The Facts:

Synopsis: A story that takes place over millions of years and is inspired by the beauty of tropical islands and the allure of ocean volcanoes,

Stars: Napua Greig, Kuana Torres Kahele

Director: James Ford Murphy

Rated: G

Running Length: 6 minutes

Trailer Review: Here

TMMM Score: (9/10)

Review:  A nice trend lately from Disney and Disney/PIXAR is to include a short animated film before their feature releases.  These little nuggets tend to be mostly golden (several have won the Oscar for Animated Short Film), packing a lot of ingenuity into their five- or six-minute running times.  Audiences lining up to see Inside Out should make sure not to be late because to miss PIXAR’s newest short would be a shame.

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.