" and lead to Pops' diner getting a fancier major upgrade.

During the events of Season 4, Carl has few interactions with Johnny (likely due to his previous role being filled by the returning Donny Osmond). Their relationship barely changes, although Johnny no longer calls him names. In "Run, Johnny, Run!", Johnny reluctantly accepts a ride from Carl to get to the park, but is then subjected to Carl's awful driving skills and decides he is better off without his help.

Johnny's Friends Say (West's Date-O-Rama)

In "Adam West's Date-O-Rama", Carl and Suzy are cited as Johnny's friends who were asked what he fears, the answer being 'commitment.'

Pops[]

Pops & Carl (Virtual Johnny)

"I dunno, Pops. Aren't otters an endangered species?"

Like Johnny, Carl's a frequent customer at Pop's Moon Palace and is good friends with the restaurateur -- Carl and Pops are also both well-aware that they're much smarter than Johnny. Despite their friendship, Pops is just as capable of using Carl in his schemes as he is with Johnny -- also, despite being just as frequent of a customer at Pops' diner as Johnny, Carl tends to be more openly skeptical of how ethical the restaurateur's "cooking" is (at least in Virtual Johnny).

The two have a playfully antagonistic relationship in "Charm School Johnny", where Carl scoffs at the idea of Pops turning Johnny into a gentleman within less than a week and makes a bet with him over it.

Carl sometimes goes to Pops to vent his frustrations, such as visiting the diner with his dying plant in "Carl Be Not Proud" and telling him about his recent failure to make the world's first smart drink.[15] Pops does not always understand (or sympathize with) Carl's problems, but offers help if he can.

Bunny Bravo[]

Carl's shown to be on good terms with Johnny's mother, with Bunny once referring to Carl as a "sensible young man".[16] Like Suzy, Carl usually refers to Johnny's mother as either "Mama Bravo" or "Mrs. Bravo." In Carnival of the Darned, Carl does some grocery shopping for Bunny (in Johnny's absence) and takes her to a carnival later on to cheer her up.

Despite usually being on good terms with Carl, Bunny him and Johnny the same punishment when he installed a nuclear engine in her car.[17]

Carl & Suzy (Color Of Mustard)

Little Suzy[]

Suzy is another friend of Carl's. In "The Hansel & Gretel Project", Carl helps Suzy film her documentary as the camera man. The two are also seen about to play a game of badminton in "The Color Of Mustard" before Johnny joins in and defeats them, much to their dismay.

"The Incredible Shrinking Johnny" reveals that the house that Carl's live in with his family is located right across the street from Suzy's house (who, in turn, lives right next-door to the Bravos).

Helga[]

Carl once had a crush on Helga, who chose to take him out for a date at the end of "To Helga And Back" due to him having a more gentlemanly approach to dating than Johnny. Their relationship presumably did not last, as Carl is later shown to have a crush on Melinda.[5]

Carl's Family[]

We never see or hear much about Carl's family, but just like Johnny, Carl's confirmed to still be living at home with his parents even though he's legally an adult (both he and Johnny are confirmed to be in their early 20s, putting them at around 20 to 23-years-old). While we never hear much about Carl's dad and Carl never mentions having any siblings (at least none who are living at home), Carl has frequently mentioned his mother, which usually happens because Carl has borrowed something from her, like a car or a dress[18][19] -- Carl was once allowed to cut up one of her dresses to make into ghost-hunting costumes for himself and Johnny.[8]

In "Balloon Platoon," Carl mentions his mother and later excuses himself, claiming that she'd get really mad if he shows up late for dinner.

Other[]

Carl has a very strong attachment to his pets and inventions, most notably crying at the diner over his Venus flytrap and getting angry at Pops for calling it "just a houseplant." He once defended Sparkly's feelings, calling him very sensitive. Carl also has a monstrous experiment named Mongo that he treats like a house pet.

Episode Appearances[]

See: Carl Chryniszzswics/Episode Appearances.

Quotes[]

Hey, Pops. Clam smoothie, and keep 'em coming.

—Carl's first line in the series.

Trivia[]

CarlCard

A "collectible card" featuring basic info about Carl from an issue of the "Cartoon Network Starring'" comics.

  • According to a collectible card, Carl's in his early twenties and his favorite hobby is looking at spores.
  • Carl's voiced by Tom Kenny, who's most well-known for voicing the titular character of SpongeBob SquarePants.
    • Carl's voice noticeably changes over the first several episodes that he appears in. He starts off sounding like a more nasally version of Dog from CatDog (who Tom Kenny also voiced) before ultimately sounding like a nerdier version of SpongeBob.
  • Carl's often confused with a carnival worker of the same name from "Going Batty", voiced by Dan Castellaneta.
  • Due to Carl's character taking traits from Donny Osmond's (who was once Johnny's nanny), he seems to be good with kids. However, this is only really shown by him having a job as a camp counselor and being friends with Suzy.
  • Carl has two different character designs that are used from the beginning of Season 2 to some of Season 3. The first was drawn by Kirk Tingblad, while the updated design was presumably by Dexter Smith.
  • The spelling of Carl's last name is first seen as "Chryniszzswics".[5] However, on a size chart model sheet, it is spelled "Chrynszzswicz", closer to how it is usually pronounced.
    • There is no consistent pronunciation of his last name, even by Carl himself, likely making it undecided or a running gag.
    • In closed captions pre-dating the third season, Carl's last name is incorrectly spelled (phonetically) as "Krynziziziwich" in "Johnny's Guardian Angel", "Corncisowits" in "Brave New Johnny", and "Crisovinowitz" in "Carl Be Not Proud".
  • Carl was a playable racer in the Cartoon Network Racing video game. However, he was exclusive to the PlayStation 2 version.
    • Carl's voice clips include mentions of ear and travel sickness medicine, getting ill easily, and seeing himself as a loser. These are presumably scrapped ideas from the series bible.
    • His voice clips also have a much heavier emphasis on him being a collector.
  • Carl was given a cameo in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode, "Crossover Nexus", as one of the stone statues of Cartoon Network heroes that were defeated by Strike.
    • When asked on Twitter, OK K.O. creator Ian Jones-Quartey said it was funny to include his character.[20]
  • Carl's scream from "Forest Chump" is reused heavily throughout Seasons 2 and 3, not matching the evolution of his voice.
    • Despite this, there are a few unique screams (sometimes used alongside the reused one) in certain later episodes.
    • The noise Carl makes when he and Johnny stop holding each other on the canoe is also reused multiple times.
Name That Toon Carl Bio

The character description for Carl from the "Cartoon Network: Name That Toon" book.

  • In the Cartoon Network: Name That Toon trivia book, it's stated that Carl and Johnny were best friends in high school. As the two of them got older, Carl only got nerdier while Johnny got buff.[21] Although this goes unaddressed in the series (and must be from the series bible), it would explain at least some aspects of their relationship, particularly in how and why Carl's so attached to Johnny despite how poorly he usually treats him.
    • According to an old character description for Carl on the Latin American-website for Cartoon Network, the two were beaten up twice a day in high school: First at 10:00 AM by their classmates, and later at 3:00 PM by their teachers.[22]
    • The book also states Johnny's even more irritated by Carl's luck with women than his nerdiness.
  • In "Scoop Bravo", Carl mentions having a pet cat named Mr. Pickles.
  • Carl has searched for plankton twice, indicating an interest in marine life.
  • In merchandise, such as the Cartoon Network Block Party video game, Johnny often tries to coach Carl on how to be manly or impress women, which backfires due to him seeing himself as the ideal man and Carl not wanting his help to begin with.
    • In the series itself, Carl is nowhere near as girl-crazy as Johnny is -- Johnny's also generally too self-absorbed to really help Carl impress women that he may also find attractive (ex. Melinda.)
  • In "Bravo 13", Johnny claims that Carl doesn't know how to drive. Carl eventually learns how, as shown in "Days Of Blunder". In Season 4, however, Carl is shown to drive poorly.
  • Carl owns a fully functional time portal prop from an episode of Galaxy Boy.
  • He likes clam smoothies and (presumably) clam juice, two odd drinks at Pops' diner. In the comic story "Domina Delivers", Carl is also a fan of anchovies on pizza.
  • Carl's t-shirt is sometimes drawn with one to two vertical lines down the middle. This only occurs in certain episodes, and all official stock images seem to lack said lines.
  • Carl was the only member of the main cast to not have model sheets featured on the Cartoon Network website. He did, however, appear on the character size chart.
  • Carl worked as a volunteer at events such as a renaissance carnival and a soy harvest parade.
    • In the "Johnny Bigfoot" comic story from Cartoon Network Starring #2, Carl had a job as a forest ranger at Lake Wakkatakka.
  • Carl's a fan of party games, such as Yahtzee and Disco Karaoke.
  • As of "Bravo 13", Carl has watched every episode of Galaxy Boy twenty-six times.
  • Carl's implied to be related to Kharlok -- Johnny initially mistook the alien leader for his nerdy friend and Kharlok has admitted that he's traveled space for centuries and has relatives all over the universe (including, possibly, on Earth).
  • Aside from being confirmed to be in his early-20s and his birthday supposedly being three weeks before Johnny's, Carl's exact age (as well as his birthday) are never confirmed.

Gallery[]

Carl

Click here for the full image gallery for Carl.

References[]

Advertisement