Pixar is taking the year off, but next year they’ll return with Inside Out, the new film from Pete Docter (Up), and with it comes a new Pixar, animated short film titled Lava with a lead character named Uku and yeah, that lead character is a volcano.
Just above is the first look at Uku (via Los Angeles Times) and it sounds like it isn’t straying too far from a common Pixar theme, which is the love story between two rather unique characters, whether it be umbrellas or robots, this time its Uku and fellow volcano, Lele.
Directed by James Ford Murphy, the seven-minute short is set to premiere Monday at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival in Japan. The musical love story features a song titled “Lava”, which Murphy wrote after learning to play the ukele in order to pitch the project. The song in the film will be performed by Hawaiian recording artists Kuana Torres Kahele and Napua Greig.
U.S. audiences will get to see Lava when it hits theaters in front of Inside Out on June 19, 2015.
