Lava (2014 film)

{{Infobox film

|name = Lava

|image = Lava (2015 film) poster.jpg

|caption =

|director = James Ford Murphy

|producer = Andrea Warren

|writer = James Ford Murphy

|starring = {{plainlist|

}}

|music = James Ford Murphy

|cinematography =

|editing =

| production_companies = Pixar Animation Studios

|distributor = Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures{{efn|name=Disney|Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through the Walt Disney Pictures banner.}}

|released = {{Film date|2014|6|14|Hiroshima International Animation
Festival|2015|06|19|with Inside Out}}

|runtime = 7 minutes

|country = United States

|language = English

}}

Lava is a 2014 American animated musical short film produced by Pixar Animation Studios.{{cite news|last1=Emery|first1=Debbie|title=Pixar's Short Film 'Lava' Announced|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pixars-short-film-lava-announced-713613|access-date=July 11, 2014|work=The Hollywood Reporter|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|date=June 19, 2015}} Directed and written by James Ford Murphy and produced by Andrea Warren, it premiered at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival on June 14, 2014, and was theatrically released alongside Pixar's Inside Out, on June 19, 2015.{{cite news|last1=Keegan|first1=Rebecca|title=First Look: Pixar's 'Lava'|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-first-look-pixar-lava-20140711-story.html|access-date=July 11, 2014|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 11, 2014}}

The short is a musical love story that takes place over millions of years.{{cite news|last1=Calia|first1=Michael|title=Pixar Unveils Details of Next Projects: Inside Out and Lava|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/06/20/pixar-unveils-details-of-next-projects-inside-out-and-lava/|access-date=June 20, 2014|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=Dow Jones & Company|date=June 20, 2014}} It is set to a song (also called "Lava") written by Murphy,{{cite news|last1=Siegemund-Broka|first1=Austin|title=Pixar's Pete Docter Promises 'Inside Out' Will Break New Ground|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pixars-pete-docter-promises-inside-713756|access-date=June 22, 2014|work=The Hollywood Reporter|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|date=June 20, 2014}} and was inspired by the "isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes."{{cite news|url=http://blog.bcdb.com/adds-animated-short-7714/|title=Inside Out Adds Animated Short|first=Dave|last=Koch|work=Big Cartoon News|date=May 29, 2014|access-date=June 20, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140620232204/http://blog.bcdb.com/adds-animated-short-7714/|archive-date=June 20, 2014|df=mdy-all}} In an interview with Honolulu-based KHON-TV, Murphy explained that his interest in Hawaii began 25 years prior while honeymooning on the main island of Hawai'i. Shortly before the film production had begun, Murphy went back to Hawaii in order to "reconnect emotionally" with the land that sprung his inspiration.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1563990550}} |last1=Crawford |first1=Trish |title=Lava, a volcano full of love: Animator Jim Murphy directs first film, part of TIFF Short Cuts |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=13 September 2014 |page=E.10 }}

Years later, he heard Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World", which touched him.{{cite web|title=5 questions with Disney/Pixar's 'LAVA' director James Ford Murphy|url=http://khon2.com/2014/11/03/5-questions-with-disneypixars-lava-director-james-ford-murphy/|work=KHON2|date=January 2, 2016}} "I put together this fascination and love and this experience I had with my wife in Hawaii, with this feeling I had for this song and thought, wow, if I could blend those two things, it would be really—a film I would love to see."

The idea began to coalesce while attending the wedding of his sister, who married at the age of 43. "As my sister stood up on the altar, I thought about how happy she was and how long she'd waited for her very special day. There, at my sister’s wedding, I remembered Loihi and I had an epiphany... What if my sister was a volcano? And what if volcanoes spend their entire lives searching for love, like humans do?" "Lava" is unique in that it lacks any verbal communication other than the song.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1691212428}} |last1=Calia |first1=Michael |title=ARENA --- Movies & Books -- The Initial Attractions: 'Lava': Pixar Shorts: A Farm System for Storytellers |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=26 June 2015 |page=D.4 }}

Plot

On a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean, a lonely volcano watches the wildlife creatures frolic with their mates and wishes to find one of his own. He sings a song to the ocean each day for millions of years, gradually venting his lava and sinking into the water, but does not realize that a female submarine volcano has heard him every day and has fallen in love with him.

She emerges on the day when the male volcano becomes almost extinct, but her face is turned away and she cannot see him. He sinks fully into the ocean, heartbroken, but revives when he hears her singing his song to him. His fire reignited, he erupts back to the surface alongside her, and the two merge to form a single island so they can sing together.

Production

Before creating "Lava," the director, James Ford Murphy, identified characteristics in which he wanted Lava to mimic. These desired characteristics came from 5 other Disney Pixar Shorts that Murphy revealed:{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|2065117828}} |title=5 Pixar Shorts That Inspired 'Lava' |newspaper=Dow Jones Institutional News |date=25 June 2015 }}

"Knick Knack" (1989)
"For the Birds" (2000)
"Partly Cloudy" (2009)
"Day & Night" (2010)
"La Luna" (2011)

Cast

Kuana Torres Kahele as Uku, a lonely volcano searching for his true love. His face is an amalgamation of the faces of Kahele, Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole, The Honeymooners star Jackie Gleason and the bulldog Marc Antony from the Chuck Jones animated short film Feed the Kitty.{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=Oliver|title=An Exclusive First Look at the Upcoming Pixar Short 'Lava'|url=https://www.yahoo.com/movies/exclusive-first-look-at-the-new-pixar-short-96008523102.html|work=Yahoo! Movies|access-date=August 28, 2014|date=August 28, 2014}}
Nāpua Greig as Lele, a volcano and Uku's love interest.{{cite web|last1=Mizutani|first1=Ron|title=Local singer on lead role in new Disney/Pixar animated short 'Lava'|url=http://khon2.com/2014/08/19/local-singer-on-lead-role-in-new-disneypixar-animated-short-lava/|work=KHON2|access-date=August 21, 2014|date=August 19, 2014}}

= Crew =

The production of the film took an entire year and required a 100-person crew.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1690472307}} |last1=Taylor |first1=Dan |title=Second Chance: Sonoma animator James Murphy turned down an opportunity to work on 'Toy Story' but got another shot with 'Lava,' which opened Saturday |newspaper=The Press Democrat |location=Santa Rosa, Calif |date=21 June 2015 |page=D.1 }}

Reception

= Critical response =

The short had mixed reviews.

Nicholas Garrett gave the short a positive review; he said that "it is one of their most touching and subtle (shorts)".{{cite web|url=http://www.kaleo.org/features/review-pixar-s-lava-is-a-hunk-of-burning-love/article_46eed07e-1e08-11e5-8bf1-5bc2ff9d8dc8.html|title=Review: Pixar's 'Lava' is a hunk of burning love|work=Ka Leo O Hawaii}} Oliver Lyttelton said that it was "beautiful".{{cite news |title=We Rank the Best Pixar Shorts From 'Lava' to 'Luxo Jr.' |url=https:///entertainment/we-rank-the-best-pixar-shorts-from-lava-to-luxo-121775249337.html |work=Yahoo Entertainment |date=18 June 2015 }} Pat Mullen gave the short 5 stars out of 5, praising its "fantastic visuals" and its "overall originality and artistry".{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemablographer.com/2014/09/oiaf-review-pixars-lava.html|title=Cinemablographer: OIAF Review: Pixar's 'Lava'|author=Pat Mullen|work=cinemablographer.com}} Nelson Rivera said "The story is told musically, which is always exciting, because music can really get to core emotions and Lava most certainly achieves this, almost effortlessly".{{cite web |url=http://filmmunch.com/2015/06/15/lava/ |title=LAVA |work=FilmMunch |date=June 15, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615135408/http://filmmunch.com/2015/06/15/lava/ |archive-date=June 15, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}

However, Pablo Ruiz gave a negative review, describing its storytelling as "lazy" and arguing that "there's no character growth, no arc. There's no story. It's just things happening on screen."{{cite web |last=Ruiz |first=Pablo |title=[OPINION] My Problem With Pixar's 'Lava' |url=http://www.rotoscopers.com/2015/08/03/opinion-my-problem-with-pixars-lava/ |website=Rotoscopers|date=August 3, 2015 }} Michael Colan ranked Lava as one of Pixar's weakest short films based on the writing, saying it has "too much telling, not enough showing". He praised the short film for its "gorgeous animation", however, and thought that it had a "good idea."{{cite web |last1=Colan |first1=Michael |title=Lava (2015) Animated Short-Review |url=http://theexportedfilm.com/2015/06/19/lava-2015-animated-short-review-one-of-pixars-weakest-short-films/ |website=The Exported Film |access-date=July 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722133106/http://theexportedfilm.com/2015/06/19/lava-2015-animated-short-review-one-of-pixars-weakest-short-films/ |archive-date=July 22, 2015 |url-status=dead }}

= Accolades =

The short film "Lava" made its debut as the main opening headliner for the opening day of the Hiroshima film festival’s grand opening day celebration event.

Song

The song to the short, also titled "Lava", was released on June 16, 2015, as a digital single, and as a bonus track on the CD release of Inside Out{{'}}s soundtrack.{{cite AV media |title=Inside Out |type=CD |asin=B00WHZZGFK }}{{cite web |title=Lava (From "Lava") - Single |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/lava-from-lava-single/1444604166|website=iTunes Store (USA) |date=January 2015 |publisher=Apple |access-date=June 26, 2015 |ref=iTunes}}