This was originally intended to be a cartoon version of the classic radio serial "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy" and the section of the closing credits where African tribesmen are throwing spears at the Quest plane was planned as part of that concept. When veteran comic book artist Doug Wildey came on board, he suggested dropping that idea in favor of an original concept, and the Jonny Quest idea was born.
Though allegedly an original concept, the Jonny Quest series bears a striking resemblance to the Rick Brant series of books published by Grossett & Dunlap from 1947 to 1967. The boy hero Rick Brant is the son of famed scientist Hartson Brant, who lives and works on his own private island. The Brants travel the world on their adventures - utilizing state of the art gadgetry - and are accompanied by ex-marine Scotty, and occasionally by a Hindi boy named Chada.
Most of the footage in the opening and closing credit sequences is from released episodes, but the first four shots in the closing credits are from pilot footage submitted to ABC management to sell the series.
John Stephenson was replaced by Don Messick as the voice of Dr. Benton Quest due to the similarity in voices between Stephenson and Mike Road, who played Race Bannon.
It was the first adventure and SF cartoon for television that wasn't taking place in a fictional world. Each one of 26 episodes had its story happening in some real place on planet Earth.