Your Fav Cartoons Got Major Makeovers Before They Were Actually Aired

As an artist, you get used to criticism after a while. A good artist take the criticism and use it to their advantage by developing their craft even further. 

Think about it: Mickey Mouse didn't become the iconic Disney mascot overnight. From his original debut in 1928 until now, Mickey has changed a lot over the years. Walt Disney, one of the most successful visionaries known to date, made his dreams a reality through hard work and dedication.

When one design doesn't work out, just try again—at least that's what successful animators do. Instead of letting their ideas and projects get scrapped by networks, creators and animators worked tirelessly to create these iconic film and television cartoon characters that leave lasting impressions on audiences. 

These real-life examples show how much your favorite cartoon characters have actually changed since their conception.

The original storyline was to follow a tin, one-man-band toy and a ventriloquist dummy. Later, the tin toy and ventriloquist were replaced by an astronaut and cowboy respectively.

In the earlier stages of "Toy Story," Woody's character was not as lovable as we'd come to know him. His original character was such a sarcastic bully, production had to stop and even Tom Hanks spoke out against the direction of the character. 

Now we know Woody to be a lovable cowboy pal to Andy. Sure he gets to be a little selfish sometimes, but we still love him anyway. 

Before JG Quintel became the creator of one of Cartoon Network's most popular shows on right now, he was a film student. 

While in college, JG created a short film, "2 in AM PM," which likely served as the model for "Regular Show." In the short, two gas-station clerks take a trip on acid and start having hallucinations of themselves turning into characters that would later become main characters on "Regular Show." 

Considered your kid's childhood ruined. 

JG traded in the acid-tripping clerks for a blue jay and raccoon that are groundskeepers at their local park. The characters still have some of the same characteristics from the original animation, but are missing drugs — perfect for kids!

If you go deep enough into your memory, you'd remember "Angela Anaconda" starting off as a short on the Nickelodeon show "KaBlam!" 

The short's characters were pretty much the same as they were on the spin-off show, except they looked creepier. When "Angela Anaconda" was moved to Fox Family, Angela and her nemesis Nanette Manoir got complete makeovers. 

Angela and friends' makeovers made them look less creepy, but it was still a pretty odd show and Angela's voice was still pretty annoying. 

Regardless of this, it was still a pretty popular show, producing about 60 episodes over the course of three years.

Even though he's known for his dim-witted optimism, SpongeBob actually started out as a character named Bob the Sponge in an educational comic book about marine biology.

After creator Stephen Hillenburg failed getting that comic published for a broader audience, he developed Bob the Sponge into SpongeBoy around 1994. Nickelodeon had his name changed to SpongeBob Squarepants because they wanted to avoid a lawsuit from a mop company that used the name SpongeBoy. 

It's hard to imagine that the naive, square sponge that took the world by storm started off as a round sponge teaching kids about the marine.

After a giant-balloon stint at the Warner Bros. lot, the creators realized that the Warner siblings could be mistaken for an off-brand version of Mickey Mouse because they were so smooth and rounded. 

Just before the premiere of the show, animators had to rush back to the studio to add side whiskers to the characters, giving them a new look. 

The rough-edged version of the Warner brothers (and the Warner sister) became the iconic look we all love and know. Their updated look even reflects their personalities a bit more than the rounded look.

Yeah, The Powerpuff Girls were known for kicking some serious ass, but did you know they were originally called "The Whoopass Girls?" Instead of being made from sugar, spice and everything nice with a chemical X, Professor Utonium accidentally added a can of whoop ass to the concoction. 

Craig McCracken created the girls when he was designing a birthday card for his brother back in 1991. The next year, he decided to create a short centered around the sisters, with a different looking Professor Utonium. 

The original 1998 series had a similar look to the short Craig created, with only a few minor differences. 

The current reboot of the series features the same style of character design, but has a few noticable differences such has Bubbles' blue hair ties and Buttercup's awful cowlick. 

The beloved Arnold character has gone through a variety of changes from his conception in the 80s until the premiere of "Hey Arnold!" in 1996. 

Craig Bartlett created Arnold as a minor character in a claymation series made for "Pee-wee's Playhouse." He eventually made a short focused entirely on Arnold, called "Arnold Escapes From Church," and made two more claymation shorts based off of the character. The shorts feature Helga and Harold as bullies, but the other characters we've come to love are absent.

While coming up with ideas for a new Nickelodeon series, he showed writers a few clips from "Pee-wee" of his original character. The group was more impressed with Arnold and developed his character to be the lovable character we know today. 

In 1996, a teaser for the series was shown in theaters before Nickelodeon's "Harriet the Spy." In this, more characters were introduced and have a look that's different than what we'll see later when the series premieres on television. 

Arnold by far has gotten the biggest makeover on this list, starting off just as a minor character in a claymation short and becoming the star of an animated series as well as a spinoff film.