Lava

Lava (2014)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Exceptionally entertaining Pixar short has a volcano singing about "lava" and how he wishes he had someone to spend time with. Over millions of years we learn that there's a volcano under the water who has heard him the entire time. This Pixar short is another classic from the studio who seem to be just as good at making shorts as they are the features and that's saying a lot. As you'd expect, the actual animation is really wonderful and I'd argue that some of the studio's best work can be found here including a brilliant sequence where we see the volcano over thousands of years. The time elapse was just something beautiful to see. Then there's the song itself, which is incredibly clever and packs a nice little punch at the end. This film really does a great job at showing this love story through the ages and I think parents will enjoy it just as much as children.

Lava is a great short film with a well developed story and a terrific voice cast. The film manages to tell a very sweet story in the space of less than ten minutes, and also within this small amount of time it takes place over hundreds of years, it's very impressive how a short film can do that and we feel a genuine connection for this talking volcano and want him to succeed in his dream. As far as Pixar's short films go, this isn't one of the greats, I would normally find myself given these shorts a rating of nine, but Lava is missing that magic that is evident in shorts such as Day & Night and For the Birds, and it simply isn't as memorable. The voice acting is outstanding, there are only two voices heard in this movie, which is quite rare for a Pixar short, their singing is beautiful and perfectly conveys the overall ton and message of the film, to never give up on your dreams. It's not Pixar's finest short, but Lava is a fun and a very sweet seven minutes that will warm you up for Inside Out, definitely worth the watch.

A volcano struggles for millions of years to find love.

I had seen this little short film before seeing "inside out" in the cinema so in 2015 and I saw it again today in 2021, it's a marvel! An excellent romantic poetry! Very emotional and the song is amazing. One of the best short films ever made!

This was a cute little short that actually really surprised me in may ways. I had no idea whether it was going to be good or not and it was actually pretty damn good. Going into inside out i was trying to save my tears for that, i didn't expect i would be using them up in the short beforehand. This was similar to inside out in that it manages to take you from being very happy and enjoying it to the point of almost crying and welling up at the drop of a hat. The singing was also a great way of telling the story in a fun and uplifting manner. But in the end it was still a fun and cute little story that is very enjoyable. - 7.6

This is an Academy Award worthy short film. The music is amazing, the artistry was beautiful, and I may have even shed a tear or two. It is a must see for all. Pixar is a petri dish for animation geniuses. This is by far one of their best shorts yet. It is as good if not better than Paperman and Knick Knack . Not to mention it blows Frozen Fever out of the water despite the cute Snowgies. In fact I'd pay to see Inside Out again just for this short. My only complaints are that I have no where to download the song, and l have to wait for the next Pixar Short Films Collection. I give it a 10 star rating. But don't take my word for it go see it yourself.