History WhatCouldHaveBeen / WesternAnimation

* Originally, ''[[{{Disney/ptitle3if599v0}} The Emperor's New Groove]]'' was going to be a more traditional Disney epic called ''Kingdom of the Sun'', with a typical PrinceAndPauper storyline. After a WriterRevolt, ExecutiveMeddling, and more than one ReTool, they scrapped the original idea, and the resultant film was [[MontyPython completed in an entirely different style at great expense and at the last minute.]] It was awesome.
** YourMileageMayVary on that. The six songs written by Sting - including [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=374xW4zZbZA this badass little ditty]] sung by Yzma about wanting to ''snuff out the sun with the help of a demon from hell'' - were among the things scrapped due to ReTool. There's even a whole documentary about the ExecutiveMeddling and process of making TheEmperorsNewGroove called [[http://www.mouseplanet.com/8212/The_Greatest_Disney_Documentary_You_May_Never_See The Sweatbox]] ... which Disney promptly locked in its vault and refuses to let out.

* Apparently, there were originally plans to make another Batman TV Show... [[HighSchoolAU Centered on Bruce Wayne's High School years]]. [[http://jeffandceleste.blogspot.com/2011/01/gotham-high.html Yes, this idea exists]].

*** Speaking of G1 Screamer, his name was originally going to be Ulchtar.

* [[Series/MegaMan The original Mega Man cartoon]] would apparently have had a third season, rumors circulate that in the third season, Proto Man would finally switch sides, given that episode quality and story quality was increasing at the time, it looked like it was going to be great... [[MerchandiseDriven But the toys weren't selling]], despite good ratings, the show was canceled, gipping everybody of what would have probably been one of the best seasons on the show, even with all the [[AdaptationDecay inaccuracies]].

* ''KaBlam!'' was just only going to be made up of ''ActionLeagueNow'' and old nick shorts from the early ninties. Henry and June were still there, but not as the hosts. They would have their own shorts. It also was going to take place in a live-action comic book. Then in `95, different studios created shorts for the show, and Henry and June became the hosts. The old Nicktoons shorts? Sniz and Fondue made it. That was it.

* ... and now, we can definately add TheSpectacularSpiderMan. It was planned for a five-season run (ending with Peter's graduation from High School) - the timing of the Disney/Marvel buyout would have limited it to only three seasons, but because the show also switched networks, it only got two. And because of ''that,'' we wind up ending with the revelation that all of Peter's friends save Gwen Stacy are alienated from him, Harry hates Spider-Man, and he didn't even stop the bad guy. One assumes later seasons (even just one more given a few episodes' warning it was about to end) would have chosen a more upbeat coda.

** Many of the characters were modified from their original concepts, in both small and important matters. Zuko originally had a pet messenger hawk, as seen in the {{pilot}}, but the writers realized this would not work in the series and it never appeared. Zuko's and Mai's comic "Going Home Again" was also originally going to reveal that Zuko had always carried a rock of hardened lava shaped like a heart that Mai gave him when they were children. Katara's name in the pilot was Kya, [[spoiler:a name they used for her mother]]. More fundamentally, many female characters [[AffirmativeActionGirl were added to the cast]] as gender-swapped versions of male characters. Azula was originally supposed to be male, and the original plan for the second season shows no sign of any equivalents of Mai and Ty Lee. [[CuteBruiser Toph]] was originally supposed to be a big ''man'' and look like the Earthbender in the opening, whose model appears to have been reused as Roku's earthbending teacher. She was later changed into a teenaged boy and a [[http://plus4chan.org/boards/a/res/58561.html#59100 love interest]] of Katara... [[LesYay which would explain a lot]]. Toph's original design even got a reference in the already very meta 'The Ember Island Players'. However, one of the most drastic alterations was the nature of Uncle Iroh who was, originally, ''[[EvilUncle supposed to be evil!]]'' The plan was for Zuko to fight his uncle in season 3 and learn that Iroh had taught him incorrect firebending all along, under Ozai's orders.

** It seems that Sector V was originally supposed to be the only sector.

** Anyone who was lucky enough to see Bartlett's original "Arnold" comics in the early 90's (which featured in the shortlived ''Simpsons Illustrated'' magazine, mostly because Bartlett is Matt Groening's brother-in-law) may have found themselves wondering what might have been when they saw the series. Let's just say the comics were VERY different; far from the heartfelt lesson-filled show it became, the original comics were dark, surreal, and bitingly satirical. Arnold was a borderline insane genius who no one paid attention to, so he would retreat into elaborate fantasies which parodied aspects of modern life. The stories were mostly visual; Arnold never spoke, unless you count [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090624121327/heyarnold/images/d/db/Arnold_Narrowly_Avoids_a_Thrashing.jpg the time]] he fended off Helga (a brutal class bully in this version) by breaking into a showtune.

** Greg Wiesman has stated that the third season was to include Hobgoblin and Scorpion. Norman Osborne was not to return until at least Season 4. Carnage and Hydro-Man had both appeared in non-powered form during Season 2. Dr. Miles Warren might have finally gotten to upgrade himself and become a proper supervillain. And some statements made online indicated that Molten Man was being groomed to join the fight alongside Spider-Man.

* There is a quite large book, ''The Disney That Never Was'', entirely on this subject. The original, intended version of the Jungle Book, Hiawatha and the Pearl-Father, and many, many others. If your library has a copy, read it.

* ThePilot of ''PhineasAndFerb'' shows a few original ideas that were scrapped: Phineas was more sarcastic(WordOfGod says they wanted him to act like an annoying little brother), Doofenshmirtz's name was "Meddleshmirtz," and the boys were going to be canonically nine instead of [[VagueAge canonically indeterminate]]. Also, Ferb never spoke, implying he might have been planned to be TheVoiceless instead of just TheQuietOne.

** The hour long final episode would have ended with Zim finally taking over Earth, with Dib discovering that he is a failed clone of his father and being stranded o the moon.

*** The pre-industrial, steampunk seeting will finally see the light of day in the upcoming sequel series AvatarLegendOfKorra.

* The ''SouthPark'' episode "The Coon" was intended to be more of a parody of ''{{Watchmen}}'', with all the kids as superheroes. It also had a main plot of The Coon trying to fix the economy. However, Matt and trey realized that Cartman was stealing the show, so they scaled it back and used the economy plotline in the next episode.
** Although now, a season and a half later, the original concept seems to have returned with "Coon and Friends" trying to fix another BP oil spill.

* A scraggly young man once walked into the [[RenAndStimpy Spumco]] offices stating his intention to write a song for ''Ren And Stimpy''; that song was then promptly tossed in the trash. That young man was KurtCobain.

** [[FridgeBrilliance Ah I get it now]], before the change to make them cousins it's probable that Gwen would have been Ben's main primary love interest. That explains all the [[IncestYay]] if the change had happened after the scripts had been written.

** [[FridgeBrilliance Ah I get it now]], before the change it's probable that Gwen would have been Ben's main love intrest. That explains all the[[IncestYay]] if the change had happened after the scripts had been written.