Editing Mock Turtle

{{short description|Fictional character from Alice in Wonderland}}
{{otheruses|Mock turtle (disambiguation)}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Mock Turtle
| series = Alice
| image = Alice par John Tenniel 34.png
| image_size = 250px
| caption = The [[Gryphon (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)|Gryphon]] and the Mock Turtle, illustrated by [[John Tenniel]]
| first = ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]''
| creator = [[Lewis Carroll]]
| species = Formerly a [[Turtle]]/[[Sea turtle|Sea Turtle]], now a [[Turtle]]/[[Cow]] hybrid
| gender = Male
| nationality = [[Wonderland (fictional country)|Wonderland]]
}}
The '''Mock Turtle''' is a fictional character devised by [[Lewis Carroll]] from his popular 1865 book ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]''. Its name is taken from a dish that was popular in the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] period, [[mock turtle soup]].

==''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''==
{{blockquote|Then the [[Queen of Hearts (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)|Queen]] left off, quite out of breath, and said to [[Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)|Alice]], "Have you seen the Mock Turtle yet?"

"No," said Alice. "I don't even know what a Mock Turtle is."

"It's the thing Mock Turtle Soup is made from", said the [[Queen of Hearts (Alice character)|Queen]].|''Alice in Wonderland'', chapter 9}}

Carroll enjoyed such puns on [[Victorian fashion]]s and [[etiquette]], and showed this frequently. The description and drawing by [[John Tenniel]] gives comedic value to the Mock Turtle, as he is clearly an assemblage of creatures, therefore not a real turtle as his name rightly suggests.

Alice encounters the Mock Turtle with the [[Gryphon (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)|Gryphon]]. The Mock Turtle is a very melancholic character, his somber attitude is believed to be a result of him having been a real turtle. He tells Alice his history of going to school in the sea.  He says his teacher was an old [[sea turtle]] called [[Tortoise]] and when Alice asks him why he was called Tortoise if he was a turtle the Mock Turtle answers, "We called him tortoise because he taught us!" ("tortoise" and "taught us" both being pronounced {{IPA|en|tɔːtəs|generic=yes}} in Carroll's dialect).

==Media incarnations==
* The Mock Turtle appeared in ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1931 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1931) played by Gus Alexander.
* The Mock Turtle appeared in ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1933 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1933) played by [[Cary Grant]].

[[File:Mockturtledisney.jpg|thumb|right|The Mock Turtle and Alice from a Disney commercial.]]
* When it came to the development of Disney's animated ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1951), the Mock Turtle was planned to appear. However, the Mock Turtle alongside the [[Jabberwock]] and the Gryphon were discarded for pacing reasons. The Mock Turtle did appear in a Disney commercial with Alice and the Gryphon.
* The Mock Turtle appeared in ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame|The Hall of Fame]]'' (1955) episode "Alice in Wonderland" played by the puppeteer [[Burr Tillstrom]].
* The Mock Turtle appears in ''The Wednesday Play'' (1965) episode "Alice" played by Norman Scace. He later appeared in the episode "Alice in Wonderland" played by [[John Gielgud]].
* The Mock Turtle appears in ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972 film)|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' (1972) played by [[Michael Hordern]].
* The Mock Turtle appears in ''[[Alice (1982 film)|Alicja]]'' (1982) played by Jack Wild.
* The Mock Turtle appears in the ''[[Great Performances]]'' (1983) episode "Alice in Wonderland" played by [[Donald O'Connor]].
* The Mock Turtle appears in ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1985 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1985) (TV) played by [[Ringo Starr]].
* The Mock Turtle appears in ''[[Dreamchild]]'' (1985) performed by [[Steve Whitmire]] and voiced by [[Alan Bennett]]. The Mock Turtle, along with the Gryphon, are the first Wonderland characters encountered in the dreams and imaginations of the now elderly Alice Hargreaves. The perpetually sobbing turtle symbolizes the Rev. Charles Dodgson (who stutteringly performs the character's song to a young adult Alice's derision). After making her peace with Dodgson's memory, following an Oxford University choir's performance of "The Mock Turtle Song," Alice dreams again, with Dodgson in a crouching position akin to that of the turtle. The grinning Dodgson turns around, and joins Alice and the Gryphon in joyous laughter. The mock turtle himself, however, remains morose, prompting his companion to tell him to shut up.
* The Mock Turtle appears in ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1986 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1986) (TV) played by [[Roy Skelton]].
* The Mock Turtle appears in ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1999 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1999) (TV)  played by [[Gene Wilder]]. This version eschews the bovine elements and is portrayed as a man in a turtle's shell, rendering the name meaningless.
*The Mock Turtle appears in the [[Sunsoft]]'s 2006 [[mobile game]] {{nihongo|''Alice's Warped Wonderland''|歪みの国のアリス|Yugami no kuni no Arisu|''Alice in Distortion World''}}. He is the head chef employed by the [[Queen of Hearts (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)|Queen of Hearts]] and tries to cook Ariko (the "Alice" of the game), but is stopped by the Queen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nmp.sp.sdnsrv.net/official-en/top-en.php|title=''Alice's Warped Wonderland''|publisher=[[Sunsoft]]|access-date=August 26, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nmp.sp.sdnsrv.net/index.php?lnk=aliceTop|title=''Alice's Warped Wonderland'' ~Encore~|publisher=[[Sunsoft]]|access-date=August 26, 2018}}</ref>
* The Mock Turtle makes an appearance in the computer game ''[[American McGee's Alice]]'', having the head of a bull and the body of a turtle. In the beginning, Alice has to help the Mock Turtle find his shell, which was stolen by [[Duchess (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)|the Duchess]].
* In the sequel ''[[Alice: Madness Returns]]'' he is a ship's captain and helps Alice reach the Carpenter's underwater theater. 
* There is a creature called a Mock Turtle in ''[[The Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire]]''.
[[File:MockTurtlePortrait2010.jpg|100px|right|thumb|The Portrait of the Mock Turtle as it appears in the 2010 film]]
* In ''[[Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (2010), the Mock Turtle does not appear, but a portrait of him can be seen clearly in the Hatter's room to the left of the Knave when he breaks in.
* The Mock Turtle appeared in the ''[[Once Upon a Time in Wonderland]]'' episode "Trust Me". In this show, the Mock Turtle is a giant aquatic [[turtle]] that is as large as a small island (somewhat similar to the turtle variation of the [[Aspidochelone]]). Alice and the Knave of Hearts end up on it after being dropped by Silvermist. Upon this discovery, Alice takes advantage of this and commands the Mock Turtle to take it to the other side of the lake.
* The Mock Turtle appears in [[Marissa Meyer]]'s novel ''Heartless'' in which we get to see the reason for his transformation from turtle to mock turtle.

==In popular culture==
* "The Mock Turtle" was the name of a costumed criminal obsessed with Alice in Wonderland and other fantasies in the ''[[Astro City]]'' universe (as a possible reference to [[DC Comics]]' similarly Wonderland-obsessed villain, the [[Mad Hatter (DC Comics)|Mad Hatter]]).
* In the 1940 screwball comedy film ''[[His Girl Friday]]'', [[Cary Grant]]'s character Walter Burns shouts at another character, "Get back in there, you Mock Turtle!" Grant had played the Mock Turtle in the [[Alice in Wonderland (1933 film)|1933 ''Alice in Wonderland'']].
* [[Steely Dan]] recorded a demo entitled "The Mock Turtle Song;" this song was never recorded for a studio album but has been released on compilations and the band has played it live. The lyrics were directly taken from a song in the section in the book ("The Lobster Quadrille").{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}
* [[Jazz fusion]] band [[Bruford (band)|Bruford]] recorded a song entitled "Fainting in Coils," which is included as the fifth track of the band's 1979 release ''[[One of a Kind (Bruford album)|One of a Kind]]''. The song includes narration by Sam Alder, Anthea Norman Taylor and band founder [[Bill Bruford]] as the Mock Turtle, consisting of a 74-word excerpt from "The Mock Turtle's Story." In this excerpt, the Mock Turtle tells Alice about some of things he studied in school, which among other things included "...Drawling, Stretching, and Fainting in Coils."
*[[The Mock Turtles]] are an English indie rock band. Their most famous song "[[Can You Dig It (The Mock Turtles song)|Can You Dig It?]]," which was released in the UK in 1991, charted at number 18; and then, slightly remixed, it again reached number 18 when re-released in 2003.
*Mock Turtle characters appear in the 1994 video game ''[[King's Quest VII]]'' and the 1997 video game ''[[An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire]]''.

==References==
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{{Alice|state=expanded}}

[[Category:Turtles in literature]]
[[Category:Fantasy creatures]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphic turtles]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1865]]
[[Category:Lewis Carroll characters]]