History Characters / FrozenHans

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: In ''A Frozen Heart''. Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa [[DramaticIrony don't know what Hans's upbringing was like,]] especially because he hasn't told them much and, aware he can be manipulative and dishonest, they don't know if they can trust even what he has. [[DiscussedTrope They wonder if it played a role in his decisions, but ultimately conclude Hans should take responsibility for his crimes instead of blaming others.]]

* DidntThinkThisThrough: He's impulsively prone to this in ''A Frozen Heart''. Because of his do-whatever-it-takes-to-get-my-goal attitude, he never thought of things going wrong or his plans failing, [[DebateAndSwitch and he even chastises himself for it]], [[IgnoredEpiphany yet still goes on with his plans]]. For example:
** When he decides to talk with his father about going to Arendelle, he forgot to realize the king hated him for being a weakling, and even thought of turning back. But he was still determined of earning his father's respect, believing that if he wants to earn his father's trust in going to Arendelle, then he must follow whatever order the king may give, even if it involved violence.

** He then proposes to Anna after knowing her for hours, not realizing that Elsa won't bless a marriage between two people who just met. Also, even he was initially reluctant on agreeing to a FourthDateMarriage with Anna, wondering how others would react to this, but those doubts are quickly quashed.
** He agrees to stay behind in Arendelle to take care of the people so that he can have a chance to be in charge, only to quickly learn when Anna's horse returns that if she died, then no one would be able to convince Elsa to stop her winter. Add to the fact that if nobody found Elsa or Anna, he would have to contend with a rebellion in his hands, not to mention derailing his plans.

* SayingTooMuch: In ''A Frozen Heart''. When dancing with Anna and she says he makes her look graceful, he says without thinking that she makes him look happy. He quickly back-pedals and changes the subject before Anna can ask him what he means.

* FatalFlaw: In ''A Frozen Heart'', [[TheDeterminator desperation]]. [[IgnoredEpiphany Despite knowing what he's doing is morally wrong, he still goes through it]]. Being abused by his family for his meekness slowly becomes the breaking point, and it ultimately pushes him into pursuing a pursuing a nigh-impossible and obsessive goal of winning the respect of them, but it also made him unaware that no matter how many times he tried to do it, they still saw him [[DisappointedInYou as good-for-nothing]]. It also leads Hans to corrupt his own morals while serving as his father's gofer, committing things he originally and ironically hated, including attempted regicide. [[AllForNothing As such]], the time he spent prepping up on going to Arendelle were wasted because he couldn't contain his WellDoneSonGuy issues, and chose the easier route without realizing the consequences of what he did and began engaging in unnecessary cruelty like that encouraged by his family.

[[center: [[Characters/{{Frozen}} Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/FrozenArendelle Arendelle]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnna Anna]] | [[Characters/FrozenElsa Elsa]] | '''Hans''' | [[Characters/FrozenWeselton Weselton]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnimals Animals]] | [[Characters/FrozenMagicalCreatures Magical Creatures]] | [[Characters/FrozenExtendedMedia Extended Media Exclusive]] | [[Characters/FrozenSouthernIsles A Frozen Heart Exclusive]] ]]

* AntiVillain: In ''A Frozen Heart'', he's initially motivated by wanting to escape the [[BlackAndGrayMorality horrible physical and emotional abuse of his family]].

* OpportunisticBastard: By his own admission, Hans developed his scheme as he went along. At first, he had his eyes set on marrying Elsa, but settled on Anna after she revealed she was in love with him. Next, he tries to murder Anna and just take over the kingdom directly. He always takes the path that will benefit him the most, as quickly as possible.
* OutsideContextProblem: For the majority of the film, ''Frozen'' plays out like a fantasy-inclined ComingOfAgeStory, where everyone is reacting to Elsa's out of control magic. The reason his scheming goes so unnoticed, even by the audience, is that when a SuperpowerMeltdown is threatening to lock the country in an eternal winter, no one is really thinking about laws of succession and available heirs except for him.
* PeerPressureMakesYouEvil: In ''A Frozen Heart''. He was often ignored by his father for not having the spine to retaliate against his brothers. As a result, he decides that if he wants their acceptance, then he'll have to mirror their behavior and follow whatever orders they give.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Upon revealing his true nature to Anna, he ''himself'' makes fun of her for being so desperate for love that she agreed to marry him "just like that", which made his plan that much easier.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Say what you want about him or his morals, he's very good at keeping the lid on things once Elsa bailed out after her powers were revealed while Anna goes after her, running the kingdom for the sisters in their absence. Of course, he's a villainous example of the trope, but from what we're shown, he appears to be quite good at the job and at convincing the other characters he's a good leader.

* SayingTooMuch: In ''A Frozen Heart''. When dancing with Anna and she says he makes her look good, he says without thinking that she makes him look happy. He quickly back-pedals and changes the subject before Anna could ask him what he meant. This adds to the idea that Hans may indeed have depression and not sociopathy.

* EyeTake: During the song "Love is an Open Door," there's a [[FreezeFrameBonus split-second of hidden confusion]] on his face when Anna completes his line [[FinishingEachOthersSentences "We finish each other's" with the word "sandwiches." He then backpedals and exclaims that's just what [[ExactWords he was going to say]], but for a split-second his facial expression seems to scream "What did she just say?"

* TheCameo: In ''Disney/BigHero6'', his photo can be seen on the police desk when Hiro tries reporting Yokai to the police. Later, Baymax also destroys a statue of him at Fred's house.
** [[https://hissouthernisles.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/list-of-frozen-references-and-connections-in/ His character model]] was used to help determine the height differences between humans and animals during the development for ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}''. A pastry shop named after him also appears when Duke Weaselton crashes into a giant donut.

* ShoutOut: His name is a direct reference to the creator of the story that the film is based on: "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Anderson.

* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Inverted with Hans. After Elsa flees the kingdom in panic and Anna goes after her, he is given the authority to take care of the people in Arendelle. Despite his status as an EvilPrince who attempts regicide against the sisters, he proved himself to be a far better ruler[[note]]Examples include giving blankets to citizens, going after Anna when he notice she is missing, and also tries to reason with the former queen and only decides to execute her when he realize the she cannot stop the EndlessWinter[[/note]] compared to the Queen of Arendelle whose first act after the coronation is to supposedly freeze over all of Arendelle and abandon the kingdom, leaving the populace to suffer. This is expanded upon in ''A Frozen Heart'': due to the tyranny he saw back home, he's determined to be a better king than his father, despite using questionable means to achieve his goals.

** [[https://hissouthernisles.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/list-of-frozen-references-and-connections-in/ His character model]] was used to help determine the height differences between humans and animals during the development for ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}''.

* EyeTake: During the song "Love is an Open Door," there's a [[FreezeFrameBonus split-second of hidden confusion]] on his face when Anna completes his line about how people who are in love [[FinishingEachOthersSentences finish each other's - sandwiches.]] He then backpedals and exclaims that's just what [[ExactWords he was going to say.]] Sure, he's an evil jerk, but his facial expression seems to scream "What did she just say?"

** In ''A Frozen Heart'', he didn't seem to have anyone except his family, who were physically and emotionally abusive. His father actually encourages his sons to be violent, which is presented as a FreudianExcuse for Hans. The closest to support he had were Lars and his mother, but neither of them were close enough to help him get through life.

** If one were to count the amount of time he appears onscreen in a different outfit, then it would turn out he spent more time in the coronation clothes than his grey coat or the pictured blue shirt and pants. And yet it's the only outfit he's never actually seen doing anything remotely evil onscreen.

->'''Appears in:''' ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' | ''Disney/FrozenFever'' | ''Disney/BigHero6''[[note]]cameo only[[/note]]
->'''Appearances in alternate continuities:''' ''Series/OnceUponATime'' | ''Videogame/FrozenFreeFall''

** The book ''A Frozen Heart'' expands upon this, showing his homeland as a [[CrapsackWorld terrible place]] of MightMakesRight with his family outright abusing him to the point that he is heavily implied to SelfHarm, thinking to himself that he can deal with "physical pain" as he catches splinters from a table. By the time the movie takes place, he's been abused for so long that he now thinks it's perfectly ''normal'' and it seems that he suffers from depression and a massive inferiority complex as a result from it. Despite his initial unwillingness to hurt anyone, he starts to use violence against the Southern Isles population as a means to get respect from his father. And once he gets a taste of power from controlling Arendelle in Elsa's absence, it slowly poisons his mind and he eventually adopts his family's way of thinking.

* PrinceCharming: He invokes this trope to appeal to Anna's romanticism. In truth, he is [[PrinceCharmless anything but charming]]. His character is a major subversion of the classical Disney Prince.
* PrinceCharmless: What he turned out to be at the end, as he's a major subversion and deconstruction of the classical Disney PrinceCharming.
** However, this itself is deconstructed in ''A Frozen Heart'', exploring how growing up in an abusive royal family with SocialDarwinist values slowly turned him into [[TheCynic a cynical and selfish man]] who thinks LoveIsAWeakness.

** When he and Anna are announcing their engagement to Elsa, he briefly sports an OhCrapSmile after Anna declares she wants to invite his entire family to the wedding. Clearly, it's a sign he doesn't get along with them.

** The book ''A Frozen Heart'' expands upon this, showing his homeland as a [[CrapsackWorld terrible place]] of MightMakesRight with his family outright abusing him to the point that he is heavily implied to SelfHarm, saying that physical pain is easier to deal with than the emotional turmoil they put him through. By the time the movie takes place, he's been abused for so long that he now thinks it's perfectly ''normal'' and it seems that he suffers from depression and a massive inferiority complex as a result from it. Despite his initial unwillingness to hurt anyone in the first place, he starts to use violence against the Southern Isles population as a means for Hans to get respect from his father. And once he gets his first taste of real power from controlling Arendelle in Elsa's absence, it slowly poisons his mind and he eventually adopts his family's way of thinking. However, at the end of the book, since Hans lied about everything so incessantly, Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa think he [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse should take responsibility for his actions]] instead of blaming his family.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Deconstructed in ''A Frozen Heart''. Since Hans lied too much, Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa think he should take responsibility for his crimes instead of blaming others. [[DramaticIrony What they are totally unaware]], is that they just sent him back to a place that is a literal hellhole on Earth, meaning that the King of the Southern Isles [[KarmaHoudini continues to make his youngest son's life even worse than before]].
* FreudianSlip: Has one in the beginning. When Anna is asked by the Duke if she has powers as well, Hans is quick to parrot her when she describes herself as "completely ordinary", only to back-pedal and assure her that he [[BlatantLies meant it in the most inoffensive way possible.]]
* FriendlessBackground: In ''A Frozen Heart'', he didn't seem to have anyone except his family, who were physically and emotionally abusive. His father actually encouraged his sons to be violent, which is presented as a FreudianExcuse for Hans. The closest to support he had were Lars and his mother, but neither of them were close enough to help him get through life.

* GlorySeeker: In ''A Frozen Heart''. Due to his WellDoneSonGuy issues, he's dedicated into proving his worth to his neglectful family by gaining a kingdom of his own, and promptly rubbing it in their faces. But sadly, he takes it too far to the point he uses underhanded tactics such as attempted regicide to become king.
* GoldDigger: He arrives in Arendelle for the purpose of wooing and ultimately marrying into the kingdom's royal family so he can rule a kingdom of his own.

* IWasOnlyPretendingToLikeYou: He faked his romance with Anna so that she can unwittingly hand over Arendelle to him. With Anna dying from the curse, he tweaks it to YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness once she’s not of any use to him.

** The book ''A Frozen Heart'' expands upon this, showing his homeland as a [[CrapsackWorld terrible place]] of MightMakesRight with his family outright abusing him to the point that he is heavily implied to SelfHarm, saying that physical pain is easier to deal with than the emotional turmoil they put him through. By the time the movie takes place, he's been abused for so long that he now thinks it's perfectly ''normal'' and it seems that he suffers from depression and a massive inferiority complex as a result from it. Despite his initial unwillingness to hurt anyone in the first place, he starts to use violence against the Southern Isles population as a means for Hans to get respect from his father. And once he gets his first taste of real power from controlling Arendelle in Elsa's absence, it slowly poisons his mind and he eventually adopts his family's way of thinking.

* FatalFlaw: In ''A Frozen Heart'', [[TheDeterminator desperation]]. At times, [[IgnoredEpiphany he realizes what he's doing is morally wrong yet he still goes through it]]. Being abused by his family for his meekness slowly becomes the breaking point and [[WellDoneSonGuy ultimately pushes him into pursuing a pursuing a nigh-impossible and obsessive goal of winning the respect of them]], but it also made him unaware that no matter how many times he tried to do it, they still saw him [[DisappointedInYou as good-for-nothing]]. It also leads Hans to corrupt his own morals while serving as his father's gofer, committing things he originally and ironically hated, including attempted regicide. [[AllForNothing As such]], the time he spent prepping up on going to Arendelle were wasted because he couldn't contain his WellDoneSonGuy issues, and chose the easier route without realizing the consequences of what he did and began engaging in unnecessary cruelty like that encouraged by his family.

** And in ''A Frozen Heart'', he felt slightly hesitant about this, wondering if he's going way too fast and how his family would react — his father would call him an idiot, while Lars would say that this was done too hastily. But then, these self-doubts are overridden by his goal to seize control of Arendelle.

* FreudianExcuse: WordOfGod confirms one thing that wasn't a lie was his [[AloofOlderBrother twelve older brothers]]' unpleasant treatment of him and that this did play a role in his becoming a villain.

** However, this is deconstructed in ''A Frozen Heart'', exploring how growing up in an abusive royal family with SocialDarwinist values slowly turned him into [[TheCynic a cynical man]] who thinks LoveIsAWeakness.

* HonorRelatedAbuse: RareMaleExample, as shown in ''Frozen Fever''. Having caused dishonor to his family after what he did in Arendelle, they condemned Hans to shoveling manure as part of his punishment, and stripped him of his noble privileges.
* {{Hypocrite}}: In ''A Frozen Heart'', he vowed not to be like his family and willingly use violence as the chief means to an end. Yet, near the end of the book, Hans is determined to uphold their legacy and murder two innocent women for his own ends. And years of being on the receiving end of cruel pranks, he acknowledges this himself when he does the same to Anna when she needs him to kiss her. Also, despite hating his father and brothers for their [[AwfulWeddedLife terrible treatment of female family members]], he [[BreakThemByTalking verbally torments]] and almost kills Anna and Elsa in his bid for power.
* IAmNotMyFather: Subverted in ''A Frozen Heart''. Hans vows not to be like his family, but his desire to win their respect leads him to take on behavior of their that he had disapproved of, including using violence to support his power.

[[center: [[Characters/{{Frozen}} Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/FrozenArendelle Arendelle]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnna Anna]] | [[Characters/FrozenElsa Elsa]] | '''Hans''' | [[Characters/FrozenWeselton Weselton]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnimals Animals]] | [[Characters/FrozenMagicalCreatures Magical Creatures]] | [[Characters/FrozenExtendedMedia Extended Media]] | [[Characters/FrozenSouthernIsles A Frozen Heart Exclusive]] ]]

* AllThereInTheManual: His last name is never spoken in the film. [[WordOfGod Jennifer Lee]] revealed it to be Westergaard and all media that features Hans since then, namely ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', uses this.
* AlmostKiss: An incredibly and notoriously cruel example: dying from a curse, Anna believes TrueLovesKiss will save her, and tries to initiate one with Hans... only for him to pause and say "[[WhamLine Oh Anna... if only there was someone out there who loved you.]]"

* AlwaysSecondBest: In ''A Frozen Heart''. Hans' father saw his youngest son as an useless spare and weakling compared to his twelve older sons, as while he is smart and intelligent, they are far more effective, ruthless, skilled and managed to woo eligible maidens much quicker than he was, something which Hans agrees on, and as a result, developed an [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex inferiority complex]]. To counter this, Hans tries to emulate them by becoming the king's gofer before setting off to Arendelle in the hopes of surprising and upstaging his brothers by getting a throne more quickly and effectively by himself, and with this newfound power, he hoped to transform Arendelle from a backwater country into a power capable of fending off external threats, combined with forcing his father to recognize him on an equal footing, while his twelve older brothers would now have to respect him as a sovereign. But his hasty desire to become king and [[WellDoneSonGuy get his family's respect]] backfires on him, and he's now back in the same Hell he wanted to escape in the first place.

** In ''A Frozen Heart'': His father and brothers compared him to a mouse, which is generally seen as weak and not useful, even though they're very clever and industrious. They often claimed that the Westergaards should be "lions, not mice".
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Inverted in ''A Frozen Heart''. Except for one, who tried to help him leave home to find a better life, he saw most of his older brothers as obnoxious {{Big Brother Bull|y}}ies.
* AnnoyingArrows: Played straight and averted when Hans shows up at Elsa's ice palace. His mens' crossbow bolts barely tickle Marshmallow and are like being injected with needles, but this is averted with Elsa, as she has to block and deflect those shot at her.

[[center: [[Characters/{{Frozen}} Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/FrozenArendelle Arendelle]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnna Anna]] | [[Characters/FrozenElsa Elsa]] | [[Characters/FrozenSouthernIsles Southern Isles]] | '''Hans''' | [[Characters/FrozenWeselton Weselton]] | [[Characters/FrozenExtendedMedia Extended Media]] ]]

* AmbiguousSituation: In ''A Frozen Heart'', it's never clear if Hans actually killed anyone. That said, he still took no joy in doing his father's dirty work.

** Averted in ''A Frozen Heart'', as it's implied he actually perceives himself as a loser, and hides his flaws by acting this way.

* PrimaryColorChampion: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted.]] Though he wears a red scarf to match the blue clothing under his white coat, which has golden accents, it actually does not detract from his villainous intentions in any way. He even invokes this trope to appeal to catch Anna's attention.

* FriendlessBackground: In ''A Frozen Heart'', he didn't seem to have anyone except his family. Within his family, he was the proverbial BlackSheep and ExtremeDoormat — his father and older brothers saw him as an inept coward who couldn't stand up to the abuse they throw at him. In fact, three of his brothers even pretended he was nonexistent for ''two years'', not to mention subjecting him to extensive emotional and physical turmoil. The closest to support he had were Lars and his mother, but neither of them were close enough to help him get through life. [[FreudianExcuse Being neglected all his life wound up being the source of his issues.]]

* GrewASpine: Played with in ''A Frozen Heart''. After years spent as his father's gofer, he begins choosing his own path in Arendelle. However, he still chooses this path in pursuit of his obsessive goal of winning his distant father's respect. It ultimately proves to be self-destructive, and he's now in a worse condition than before, as shown in ''Frozen Fever''.

* IThoughtYouWereDead: He has a confused reaction to Anna surviving the frozen heart curse. Anna, no longer fooled by his faked charms, instead chews him out on his selfishness by telling that he's the only one around with a metaphorical "frozen heart."

** Averted in ''A Frozen Heart'', in which it's implied he actually sees himself as a loser, and hides his flaws by acting this way.

* PlotIrrelevantVillain: He is largely indirect from the conflict with the eternal winter, taking advantage of a situation instead of causing it, with his main purpose being someone for Anna to protect Elsa from and peform an ActOfTrueLove. A strange example, as there is a reason for Hans ''existing'' (to inadvertently start off the conflict by trying to take the throne), but not much reason for him being a villain besides being part of the moral about true love.

* PrimaryColorChampion: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted.]] Though he wears a red scarf to match the blue clothing under his white coat, which has golden accents, this color scheme actually does not detract from his villainous intentions in any way.

* TokenGoodTeammate: Acts as {{Downplayed}} one for his family in ''A Frozen Heart''. He's easily one of the most moral members of the royal family of the Southern Isles. [[ClassicVillain And given all of the things he does in the film,]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards that says quite a bit]] about just how [[BigScrewedUpFamily bad the Southern Isles royals are.]]

* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Inverted with Hans. After Elsa flees the kingdom in panic and Anna goes after her, he is given the authority to take care of the people in Arendelle. Despite his status as an EvilPrince who attempts regicide against the sisters, he proved himself to be a far better ruler[[note]]Examples include giving blankets to citizens, going after Anna when he notice she is missing, and also tries to reason with the former queen and only decides to execute her when he realize the she cannot stop the EndlessWinter[[/note]] compared to the Queen of Arendelle whose first act after the coronation is to supposedly freeze over all of Arendelle and abandon the kingdom, leaving the populace to suffer. This is expanded upon in ''A Frozen Heart''; due to the tyranny he saw back home, he's determined to be a better king than his father, despite using questionable means to achieve his goals.

* WellDoneSonGuy: In ''A Frozen Heart'', he is this taken to extremes and it is the driving force behind his goals. His father often regards him as an annoyance who whines about his brothers bullying him, even if they bully him in very violent ways. It's suggested his father encourages this out of his dislike of "weakness". Despite this, Hans often daydreams about having a loving and caring father, even as an adult, and is forced to use violence against his father's subjects in order to gain respect despite his objections. To rectify this, Hans slowly decides to become his father's errand boy in the hopes of being recognized as a dutiful and prodigal son. His drive to be a king, even if he must do terrible things to Anna and Elsa, stems from an obsession with being something worthwhile to his father. Even his mirroring of people's personalities was something he picked up from his father, who encouraged this behavior so Hans could get what he wants. Yet, even after following all of his father's orders before setting off to Arendelle, Hans's father has only just begun to respect his youngest son, as he only gives Hans one day to return home, though that tiny amount of respect is most likely to be gone forever given what he did in Arendelle. To say that Hans has daddy issues is putting it mildly.

* AllInTheManual: His last name is never spoken in the film. [[WordOfGod Jennifer Lee]] revealed it to be Westergaard and all media that features Hans since then, namely ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', uses this.

* AmbiguousSituation: In ''A Frozen Heart'', it's never clear if Hans actually killed anyone. That said, he secretly despised his father and brothers for beating their subjects into total submission.

&& Administrivia/ZeroContextExample, as the MrFanservice trope applies when the character has scenes intended as fanservice.
%%* MrFanservice: Anna even engages in some non-sexual EatingTheEyeCandy with him. Actually an example of EvilIsSexy, as he uses his boyish charms to seduce Anna.

[[center: [-[[Characters/{{Frozen}} Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/FrozenArendelle Arendelle]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnna Anna]] | [[Characters/FrozenElsa Elsa]] | [[Characters/FrozenSouthernIsles Southern Isles]] | '''Hans''' | [[Characters/FrozenWeselton Weselton]] | [[Characters/FrozenExtendedMedia Extended Media]]-]]]

[[center: [-[[Characters/{{Frozen}} Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/FrozenArendelle Arendelle]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnna Anna]] | [[Characters/FrozenElsa Elsa]] | [[Characters/FrozenSouthernIsles Southern Isles]] | '''Hans''' | [[Characters/FrozenWeselton Weselton]] | [[Characters/FrozenExtendedMedia Extended Media]]-]]]

[[center: [-[[Characters/{{Frozen}} Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/FrozenArendelleRoyalFamily Arendelle Royal Family]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnna Anna]] | [[Characters/FrozenOtherResidentsFromArendelle Other Residents from Arendelle]] | [[Characters/FrozenSouthernIsles Southern Isles]] | '''Hans''' | [[Characters/FrozenWeselton Weselton]] | [[Characters/FrozenExtendedMedia Extended Media]]-]]]

* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Being 13th in line for his kingdom's throne, he knows he doesn't stand a chance to be king. In ''A Frozen Heart'', he's the proverbial BlackSheep and the odd one out of the large Westergaard clan, often picked on by the [[BigBrotherBully older members of the family]]. (See AllOfTheOtherReindeer entry.)

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: ''A Frozen Heart'' portrays him as a more sympathetic and tragic character, who starts off the book capable of caring about other people before becoming cruel, as opposed to TheSociopath of the film. See second LackOfEmpathy and UsedToBeASweetKid entries.

* AntiVillain: In ''A Frozen Heart'', he starts off as a Type II, initially motivated by wanting to escape the [[BlackAndGrayMorality horrible physical and emotional abuse of his family]].

* BlackAndGrayMorality: In ''A Frozen Heart'', he starts off as a Type II AntiVillain who was motivated to escape the tyranny of his homeland, while simultaneously trying to please his father at all costs. But as the story progresses, the abuse brought out the worst of him and he [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis very much became]] NotSoDifferent from his father and brothers.

* ClothingReflectsPersonality: See EvilCounterpart. Like Elsa, he hides his true persona via his [[ArcSymbol gloves]]. In fact, as he gloats to Anna during TheReveal, he removes his right glove, to reveal his selfish side. As he [[MurderByInaction leaves Anna to die]], he puts it back on, showing that he is about to put his metaphorical mask back on for the world and pretend to be a hero mourning her death, although [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he doesn't care at all, because has no need for her now that she's dying from the curse.]]

* EvilCounterpart: To both sisters, but especially Anna. He even has a physical resemblance to her, and his [[MeaningfulName name]], which means "God is gracious," reflects his role as a mirror toward Elsa (whose own name has the meaning "God's oath") and Anna (whose name means "gracious"). Like Elsa, he hides much of himself, [[ArcSymbol symbolized]] by their shared habit of [[ClothingReflectsPersonality gloves]]. Like Anna, he also grew up feeling rejected by his older siblings. However, unlike the two of them, he became both ruthless and cruel. See ShadowArchetype entry.

* ExtremeDoormat: Starts off as this in ''A Frozen Heart''. See DarkAndTroubledPast entry. By the time he's a young adult, [[DespairEventHorizon Hans has already given up fighting back]] against his abusive family as it just makes their physical abuse worse, so he just keeps mum. But by doing this, his father's emotional abuse became worse by saying Hans should learn "a thing or two" from his brothers. His father often saw him as a whiner, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards despite his objections]], regularly sent him to do horrific tasks, from beating up critics of the king to killing delinquent taxpayers.

* FatalFlaw: In ''A Frozen Heart'', [[TheDeterminator desperation]]. [[HeelRealization At times,]] [[IgnoredEpiphany he realizes]] [[DebateAndSwitch what he's doing is morally wrong]], yet he still goes through it. Being abused by his family for his meekness slowly becomes the breaking point and [[WellDoneSonGuy ultimately pushes him into pursuing a pursuing a nigh-impossible and obsessive goal of winning the respect of them]], but it also made him unaware that no matter how many times he tried to do it, they still saw him [[DisappointedInYou as good-for-nothing]]. It also leads Hans to corrupt his own morals while serving as his father's gofer, committing things he originally and ironically hated, including attempted regicide. (See BecameTheirOwnAntithesis, {{Hypocrite}}, and MoralMyopia entries.) [[AllForNothing As such]], the time he spent prepping up on going to Arendelle were wasted because he couldn't contain his WellDoneSonGuy issues, and chose the easier route without realizing the consequences of what he did and began engaging in unnecessary cruelty like that encouraged by his family. (See BondVillainStupidity and VillainBall entries.)

** He exploits Anna's FatalFlaw of being [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter naïve]] by faking his romance with her so he could get closer to the throne. (See EvilPlan entry.)

* HateSink: While largely a PlotIrrelevantVillain in a film where the main antagonistic force is fear, Hans provides the primary target for audience scorn, psychologically tormenting and attempting to murder the heroines, complete with EvilGloating and BreakThemByTalking monologues in which he [[SmugSnake brags]] about having [[TemptingFate "already"]] gotten away with his EvilPlan. (See BondVillainStupidity, VillainBall, and PlotIrrelevantVillain entries.) The ending shows the heroes have no good opinion of him for what he did, the dignitaries and soldiers clap to see him receive a ShutUpHannibal punch, and the French dignitary tells Kai he will take this "scoundrel" to his country. In the extended universe spin-off ''[[Literature/AnnaAndElsa The Secret Admirer]]'', he is the only person Olaf does not like.

* IAmNotMyFather: Subverted in ''A Frozen Heart''. Hans vows not to be like his family, but his desire to win their respect leads him to take on behavior of their that he had disapproved of, including using violence to support his power. See {{Hypocrite}} entry above.
* IfOnlyYouKnew: The WhamLine below has this going on when you realize that Hans only ''assumes'' (based on his own relationship with his brothers and how Anna had told him that her relationship with Elsa was similar) that Elsa doesn't love Anna (when in truth, it's already been established multiple times that Elsa ''does'' care about Anna, but her ice powers and fear of hurting others physically have made it impossible for her to properly express it). Even if they truly believed that Elsa didn't really love her sister at that time, there's still Kristoff, whose existence he's been completely unaware of at the time.

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: ''A Frozen Heart'' makes him easier to sympathize with in part by depicting most of his family as even worse. While Hans was willing to use manipulation and resorted to attempted murder as a means of becoming a king in another country, his father is an abusive parent, and is implied to be an abusive spouse as well, who has raised his sons to do whatever he demands, be it murder or tormenting their own siblings to "toughen them up," and makes his kingdom a horrible place to live in while he reaps in money and power. Hans's desire to leave his abusive family provides a sympathetic motivation for some of his ruthless actions, particularly in the beginning of the book, when that is still his goal, and because he starts off as EvenEvilHasStandards and does not become malicious and power-hungry until toward the end of the novel, he looks much better in comparison for most of the book, and when he does do so, his upbringing provides a FreudianExcuse. See second HateSink entry.

* MoralMyopia: In ''A Frozen Heart''. See {{Hypocrite}}. Despite disapproving of how [[EvilOverlord his father]] rules as an iron-fisted dictator and the [[AwfulWeddedLife awful, misogynistic way in which his family treats its female members]], and wanting to run a kingdom with kindness, he ends up trying to launch a putsch in a different country and [[BreakThemByTalking and subjecting his dying fiancé]] to a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech sadistic]] MotiveRant combined with EvilGloating, mocking her naivete and telling her she'll die alone and unloved as he murders her sister in order to over their kingdom, just as he'd [[EvilPlan plotted]] [[EvilAllAlong all along]] when [[DidYouActuallyBelieve he proposed to her]].

* NotSoDifferent: DownplayedTrope. While not directly stated in the film, he's an EvilCounterpart to Anna and is even [[WrongGuyFirst initially]] the [[BirdsOfAFeather perfect match]] for Anna and her OneTrueLove. (See ShadowArchetype and EvilCounterpart entries). Just like how Elsa shut Anna out (although with Elsa, it was a JerkassFacade as she [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim attempted to keep Anna safe from her powers]]), Hans has had trouble with his brothers ignoring him (some even pretended he was ''invisible''). He uses this to try to manipulate Anna, leaving the viewer to wonder if his brothers' treatment of him is true or a case of an UnreliableNarrator. (WordOfGod confirmed that yes, [[FreudianExcuse his brothers were every bit as nasty to him as he claimed.]])

* PragmaticVillainy: He is generally motivated by what will benefit him first. He gives blankets and food to the poor, so the people can accept him easily once he takes over the kingdom. He also dissuades Elsa from killing the Weselton soldiers and by the same token stops them from killing her, in order not to damage his VillainWithGoodPublicity standing. See EvilVirtues, NiceToTheWaiter, and DeconstructedCharacterArchetype entries.

* PrinceCharming: He invokes this trope to appeal to Anna's romanticism. In truth, he is [[PrinceCharmless anything but charming]]. His character is a major subversion of the classical Disney Prince. See BaitTheDog, EvilVirtues, NiceToTheWaiter, and DeconstructedCharacterArchetype entries.

* ShadowArchetype: He embodies [[TheCreon Anna]]'s self-doubt, [[SpareToTheThrone feelings of inadequacy and invisibility]], representing what she could've been if she gave up on reconciling with Elsa and focused on getting her parents' attention at all costs, including but not limited to assassinating them in a bid to take over the throne or taking advantage of the EndlessWinter and Elsa's HeroWithBadPublicity status. Unlike Anna, Hans' family life and FreudianExcuse causes him to develop a sour opinion on love and zealously focus on his own betterment at others' expense. In ''A Frozen Heart'', he also had nobody out there to help him as even his mother and Lars weren't of much help despite being close to them, likely out of fear of facing the king's wrath, casting him as this to a lesser extent also for Elsa, who feared she would become a monster, but is able to keep a grip on herself with the support of her family. While Elsa [[NiceJobBreakingItHero hurt people accidentally and feared doing so]], Hans embraced causing harm. See EvilCounterpart.

* TheSociopath: Played straight in the film. For most of the movie, he seems to be a NiceGuy, but when TheReveal is made, it's just as shocking to the audience as it is to Anna — he's a very accurate depiction of a sociopath for a Disney film and the WhamLine he utters also throws his character in question. He was actually working to seize control of Arendelle from day one and is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way (namely Elsa and Anna) [[VillainWithGoodPublicity while looking like a gentle and noble person to the characters]] ''[[BaitTheDog and the audience]]''. Hans reveals that [[ItsAllAboutMe he only ever cared about getting the throne]], and Anna was the easier of the two sisters to seduce. He then explains that now that she's dying, all he needs to do is kill Elsa and become a king, [[SmugSnake smugly thinking he'll get away with it]]. He displays a LackOfEmpathy in his treatment of a dying Anna, psychologically tormenting her (see VillainBall entry), and in his concentration on affirming his control rather (see SkewedPriorities entry), spends most of the film [[ManipulativeBastard manipulating]] others while displaying a [[FlawExploitation remarkable ability to read and exploit them]] and so effectively [[ConsummateLiar hiding his true personality]] with FauxAffablyEvil charm and faked friendliness that years later, audiences are still debating whether the movie [[BaitTheDog hid the twist]] ''too'' well, is motivated by a drive for more control by becoming a king rather than a prince, becomes engaged to [[AllLovingHeroine Anna]] but shows no emotional reciprocity and is revealed to have been faking his feelings, and displays [[SmugSnake an inflated ego]] during his MotiveRant to Anna, as well.

* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: See the FinishingEachOthersSentences trope. Anna completes the sentence "We finish each other's..." with "sandwiches," and Hans indicates that he has the same thought. [[SubvertedTrope This is part of his manipulative prowess, as he's trying to get Anna to marry him as part of his plan to usurp the kingdom.]]

* VillainBall: See the BondVillainStupidity entry. [[JustBetweenYouAndMe Not only did he tell Anna]] his EvilPlan with EvilGloating, he also decides to twist the knife further and demonstrate how little he cares by leaving her to die alone - before she's finished freezing. All because he thinks he's already gotten away with his plot, even though Anna is still a massive loose end. [[FalseFriend And had he kept the act up and pretended to be at least well-intentioned like Anna]], even if not actually her OneTrueLove, he could've kept his charade and [[KarmaHoudini avoided]] [[AlasPoorVillain punishment]].
* VillainHasAPoint: See WhatTheHellHero entry. "Don't be the monster they fear you are!"

* WhamShot: Stopping inches before Anna's lips and giving a malevolent grin, followed by the line above.

[[center: [-[[Characters/{{Frozen}} Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/FrozenArendelleRoyalFamily Arendelle Royal Family]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnna Anna]] | [[Characters/FrozenOtherResidentsFromArendelle Other Residents from Arendelle]] | [[Characters/FrozenSouthernIsles Southern Isles]] | '''Prince Hans Westergaard Of The Southern Isles''' | [[Characters/FrozenWeselton Weselton]] | [[Characters/FrozenExtendedMedia Extended Media]]-]]]