'Lava' Discussion Panel and First Look at Uku's Counterpart, Lele

Pixar's upcoming short film, Lava, tells the story of a lonely volcano named Uku, who sings about finding his soul mate. The director of the film, James Ford Murphy, was inspired by the islands and culture of Hawaii. In a interview with Yahoo! Movies, Murphy said that “I thought that if I could marry the rich imagery and with the power and emotion of music, then I could really make something cool." Check out the behind-the-scenes clip below which features Murphy, producer Andrea Warren, and singer Kuana Torres Kahele (voice of Uku), as they chat about Pixar's Lava.

Source: Hawaiian Skies

In the video above there is some never before scene footage from Lava as well, including the opening helicopter shot over the volcano, and the first look at Uku's love interest, Lele. The singing voice of Lele is Napua Greig.

Lava will be in theaters on June 19, and it will play before Pixar's highly anticipated feature film, Inside Out.

Watch the First Clip For 'Lava'

Pixar's next theatrical short film, Lava, is a musical love story inspired by the beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes. The film stars a volcano named Uku, who sings about his dream. Watch the new clip below:

The director of Lava, James Ford Murphy, wrote a Hawaiian-inspired song for the ukulele. “I thought that if I could marry the rich imagery and with the power and emotion of music, then I could really make something cool," says Murphy (Yahoo! Movies) The ukulele song is sung by Hawaiian entertainer Kuana Torres Kahele. Kuana describes Uku as a "lonely volcano searching millions and millions of years for his one true love." His message to people who want to see the Lava is "Bring a tissue. You're going to need it for the first two or three minutes."

"I thought it would be so cool to fall in love with a place who’s also a character," James Murphy said in an interview (LATimes). "I wanted to make Uku appealing and likable but also look like he’s been carved out of lava flows. This whole story has been an exercise in contrast. Volcanoes are so destructive, but they're so creative. They’re so powerful in their eruptions but they’re so peaceful." He and his producer, Andrea Warren, attempted to achieve the feeling of the scale live-action filmmakers attain from a helicopter shot, but within the 3-D universe of animation.

Lava, will play in theaters in front of Pixar's next movie, Inside Out, on June 19th of next year.

'Lava' Will Premiere in Front of 'Inside Out'

Pixar's Facebook profile just revealed that the short film to play before Inside Out is titled, Lava. They described the short as a musical love story inspired by the beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes. Lava is directed by James Ford Murphy (animator at Pixar since A Bug's Life) and produced by Andrea Warren (production manager on WALL-E and Brave). Pixar also posted an image of a poster for the film:

Lava was first rumored when Animated Views discovered that the short was included in a list of upcoming Pixar films in the LinkedIn profile of Pixar layout artist Shaun Seong-Young Kim, but the short was not confirmed until today.

Pixar also posted a picture of Pete Docter (director of Monsters Inc., Up, and Inside Out) with the words: Pete Docter would like to share a little Joy with you. Inside Out opens in theaters one year from today!

Watch Lava in front of Inside Out on June 19, 2015!