Another plot idea the team finally discarded was almost a reversal of Joy's mission in the final film. Instead of trying to preserve good memories, Joy would seek to destroy a bad one, to throw it, in Docter's words, "into the pit of Mordor." One can imagine this movie would get far darker if Riley were exposed to a bad memory she wanted to repress, and this plot idea would cast Joy as something of a villain. Another version had Riley freaking out over getting to be the bird a Thanksgiving Day pageant, sending the message that even small things can be significant in our minds. As Docter put it, "That was so weird and just didn't work."
T Campbell has written quite a few online comics series and selected work for Marvel, Archie and Tokyopop. His longest-running works are Fans, Penny and Aggie-- and his current project with co-writer Phil Kahn, Guilded Age.
