Tortoise John

Villain Overview

Gallery

“	Water, Mr. Rango, water. Without it, there's nothing but dust and decay, but with water, there's life. That's the immutable law of the desert. You control the water, and you control everything… but I don't have to tell you that, being a true man of the West as you are.	„
	~ Tortoise John, explaining his motives and his plan to Rango.

“	That's what the future holds. You can either be part of it or you can be left behind.	„
	~ Tortoise John.

“	You and the sheriff are more alike than you think. Ain't nothing but legends. Pretty soon, no one will believe you even existed.	„
	~ John taunting Jake as he points his gun at him and tells him that he means nothing.

Johnathan Carlton Lynch, also referred to in the film as simply Tortoise John or the Mayor, is the main antagonist of Nickelodeon's 23rd feature film Rango.

He is the wheelchair-bound tortoise mayor of Dirt, where there is a major water shortage. He also has Rattlesnake Jake as his (former) enforcer and Bad Bill as his servant. He is Rango's arch-nemesis.

He was voiced by the late Ned Beatty, who also played Otis in the 1978 Superman film and Superman II, Charles Meachum in Shooter and Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear in Toy Story 3.

Biography[]

From the very start, Mayor Tortoise John is made out to be very untrustworthy, duplicitous, menacing, greedy, and corrupt (such as keeping a large personal supply of water for himself while the rest of the town of Dirt is going through a severe drought), although he appeared to be like a grandfatherly figure towards Rango.

When Tortoise John first appears after Rango kills a hawk and defeats Bad Bill, he appoints Rango as the new sheriff and mentions that "whoever controls the water controls everything". He believes that Rango is not a problem, but a solution.

Later in the movie, it is shown that the Mayor is building a modern city over the desert surrounding Dirt, and that he has been intentionally cutting off the town's water supply by using an emergency valve, which is actually connected to Las Vegas, and making citizens believe that there is actually a drought, intending to let the town die out to make way for his new plans.

The Mayor murdered the town bank-keeper Johannes Merrimack III by drowning him and when Rango starts to deduce his schemes, he hires the bounty hunter named Rattlesnake Jake to drive Rango out of town by exposing him as nothing but a fraud due to all his lies he made up (such as claiming that he killed the Jenkins Brothers with a single bullet even though he didn't, as well as claiming that Rattlesnake Jake is his brother), but he comes back to stop them after fully discovering the mayor's plan. He captures Rango and Beans and starts to drown them in the town's water supply bottle. He then later betrays Jake by pointing Rango's gun at him, telling him that he is also part of the obsolete Western era that he intends to destroy and that he's no different from Rango; but when he pulls the trigger, he finds that the last bullet was secretly taken by Rango as a plan B option should he be captured, who uses it to break open the water bottle, flooding the town hall and sending them all outside. The mayor is left on his back at the mercy of Rango who he pleads to but the latter turns him over to an angry Rattlesnake Jake, who then acknowledges Rango as another great desert legend worthy to save his life.

With Tortoise John at his mercy, Rattlesnake Jake uses the Mayor's previous words "Pretty soon no one will believe you even existed" in a show of cruel irony to him for his betrayal. Jake then takes Tortoise John away into the desert to severely punish him and/or most likely kill him for his treachery, as the Mayor screams in terror, thus taking a soul as Bad Bill said. It could also be implied that his modern day city project soon dissolved and his accomplices were presumably arrested for their crimes, while according to the extended ending featured in the Rango DVD, the town of Dirt became a paradise town called Mud.

Personality[]

Tortoise John praising Rango — The mayor feigning kindness.

At first, it was thought that Tortoise John was a nice, caring, authentic and protective mayor. When he met Rango, the people were happy to see him, meaning he was trustworthy as he showed a desire to give them a protector as he gave Rango his sheriff badge as a reward for killing the hawk.

Later on, it turned out that he was actually a manipulative, traitorous, corrupt, greedy, hypocritical and ruthless sociopath who maintained his position by depriving the town of its water. This was seen when he had Rattlesnake Jake force Rango out of town by having him expose his lies or when he drowned the town bank-keeper and tried to drown both Rango and Beans for uncovering his plans. After Jake fulfilled his purpose, he then betrayed him and attempted to kill him while calling him an old relic. The mayor having lived the beginnings of the city, he has never liked the fact that the city has remained in the era of the western and thinks that one must focus on the future, even if it means making the inhabitants suffer during the transition.

When defeated by Rango, he pleaded to him for mercy before the latter turned him over to Jake who used his words against him, thus proving him to be a coward. Tortoise John then frantically pleaded to him before he was dragged away screaming, presumably killing him in the process.

However, despite his attempt to drown Beans along with Rango, he called out Jake for his rough treatment of her, proving he had some hypocrite standards (yet it's actually pragmatic so as not to stain his office or to present himself as the more reasonable one). Outside of this, however, John shows no redeeming traits as he is nothing more than a greedy coward who would do anything to prevent the town from knowing about his corruption. Even his praise towards Rango was likely nothing more than an attempt to sway him.

Quotes[]

“	This is from my private stock: vintage rain water from the great deluge. Oh, not Noah's deluge. Good heavens, I'm not that old.	„
	~ John.

“	Rango: I guess power has its privileges. John: You make a good point, son. But with privilege comes responsibility.	„
	~ Rango and John talking about power.

“	Hell, I was mayor here before there was a Dirt. And I might be just a sentimental old turtle, but I think there's a future for this town, and I hope you'll be part of it. To Dirt!	„
	~ John proposing a toast.

“	You see them, Mister Rango? All my friends and neighbors? It's a hard life here, very hard. You know how they make it though each and every day? They believe. They believe it's going to be better. They believe that the water will come. They believe against all odds and all evidence that tomorrow will be better than today. People have to believe in something, and now, they believe in you. Pick it up, Mr. Rango. Your destiny awaits. People have to believe in something.	„
	~ John to Rango.

“	He's not a problem, William. He's a solution.	„
	~ John and Bad Bill discussing Rango.

“	The future, Mr. Rango. The future. One day soon all of this is going to fade into myth. The frontier town, the lawman, the gunslinger. There's just no place for them anymore. We're civilized now.	„
	~ John revealing his true nature to Rango

“	Your father's ranch is nothing but a wasteland now. Sign the deed, and relieve yourself of your father's burden.	„
	~ John telling Beans to sell her land to him.

“	All of my problems taken care of… except for one. It's a new West, Jake, there's no room for gunslingers anymore. We're businessmen now.	„
	~ John betraying Jake as he's outlived his usefulness.

“	One last bullet to kill one last outlaw… how fitting.	„
	~ John preparing to kill Jake.

“	Now sheriff, I'm sure if we work together, we can reach a mutually beneficial solution to our current situation.	„
	~ John trying to manipulate Rango into joining him, before Rango kicks him to Rattlesnake Jake.

“	No, Jake! NO!	„
	~ John's last words as he is dragged out of Dirt by Rattlesnake Jake.

Trivia[]

Tortoise John was inspired by Noah Cross, the main antagonist of Chinatown. Unlike Cross, however, John does not get away with his crimes.
Though the film leaves ambiguous whether Tortoise John had a role in the deaths of Dirt's previous sheriffs, the film's novelization by Ronald and Justine Fontes confirms that Rattlesnake Jake killed Rango's predecessors under John's orders and that the badges John had in his briefcase had all belonged to them.
Despite being called Tortoise John, he is never referred to as such throughout the film. Instead, he is solely referred to as "The Mayor".