While the character's villainy has been praised as an example of toxic masculinity, the unexpected plot twist has been criticised for being upsetting and confusing for younger viewers and also for its lack of foreshadowing.

The final act made Hans the true villain and involved him triggering a huge avalanche that puts Arendelle in danger, resulting in Anna seeking Elsa's help.

Co-director Chris Buck challenged the team by asking whether the story always needed to be resolved by a true love's kiss and whether it always had to be the man that rescues the female character.

[6] Co-directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck said that in designing the male leads in Frozen they started by ensuring that the characters were interesting and had flaws.

[15] Hans arrives in Arendelle on the day of Queen Elsa's coronation and accidentally runs into Princess Anna when she crashes into his horse and falls into a rowboat.

Humiliated and defeated, Hans is imprisoned on a ship heading back to the Southern Isles, set to receive a punishment from his older brothers.

Hans makes a brief appearance near the end of Frozen Fever, where he is seen cleaning up horse manure in the Southern Isles as punishment for his actions against Arendelle.

[19] This version of the character is portrayed as much more explicitly and irredeemably malicious than his animated counterpart, invading Arendelle alongside his brothers (in contrast to his motivation and antagonistic relationship with his family in canon) after events equivalent to the film's and later actively attempting to murder both Anna and Kristoff in an alliance with Blackbeard.

[23] Hans appears in Disney Magic Kingdoms as a playable character to unlock during limited time, being originally introduced in a Frozen Event as the boss enemy of the story.

[24] In Kingdom Hearts III, Hans appears before being consumed by his darkness and manifesting a wolf-shaped Heartless called Sköll, which serves as the world's final boss.

[26] Sam Sewell-Peterson writing for The Film Magazine described Hans as "a duplicitous, generic British-accented baddie" but gave him points for using Anna's emotions to further his own ambitions.

[29] Gina Dalfonzo from The Atlantic found his transformation from seemingly kind prince to sinister villain to be horrifying and needlessly upsetting for children and felt that it would have been gentler if this reveal happened earlier on in the film.

[30] Andy Hines also from The Atlantic disagreed and responded that Frozen delivers a teachable moment: "Regard the handsome charmer who sweeps you off your feet with great caution and skepticism", and considered it an opportunity to talk to young children about love and relationships.

[31] David Crow of Den of Geek noted that Hans had received criticism from some parents for embodying a kind adult with ulterior motives, but thought that this was exactly what made him a successful character, describing him as one of the most sinister Disney villains.

[32] Cartoon Brew writer Ed Hooks disliked his late reveal as a "cold-blooded manipulative murderer" due to the lack of foreshadowing in the script and animation.

He felt that Hans had the potential to blow the audience away but this is wasted because in every scene he is a "blank slate, a mental rag doll" and an underdeveloped character.

[33] MovieWeb's Gary Lockard opined that Hans' story arc makes no sense because his path to becoming king of Arendelle is easy and the plot offers several occasions that help him to achieve his goal.

[34] Jonathan V. Last writing for the Washington Examiner described Hans as a Jekyll and Hyde character and likened his reveal to the plot twists in the films of M. Night Shyamalan.

He opined that Hans had been retconned by the writers into an evil villain for the purpose of swinging a sword at Elsa in the final act, making his villainy "accidental".

[37] Melissa Leon from The Daily Beast said that Hans represents an acknowledgement that the concept of Prince Charming is "unrealistic and absurd" and even dangerous.

[38] Monika Bartzel writing for The Week felt that in depicting Hans as a subtle villain, Frozen makes a major step forward in throwing out the fantasy of Prince Charming that Disney has fostered by showing the implausibility of judging the worth of a romantic partner at first glance.

[40] Ian Sandwell writing for Digital Spy thought that Frozen II lacked an essential component in the form of Hans, whose reveal he said caused "shocked gasps worldwide".

[41] A decade after the release of Frozen, a study conducted by the University of East Anglia in 2023 showed that children had taken notice of Hans as a predatory villain and the film's warning about the concept of true love.

Dr Sarah Godfrey, associate professor of film and television studies, said that adult Frozen fans reported that Hans was "instrumental in them becoming a bit more sceptical" about true love.