Rango is built on its relationships to other movies – it’s a parody and an homage to classic westerns – perhaps you noticed that not-so-subtle reference to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? But the film’s basis for its villain comes from an unlikely place: the 70’s Neo-noir Chinatown. You see the point I’m trying to make here right? Typecasting can cause problems. The film ends with his character getting his comeuppance at the hands of one of his followers. In Rango , Ned Beatty’s character, Tortoise John, who happens to be mayor of a small civilization, is revealed to be evil at the end of the first act. The film ends with his character getting his comeuppance at the hands of one his followers. In Toy Story 3, Ned Beatty’s character, Lotso, who happens to be mayor of a small civilization, is revealed to be evil at the end of the first act.
But only nine moths after he played the “secretly-evil mayor” in Toy Story 3, Beatty plays the “secretly-evil mayor” again in Rango. Now, familiarity with actors isn’t a problem – at least, not to a certain point. I remember watching Rango for the first time and saying “Huh, isn’t that the same voice actor who played Lotso?” And if it were perhaps another actor, I would have needed to check IMDb, but as far as Ned Beatty was concerned, I could simply recognize the voice. Beatty’s southern drawl and friendly demeanor are what makes the Mayor so likable and what shocks the viewers more when he turns out to be evil – hey, wait a minute!
#Lotso toy story 3 voice movie
The revelation doesn’t come entirely out of left field, but the movie sets up enough other villains so that ot find out that the big bad is the mayor is a little surprising. Shortly after the midpoint of the film, Tortoise John is revealed to be masterminding a plan to horde the town’s water (the conflict of the movie is a drought) and rebuild the town to his benefit. He’s admirable when you first meet him, even though there are clues that he’s a little suspicious. In that, Ned Beatty played a character called Tortoise John, but who the viewers are more likely to remember as “The Turtle” or “The Mayor.” Tortoise John is affable and since he’s an old tortoise he’s depicted as having an aged wisdom. Nine months after the release of Toy Story 3, came Rango. His southern drawl and friendly demeanor are what makes the Mayor so likable and what shocks the viewers more when he turns out to be evil. That’s what makes it so (relatively) scary when Lotso eventually turns out to be evil. When the toys first arrive at Sunnyside Lotso announces “I’m a hugger,” embracing the toys. Lotso is a wonderful villain because he is so disarmingly friendly. Lotso was the mayor of Sunnyside the seemingly-idyllic community in TS3, which ultimately turns out to be a nightmarish hierarchy. He’s more or less been typecast as the guy with the folksy southern accent.īut in recent memory, Beatty’s most memorable role has been Lots-o-Huggin’ Bear from Toy Story 3. His other appearances include All the President’s Men, Rudy, Superman, and Nashville.
It all comes down to one shared voice actor: Ned Beatty. But a similarity between the two films accidentally caused Toy Story 3 to steal some thunder from Rango. There’s differing characters – anthropomorphic toys and anthropomorphic desert animals. These films came from studios – Disney-Pixar and Paramount’s Nickelodeon Movies respectively – with vastly different reputations. The 2010’s decade has granted us with some wonderful animated classics, but few as beloved as 2010’s Toy Story 3 and few as wrongfully overlooked as 2011’s Rango. *This post has spoilers for Rango and Toy Story 3*