Similar Ice Powers

One of the most-debated factors when it comes to discussing the ships legitimacy. Non-shippers argue that Jelsa is only shipped because of the ice powers, while the Jelsa shippers argue that there is more to it than that. But let’s just face the facts here: this is kinda the first thing that comes into people’s heads. While it’s not the only reason given, it’s the first thing that people notice between the two characters and it is likely the reason that people connected the two together in the first place. If it wasn’t for ice powers, most of the current Jelsa-shipping populus wouldn’t have even considered the pairing in the first place.

A few Jelsa shippers comment something along the lines of, “Even people outside the fandom say they should be together! That’s proof that they are meant to be!” But really, what makes you think that people outside the fandom are bothering to notice anything beyond the obvious? Shippers say“Jack and Elsa would make a cute couple,” and when we ask them why, do you know what they say?

Ice Powers

And why wouldn’t they? It’s so obvious.Even magazine articles, plus many other interpretations of the ship, use phrases like “frosty love” and “icy romance” to describe the pairing. It’s the whole reason the connection was made.

Ice powers shouldn't even be a reason for shipping at all! The ice powers thing should just be an added bonus, not the basis for the whole ship. Can you imagine if abilities were a determining factor in real life? Architects would only date architects. Singers would only date other singers. “Oh, he’s a good artist and I’m a good artist? Gee, we should totally go out!”

What about personality? Compatibility? Things that actually make these characters people instead of just beings with ice powers?  Compared to that, ice magic really doesn’t matter at all.

Now, there are people who try to explain why the ice powers matter in the relationship.

Similar Looks.

Why does it matter at all that they both have pale skin? Or similar hair colors? Or that they both wear blue? In what way oes that make them compatible with each other?

Of course not. It doesn’t matter. It adds nothing to the relationship. In fact, this isn’t even shallow, it’s beyond shallow. It’s desperate. People are just desperately naming random things that they have in common just to make their ship look more legit. But it will never matter.It's rather sad that people actually use this as a reason for the pairing.

As for them being attractive, it’s more or less the same thing. Loving someone just because they are good looking is something we should all know is shallow and silly. We don’t care if they are both attractive physically. This does not make them compatible. Don’t be vain, and start digging deeper.

Single

In Rise of The Gaurdians,Dreamworks confirmed that tooth and Jack would be a couple.And if they would make a sequel,they said they would have Jack and Tooth would kiss.

They were both loney

Most people don’t go beyond that. They are both isolated, therefore they are going to relate to one another.

However, this analysis to be extremely surface-level and unconvincing. Besides the fact that lots of animated characters have been experiencing isolation as of late, people just don’t seem to realize that isolation is a common result for many different problems. Just because the two characters are separated from everyone else, doesn’t mean that their problems are the same. In this case, they’re not. Jack and Elsa both go through a period of isolation, yes, but the reasons why are very different.

 

Elsa was what you could call quarantined.--as if she had some kind of disease. She was treated like a monster because of her ice powers and was therefore separated from everyone.

Jack, on the other hand, was isolated because he...wasn’t famous. That’s completely different from being isolated because of an ability. No, he was alone because people didn’t know who he was, not because they feared him. It wasn’t that he was burdened abilities or his role in life, he was just looking for a friend who could see him and enjoy his company.

In other words, Elsa was isolated because of a burden, while Jack was burdened by his isolation.Two very different problems. For Elsa, the burden came first, and the isolation as a result, but with Jack, it’s the other way around.

By that context, they might be able to relate a little bit, but there are other characters who would relate to each of them much better than they would relate to one another. What Elsa needs is someone who was quarantined, like herself. They don't necessarily need to have the same powers, but just someone who was rejected because of an ability/role.

Jack, too, would fit better with someone who is more like him--someone who was burdened by their isolation and just wanted a friend to be with.

The direction fans wanted to go with the “loneliness” is that Jack somehow “knows what Elsa is going through.”, he really doesn’t. He has ice powers, but they are not a problem for him. He’s isolated, but not out of hatred or rejection. He really doesn’t know what she’s going through at all. Being isolated does not mean that they have the same issue. The reasons do matter.

This is a tough one to tackle because fans may interpret it different ways, so the only thing I can say about this possible dynamic is...perhaps so.

 

However, that begs the question: If Jack is there to bring out Elsa’s find side, where does that leave Anna? 

That’s pretty much what Anna’s role in Elsa’s story is, right? To bring out Elsa’s fun and gentle side and help her relax if Jack and Elsa’s relationship so closely mirror’s Elsa and Anna’s, it seems more likely for Elsa’s mind to associate him with Anna instead of see him as a possible romantic option. That’s why I think that Jack and Elsa would have more of a brother/sister dynamic than a romantic one, because the two relationships seem pretty much the same.

And on Jack’s side, aren’t the Guardians performing Elsa’s supposed role in this dynamic as well? Characters like North and Sandy, they help bring out Jack’s mature side, don’t they? And North is like a father figure to Jack, so if Elsa were to do the same, wouldn’t Jack see her as more of an older sister or a mother figure? The fact that she’s so regal and polite in comparison to him would only add to that.

It doesn’t make sense to me for a romantic relationship to mirror the ones that a character already has with friends/family/family figures. Remember when that there’s no room for Jack to be in Elsa’s story? This is why. He doesn’t really add anything new in her life that she doesn’t already have in Anna. Heck, you could replay the entire plot of Frozen with Jack in the place of Anna and the story would be the same. And considering that Frozen is a movie about a sibling relationship and not a romantic one...hmm…

By that context, there’s no room for Elsa to be in Jack’s story either. If the two were to meet somehow, it seems much more likely that their relationship would be more of friendship or familial love than anything else. 

ELSA. IS TOO. GROWN UP. FOR JACK.

This is the reason.Besides the fact that none of the reasons for shipping them have a strong basis, this is the one thing that initially drove us away and continues to drive us away from the ship. The maturity gap between the two characters just makes it near impossible for us to wrap our heads around the ship. So many Jelsa shippers try to write around or even disregard this fact, which bother us because this really is a crucial part of both their characters. We're not even going to talk about the whole immortal/mortal issue or even the 3-4 year difference in their physical age. No, this is about maturity.

Now, a lot of non-Jelsa shippers say something like, “Elsa acts like an adult and Jack acts like a kid.” Really though, that’s only half true. The reason so many Jelsa shippers are able to put up a fight against this is because Jack doesn’t act like a kid. He acts like a teenager. Teenegers are a whole lot more mature than children.

However, while Jack does have more maturity than a young child, he still has very distinct adolescent traits, and doubt that anyone would ever call him an adult or a grown man. And Elsa, while she does possess some childlike innocence, is still clearly very adult-like, and would never be called a teenage girl. 

...And yet...that’s how we see her portrayed in every single Jelsa fanfic I read. The writers will take away the mature, grown woman that Elsa is and replace her with an impulsive, flirty, hormonal teenage girl (in other words, they basically turn her into Anna). But she’s not. She’s a grown adult woman and adult women simply don’t date teenage boys.

Remember the “painter” scenario earlier? That was written from the perspective of a teenager trying to date someone who acts like a kid, but it also works from the perspective of someone with an adult mindset trying to date someone who acts like a teenager. See? This is how Elsa would most likely perceive Jack--as a little brother, not a possible boyfriend. He’s such a young boy in comparison to her and she would notice that. 

From what We've seen, the majority of Jelsa shippers are teenagers themselves on the same level as Jack, so that might explain why they see Jack to be more mature than he really is. But that does not explain why Elsa is goes from a classy regal lady to a young girl like Anna, just so she can be compatible with Jack.If you have to change a character so drastically in order to make a pairing work, isn’t that an indication that the pairing...just doesn’t work?