Fun Facts about Inside Out and Lava

Two months ago I took a whirlwind trip to San Francisco to screen Strange Magic and visit Skywalker Ranch. We also spent a few hours at Pixar Studios to learn more about Pixar’s new movie, Inside Out in theaters on June 19th.

Just like Disneytoon Studios, Pixar Studios is a themed with lots of their fun characters. The famous Pixar lamp is HUGE, my boys call it the “robot lamp” since it sort of walks on screen before Pixar movies.

Inside the Pixar Studios lobby, they have memorabilia from all of their movies including awards, statues and murals. 

Our visit started with screening a few clips from Inside Out and speaking with director Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera. I’m sharing a few fun facts I learned from my conversations that day!

Fun Facts From Inside Out:

1. Pete’s daughter was the voice of young Ellie in Up and the inspiration for Riley in Inside Out.

2. Anger was the easiest emotion to bring to life. Joy was the hardest, mostly because they wanted her to have depth and not just personify that happy all the time person you want to strangle in real life. 😉

3. The actors were able to contribute to their characters dialogue. Being great improv artists really allowed them to really play off each other and make the conversation real.

4. The movie took about 5 years to create. In fact Bill Hader and his wife had three daughters over the course of film production.

5. Whereas Up was an observation and love letter to their grandparents and growing old, Inside Out is an echo of that but for their kids and growing up.

Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school

Check out the latest Inside Out trailer for a sneak peek at all the fun!

While at Pixar, we also had the pleasure of screening the new short, LAVA that will show before Inside Out. The story follows the love story of two volcanoes, Uku and Lele. We also spoke with LAVA director James Ford Murphey and producer Andrea Warren to learn more about the making of LAVA.

Inspired by the isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes, “LAVA” is a musical love story that takes place over millions of years.

Fun Facts From LAVA:

1. Director James Ford Murphey wanted LAVA to be a story sharing his love of volcanoes, Hawaii and Hawaiian music.

2. He also wrote the song LAVA, featured in the movie.

3. James and Andrea travelled to the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (like the Grammy awards for Hawaiian music), to find the perfect traditional Hawaiian singers for the film.

4. Hawaiian artists Kuana Torres Kahele and Napua Greig were hand picked to voice the two volcanoes in the film.

5. Kuana and Napua had a natural chemistry having grown up together and attending Hula school together as children.

I can’t wait to see Inside Out in theaters, it looks so funny. Plus I know that LAVA is adorable, and I’ll really enjoy seeing it again!

Both arrive in theaters in June 19th! Check out Inside Out on Facebook and Twitter for more #InsideOut fun.

I attended press events with Disney to promote #StrangeMagicEvent and #PixarInsideOut. I was provided with an expenses paid trip to San Francisco in exchange for my coverage about the events.  No other compensation is given. As always, opinions and experiences are my own. Photos courtesy of Disney.