Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or her swag? Yeah, scholar Joseph Campbell noticed first—in 1949. He wrote The Hero with a Thousand Faces, in which he outlined the 17 stages of a mythological hero's journey.

About half a century later, Christopher Vogler condensed those stages down to 12 in an attempt to show Hollywood how every story ever written should—and, uh, does—follow Campbell's pattern. We're working with those 12 stages, so take a look. (P.S. Want more? We have an entire Online Course devoted to the hero's journey.)

Ordinary World

You might think that Joy's ordinary world would be Minnesota, but it's not. It's whenever Riley's happy. A happy Riley, with Joy at the helm in Headquarters, is the status quo; it's what Joy's used to.

Call To Adventure

When Sadness turns her first memory blue, Joy's called to adventure—more specifically, the adventure that is growing up. It's one crazy ride, and Joy wants nada to do with it, thanks.

Refusal Of The Call

Joy tries to stop Sadness from touching any more memories. First, she gives her a super-boring Mind Manual to read. On the first day of school, she draws a circle on the floor and makes Sadness stand in it. Joy wants things to stay exactly the same: namely, that Riley's happy 24/7.

Meeting The Mentor

Sadness is Joy's mentor, although neither Joy nor Sadness herself recognize it as this point in Joy's journey. Sadness create a blue Core Memory, signifying that Riley's carefree childhood is coming to an end, Joy's no longer top dog, and more complex emotions and memories are on the horizon.

Crossing The Threshold

Joy gets sucked out of HQ and lands far, far away in Long-Term Memory. Now her quest really begins. Joy needs to get herself and Sadness back to Headquarters. Doing so is going to require smarts, tenacity, and some personal growth on Joy's part. It's just as important that Sadness makes it back to HQ as it is for Joy to make it.

Tests, Allies, Enemies

Joy finds an ally in Bing Bong, who she meets in Long-Term memory. He leads Joy to the Train of Thought (after a diversion or two), and when the train gets derailed, he sacrifices himself and his beloved rocket ship to help Joy get back to Headquarters. Without Bing Bong, Joy would probably still be in the Memory Dump, and Riley would have a rotten personality.

As Joy, Sadness, and Bing Bong navigate Riley's brain terrain, they encounter a variety of challenges. They must endure the four thoroughly freaky phases of abstract thought, disrupt Riley's dreams enough to wake her up and restart the Train of Thought, and survive a treacherous trip through the dark of Riley's subconscious.

Approach To The Inmost Cave

Joy loses hope at the bottom of the Memory Dump. She tries again and again to scramble to the top, but the faded memories crumble beneath her feet. Bing Bong tells her it's no use; everybody's going to forget about them. Joy's loaded with doubts and fears, sobbing at the bottom of the dump.

Ordeal

The hero's ordeal is all about our facing their fears and finding a way to survive in the world around them. For Joy, that means realizing the vital role that Sadness plays in Riley's life, and that it's unrealistic for her to expect Riley to be constantly happy going forward.

She has this epiphany in the Memory Dump, when she rewinds one of her favorite happy Riley memories and finds that all the joy and celebration within took place to cheer up Riley, who was super-bummed about blowing a big goal. Joy now understands that all of Riley's emotions serve a purpose, and that no one emotion is more important than the rest. Not even her.

Reward (Seizing The Sword)

Save your trophies, ribbons, and oversized novelty checks. Joy's reward is greater knowledge of what makes her girl Riley tick. She's ready to be a team player, and that reinvigorates her, giving her the strength she needs to keep trying to escape the Memory Dump.

The Road Back

Bing Bong provides that last nudge that Joy needs to get back to the ordinary world, a.k.a. Headquarters. He finds his rocket ship and, when he realizes that they're too heavy to make it out of the Memory Dump together, he bails at the last minute, sacrificing himself for Joy's cause: his BFF Riley.

That Bing Bong is one swell guy. Er, dolphin-cat? Elephant clown? Sentient pile of cotton candy? Whatever he is, he's in the Imaginary Friend Hall of Fame for this one.

Resurrection

Despite its name, this step in the journey is really our hero's final battle. In Joy's case, that means delegating heroism. More specifically, she tells Sadness to remove the idea to run away from Riley's control panel and save the day.

Sure, Joy could do it herself, but for Joy to continue evolving and complete her quest, she needs to recognize Sadness's capability and importance in front of the rest of the team, give Sadness a caring boost of confidence, and get out of her way.

She does, and Sadness saves the day. The lightbulb's removed, Riley returns home, and everybody's like, "Whoa, Joy! How did you know that Sadness was such a boss?" Because she's evolved into a thoughtful team player, that's how.

Return With The Elixir

Instead of ordering everyone around and being in constant control, Joy shares the expanded control panel with the other emotions. She tells us, via voiceover, that all's well in her ordinary world: Riley's got a cozy house, cool friends, and a spot on the hockey team.