History Main / WiseOldTurtle

* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'': Miriel, Pastor of Vows who watches over the Church of Vows, turns out to be a giant tortoise (wearing a mitre on his head). He explains some of the history of Rennala and Radagon, and can teach the player magic spells. He doesn't even balk at studying "heretical" magic, saying that heresy is merely an invention of man. Turtles in general are viewed as wise animals in the Lands Between. Many {{Mage Tower}}s are locked by a puzzle telling you to "seek three wise beasts", which amounts to tracking down three spectral turtles nearby and slaying them.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oogway_and_cub_shifu.jpg]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': Master Oogway, [[MasterApprenticeChain the mentor to Po's own mentor Master Shifu]], is incredibly wise and old, the inventor of Kung Fu and one of the greatest masters of that martial art in history, and [[spoiler:still badass enough to drop the nigh-unstoppable Tai Lung with a lightning-fast nerve strike pattern]].

* In ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf - Mission Incredible: Adventures on the Dragon's Trail'', Slowy is not a turtle himself but has it as an {{Animal Motif|s}}. He wears a suit of green armor that has a turtle shell on the back, perfect for a slow but wise chief.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime IV: Journey Through the Mists'', an ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archelon Archelon]]'' named Archie aids Littlefoot and his friends on their quest, dispensing [[AnAesop valuable wisdom]] and even coming to their rescue on multiple occasions.

See also SturdyAndSteadyTurtles, TurtleIsland, and TurtlePower for other common portrayals of turtles and tortoises in fiction. See LovableLizard for another reptile commonly portrayed in a positive light.

Turtles are often fairly long-lived animals, especially compared to other creatures their size. The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_tortoise common tortoise]], a species native to the Mediterranean area and often kept as a pet, is fully capable of outliving its human owners. Giant tortoises, such as those native to the Galapagos and Seychelles islands, are the longest-living land vertebrates of all: Galapagos giant tortoises often live to a century in the wild, and one specimen lived for one hundred and seventy years in captivity, while Seychelles giant tortoises are thought to reach around two centuries of age -- their tendency to outlive human observers has made their exact lifespan difficult to verify.

* ''Literature/TheLandOfGreenGinger'': The Button-Nosed Tortoise is actually a magician under the effects of a BalefulPolymorph, but is still as wise as he was when he was a magician.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Chaotic}}'': Tartarek is a wise old tortoise creature, who carries around a cane and even has [[NonMammalianHair a white beard]] showing his age), and is one of Overworld leader Maxxor's most trusted advisors.

The result is that tortoises and turtles have obtained well-earned reputations as immensely long-lived animals, something that often carries over to their portrayals in popular culture. Turtle characters are often very old, much older than other characters they interact with. The association of old age with wisdom and life experience is carried over and naturally brought to extremes -- since they're so old, these ancient reptiles can be expected to have seen and done a great many things over their long, long lives, and to have had time to accumulate extensive troves of wisdom and insights to share with younger and more inexperienced characters. In worlds of FunnyAnimals, {{Talking Animal}}s, {{Civilized Animal}}s and the like, tortoises tend to be cast as various iterations of the MentorArchetype. Depending on the individual experiences and disposition the aged chelonian in question, they may be a CynicalMentor, an EccentricMentor, an OldMaster or any other subtrope, but regardless of the type turtles and tortoises are some of the likeliest animals to be cast as wise, old mentor figures.