Never in my life did I think I would be emotionally invested in the love life of an active volcano. And yet here I am, sobbing over my keyboard as I listen to the song "Lava" from Disney Pixar's new short film of the same name.
The song follows the story of a volcano "living all alone in the middle of the sea." Every day, the volcano sees happy couples splashing in his bay, and he gets said because he doesn't have anyone to "lava." So, he sings a song every day in hopes that someone will hear it.
Eventually, another volcano hears the song as she sits underwater, waiting to come to the surface. When she finally does, she can't find the other volcano, because he has sunk under the waves. At this point, the volcano gets super sad and he, "filled the sea with his tears and watched his dreams disappear."
But it doesn't end there! The new volcano sings the song she heard him sing every day because it's the song that made her fall in "lava" with him. When he hears it, he grows and grows until he is now living above the sea with her. And, "all together now their lava grew and grew."
The song is a beautiful one, but there's more to my "lava" for it than that. Sometimes, in the midst of seeing so many happy couples, it can be hard when you don't have that special someone too. "Lava" tells us that there is someone out there for everyone, and that the wait to find that someone is worth it in the end. The volcano in "Lava" sang a song "for years and years" without getting any replies, and just when he thought his luck had gone out, he was united with his volcano soulmate.
Yes, this is only an animated short about volcanoes falling in love. Sounds kind of ridiculous at first glance. But, as with all of Pixar's movies and shorts, we are able to connect to the characters in a way that commands our emotions and really makes us feel something.
So, to the soulmate I know is out there for me: I lava you.
