Scary Disney: Pinocchio: The Coachman, Donkeys and The Whale

Pinocchio. The famous wooden puppet who was magicked to life by a blue fairy and desired to be a real boy one day. Mr Disney made a masterpiece of this but left a few dark details that we’d all remember for years to come. Honest John and his pal Gideon the cat lead him astray from school one day and convinced him to join a puppet show with a man called Stromboli. After an outstanding show Pinocchio wishes to go home, but Stromboli has other plans and locks him in a bird cage against Pinocchio's own will, a nightmare for all children. Miss Blue Fairy appears from nowhere, and then Pinocchio starts to lie about his whereabouts that day, not a very good role model to kids here, he vows to be good and Miss Blue Fairy lets him go. Stromboli could have been nicer by offering him money, fame and telling Geppetto, but I guess the whole story would have been different that way.  The word kidnap comes to mind, which gives off a bad message to its audiences.  Pinocchio is led to Pleasure Island where he makes a friend, Lampwick, he smokes, drinks which leads to him being half turned into a donkey, he runs away and ends up jumping into the ocean trying to save his Father. He comes across a montster of a whale, Monstro, who has Gepetto living in his mouth. Pinocchio manages to save his father and the Blue Fairy turns him into a human, a happy ending for everyone. The movie did however leave in a few scenes enough to scar its viewers for the rest of their lives.  

1. The Evil Coachman

2. Little Boy Donkeys

3. The Whale

1. The Coachman

With Pinocchio skipping happily home, Honest John and his mute cat visit a coachman who will pay them money to take naughty boys off the streets and take them to Pleasure Island. Some would call this child trafficking. Because that is what he’s doing. Carting off young boys, turning them into donkeys and forcing them to work. They are then sold to the circus or the salt mines. Pinocchio was lucky not to be turned into a full donkey, he managed to escape before any more madness occurred. This face is the face of an insane messed up man.

2. Little Boy Donkeys

Pinocchio meets Lampwick on his way to Pleasure Island and becomes friends with him. They play a game of pool where they smoke, drink and then get turned into donkeys. Those poor defenceless little boy donkeys don’t deserve this torture. At a young age I never understood this scene. Twenty years later I look back and think, wow, that is a bit deep for a kids film don’t cha think Walt? The scene where Pinocchio is turned into a donkey is bad enough, the look on his face shows fear and anxiety. The sad looks on the donkeys faces says everything we need to know really.

3. The Whale

The scariness didn’t end there. Pinocchio manages to escape, half transformed into a donkey and jumps into the ocean. Here we meet Monstro the Whale. After Pinocchio makes him sneeze there is a monster of a chase and he Gepetto, Figaro and Cleo all survive. I realise Walt wants to tell the tale of Pinocchio, but he could have toned the dramatics down to make it a little less scary for its target audience. They all go home happy, Pinocchio is turned into a real boy and learns that if he tells the truth he won’t get kidnapped, half transform into a donkey and get eaten by a whale. Thanks for making this a story to remember Walt!!