Jonas

“*I've been searching my whole life to find my own place.*”
―Hans
**Prince Hans of the Southern Isles** is the main antagonist of Disney's 2013 animated feature film *Frozen*. He is the youngest of thirteen sons, burdened with the inability to ascend his family's throne in the Southern Isles. Desperate for power and recognition, Hans plots to instead rule Arendelle as king through means of marriage and regicide.

Hans is loosely based on the Devil Troll Mirror from the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale *The Snow Queen*, while also subverting the "Prince Charming" archetype that is common in fairytales with his villainous nature.

## Background

Hans is the 13th prince from the Kingdom of the Southern Isles (a neighboring kingdom of Arendelle) and the youngest of the thirteen brothers born from the King and Queen of the desolate kingdom. Much of Hans' past is explored in the novel *A Frozen Heart*; throughout his early years, Hans received a concerning amount of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of his brothers, who treated him with minimal care due to being the youngest child of the clan. One brother, Lars, treated Hans with considerable difference and was apparently the only sibling in whom the thirteenth prince felt comfortable enough to trust and confide.

Hans' father, the commanding King of the Southern Isles, believed that the strong should pick on the weak, so in his eyes, his eldest sons bullying Hans was a show of strength. So while he admired his elder sons (especially the oldest), he thought little of Hans and viewed his youngest son with disgust and distrust. He was widely neglectful of Hans, going so much as to unabashedly acknowledge his lack of interest in his son's presence during family and diplomatic gatherings. Hans' mother, the Queen, was much more loving towards her son and would act as his only true motivation towards concealing his discomfort during family gatherings. Nevertheless, Hans grew to despise his family, specifically the majority of his brothers. He was still hopeful, however, of someday earning his father's respect; not only for the sake of being loved by his parent but to also be the appointed heir to the Southern Isles' throne. With such fantasies seeming impossible, especially due to being the thirteenth in line for the crown, Hans (with some influence by Lars) concocted a scheme to marry into the monarchy elsewhere. Should such an ambition succeed, he could escape his abusive family and finally prove himself as someone worthy of being a king.

After receiving word that Princess Elsa was scheduled to be crowned queen, and with no betrothed suitors, Hans sets his sights on the neighboring kingdom of Arendelle. With Elsa turning out to be an antisocial recluse, however, Hans instead targeted her lonely, less mature younger sister, Princess Anna. After his marriage to Anna, as the plan would go, Hans would kill Elsa and be crowned king thereafter, with Anna as his queen.

### Official Description

*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.*
### Personality

“*He's a chameleon who adapts to any environment to make the other characters comfortable.*”
―Animator Lino DiSalvo describing Hans' character in *The Art of Frozen*
Hans is a proud and extremely ambitious prince with a hunger for admiration and chivalrous honor. Despite his desirable appearance and seemingly opulent background, Hans is a victim of severe abuse at the hands of his brothers. This troubled upbringing developed Hans into a remorseless man, bent on bettering his life by acquiring power and the respect that comes along with it.

Hans is a physical representation of a silent killer. With a noble demeanor, he presents himself as someone others can trust and confide—a best friend, a significant other, or a reputable authority figure. By establishing himself as someone of virtue, Hans is able to observe his opponents and examine their deepest insecurities, which he would later use against them as a means of advancing his goals. These false impressions won over Anna, and the entirety of Arendelle, thus allowing Hans to seize the throne without giving any premonition of regicide.

Hans has several motivating factors to his schemes. Firstly, he has a selfish sense of entitlement, remorselessly believing it is his right to be king even if it means usurping someone else's throne. Secondly, he genuinely craves respect and recognition, having been denied both as a child. Lastly, Hans is power-hungry as he covets kingship and gets a twisted sense of pleasure from having someone's submission—as was the case with a vulnerable and deathly ill Anna.

Hans' most powerful asset is quite possibly his vast intelligence and incredible ability to lie, dissemble, and manipulate. He is proven to be quick-thinking, resourceful, and extremely diligent. However, unlike many Disney villains, Hans constantly has to change his plot accordingly with the shifting events that take place in the film without letting loose his villainous nature. This is indeed an interesting challenge for a Disney villain to tackle, thus adding to his level of intelligence, as he comes dangerously close to achieving his goal in spite of unstable circumstances.

Cold and cruel, Hans has a sympathetic origin, but lacks any characteristics one could call redeeming. Instead, he apathetically views others as mere stepping stones to his grand plans, and will callously lie, cheat, and kill his way into a position of sole power, regardless of the casualties made along the way.

### Physical appearance

Hans is of moderate stature and generally good-looking. Whilst he is well-built, he is not as broad-shouldered or as muscular as Kristoff (despite being older than him), though he is definitely physically accomplished, as he was able to defeat the hulking Marshmallow in single combat. He is well-versed in horsemanship and has tremendous sword fighting skills. It is also shown that he is skilled in using crossbows, or at least capable of diverting their fire when needed.

Hans has fair skin and a light dusting of freckles across his nose, auburn hair, sideburns, and "dreamy" green eyes. Throughout the film, he wears navy blue trousers, black boots, a magenta cravat, blue shirt, indigo vest, black epaulets, gold aiguillette, and a light gray-and-black blazer with patterns. This is reminiscent of a naval uniform and would be traditionally in keeping with royal siblings of lower birth entering military service.

During the day and night of the coronation, Hans dons a lighter version of his formal wear. It is a cream blazer with a yellow shirt underneath and red sash, with black boots, white stockings, red and golden designs and patterns, gold and red colored epaulets with golden fringe, and a matching cream ascot. This lighter-colored suit reflects Anna's warmer-colored clothing in turn. It is also worth noting that Hans is seen wearing this lighter-colored suit for a longer time period than his traditional suit, mainly due to him wearing it for the entirety of the coronation day and night, which features him most prominently in the movie.

While he is in control of the kingdom, to protect himself from the harsh winter, Hans dons a cloak resembling the castle guards' uniforms. However, as the patterning differs from the decorations on the Arendelle guardsmen cloaks and instead resembles the decorations on Hans' own gray tailcoat, and the Arendelle crocus emblem isn't seen anywhere on it, it's likely it's his own coat he brought with him from the Southern Isles. It's a dull, gray cloak with wavy patterns and a purple interior. In Elsa's palace, however, it appears to have more of a green shade.

## Appearances

### *Frozen*

Once the Southern Isles is given word of Queen Elsa's coronation, Hans is the royal representative that attends in honor of his kingdom. He arrives on the day of the event with his horse Sitron, whom he accidentally runs into Princess Anna. Using his grace and charm, Hans immediately woos the lovesick princess. Their little flirtation is cut to an end, however, when they hear the bells for the queen's coronation. As Anna runs off, Hans realizes he has found the perfect tool for his plot to obtain kingship. Moments later, Hans attends Queen Elsa's crowning, waving to Anna as he watches alongside the other visiting royals and dignitaries. Later on that night, a ball is held in honor of the new queen, and Hans appears at the celebration party. There, he invites Anna to a romantic waltz after "coincidentally" bumping into her once again.

The romantic dance leads to an entire "date". During their time together, Hans learns of Anna's longing of having someone special in her life, as her sister apparently developed a dislike of her. To Anna's relief, Hans promises to never shut her out, unlike Elsa. By the end of their date, Hans works up the courage to propose, which Anna immediately accepts. They then return to the party to ask for Queen Elsa's blessing. Elsa bluntly refuses, stating that Anna should not marry someone she just met. Heartbroken, Anna confronts her sister, but this causes the queen's powers over ice and snow to be revealed, much to Hans's surprise. To protect the kingdom from her powers, Elsa flees. In her haste, she accidentally sets off an eternal winter. Anna volunteers to go after Elsa, but Hans is not too fond of the idea, knowing that his plot would be ruined if something were to befall Anna as they weren't married yet. Anna insists that Hans stays behind to rule during her absence, to which the prince immediately agrees.

It isn't long before Arendelle becomes an icy wasteland, with citizens becoming weak due to the frigid temperatures and also for being unprepared for the winter weather. Hans takes advantage of the situation to endear himself to the people, serving as a dependable ruler by offering blankets and hot food. The Duke of Weselton scolds Hans for his actions, believing the kingdom's attention should be focused on taking action against Elsa and ending the curse. When Hans reiterates Anna's specific orders, he's met with more suspicion from the Duke, who openly believes Anna to be conspiring with Elsa to doom the land, which angers Hans to the point of threatening the Duke with arrest for treason against the crown. Suddenly, Anna's horse rushes into the city, riderless and in a panic. Hans is able to calm the animal and quickly gathers that Anna's absence is a sign of danger. Needing Anna in order to complete his plot, Hans calls forth an army of volunteers to travel into the mountains in search of the princess. The Duke volunteers his two bodyguards to join the expedition, with orders to "put an end" to the winter by slaying the queen.

Hours after their departure from Arendelle, Hans and his army find Elsa's ice palace, and are almost instantly attacked by Elsa's guard, Marshmallow. Hans battles against the snow beast, and manages to slice Marshmallow's left leg clean off, causing the creature to stumble into a chasm. With him out of the way, Hans and the others rush inside to find Anna, but she is nowhere to be found. Instead, they find Elsa seconds away from killing the Duke's bodyguards. Hans is able to stop her, but one of the thugs attempts to strike her with his crossbow. Hans interferes and causes the bolt to shoot upward to Elsa's chandelier, causing it to crash down, and the impact knocks Elsa unconscious. Captured, Elsa is imprisoned in Arendelle's dungeon. With the winter curse spiraling out of all control, Hans visits Elsa and pleads for her to bring back summer. Elsa confesses that she doesn't know how, and begs to be released for the safety of Arendelle. Hans only claims he will "do what he can".

In the parlor, Hans prepares to head back into the mountains to search for Anna, still needing her marriage to legitimize his hold on the throne. Just then, Anna suddenly returns—weak, cold, and white-haired. She explains that she was struck in the heart by Elsa and can only be saved by "an act of true love"—a kiss. With a sadistic smirk, Hans rejects Anna, and instead plots to use her imminent death as reason to execute Elsa. Hans extinguishes any source of warmth within the room to quicken Anna's death while smugly explaining his matured plot to become King of Arendelle. With his control over the throne all but assured, Hans leaves Anna to die by locking her within the room to prevent her from escaping. Hans, with feigned grief, then returns to the other dignitaries and announces Anna's death at the hands of Elsa. Hans also adds that he and Anna were able to say their marriage vows before the latter's passing, thus leaving the kingdom in his hands.

Now in total command of Arendelle, Hans charges Elsa with treason and sentences her to death. Alongside the royal guards, Hans makes way to the dungeon, where they find that Elsa has escaped. Furious, Hans decides to take matters into his own hands and goes into the storm to confront Elsa and end the winter himself. When he finds her on the fjord, Hans breaks the news of Anna's death (despite his "efforts" to save her) and blames Elsa for the tragedy. Devastated, Elsa falls onto her knees, which provides Hans with the opportunity to end her. Before Hans is able to give the killing strike, however, Anna blocks the prince's blow and freezes over just before the sword strikes her. The shockwave caused by the curse shatters the blade of Hans' sword, knocks him off his feet, and renders him unconscious.

Following Hans's downfall, Elsa discovers the means necessary to undo her eternal winter and uses it to thaw Arendelle. As Hans finally regains consciousness and struggles to his feet, Kristoff moves in to attack him, but Anna stops him to confront Hans herself. The sight of Anna alive and well confuses Hans, prompting him to ask how she had survived the frozen heart curse — to which the princess responded by saying that Hans is the only one with a "frozen heart" and punching the prince in the face, knocking him into the waters of the fjord. Humiliated and defeated, Hans is arrested and imprisoned aboard the brig of a French ship by the royal guards. The French dignitary aboard the ship assures Kai that Hans will be returned to the Southern Isles, where he will face an unspecified punishment at the hands of his brothers.

### *Frozen Fever*

Hans makes a brief appearance near the end of the short. Part of his punishment is revealed to be working at the royal stables of the Southern Isles, shoveling manure.

When Elsa sneezes into an oversized bukkehorn, a giant snowball is launched from Arendelle, all the way to the Southern Isles, where it nails Hans right into a cart of manure, burying and humiliating him as the horses take notice of this and laugh at him, much to his annoyance.

### *Frozen II*

Hans is mentioned and alluded to several times. His actions (more specifically, his crimes against Anna) are the subject of ridicule by the other characters. During a game of charades, Anna acts out the role of a villain, prompting Olaf to guess “Hans”. This leads to rounds of insults by Olaf, Elsa, and Kristoff at the prince's expense.

Later, Anna recounts having to save Elsa from Hans while trying to convince Elsa not to go alone on the journey into the Enchanted Forest, in which she refers to him as her “ex-boyfriend”. Later, when meeting the Northuldra, Olaf introduces the group by recounting the events of the first *Frozen*, including the part where Hans betrays Anna. This comes as a great shock to Lieutenant Mattias.

Finally, when Elsa is traversing Ahtohallan, snowy manifestations of figures from her, her friends, and her family's pasts appear. Upon seeing Hans' depiction, Elsa, still bitter towards him due to his previous actions against her and Anna, gives a look of disgust and uses her powers to crumble the figure out of spite.

### Other appearances

Hans makes two cameo appearances in the 2014 animated feature film *Big Hero 6*. He is first seen on a "Wanted" poster at the San Fransokyo police station, behind the desk of Sergeant Gerson. Later on, a statue of Hans is briefly seen in the garden of Fred's mansion, which is eventually destroyed by Baymax during a testing session for his rocket fists.

An emoticon version of Hans appeared in the *Frozen* and *Frozen Fever* entries of the *As Told by Emoji* short series. During the curtain call for the former, he appeared alongside the rest of the cast, but in chains. In the latter, he had a humiliating cameo after the credits.

## Printed media

### *Conceal, Don't Feel (A Twisted Tale)*

In an alternate take on events where all knowledge of Anna had to be erased to protect her from an unintended curse, Hans is shown explicitly collaborating with the Duke of Weselton as part of a plan to inveigle himself in Elsa's life in hopes of becoming her king. However, while Elsa considers him a good friend (which could possibly become more) she doesn't feel like she is ready to consider marriage at this time. As in the film, Hans eventually attempts to stage a coup when Elsa loses control of her powers after finding Anna, but he never manages to establish a relationship with her as Anna is more focused on finding the now-missing princess, even before she learns of her true relationship to Elsa. As in canon, Hans's true agenda is eventually exposed and Elsa sends him back to the southern isles to face judgment by his brothers for his actions.

## Live-action appearances

### *Once Upon a Time*

Hans is portrayed by Tyler Jacob Moore. He first appears in the episode "Rocky Road". The portrayal of Hans being in collaboration with his brothers in his plots differs greatly from his implied standing with his family in the film, though they still mock him as the youngest. Hans is also more sadistic and cruel, sincerely considering Elsa as a "monster" and a "freak" and even taunts Anna of possibly suffering death under the same circumstances as her mother.

In a time frame set two years after the events equivalent to the events of *Frozen* and one year before the first Dark Curse within the general *Once* timeline, he is first mentioned by Elsa when she warned Anna about leaving Arendelle vulnerable to Hans and his twelve brothers, who are waiting and plotting to take over the kingdom as revenge for his previous defeat.

Sometime after Anna left for Mist Haven (the Enchanted Forest), in her quest to find out the mystery of their parents' tragic voyage, Hans and his army, which consists of his twelve older brothers, had set up camp in the Southern Mountains on their way to Arendelle. His brothers still belittle him for being the lowest in line, and they add insult to the injury by bringing up his failed attempt to seize Arendelle's throne during his previous encounter there. He lashes back, stating that he wasn't prepared the last time, but he found something that will help him. Unbeknownst to all of them, Anna's fiancé Kristoff was spying on them and discovered their plan: they will use a mysterious urn located in a cave within the North Valley that's capable of trapping people with magical powers, such as Elsa, then take Arendelle once she's out of the way. Though Elsa and Kristoff beat Hans to the powerful urn, he and three volunteering brothers managed to catch up.

Even though they managed to dispatch his brothers, Hans holds Kristoff at sword point. He demands Elsa to either give him the urn or Kristoff will die. Unable to let Kristoff be killed, Elsa ultimately gives Hans the urn while pleading for her future brother-in-law to find Anna and save the kingdom. After Hans obtains the urn and showing off his success to his brothers, he uncaps its lid and pours out a white liquid substance. As it was heading towards Elsa to likely trap her, Hans gloated his supposed victory, coldly stating in a smug tone that her kingdom will be glad to have a real ruler instead of a monster like her. Just as the liquid substance is about to latch onto Elsa, it suddenly changes direction and morphs into a woman, Ingrid the Snow Queen. Offended by his earlier insult, she then freezes Hans into an ice statue as punishment for his cruelty, leaving his shocked brothers to flee.

Later, Ingrid brings both the urn and Hans' frozen body back to the castle and place them in a wardrobe in her old room, where Elsa and Anna, who had returned from the Enchanted Forest and was imprisoned by the Snow Queen, would eventually find them. Shocked at the sight of her ex-fiancé, Anna goes onto the defensive before realizing he's frozen. Elsa calmly comments Hans' condition is the one good thing their crafty aunt's done after her freedom before moving on with their plan to retrap her.

Thirty years later, when Ingrid is in Storybrooke finally casting her Spell of Shattered Sight on its inhabitants, Hans had thawed out and managed to claim Arendelle as his kingdom. He and his brothers barged in on Anna and Kristoff, who were discussing a plan to save Elsa from Rumplestiltskin. Feigning the notion that Anna had overthrown her sister, Hans decided to have her and Kristoff arrested for treason. After claiming that the freezing of Arendelle is Elsa's doing, Anna objected that Elsa wasn't responsible, as Ingrid had done. Hans claims to doubt, likely not caring as her sister and aunt both have ice magic. Before he can have the couple taken away, Anna and Kristoff fight their way out and escape. In an effort to catch them, Hans buys Blackbeard's compliance with gold to corner Anna and Kristoff. The plan works when after the deal is struck, Hans and his brothers suddenly appear and trap Anna and Kristoff. Later, Hans takes the couple to a spot out at sea known as Poseidon's Boneyard, the exact spot where the ship that once carried Anna and Elsa's parents went down. He coldly remarks that it's fitting that Anna will die in the same place under the same circumstances as her mother did, wishing they'd never helped Elsa. After having Kristoff and Anna placed in a trunk to prevent any possible rescue by a mermaid, and annoyed by her panicking hysterically when he tells them how much time has passed since Elsa is still trapped in the urn, Hans and Blackbeard have the two tossed overboard.

Later, Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff return to Arendelle via a magic portal from the Sorcerer's Storybrooke mansion and dethrone Hans off-screen, Anna punching him again, this time in the eye while doing so. It's unknown if Hans was either exiled from the kingdom or imprisoned.