Beyond Romance: Celebrating Platonic Love in Movies This Valentine’s Day
From Left To Right: Stand By Me, The Untouchables, Little Miss Sunshine
As Valentine’s Day approaches, the world is awash with roses, chocolates, and heart-shaped everything. It’s a time when romantic love takes center stage, with films, advertisements, and social media feeds bombarding us with images of couples holding hands, kissing in the rain, or riding off into the sunset. But what about the other kinds of love that shape our lives just as profoundly—if not more so? What about platonic love? The love between friends, family members, or even strangers who leave a lasting impact on our lives? Why is it that these stories, though equally powerful, rarely get the same attention as romantic tales in the movies? And why does the “happily ever after” always seem to require a prince on a white horse?
Romantic Love’s Dominance in Film
From Titanic to The Notebook, romantic stories dominate the media and box offices. These films often follow a familiar formula: two people meet, fall in love, face obstacles, and ultimately find their way back to each other. The message is clear: romantic love is the ultimate goal, the pinnacle of human connection. But this narrative leaves little room for other forms of love that are just as meaningful—and sometimes even more so.
Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams - The Notebook
While these tales can be beautiful, they often overshadow other meaningful relationships. Platonic love—whether between friends, siblings, or mentors—is frequently relegated to the background, treated as a subplot rather than a main event. Even in films where platonic relationships are central, they’re rarely given the same weight or emotional payoff as romantic ones. The “happy ending” almost always involves a couple riding off into the sunset, leaving us to wonder: why can’t friendship or familial love be its own happy ending?
The Strength of Platonic Love
Romantic relationships can be complicated by expectations, societal pressures, and the inevitable ups and downs of passion. But platonic love is often rooted in acceptance, understanding, and unconditional support. It’s the friend who stays up all night listening to your problems, the sibling who stands by you no matter what, or the mentor who believes in you when no one else does. Platonic love teaches empathy, offers unconditional support, stability and reminds us that love doesn’t need to be romantic to be meaningful. Movies like The Intouchables, Stand by Me, and Little Miss Sunshine showcase the beauty of platonic love in all its forms. They remind us that some of the most important relationships in our lives are the ones that don’t involve romance at all. Yet, these stories are often overlooked in favor of more traditional love stories. Why? Perhaps it’s because we’ve been conditioned to see romantic love as the ultimate goal, the “happily ever after” that everyone should aspire to. But this narrow view of love does a disservice to the rich tapestry of human connection.
The Myth of the Prince on a White Horse
Frozen, Tangled
The idea of a “prince on a white horse” has become shorthand for the perfect romantic ending. It’s a fairy tale trope that suggests love is about being rescued, completed, or made whole by another person. But this narrative is not only outdated—it’s limiting. It implies that happiness can only be found in romantic partnership, ignoring the countless other ways we can find fulfillment and connection. The actual truth is that you come into the platonic relationships as a whole, which is far more wholesome. Disney, often associated with fairy-tale romances, as in Tangled, has also given us powerful examples of platonic love. Take immensely successful Frozen, where the heart of the story isn’t Anna’s romance with Kristoff, but her unbreakable bond with her sister Elsa. Their love saves the day, proving that familial love can be just as transformative as any romance. Even Moana focuses on self-discovery and the mentorship of Maui, rather than a romantic subplot, reminding us that personal growth and friendship can be just as compelling as a love story.
Celebrating Platonic Love This Valentine’s Day, Too
This Valentine’s Day, let’s challenge the notion that romantic love is the only kind worth celebrating. Let’s honor the friendships, family ties, and unexpected connections that enrich our lives in ways romance never could. And if you’re looking for stories that capture the essence of platonic love, look no further than FlixSnip. Its app offers a curated collection of short films that explore the many facets of human connection, from heartwarming friendships to life-changing encounters in the Platonic Love collection. Let's broaden our definition of love together and give platonic relationships the recognition they deserve. After all, love doesn’t need a prince on a white horse to be meaningful—it just needs to be real. But, that doesn’t mean that the romance is dead, so check out the Romance Is Not Dead Collection, too!
