Prince Hans (Frozen)

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Evil-doer
Full Name	Hans Westerguard
Alias	Prince Hans of the Southern Isles
Origin	Frozen
Occupation	Thirteenth prince of the Southern Isles.
Powers / Skills	Swordsmanship, Charisma
Hobby	Wooing Princess Anna
Goals	To marry Princess Anna so that he can take over Arendelle, kill Queen Elsa, and returning home as a "hero" (all failed).
Crimes	No information
Type of Villain	Heroine's False Lover, Power-Hungry Traitor, Delusional Prince, Tragic Villain

“	Oh Anna...if only there was someone out there who loved you.	„
	~ Hans showing his true colors.

Prince Hans Westerguard of the Southern Isles is the hidden main antagonist of Disney's 53rd full-length feature animated film Frozen. He is the youngest of the thirteen princes from the Southern Isles, and came to Arendelle for Elsa's coronation. Since he's the youngest in his family, he'll never be able to inherit the throne from his brothers, so he plans on usurping the throne of Arendelle. He is voiced by Broadway veteran Santino Fontana.

Official Disney Bio

"Hans is a handsome royal from a neighboring kingdom who comes to Arendelle for Elsa’s coronation. With 12 older brothers, Hans grew up feeling practically invisible—and Anna can relate. Hans is smart, observant and chivalrous. Unlike Elsa, Hans promises he’ll never shut Anna out; he just might be the connection she’s been waiting for all these years."

Frozen

Hans meet Anna for the first time at the docks with his horse. He meets her again at the coronation party after keeping her from falling. While they dated around the castle, Hans "proposes" to Anna. However, Queen Elsa disapproved of the idea of their marriage due to the fact that they just met. After an argument, Elsa runs off and accidentally sets an eternal winter. When Anna goes off to find Elsa, she leaves Hans in charge. After briefly arguing with the Duke of Weselton, Anna's horse runs back to Arendelle, and this leads Hans to round up some volunteers to come with him to the North Mountains to rescue Anna. After a fierce battle with Elsa's colossal bodyguard, Marshmallow, Hans succeeds in capturing Elsa. In the castle dungeon, he convinces Elsa to stop the winter, but she tells him she can't. However, when Anna's heart is frozen and she is brought to Hans to receive a kiss from him, just before the kiss he pulls back and says, "Oh Anna. If only there was someone out there who loved you."

He then reveals his true motives: Hans wooed Anna for the purpose of marrying into a royal family and becoming king, because he has no chance of inheriting the throne of the Southern Isles as thirteenth in line. Instead of saving Anna's life, he deliberately leaves her to die. Hans sentences Elsa with a death charge, but Elsa's powers become strong enough for her to break out of the castle dungeon and escape. Later, when the two sisters are outside in an uncontrollable blizzard caused by Elsa, Hans confronts the queen. She asks him to take care of Anna, and Hans goes as far as to lie to her that Anna was killed by her magic. While Elsa is busy grieving her sister's death, Hans prepares to finish her by striking her with his sword when Anna leaps in front of Hans just before freezing solid to save Elsa. The recoil from hitting the frozen Anna was enough to shatter the sword and knock Hans unconscious. Anna's sacrifice also allowed Elsa to realize that it was love that could reverse her devastating ice powers and revive Anna. Hans awakens to find that the eternal winter has ended, and is shocked when he sees Anna alive and well, since he thought her heart had been frozen. Anna walks over to Hans, and, telling him that the only frozen heart was his and knocks him off the boat they're standing on. Afterwards, he is put in the brig on a ship and sent back to his own kingdom to face his brothers for his behavior in Arendelle.

Once Upon a Time

Prince Hans is set to be a recurring antagonist in the upcoming fourth season of ABC's Once Upon a Time. He will be portrayed by Tyler Jacob Moore. His first appearance will be in the third episode of the season.

Personality

“	He's a chameleon who adapts to any environment to make the other characters comfortable.	„
	~ Animator Lino DiSalvo describing Hans' character, The Art of Frozen

Hans seemed to be a brave, friendly, and noble man at first sight, asking a "weird" question to Anna about being married together. However later on in the story, Hans reveals his true self to Anna before he was about to kiss her, and is actually a fairly cruel, self-centered, and unscrupulous sociopath who attempted to kill Queen Elsa at the end. Notably though, his affable nature was not a complete facade, as he maintained a cordial tone even after showing his true nature and also seemed to care about the men under him to a degree, though this too could have been an act.

Cold, conniving, and quick, Hans is a devilish prince with a hunger for admiration, power, obedience, and honor. Being the youngest sibling of thirteen princes, Hans spent a portion of his life being ignored and denied a proper inheritance, something he reveals to Anna during their first night together. This neglect likely led to Hans' villainous transformation over time. Though he appears to be noble to the fullest extent, Hans is in actuality a master manipulator. Through his charm and charisma alone, he is able to fool both Anna and Elsa as well as the entire kingdom of Arendelle and its visiting royals, providing excellent proof of his dangerous power of manipulation.

Like many villains, Hans is very power-hungry, willingly visiting Arendelle to murder Elsa and rule the kingdom via marrying Anna, revealing his only desire is to become king, and is willing to get rid of those who stand in the way of this goal. However, his manipulation and facade can be at times too perfect, as his overly-benevolent impersonation during his first meeting is a road to questioning his motivations, and Elsa and Kristoff are not as easily fooled by his affable nature as Anna was. In fact, both rightly questioned the wisdom in Anna's desire to marry Hans when she knew nothing about him. He appears to be rather arrogant as well, chuckling and smirking to himself whilst revealing his dark plans to Anna, as she is freezing to death right before his eyes.

It is clear Hans' goal to rule as king was to gain that which he felt was owed to him. Confirmation of this is seen during Hans' betrayal, where he tells Anna he'll be the hero that saves Arendelle from destruction once Elsa's slain, showing excitement for the oncoming praise. He is also very abusive, though verbally more so than physically, as he constantly torments Anna and Elsa merely through words after his dark side is revealed. Examples of this can be seen when he and Anna are in the parlor, and the prince constantly taunts the dying princess, as well as in the fjord during the confrontation with Elsa, as Hans decides to further Elsa's suffering by telling her Anna has died, wanting to add that much more harm to her before his attempt to kill her. Hans' most powerful trait is quite possibly his vast intelligence and incredible ability to lie. He's proven to be quick thinking, resourceful, and extremely diligent, being able to fool the entire kingdom without fail, even the Duke of Weselton, whom Hans holds a disliking to that only seemed to increase throughout the film.

However, unlike many Disney villains, Hans constantly has to change his plot accordingly with the shifting events that takes place in the film, without letting loose his villainous nature. All of this is particularly due to Elsa and her newly revealed magical nature, who was the first target for his plan, but had to switch to Anna when he heard of her desire to keep her distance from people, unaware of her powers over winter. Such as Elsa's deadly curse upon Anna leaving Hans with the option of taking over the kingdom without marrying Anna, as well as after Elsa's self-imposed exile after her powers were revealed, where he decides to kill her openly to seem like a hero in the eyes of Arendelle's citizens, gaining their trust and admiration for saving their kingdom.

Gallery

Pictures

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Hans's Evil Grin.

The book version of Hans revealing who he really is

The book version of Hans about to kill Elsa.

Prince Hans about to gleefully and remorselessly kill Queen Elsa.

Hans and Marshmallow

Prince Hans Animated Style

Hans getting furious because of the escape of Queen Elsa.

Hans rising to power.

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Hans is about to close the door on Anna.

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Hans smiles at the dying Anna.

Hans.jpg

Hans putting his glove back on.

Videos

Frozen~Hans Betrays Anna (Full HD)

Quotes

“	As thirteenth in line in my own kingdom, I didn't stand a chance. I knew I'd have to marry into the throne somewhere. As heir, Elsa was preferable of course, but no one was getting anywhere with her. But you, you were so desperate for love, you were willing to marry me just like that! I figured after we married, I'd have to stage a little accident for Elsa. But then she doomed herself and you were dumb enough to go after her. All that's left now is to kill Elsa and bring back summer.	„
	~ Hans revealing his dark, evil plans to Anna.

“	Do not question the princess. She put me in charge and I will not hesitate to protect Arendelle against treason.	„
	~ Hans to the Duke of Weselton.

“	No. You're no match for Elsa. I, on the other hand, am the hero who's going to save Arendelle from destruction.	„
	~ Hans leaving Anna

“	If you would, just stop the winter. Bring back summer... please.	„
	~ Hans begging Elsa to stop the Winter

“	Your sister? She returned from the mountains, weak and cold... She said that you froze her heart. I tried to save her, but it was too late! Her skin was ice, her hair turned white... Your sister is dead, because of you!	„
	~ Hans lying to Elsa before attempting to kill her.

Trivia

• Ironically, Hans is named after Hans Christian Anderson, the author of The Snow Queen, which Frozen is based off.
• It is possible that Hans is based on the Evil Mirror from the original Snow Queen. In the original fairy tale, it is said that those who looked into this mirror, the negative aspects of their personality would come to the surface. And that if a glass shard of this mirror got into one's body, their heart would freeze as a result of their cold nature. The mirror in the story was pivotal for it had caused one of the protagonists, Kai, to become cold towards his friend Gerda (the inspiration for Anna).
  • The possibility of this is supported by the observation that Hans, when interacting with other people, adapts aspects of that persons personality into his own. He's effectively mirroring them, making him seem more approachable to different types of people, making it easy to manipulate them.
    • When interacting with Anna he's playful, kind, and maintains a positive attitude.
    • When interacting with Elsa he's noble, generous, patient, and soft spoken.
    • When interacting with the Duke of Weselton he's demanding, rude, and harsh.
  • Another possibility of this is supported by the fact that in the end of the film, Anna tells Hans that his heart is the only frozen heart, due to how cold and manipulative he is, directly referencing the effects of the Evil Mirror had on the people who looked into it.
  • Hans is also essentially the complete opposite (or a reflection of) many of the heroic characters in Frozen:
    • Princess Anna, for while both were shut out for many years, she actually wants to reconnect with her sister and would do anything to reconnect with her. Hans, on the other hand, was embittered by being ignored and overshadowed by his older brothers, and is willing to do anything, even treachery or murder, to gain respect and admiration.
    • Queen Elsa, for while she shuts Anna out, she does that to protect her. Hans, on the other hand, while he would never shut Anna out, he only does that so he has someone to trust, but then eventually shut her in so she can freeze to death.
    • Kristoff Bjorgman, for while very gruff and tough on the outside, he is actually kindhearted and caring on the inside. Hans, on the other hand, while seemingly kind of friendly, is actually cruel and ruthless.
    • Olaf the Snowman, who represented the love between Elsa and Anna, while Hans meanwhile represents the breaking of Elsa and Anna's bond. Another observation is that while Olaf is goofy and naive but is still affectionate, loving, and cares deeply for his friends, Hans, on the other hand, is classy, sophisticated and intelligent but is cold-hearted, ruthless and sadistic.
    • Sven, for while he is a loyal animal Hans is a traitorous human.
  • In an interview with Jennifer Lee, Lee confirms that Hans was partially based upon the concept of the evil mirror in the original story, as the original story had a lot to do with mirrors. So, as she explains, what Hans is is a mirror which appears charming to the person, but is hallow and sociopathic.
• In an original script of Frozen, Kristoff and Hans were supposed to engage in a fight during the movie's climax. This scene was later cut off from the final draft of the movie.
• He has some similarities to Griffith from Berserk as both are charismatic charming villains who plan to marry a Princess just to be King.
• He is the third villain in a "Disney Princess" movie not to die (the first being Lady Tremaine and Governor Ratcliffe being the second). Although Jafar did not die in the first Aladdin movie, he did in the second movie.
• Hans shares many similarities with Gaston from Beauty and the Beast:
  • Both are handsome.
  • Both are attracted in some way to the female protagonist.
  • Both tried to woo them.
  • Both tried to kill a person close to the protagonist who is considered a monster.
  • Both lead an army & both tried to become a "hero" by killing an innocent figure.
  • Unlike Gaston, Hans does not display any signs of sexism or being a jerk prior to revealing his true colors.
  • Unlike Gaston, Hans never boasts his plans in front of the public.
• The twist that Hans was the main villain is very similar to Sentinel Prime from Transformers: Dark of the Moon'. Both Hans and Sentinel share some similarities as well:
  • Similarities with Sentinel
    • Both initially introduced as major protagonists, but later revealed to be true main villain. (Duke of Weselton though to be main villain until Hans shows his true color while Shockwave (Transformers Film Series) also did though to be same until Sentinel brutally killed Ironhide and later usurps Decepticon, much to Megatron (Live-Action films)'s anger)
    • Both lead an army & both committed a deed that they claimed to be heroic , but in reality was delusional (Hans tries to kill Elsa who though to be a monster while Sentinel brought Cybertron to Earth and had mandkind slaved to "save it from both Cybertron and Cybertronians' destruction").
    • Both are manipulative toward other good guys in the movie, especially major protagonists whom deeply cares/respect with them. (Hans manipulated Anna who loved him while Sentinel manipulated Optimus Prime whom deeply respect him).
    • Both gained their commeupance that equals with damage that they caused at hand of protagonists.(Hans was punched by Anna before she and her allies had him incarcerated and brought to his domain kingdom while Sentinel was brutally shot at head by Optimus for damage he caused as well as marked him betrayed himself).
  • However, there are few things that made Hans apart from Sentinel:
    • Hans masterminded his evil plans to took over Anna's kingdom only simply gain advantage over other people's feelings, while Sentinel's whole sceme was far superior than Hans ever did:
      • Arrange his "death" at the moon which lured mankind to held expedition to the dark side of the moon, which other Decepticons uses this opportunity to temporary recruit some of them to their side until they were assasinated once no longer used to ensure whole scheme goes smoothly.
      • Had one of the Ark's reactor being experimented in Chernobyl that later experimented which results Chernobyl Incident, which the reactor itself left in the site as bait for Autobots to the moon by aid of both Shockwave and Driller later.
    • Han's damage that created by his plans was less, if not as disastrous as Sentinel's (Han's evil plans cause him no longer trusted by Anna and his friends as well as left the kingdom which he wished to conquer will trapped in everlasting blizzard if he succeed to kill Elsa as she was the only one who could stop it. Sentinel, on the other hand, already had most part of both Chicago and Cybertron annihilated when his evil plan foiled by protagonists. Worse, his damage later used by Harold Attinger as ruse to had government became enemies toward Autobots)
• He also shares similarities with Talia al Ghul, Both Hans and Sentinel share some similarities as well:'
  • Similarities with Talia:
    • Both initially introduced as major protagonists, until they were revealed to be evil (Prince Hans betraying Anna by leaving her to freeze to death, while Talia betrays Bruce by stapping him to save Bane).
    • Both were asked by the protagonists to keep watch of a certain place (Anna trusts Hans to protect Arendale, while Bruce trusts Talia under the alias of Miranda Tate, to keep Wayne Enterprizes from falling into enemy hands).
    • Both pretended to love the protagonist, only to betray them near the end of the film.
    • Both gained their commeupance that equals with damage that they caused at hand of protagonists.(Hans was punched by Anna before she and her allies had him incarcerated and brought to his domain kingdom while Talia was gunned down off the truck, before saying her father's work is done).
  • However, there are few things that made Hans apart from Talia:
    • Talia was the triggerman to blow up the bomb and the heir to the League of Shadows, although unknown if she is the main or secondary antagonist of The Dark Knight Rises, but it is implied that she shares the role of the main antagonist with Bane.
• Hans continues the tradition of a Disney villain who initially appears to be a friend, more specifically Cecil Clayton and Queen La from Tarzan, Rourke from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Stinky Pete from Toy Story 2, and Henry J. Waternoose III from Monsters, Inc, Charles Muntz from Up, and Lotso-Huggin' Bear from Toy Story 3. Like the villains mentioned above, he at first didn't show any signs that he was evil, though Elsa and Kristoff's both being suspicious of him could be considered foreshadowing.
• Originally, people thought Duke of Weselton was the main antagonist (even before the release). But it was later revealed that Hans is the real villain.
• Hans is the seventh male Disney Villain to appear in a Disney Princess film, first being Gaston, second being Jafar, third being Governor Ratcliffe, the fourth being Shan Yu, the fifth being Dr. Facilier, and the sixth being Mor'du. Of these villains, Hans is one of several who wanted to marry the main heroine for selfish reasons.
• Hans is the third Disney villain to be a prince, Prince John being the first and Mor'du being the second, though in the case of the latter he was a former prince.
• Before the film was released, Hans was rumored to be Elsa's love interest, even pairing the two in many fanfictions prior to the movie's release; In the movie itself he did want to marry her and make her his consort, but he saw that she was far too collected to become his queen and so decided to go after Anna instead. He even says this himself when he is quickening Anna's curse.
• Though not a Complete Monster, Hans, along with Man, Lady Tremaine and Lots-O' Huggin' Bear (though Lotso is regarded as a complete monster compared to the other three), has become one of the most hated Disney villains ever because of his treatment towards Princess Anna and Queen Elsa and in the process crossing the Moral Event Horizon.
  • Many more are angered over what they perceive to be a "breach in Disney tradition," in which a love interest has turned out evil. Indeed, his villain song "Love is an Open Door," is tactfully disguised as a love song, further fueling this sentiment.
• Objectively speaking, Hans is arguably one of the more sympathetic Disney Villains; he was neglected by his own family for years, living in the shadow of his brothers and presumably developing an intense psychological desire for attention and power so as to "prove" himself and validate his worth as a member of the royal family. It should also be noted that there is no indication that he would have necessarily been a bad or abusive king as far as the population at large was concerned; only his means of pursuing that goal were evil. He is still far surpassed by the likes of Denahi, however.
• A chess set is seen in the background when Hans is explaining his scheme to Anna and extinguishing the heat sources in the room, symbolizing his exploitation of her as a "pawn" in his plans and himself as a schemer in the vein of the "Chessmaster" archetype. This can make him a Symbolic Villain.
• Hans being the thirteenth brother is a reference to 13, the unlucky number which foreshadows his evil nature.
• According to Hans, he said that Anna was desperate to marry him, even though Hans brought the idea of their false marriage.
• In the official trailer for Big Hero 6, Prince Hans is shown on a wanted poster behind the police officer.