Disney Store’s 2017 Classic Hans Doll Review:

Welcome to another one of our doll reviews!  Today we are taking a look at

Disney Store’s Classic Hans Doll!

I had planned to order him later this year; however, on August 2nd, Sister and I had the opportunity to visit the Disney Store and (lucky for me) the Classic Dolls were marked down to $11 when you bought two or more.

Visiting the Disney Store was pretty exciting!  Since the closest one is over an hour away, we rarely get to shop and pick out our own dolls.  I had been a little concerned that the Hans dolls might be sold out, but that wasn’t the case.  There were plenty in stock and I was able to carefully pick through and choose my favorite one.  While we were there, we also got a glimpse of the Limited Edition Snow White dolls on display in the store, which was a neat experience.  Sadly, I wasn’t able to get any pictures (too many people) but, from what I could see, they looked stunning!

So, Hans is going to be special in my collection because he will always remind me of our fun trip to the Disney Store.  Enough about my adventures though.  Let’s see Hans!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the packaging for the 2017 Classic dolls is much more basic than previous versions.  Here is a comparison between last year’s box and this year’s.

There is less artwork, and the “Frozen” logo is no longer featured prominently on the front.  Instead, there is a small white label that says “Hans” and a purple square to the right telling you which movie he is from.  The background is not as bright but still has a wintry theme of snow and icicles.

On the back of the box is a large picture of Hans smiling as he reaches down to help Anna out of the boat.  Above the picture, we see Hans’ name, the title of his movie, and the words “classic doll”.

Although I enjoy fun packaging (such as the Ever After High book shaped boxes) this new, simple design doesn’t bother me.  It’s kind of nice really because now the focus can be on the doll and not a bunch of fancy artwork.

Getting Hans out of the box was fairly straightforward.  Unwinding two twist ties and snipping about six plastic tabs was all that was needed to release him.

Before we launch into the review though, let’s take a walk down memory lane and remind ourselves exactly who Hans is.

Hans is the main antagonist in the Disney film “Frozen”.  According to The Disney Wiki, Hans is also known as “Prince Hans Westergaard of the Southern Isles”.Although he is a prince, Hans has thirteen older brothers, which means it is unlikely that he will ever be crowned king….unless he marries into another royal family.  Which is why he traveled to Arendelle for Elsa’s coronation.  His plan was to become King of Arendelle by marrying Queen Elsa.

However, after getting an icy reception (pun intended?), Hans turns his attention to Elsa’s younger sister, Anna.  Even though he is merely using her, Hans succeeds in convincing Anna that he loves her and proposes to her.  But when Anna asks him to save her from freezing to death with “true loves kiss”, Hans reveals his true self.

Seriously, when we first saw the movie, Sister and I knew this scene was coming (we cheated and read the junior novelization), but our mother didn’t, so Hans being the villain was a surprise to her.  Unlike other villains, Hans appears to be honorable and keeps his dark motives under wraps until closer to the end.  This ability to deceive is what makes him one of the more dangerous of the Disney Villains.

Thankfully, Anna was right and Hans was no match for…well, Anna actually!  The sacrifice she made for her sister not only saved her from becoming a permanent ice sculpture, it showed Elsa that love equals defrost, thus ending winter and any hope Hans had of taking over Arendelle.

Okay, so now that we remember who Hans is (and why we despise him) let’s continue with the review:

Here is Hans now free of all plastic and cardboard.  Although the box says “doll cannot stand on its own”, I was able to get Hans to balance by himself for most of these pictures.

Hans is glancing to the left and has a small grin on his face.  His skin tone is fairly light with a touch of red on his cheeks, nose, and forehead.  He has brown freckles and green eyes.  His hair is molded and painted a reddish-brown color.

He has sideburns painted in front of his ears and a slightly pointed nose.

Hans comes wearing his Coronation outfit; the one he dons when dancing with Anna and singing, “Love Is An Open Door”.  The outfit consists of:

1. A blazer.
2. A vest, shirt, and pants (these are all one piece).
3. A pair of gloves
4. A pair of boots

Hans’ tailcoat is separate from the rest of his clothing.  It came attached to the vest with two small threads but can be slipped off once those are clipped.

Here is the coat by itself.

It is cream-colored with a beige collar, lapels, and sleeve cuffs.  There are two tails in the back (hence the name “tailcoat”), and the front has gold buttons and emblems printed on it.  Gold swirls are also printed around the cuffs, and there are gold epaulets attached to each shoulder.

Here is the inside of the coat:

The inner front is lined, and the edges have been neatly hemmed.  I can’t say for certain, but I believe the gold decoration on the outside of the coat may actually be the royal crest of Hans’ kingdom.

Here is a comparison of the design on Hans’ outfit versus the one on Anna’s bodice:

You can see that whatever is printed on Hans’ tailcoat is clearly different from Arendelle’s crocus style emblem.

Under his coat, Hans wears a dark tan vest, a red sash, and a light green shirt.

The vest, shirt, and pants are all one piece, sort of like a onesie.

The vest has black buttons printed on it.  The red sash is stitched to the waist (dividing the shirt and pants) then wraps up and around the right shoulder.  Hans’ shirt has a small cravat, a collar, and rolled up cuffs.  His pants are beige colored, and the whole outfit secures in the back with velcro.

Here is how Hans’ outfit looks from the inside:

Again, everything is well sewn and hemmed.  Also, the seams have not been cut too short.  I realize that doll clothes need small seams to reduce bulk, but clipping too close to the stitch line can cause the outfit to rip.  The fact that Hans’ clothes have a decent seam allowance is nice because it doesn’t feel like the outfit is about to pull apart when you are taking it off or putting it on.

Now let’s have a look at Hans’ gloves and boots:

Hans wears tall, black, riding boots.  The boots are molded plastic and are split down the back so they can be removed easily.  He also has a pair of white gloves.

The Prince dolls in Disney Store’s Classic line tend to have pretty good articulation.  Hans can turn his head both to the right and left.

He can rotate his shoulders and bend his elbows.

Hmmm, this reminds me of something…

Sorry, Anna!  I just couldn’t help myself!

If only I had Anna’s Coronation dress, and a better background with a clock, this scene would have been perfect!  Oh well…back to the review.

Hans can bend at the waist and move his legs up and down at the hip.

Hans has click knee joints so he is not considered to be “fully articulated”.  Still, the Classic Prince dolls have a broader range of mobility than most other boy dolls.  Plus, the click knees don’t really bother me since all the Ken dolls I had when growing up had this feature.

So, am I happy with my purchase?  Absolutely!

I had toyed with adding Hans for such a long time and am glad to have finally done so.  I’m already partial to Disney Store dolls, and giving Hans a new outfit was all that was needed for me to go ahead and take the plunge.

For those curious about the quality of Disney’s Classic doll line, I consider them some of the best; especially considering that they are less than $20.  The dolls themselves are nicely detailed and they just feel well made.

His face is expressive and very reminiscent of his animated counterpart (just look at that sly smile?).  Even though his clothes are simple, and mostly one solid piece, the edges are nicely hemmed and look like they’ll hold up to wear and tear.

I could probably go on and on about how pleased I am with Hans, but I guess I’d better let it go (another pun intended?) and wrap things up!

Thank you for visiting our little blog and feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think about Prince Hans Westergaard of The Southern Isles (boy, is that a mouthful)!

Here is what Anna had to say on the matter: