As is the case with most shorts from the studio, the message is simple though the execution can be slyly complex.  Lava is a musical story of a Hawaiian volcano longing for a partner to call his own.  All around him he sees couples: birds, clouds, turtles, etc. and his melodic wish (sung with heart-tugging brio by Kuana Torres Kahele) is to find someone to love-a…sorry, lava.  The key to it all is just below the surface…where a female volcano (Napua Greig) has been listening for years.  Their story unfolds in a beautifully rendered six minutes, warming up your tear ducts for Inside Out…but these are happy tears wrung out of you unapologetically by director James Ford Murphy, a lone ukulele, and two gorgeous voices. One of Pixar’s best shorts to go along with one of their best films.