Lavais a 2014 American animated musical short film produced by Pixar Animation Studios.[2] 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.[1]
The short is a musical love story that takes place over millions of years.[3] It is set to a song (also called "Lava") written by Murphy,[4] and was inspired by the "isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes."[5] 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.[6]
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.
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:[9]
Nicholas Garrett gave the short a positive review; he said that "it is one of their most touching and subtle (shorts)".[13] Oliver Lyttelton said that it was "beautiful".[14] Pat Mullen gave the short 5 stars out of 5, praising its "fantastic visuals" and its "overall originality and artistry".[15] 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".[16]
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."[17] 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."[18]
LavaDirected byJames Ford MurphyMusic byJames Ford MurphyStudio(s)Pixar Animation Studios
Walt Disney PicturesDistributorWalt Disney Studios Motion PicturesReleasedJune 19, 2015 (with Inside Out)Running time7 minutes[1]LanguageEnglishPreceded byParty CentralFollowed byRiley's First Date?SourceLava is a short film attached to the theatrical release of Inside Out. It was directed by James Ford Murphy and produced by Andrea Warren.[2] It is described as a "musical love story taking place over millions of years that is inspired by the isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes". The story follows the love story of two volcanoes, Uku and Lele. It features a song, "Lava", which is written by Murphy and performed by Kuana Torres Kahele and Napua Greig, who voice the two volcanoes.[1][3]
Uku is a lonely volcano lost in the ocean. Inspired by the animals he sees around him, he sings every day a song where he expresses his wish to have someone to "lava". But millions of years go by, and he starts to sink into the ocean, still alone. However, unbeknownst to him, another volcano, Lele, has been growing underwater toward the surface, fueled by the love of his song.Years later, Lele is a tall volcano at the surface of the ocean. However, she is looking in the wrong direction and cannot see the sinking Uku just behind her. She sings Uku's song and Uku, now underwater, hears her sing. It fuels him with so much love that his fire is reanimated and he enters in eruption again. Years later, Uku and Lele are joined together and form a single island as they sing about their happiness.
The team also struggled with the fact a volcano is fixed and shouldn't be moving.[5] Supervising Animator Aaron Hartline mentioned that they found the sense of scale was lost if Uku's movements were too important, and as such his expressions had to be communicated mainly through his eyes and mouth, whose stretching had to be limited too.[7] The problem of his immobility was also solved by varying camera angles and involving mobile elements like animals or clouds.[5]
In comparison to the over-the-top decor inside the Rainforest Cafe, the Lava Lounge is fairly simple in its setup. While you can still take in jungle-y touches like rocky walls, rainforest wallpaper and netting on the guard rails, the setup allows the focus to fall on conversations with your friends and family, or just catching whatever big game is playing on the screens above you.
Underneath the bright red flow of lava is the full bar, run by a staff that deserves a major shout-out. We found service here to be extremely friendly, attentive, and helpful, and the bartender especially made sure we were well taken care of.
The Mongoose Mai Tai is coconut rum, dark rum, creme de almond, and orange and pineapple juices. While the juices obviously make this one a very fruity beverage, the good amounts of both rums gave this a more boozy aftertaste than your average fruity cocktail around Disney World.
The Strawberry Mojito, on the other hand, was decidedly light on the taste of alcohol, but was refreshing and fruity thanks to the fresh mint, lime, and muddled strawberries complementing the Cruzan Strawberry Rum.
My Husband and I love Rainforest. We come very often on our trip, we are down here now. We absolutely Love the Lava Lounge, love sitting by the water, very peaceful and the staff is Wonderful and the Managers. The bartenders are very nice.
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Part 15 of my Random Dungeons series shows you how to build a lava reservoir. Players must raise and lower the lava level in order to navigate the area. Note, you could substitute water-textured blocks for lava blocks to create a less lethal variation of this obstacle.
The other exciting thing around here is that Super Cute Crispy Treats, will be released on 7/28/15. It seemed destined that I would create some volcano rice crispy treats. Not a fan of Lava? No, problem. I made up some regular volcanoes too! These are perfect for your summer luau or just a fun activity to do with the kids. My kids certainly enjoyed adding lava to their volcanoes.
5.0 from 2 reviews Volcano Crispy Treats - Inspired by Lava Author: Ashley Whipple Recipe type: Dessert Serves: 9-10 volcanoes Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 30 mins Save Print Volcano crispy treats, inspired by Disney Pixar Lava are perfect for your next luau or just a fun afternoon snack. Ingredients 3 cups chocolate rice crispy cereal 2 cups mini marshmallows 2 tablespoons margarine 2 ounces Red candy melts 2 ounces Orange candy melts Black candy writer Green candy writer Instructions Heat margarine over low heat in a five quart or larger saucepan. When the margarine has completely melted, add the marshmallows. Heat the marshmallows until completely melted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in the chocolate crispy cereal until the cereal is completely covered in marshmallows. With greased hands, grab a small hand full of crispy treats and form into a cone or volcano shape. If necessary let the treats cool for 2-3 minutes, until they are cool enough to handle. Place the formed treats onto a greased baking sheet. Heat the red candy melts in the microwave, in a plastic zipper bag, for 15 second increments until completely melted. Squish the candy melts around between each heating to distribute the heat and help with even melting. Cut a very small piece off the corner and drizzle the candy melts over the top of the volcano. The candy will drip down the sides. You can also add lines of candy melts to the sides, if they aren't dripping the way you want. Repeat with the orange candy melts if desired. Let the candy melts set on the volcanoes. Refrigerate for about 5 minutes to speed up the process. Uku and Lele To shape Uku, make him a little shorter and add some "arms" to the each side. Lele is taller and thinner than the traditional volcano. Heat the black candy writer according to the package directions. Draw two lines for Uku's eyes and a big wide smile. Lele's eyes are shaped like tear drops on their side. Her smile is much smaller than Uku's. Lele has long black flowing "hair." Using the black candy writer add the hair in long strands. For some added effect, add in some red lava highlights to her hair. In the film, both volcanoes are covered in green from the bottom down. To achieve this look, heat the green candy writer and squeeze small dots all over. Alternately you could dip the bottom of each volcano in green candy melts, but I liked that it was more sporadic. 3.2.2925
Here is another shot of the regular volanoes. I ended up liking them better with just red candy, but my husband preferred red and orange. Just go with the look you like!
I saw the same article yesterday and almost jumped with excitement. With Universal pushing the boundaries of theme parks (Harry Potter, Transformers, Springfield) I can't wait to see what they do with a Water Park.
I do have a question about the water park.
In you opinion would they start from scratch and build it closer to the hotels? Or would them do a complete renovation of Wet n Wild with the new theme?
If they chose to build it closer to the hotels, I'm guessing they would shut down Wet n Wild?
Thanks for all the great news you post!
-Dan
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