This is an early design of Ralph from when Felix was the main character.
- Considering that the filmmakers wrote and even animated some scenes with cameo characters in mind, even before obtaining legal permission from their respective creators, this was bound to happen:
- Dr. Wily was originally in the Bad-Anon support group, but he was removed from the final film for unknown reasons. A frequent speculation was that this was due to Capcom’s mass cancellation of Mega Man related works in 2011, though a tweet from one of the film's storyboarders
implied that Keiji Inafune might've personally interfered. - Mario was originally planned to have a cameo in the movie, but according to the director Rich Moore and screenwriter Phil Johnston, they didn't know what to do with him. They thought Mario was too important for a simple cameo, but couldn't come up with something that had more substance (it wasn't about the fact that using him in the movie would be expensive due to licensing fees: see God Never Said That).note Mario does get mentioned in the movie.
- Felix: I'll bet that's Mario! Fashionably late, per the norm.
- Dr. Wily was originally in the Bad-Anon support group, but he was removed from the final film for unknown reasons. A frequent speculation was that this was due to Capcom’s mass cancellation of Mega Man related works in 2011, though a tweet from one of the film's storyboarders
- The eponymous Tron didn't make the cut, despite being a Disney character himself, largely for the same reason as the brothers. TRON is, however, one of the games accessible from Game Central Station, and is visited early on in the sequel.
- Originally, Felix was the lead character with Ralph as the supporting one. They were two video game sidekicks who traveled into the other games together in order to become heroes and Ralph himself was hairier and more Donkey Kong-esque. This shifted around as Ralph became a more interesting viewpoint for the story and they realized how Ralph and Vanellope's big brother/little sister dynamic might appear to be recycling Monsters, Inc.
- Q*bert's role as a homeless character was originally written for Taizo Hori from Dig Dug, but Namco took offense. Taizo still appears in the final film, getting out of Ralph's way in Game Central Station, which was also meant to be more grimy and run down, similar in appearance to the back alleys of Los Angeles, but the crew felt it be more appropriate if Game Central Station looked more like the real Grand Central Terminal in New York.
- King Candy was originally intended to have a slightly different role in earlier drafts. Though he would still attempt to stop Vanellope from racing because he had usurped her throne, he and Turbo were different characters, with King Candy merely being The Dragon. According to deleted scene commentary Candy was originally going to redeem himself once everything hit its worst, leaving Turbo as the true Big Bad.
- A fourth game was proposed for the script called Extreme E-Z Livin' 2, which would've been a mix of Grand Theft Auto and The Sims. Instead of going back to the Fix-It Felix Jr. game to show off his medal, Ralph would've gone there instead with a native of that game as his guide that he met while being in the Hero's Duty jail cell. While enjoying the recreational facilities in the sim game, Ralph realizes that Vanellope is more important than the medal, bails out, and heads back to Sugar Rush. This sequence was even taken to the storyboard phase before the team eventually scrapped it because it seemed to drag the plot in an unnecessary direction, and added 20 minutes to the already-90-minute-long film. Moore hinted that they may include it if a sequel is produced.
- Sgt. Calhoun was originally planned as male, but Rich Moore thought that the character would be boring that way and thus the sarge became a woman.
- If going by the defictionalized arcade machine back at that year's D23 con, the design of Niceland Apartments was more bland, and Fix-It Felix Jr.'s design makes him look like a Captain Ersatz of Mario. By the time we saw the first trailer, the apartment's design became more intricate and Felix is redesigned to be a lot more distinct to the person who seems to have inspired him.
- Minor character Candlehead was initially named "Minty Zaki" before that name was given to another racer (initially named "Emmareld") later in development. Other racers' names were also changed around, with Rancis Fluggerbutter's original intended name being "Peterbelly Buttercap".
- Disney asked for permission to use Dragon's Lair characters, but Don Bluth turned them down. The cabinet still appears in the arcade though. The Jawbreaker Canyon scene in the race is very reminiscent of a Dragon's Lair level, the one with the bowling balls.
- Joe Jump and Reboot Ralph, the prototypes of the film, had more focus on game jumping and were apparently more like Who Framed Roger Rabbit (except for video games), though the main character's dissatisfaction for his role still persists.
- Concept Art for the Tapper sequence features additional Nintendo references: Glass Joe is seen as a customer in one drawing showing an early version of how Ralph hears about Hero's Duty and the Lost and Found box included the Master Sword and a Piranha Plant.
- There were numerous scrapped Sugar Rush racers from the concept art, including a witch racer who drove Gloyd's cart, a Girl Scout racer, and a baby racer driving a cart made from a slice of birthday cake. Among the unused concepts was a car driven by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit of all people.
- In test screenings, it was Chun-Li acting as the DJ to the party instead of Skrillex.
- Dr. Eggman was supposed to speak during the villains' meeting; since Eggman's normal voice actor, Mike Pollock, was apparently not informed about Eggman's role here, Jim Cummings (who voiced Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM)) recorded lines that were ultimately cut.
- Ralph originally looked more like a furry monster than a human, as seen here◊.
- King Candy was supposed to have a Villain Song, but this was cut.
