What is love? Through the decades, Disney studios seems to have undertaken a journey of exploration and discovery into the theme of love. The power of 'true love' has clearly been the resolution to many of the Disney animated fairytales such as 'Snow White' and 'Cinderella'.
Snow White, after eating a poisoned apple and losing consciousness was awakened by a true love's kiss. Cinderella's foot fitted perfectly into the glass slipper and she lived happily ever after with the prince who sought her out.
Disney's most recent movie 'Frozen' likewise has love as a centrepiece theme. As the film's plot progressed, I was led to believe that this was another cliché fairytale story. However, 'Frozen's' conclusion was revealed to be far from your typical solved-by-a-true-love's-kiss or need-a-man-in-my-life-to-solve-everything ending. The film subverts the traditional fairytale portrayal of love and renews the theme with a profound understanding.
In case you missed the first warning, the rest of the article contains spoilers for the movie 'Frozen'.
The plot of Frozen revolves around a princess named Anna with a key storyline being her search for love. From the beginning of the story it was clear that she had little understanding of what love was. Her shallow understanding of love was exemplified through her relationship with Hans. Their 'love' was based on seize-the-moment emotions and her desire for self-fulfilment. This apparent realisation of 'love' was clearly in conflict with my understanding of love as a Christian (and most probably with the understanding of love held by viewers in general).
What love isn't
The film provides a clear example of what love isn't and that human love is not perfect. This was manifested in the character of Hans through his selfish motives in pursuing a relationship with Anna. Hans, being the 13th in line to the throne in his own kingdom sought to take a shortcut to kingship by marrying Anna. So what is love?
As the film progressed, we followed Anna on her journey of discovery for a deeper understanding as to what love really is. My friends beside me groaned as it was revealed that the resolution of the story would be an 'act of true love'. However, as we later discovered, the conclusion was far more meaningful than we originally thought.
One of the profound moments was when Olaf the snowman gave Anna a glimpse of what love really is when he said, "It's putting the needs of somebody else above your own." This type of love was modelled by the character of Kristoff through his selfless actions in caring for Anna. It was a love defined by other-person-centredness. This moment resonated well with me as I was reminded of the perfect other-person-centred love which God has within Himself as Trinity. Olaf's words also made me think of the parable of the Good Samaritan and Jesus' teaching to love your neighbour as yourself.
Despite coming to a fuller understanding of what love is through Olaf and Kristoff, Anna still needed to experience an 'act of true love' for herself. We were first led to believe that this would be a kiss from Hans. Next, we thought it would be the act of Kristoff saving Anna.
Self sacrifice
The climax however was much deeper as the 'act of true love' was made manifest through Anna's self-sacrifice to save her sister Elsa. This act is made more meaningful by considering the context of Anna's relationship with Elsa. For most of Anna's life and up to that point Elsa had pushed her away and had shut her out. So Anna's love for Elsa displayed through her self-sacrifice was not conditioned upon being accepted by her sister.
This draws parallels with God's perfect love for humanity. Anna's act reminded me of Jesus' self-sacrifice to save us from our sins despite our consistent rejection of God. For me as a Christian, the act of Jesus on the cross is the greatest example of love. It is a love displayed through self-sacrifice, a perfect love.
So it seems as if Disney has finally gotten love right. The film 'Frozen' certainly draws many parallels with the love of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It portrays love as an other-person-centredness displayed through self-sacrifice. However, nothing can compare to God's love. It is a perfect love, infinitely greater than anything we or this world can offer.
Anton Zhang is studying aviation at the University of New South Wales, he is part of a family of four, his hobbies include music, hiking and fencing. He is an active part of the Christian youth work at the Padstow Chinese Congregational Church.
Anton Zhang's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/anton-zhang.html