About Frozen... SPOILERS AHEAD, SERIOUSLY, NOT JOKING

Spoiler

Did anyone find the "Hans is evil" thing a bit obvious? Seriously, the princess of a prosperous kingdom bumps into a guy who is perfect for her and suddenly they want to get married. Disaster strikes and the guy is left in charge of the kingdom while the queen and the princess are away. The guy that no one really knows is left in charge of the kingdom. The guy that the princess has known for about 4 hours and now wants to marry.

Disney doesn't operate that way. The princesses have to work to get their prince, they don't just bump into him in the street. Cinderella had to make a dress with a very limited deadline then watch as all the hard work her friends put into it get destroyed. Rapunzel had to run from her stepmother while slowly falling for the sarcastic guy who has been resisting her outing since Moment 1 and showing him that he can be a decent person. Mulan fought in a war for her guy. Snow White was poisoned, Aurora was cursed, Ariel had her voice stolen and Jasmine almost suffered death by hourglass. Disney never hands the princess a prince on a silver platter because there would be no story if they did. They have to work for their guy, be it a little or be it a lot.

In most literature, if a virtually unknown prince from a foreign nation and almost no shot at the throne is left in charge of another country, he either tries to take over or messes up badly. Meeting someone who seems perfect for you right away usually means that they're hiding a quality which makes them impossible to live with while meeting someone less than perfect usually means you get to see their hidden charms. Hans was too obviously perfect for Anna, so obviously, he couldn't be with her.

 

THIS WHOLE THING READS LIKE ME SHITTING ON THE FUN I DIDN'T MEAN THAT I JUST HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS ABOUT DISNEY MOVIES!! I'M SORRY

Spoiler

The cases you're making about Disney princesses aren't really applicable to Frozen's situation, though. They may just not be coming to mind, but I can't think of any Disney movies where, firstly, there are multiple men competing for the affections of one woman, aside from maybe Pocahontas, though Kocoum wasn't ever really a serious love interest, imo. There's no real direct competition between Hans and Kristoff, but it stands that Anna has two love interests within the film. This is exceptional in a Disney movie, where the end pairing is typically the woman's first--and only--romance (because the woman must be completely virginal before meeting the male hero). Further, the examples you pull are not exactly accurate. You paint the personal journey and development of your example Princesses as holding no purpose other than "earning them" male attention and affection, rather than understand the idea "they went through a journey of personal development / self-discovery, and found love along the way." Cinderella making her dress and attending the ball isn't to impress Prince Charming, it is her personal journey to break free from the oppression of her stepfamily, even just for one night. Mulan did not fight in a war for Shang, she fought in it for her family and for China. Snow White's poisoning had very little to do with Prince Charming. Sleeping Beauty is, in my mind, more about Prince Phillip overcoming evil than Aurora, so I'll stay away from that one. I haven't seen Tangled at all, and Aladdin since I was young, so I won't comment on those either. The only Princess here that is a sound example is Ariel.

I think there's a decent balance between people who suspected Hans from the start vs. those who were honestly shocked by the plot twist. The former group has to keep in mind, however, that this is a children's movie--there's certainly appeal for older audiences, I love Disney movies--but what an older viewer picks up on may not be as obvious to the children watching the movie. For a adult, even a young adult, to watch a Disney movie, you need a little suspension of disbelief--not to say that kids watching Disney movies honestly believe ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WERE ICE POWERS AND NORWAY WAS FROZEN IN ETERNAL WINTER, but you have to let the child in you awaken and be taken for a ride. It's a universe in which you have to believe certain things, like that love is pure and great and that people can be trusted. That said, you may know that Anna is a fool for trusting Hans. Elsa notes that there is definitely something fishy, and Kristoff echoes it; basically, it's not exactly hidden, even for children.

Even if the twist with Hans was predictable for you, it's still an incredibly important feature of Frozen. Firstly, the love interests you have listed are all "good" people--that is, the Princess (or otherwise female lead) does not fall for the wrong guy ever (until Frozen). Secondly, it brings up the point that an ostensibly "good" person (wealthy, handsome, polite, good-looking, powerful) is not always to be trusted. The male love interests of Disney movies can be kind of flat characters (not all of them!), a byproduct of overused "damsel in distress" storylines. They're just good dudes in royal positions lookin' for a lady. Despite the quick courtship of Hans and Anna, their romance is not too out of the ordinary in a Disney setting, where the prince is always a good dude. Not only that, but the truly good guy is the (seemingly) poor, rough, hard-working, jaded male. Frozen raises the issue of first impressions, ulterior motives, and patience in love, all of which have been missing from Disney. Many princesses will get with the prince when they barely know them--which is obvious in Frozen, but present in a lot of the movies. Do Snow White and Prince Charming know anything about each other?

Still, there is a part of us that wants to believe--like Anna--that love at first sight is real and that all people are good. It relates to Anna's role as "fearless optimist." And that's okay. It shows that we're not so jaded by the real world, that we do still have improbable dreams, that we want to live in the Disney fantasy. In this respect, we go on a part of Anna's personal journey with her. The final movie I feel didn't go into this enough, but it really shines through in some of the cut/abandoned content: Anna is meant to realize that she has made some very selfish and foolish decisions, and Hans is vital to that.

One of Frozen's narrative strengths (and it does have weaknesses) is that it completely subverts the viewer's expectations on several occasions. We're led early-on to think that this will be a story about Anna in love (For the First Time in Forever), the sisterly plotline the action in the background. However--and this is something you can really recognize on a rewatch--it's all about the sister relationship. The twist with Hans, obviously. The "true love" being not a kiss from Hans (or Kristoff), but a hug from Elsa. And so on. If that illusion is broken--that is, you do not have the expectation of a typical Disney viewer--that narrative strength is lost on you. But you also have to understand that you're not the target audience for a Disney movie. Imagine the young boys and girls who have been raised on stories of princes and princess getting together and having sexy makeouts, the royalty is always good, and the evil villains are always obvious--they see Hans and they accept him without question, because of all the other Disney movies they've been raised on. Frozen's twists help to dispel that illusion, and add another level to Disney movies.

tl;dr version (aka I've been trying to make this point but it's late and I don't think I've been entirely successful): it doesn't really matter. While the illusion of Anna's first impression of Hans does add extra shock value when we see his true colors, you don't need to believe in him to a) enjoy the movie b) feel the importance of him, ultimately, being a dirtbag. Secondly, the movie supports you not believing in Hans (through Elsa and Kristoff).

 

Spoiler

Hans is a ******.