Pleasure Island

The boys who are taken to the island go voluntarily with the promise of fun and unlimited freedom. While on the island, the children are encouraged to commit acts of vandalism, fight, drink beer, smoke cigars, and gamble - all things that good little boys are not supposed to do. The nature of the coachman and of Pleasure Island itself is shown as more preternatural and inherently evil.

The transformation into a donkey is not instantaneous. When boys arrive on the island, they remain human for some time before showing any signs of the curse changing them. The first indication is braying replacing the boy's normal laughter, followed by the growth of donkey ears and a tail. The head, torso, and extremities come next, after which the boy is then forced into a quadrupedial stance. The final notable change is losing the ability to speak. Before the donkeys leave Pleasure Island, they are checked to make sure they have lost their ability to vocalize, which signifies they are fully transformed.

In the 1940 Disney version, Pleasure Island also has an impact on Geppetto: the puppet maker learns that Pinocchio is on Pleasure Island, and sets out to sea to find him, only to be swallowed along with his whole boat by Monstro the Whale.