There are essentially two stories happening simultaneously, but what if you removed all of the inside story? That's exactly what  did when it was requested on Reddit to remove those scenes, and fittingly, he's studying to become an editor. Here's the video (and if you haven't seen the film, this does spoil some of it, but since much of the story is happening inside her head, there's still a large portion that's missing): 

There are some transitions that happen between the inside and outside that were turned into hard cuts, which is why certain parts of the video are so rough. Something I noticed while watching the film is how significantly Riley's emotions change when the characters in her head do something, and when you remove those characters, the changes are even more apparent.

It's really a testament to the filmmakers, Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen, that they were able to create two simultaneous stories that keep our attention. This may or may not have to do with being an adult, but I actually preferred the outside parts with Riley, and I felt her arc was a bit stronger. 

What's interesting is that Riley's story could very easily be its own film, and we got a brief glimpse of it here. If the human story was the only one on-screen, it would have been less colorful and likely a lot less funny, but it's possible it would have had a more powerful impact on the children watching it. Either way, that's not quite the story the filmmakers were telling, and there was additional growth and lessons to be learned from the characters in Riley's head. 

What other experiments like this have you enjoyed? Which ones would you like to see in the future?

Source: Jordan Hanzon

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