LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mindy Kaling agreed to voice a character in Pixar's latest film based on nothing more than an illustration. But she didn't even need that. 
 
 FILE - In this file image released by Disney-Pixar, characters, from left, Anger, voiced by Lewis Black, Disgust, voiced by Mindy Kaling, Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, Fear, voiced by Bill Hader, and Sadness,... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Monday, June 8, 2015 file photo, Mindy Kaling attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Inside Out" at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. Kaling agreed to voice a character in Pixar’s latest... (Associated Press) 
 
 "They literally could have shown me nothing," said Kaling, who plays a green, fluttery-lashed girl named Disgust in the new film "Inside Out." She heard the word "Pixar," and she was in. 
 
 The much-anticipated film explores the action inside 11-year-old Riley's head, where Kaling's character and other emotions — Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Sadness (Phyllis Smith) and Joy (Amy Poehler) — control operations. Joy generally reigns, keeping Riley happy, but things go amiss when her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco. Riley's team of emotions are thrown out of balance, and they have to work together to set things right. 
 
 Riley's personality is represented by "islands" comprising the things most important to her, such as family, friendship and sports. Kaling said the film inspired her to reflect on her childhood experiences and consider what might be included among her own Islands of Personality. 
 
 "I was thinking role model island, you know, what I want to project as a role model," the 35-year-old entertainer said. "Definitely fashion island. Friendship island, of course, because I'm very interested in my female friends; 4 p.m. snack island; mid-30s panic island. So I have a lot of islands. Some of them are helpful, some of them are not." 
 
 Kaling has also been thinking about the sitcom she created and stars in, "The Mindy Project," which was dropped by Fox last month and quickly picked up by Hulu. With twice the episodes of a typical network season, Kaling said her team plans to experiment with "new, creative storytelling techniques." 
 
 "It gives you a little more room," she said, especially since the episodes will be released weekly, rather than all at once as some streaming services do. 
 
 When it comes to content, though, Kaling is keeping her audience in mind: "The Mindy Project" won't be racier just because it's moving online. 
 
 "Our show was pretty damn risque when we were on broadcast TV," she said. "If anything, it's like I know that 14-year-old girls are watching the show, and I don't want to show them anything that they're not ready to sort of see." 
 
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 Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at www.twitter.com/APSandy . 

 “The Mindy Project” writers took the stage at the Upright Citizens Brigade Sunset location on Wednesday for a hilarious and informative panel Q&A. 
 
 The panel featured nearly all of the show’s writers — Mindy Kaling, Matt Warburton, Charlie Grandy, Tracey Wigfield, Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen, Lang Fisher and Christopher Schleicher — who reflected on some of their choices in the show’s first three seasons, and previewed the fourth. 
 
 On moving to Hulu: 
 
 While the show spent its first three seasons on Fox, Kaling said one of the benefits of switching to Hulu for season four is having more freedom. “We can plan out all 26 beforehand which is a luxury that I’ve never had,” she said. 
 
 Hulu also allows the show some content liberties that it wasn’t allowed on the network, but Kaling said the show will most likely stick to brand. “We’ll have cool stuff this year, but it’s not just going to be, quote, ‘sexier.’ We’re going to do lots of different stuff, but it might be in concept or format.” 
 
 On season four: 
 
 The staff has only been in the room working on season four for about a week and a half, so the bulk of the plot hasn’t been determined. But Kaling did confirm where season four will start: “We are going to pick up where we left off, but we do do some big jumps in the first episode because Danny’s in India. So it’s kind of the biggest cliffhanger we’ve ever done,” she said. 
 
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 They are also working on casting several new characters. “We have to cast my parents now. So today we spent most of the day kind of writing and pitching in their voices what they would be like. And they are such funny and big characters.” 
 
 She also hinted at several new characters in the office. “We’ve come up with two characters that we love,” she said before specifying that they would not replace Adam Pally, who left the show after season three. 
 
 On Mindy and Danny getting together: 
 
 “We heard a lot of people who were, like, ‘When you get a couple together, are you worried about it being less interesting?'” said Kaling, referring to her relationship on the show with Chris Messina’s character. 
 
 “But our feeling had always been that shows that are bad when couples get together, the characters are bad. We know interesting people who are in love. So we just didn’t worry about it.” 
 
 Warburton added his thoughts: “I remember the discussions and it was important for us to tell the audience, ‘They’re together and their troubles have just begun.’ That storytelling-wise, this is going to be the craziest thing for the two of them to have done,” he said. 
 
 On creating a realistic relationship: 
 
 “People are so used to watching fakeness on TV constantly,” said Kaling about the staff’s approach to Mindy’s character compared to the precedent set by other television shows. “You’re watching a woman who is completely irrational who’s like, ‘You didn’t like my haircut, I’m moving out,’ and that’s just what we’ve come to expect. And I think that what was nice (about Mindy and Danny) is that they’re two adults who want to make a go at it, and they love each other and there are problems, but they get over things. We made Mindy really resilient. She doesn’t just bail because her feelings get hurt.” 
 
 On being a role model: 
 
 As a female lead in a sitcom, Mindy is constantly addressing questions about being a role model — especially considering the quantity of questionable decisions her character makes on the show. Kaling expressed her desire to keep her personal role model status distinct from her character. 
 
 “I do feel like with my job that it’s important to be a role model,” she said. “And I think that it becomes tricky because I don’t think that Mindy Lahiri is a role model, she’s a comedy character the way that Michael Scott is a comedy character and Kenny Powers is a comedy character. We crave women as leads so much that I think we conflate the two. But if anything, I would like to be the person that girls look up to.” 
 
 On snacking: 
 
 While the staff is passionate about the show, perhaps the most excitement they exhibited during the Q&A was about their favorite snacks. 
 
 “Every day I eat three peanut M&Ms as a delightful treat,” Schleicher said. “I eat 40,” added Fisher who also expressed a deep affection for something the writers call “the trough.” “When our writers assistant goes out and gets our lunches, they get all the special appetizers that everyone pretends they don’t want because they’re like, ‘I’ll have a salad.’ But then they get egg rolls, chili fries and they’re just sitting at the end of the table, and they are completely devoured by all of us.” 
 
 (Pictured: Mindy Kaling and Ike Barinholtz at “The Mindy Project” FYC event)
– If you're already overjoyed by news that The Mindy Project is officially moving to Hulu after it was shown the door at Fox, Mindy Kaling might just send you to Blissville. In an interview with the AP, Kaling says the show will get twice the episodes of an average network season—that's 26—giving executives the ability to bring in new characters and try "new, creative storytelling techniques." That doesn't mean the episodes, still to be released weekly, will get spicier. "Our show was pretty damn risque when we were on broadcast TV," she says. "If anything, it's like I know that 14-year-old girls are watching the show, and I don't want to show them anything that they're not ready to sort of see." Her consideration for the kiddies might have something to do with her new movie, Pixar's Inside Out, in which Kaling plays Disgust, a character inside an 11-year-old's head. The child's personality is made up of various "islands" of things important to her, which in Kaling’s own mind would consist of "4pm snack island, mid-30s panic island," fashion island, friendship island, and role model island, the 35-year-old says. Kaling tells Variety that while her Mindy Project character Mindy Lahiri isn't meant to be a role model, she hopes she can be. "I would like to be the person that girls look up to." (Kaling is also writing a book about a personal romance, and will be well-paid.)