| “ | This is MY land! I make the laws here! And I say anyone who so much as looks at an Indian without killing him on sight will be tried for treason... and hanged! | „ |
| ~ Governor John Ratcliffe threatening his men with death if they disobey him. |
| “ | I told you those savages couldn't be trusted! Smith tried to befriend them, and look what they've done to him! But now I say it's time to rescue our courageous comrade. At daybreak, WE ATTACK! | „ |
| ~ John Ratcliffe to his men after John Smith gets captured by the Indians, rallying them to wipe out the Native Americans while keeping them in the dark of his true motive. |
| “ | Please don't hurt me! I was just doing my duty! Surely you would know that a good soldier always follows orders. If it were I, then I would have killed you years ago! As I was saying... I never liked you, Smith! I hereby sentence you to death! Goodbye, Smith! | „ |
| ~ John Ratcliffe to John Smith in their final confrontation. |
Governor John Ratcliffe is the main antagonist of Disney's Pocahontas franchise, based on the life and legend of the Native American woman of the same name, serving as the main antagonist of Disney's 33rd full-length animated feature film Pocahontas and its direct-to-video sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.
He is a British governor who is part of King James I's royal court in charge of the Virginia Company, an English crew set to sail to Virginia in the New World in search for gold to claim in England's name. Unaware that there's no gold in Virginia, Ratcliffe and his crew set up a colony there in the land in hopes of finding gold to gain James' favor, but his plans soon grow threatened by the presence of the Native Americans who live there. He is a fictionalized version of the real life early Jamestown colonist, mariner and captain of the same name, though very loosely.
He was voiced by the late David Ogden Stiers.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
In General[]
- While he has a fair share of comical moments in the first film, they gradually diminish over the course of the story. In contrast, the second film strips him from any comical moments other than how he falls off from his own ship through his cape, which is played more for karma than for laughs.
- He mentions that he isn't that popular at King James I's court, suggesting that he may have some insecurities as he wishes to gain some respect and appreciation from the court, especially the ladies. However, if genuine, such insecurities aren't played for sympathy, as the measures he is willing to take just to climb among England's social ranks are too extreme to justify.
- Though some argue that Ratcliffe fails the System Standards due to genocidal colonialism being a commonality back in the 17th century, the film isn't an accurate portrayal of the real life story that inspired it and only racism is shown in the films, plus while racism is seen as common in the two films from both the English and the Powhatans, none of them come up with plans of genocide like Ratcliffe does, and whenever it does happen, Ratcliffe is the one instigating it in the first place and easily standing out due to there being no other villains as bad as him in both movies.
- Even if it were an adaptation, no one else attempts this like he did, making him pass the baseline.
Pocahontas[]
- Although he seemingly gets along with his aide Wiggins and cares for his pet dog Percy (whom he has pampered on his quarters), there are several times where he doesn't treat Wiggins right (for example, he considers his plan to bring gifts to the natives to be absurd, showing an unwillingness to listen to him) and he seemingly forgets about Percy, considering he doesn't notice his absence since he gets in a fight with Meeko upon his arrest. This means he subverted any care he had for Percy.
- Furthermore, Wiggins himself exhibits reluctance to kill the Indians and thinks Ratcliffe has gone too far when he tries to kill Chief Powhatan, crying out of disappointment when Ratcliffe is sacked.
- Leads the Virginia Company into the New World so they can scout Virginia for its non-existent gold, hoping to bring riches back to England so he can get in the good graces of King James I, impressing the court's ladies and secure a knighthood or lordship. Other than needing them to dig for such mineral, Ratcliffe has no care for his crew, just inspiring them with the glory the voyage may bring to keep them on his side, as he confides to Wiggins.
- It should be noted that during his song, as he says to himself what benefits will have him returning to England with gold, Ratcliffe expresses his wishes to not be knighted but instead getting a lordship by taking King James I's away from his throne and claiming his crown, possibly hinting that he secretly wishes to overthrow James in spite of the friendship they are later shown to have.
- Sends the popular English explorer John Smith to scout for any "savages" near the land once they're ashore in Virginia and orders Thomas, Ben, Lond and the rest of his sailors to dig for gold, a backbreaking waste of time that has the sailors dig with shovels and pick with picks the dirt to no avail while he relaxes.
- Hoards the food in the camp for himself and wastefully throws his leftovers away to be eaten by his dog Percy rather than his men.
- Orders his men to shoot at the Native Americans who set them upon. While no one gets killed, Ratcliffe shoots Namontack in the leg, injuring him and forcing Kocoum to take him back to the Powhatan village for Kekata to heal him.
- Obsesses himself with the idea that the Powhatan tribe is secretly hiding "his" gold despite Wiggins' harmless antics to cheer him up, making his paranoia unjustified due to his lack of evidence to think this.
- Refuses to believe John Smith's claims that the Native Americans are actually friendly (given his encounters with Chief Powhatan's daughter Pocahontas), were simply trying to protect themselves, and that there is no gold by promising to have any of his men who spots a native and refuses to shoot hanged.
- Secretly sends Thomas, whom he sees as a "slipshod sailor and a poor excuse for a soldier" due to his previous mishaps, to follow Smith as he leaves the camp to see Pocahontas and shoot any Native Americans he might encounter on the way, which leads Thomas to later on kill Kocoum, a Native American soldier who was Pocahontas' suitor, by shooting him dead when he attacks Smith out of jealously, leading Smith to take the blame, be captured under Chief Powhatan's orders and be sentenced to execution at dawn.
- Rallies his men against the Native Americans upon Thomas' return by using Smith's capture as an excuse to lead a genocidal attack on the tribe so they can "rescue" him when in reality he just wants to wipe all of them out to get the non-existent gold he so much covets. Thomas who was loyal to Ratcliffe before this starts to have second thoughts about doing what he tells him to.
- Unlike Chief Powhatan, who only goes to war with the settlers to protect his tribe from them, Ratcliffe simply hates Indians. As he rallies his men to fight, Ratcliffe exposes his true hateful feelings about the Native Americans, further showcasing his racism and proving that he despises them even for reasons beyond the supposed gold they have.
- Brings his army to the spot where Chief Powhatan and his men prepare to bash Smith dead so they can massacre all Powhatans with their firearms before Pocahontas interrupts the execution and convinces her father and everyone else to seek peace instead of violence and hatred.
- However, despite his men telling him that the threat's over, Ratcliffe insists that this must be a trick, snatches a rifle and discharges it at the Chief, making Smith leap out and catch the bullet, seriously injuring him to the point of needing to return to London to survive, separating him from Pocahontas.
- While his shooting at john smith was unintentional and he was shocked of it, he displayed no remorse for it and instead blame john smith for stepping right into it.
- Swears to have all his men hanged for ganging up on him, once they turn against him for shooting Smith and for hurting innocent people (though this could be out of anger because they betrayed and ganged him up but he deserved it for having no sorrow for his actions).
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World[]
- Despite being taken into custody by his own crew at the end of the original film, Ratcliffe manages to weasel his way out of punishment by lying to King James I under the pretext that John Smith turned the Virginia Company against him, prompting King James to order Smith's arrest, which leads the King's men to pursue him over London's streets before Ratcliffe personally taunts him and sends him to his apparent death by stomping on his fingers as he hangs on for dear life.
- Particularly, James wished for John Smith to be brought alive, but Ratcliffe puts his own desires before the king, even having the gall to "lament" Smith's apparent death by claiming that he tried to save him but failed to do so.
- Lies to King James by claiming that the Powhatan tribe is a serious threat that should be dealt with, wishing to wipe out all of them out of vengeance for foiling his plans, prompting James to ask for a Powhatan representative to come to England so they can solve things diplomatically, which leads Pocahontas to go in her father's place and Ratcliffe to scheme to set Pocahontas up to look like a "savage" for James to send his armada to eradicate Jamestown's population.
- Has Pocahontas invited to the Hunt Ball, during which he tauntingly "admires" her for integrating into the British high society, and then has her and the guests see a troupe of Jesters he hired bear-bait a poor bear he buy it in black market, making Pocahontas stand up for it and insult King James, making him arrest her and her bodyguard Uttamattamakin before giving Ratcliffe permission to go to Virginia and wage war against the Powhatans.
- Tries to kill Pocahontas when she, John Rolfe and a surviving John Smith catch up to him as he sails away from London en route to Virginia to carry out his genocide before trying to kill Smith again despite pleading him for mercy, making Smith let down his guard only for him to pull out a pistol while assuring him that he should have killed him years ago.
- Cowardly tries to lie to King James again by saying that Pocahontas, Rolfe and Smith are traitors, though to no avail as James has found out the truth about him, instead ordering his well-deserved arrest.
Trivia[]
- Ironically, despite his fictionalized version being Pure Evil, the real John Ratcliffe was anything but antagonistic to the Native Americans. In fact, the real Ratcliffe had more in common with Disney’s portrayal of John Smith, as he was extremely generous and appreciative of Virginia's Native Americans, who brutally tortured him to death when he tried to trade with them on December 20, 1609, not even seeing Pocahontas marry John Rolfe.
- He was a Villainous Benchmark before being approved here due to it being originally believed that his worst crime of trying to commit genocide on the natives being too common for the time period the film is set in. However, it was revealed that it no longer holds up due to the number of historical inaccuracies present in the movie, the movie's low heinous standards, and because declaring war and threatening soldiers with death by hanging was not normal.
External Links[]
- John Ratcliffe on the Villains Wiki
- John Ratcliffe on the Disney Wiki
