- “Give a bad boy enough rope and he'll soon make a jackass of himself!”
- ―The Coachman[src]
The Coachman is the third antagonist to appear in Disney's 1940 animated feature film Pinocchio. He is a sinister figure who is notorious for luring "stupid little boys" to Pleasure Island, where they are transformed into donkeys and sold on the black market.
Quick Answers
What role does the Coachman play in Pinocchio's transformation into a donkey?
How does the Coachman lure boys to Pleasure Island in Pinocchio?
Why is the Coachman considered a sinister figure in Disney's Pinocchio?
What is the significance of Pleasure Island in Pinocchio's story?
What is the Coachman's plan for the boys who become donkeys in Pinocchio?
Background
Personality
The Coachman is malevolent and sinister, with absolutely no redeeming qualities, and is rather infamous for his wicked actions, greed, and his pleasure in destroying children's lives. However, he could also be considered to be somewhat moralistic in his own dark and twisted way, as he teaches the boys he takes from the towns he visits a pricey lesson for prolonged misbehavior. He does not appear to be a kidnapper nor force the boys to accompany him to Pleasure Island and instead prefers to entice them to go there on their own accord, thus sealing their fate. He also allows rumors of the "wonders" of his island to be spread to the public and thus entice troublesome boys, like Lampwick, into the trap; exemplifying his devious cunning.
The Coachman seems to specifically target disobedient, selfish boys who wish to indulge in trouble for pure enjoyment, probably because, as evidenced by calling them "stupid", he views those types of boys as especially gullible and easily tempted as he allows them to smoke and drink just to turn them into donkeys. He enjoys taking advantage of them for that, with no care whatsoever for the disproportionate amount of suffering he inflicts on them for their actions.
Compared to Stromboli, the Coachman appears to be slightly less greedy and actually compensates those who aid him in his wicked plans well, as he offered a substantial amount of gold to Honest John and Gideon for bringing him troublesome boys to take to the island, which far exceeds what Stromboli gave them for Pinocchio. However, this is not out of generosity, but more because he can afford to and convince them to work for him instead. He is also not above intimidating those whom he hires to do his bidding, as seen by him frightening both Honest John and Gideon with his demonic face and warning them not to double cross him.
Like most Disney Villains, the Coachman is incredibly sadistic, enjoying other people's pain and is also very cruel, whipping his goons and selling young boys that come to his island into slavery so that he can make money off of them and shows no concern for the cruel life that awaits them in slavery. The Coachman completely ignores their pain and despair and justifies his actions by claiming their slavery is payment for their ill behavior. However, attaining wealth is his primary motive, as he transformed the boys into donkeys specifically to end up in hard labor at circuses, salt mines, or possibly other places that buy donkeys.
Physical appearance
The Coachman is a tall, overweight man who has fair skin, pale blond hair and green eyes. He wears a red coat with brass buttons, a grey porkpie hat, brown leather gloves, blue trousers, black boots and blue scarf.
Appearances
Pinocchio
The Coachman In Pinocchio
The Coachman is first seen at the bar of the Red Lobster Inn with Honest John and Gideon. He puffs quietly on his pipe, listening quietly and intently as John proudly recalls selling Pinocchio to Stromboli. The fox then produces a very small bag of gold coins - Stromboli's payment - as proof of his "success" and inquires about the Coachman's business. The Coachman gets the attention of the two when he places a huge bag of gold coins, promising them "some real money" if they help him. He tells the two that he is collecting "stupid little boys" to be taken to Pleasure Island. John is frightened at the mention of Pleasure Island, noting that it has issues with "the law", but the Coachman reassures they will not get caught since the boys "never come back as boys". He then tells the two swindlers to meet him with any "good prospects" they find at the crossroads of the village, where he will be waiting with his stagecoach, which is pulled by six donkeys; he promises to pay them well, but also warns them not to double-cross him. Pinocchio is among the boys who are taken to the Coachman.
The Coachman takes a coachload of boys, including Pinocchio and Lampwick (along with Jiminy Cricket who is stowed away), to a ferry bound for Pleasure Island, where the boys are free to run riot without fear of reprimand from parents, teachers, pastors, or other adults of authority, until they turn into donkeys for the Coachman to sell into slavery. When the boys are not paying attention, the Coachman whips his goons, ordering them to shut and lock the gates and prepare the crates before laughing and saying, "Give a bad boy enough rope and he'll soon make a jackass of himself." Later, Jiminy finds the Coachman's minions loading crates of donkeys onto boats. The Coachman examines every donkey, first checking that it can no longer talk by asking its name. If their response is a bray, he rips off their remaining clothes before throwing them into crates for his minions to load onto the ship. One donkey, Alexander, can still talk, and cries to be allowed to go home. The Coachman throws Alexander into a pen of donkeys that likewise can still talk. Alexander and the other talking boys continue to beg for their freedom and become human again, but the Coachman instantly silences them with a loud crack of his whip, loudly barking at them to be silent before reminding them they were already allowed to have all the fun they desired and must now pay the price for it. This indirectly gives Jiminy the knowledge of the fate of Pleasure Island's visitors.
At this point, Jiminy realizes Pinocchio's impending fate and rushes to warn Pinocchio. Though Lampwick is completely transformed into a donkey and rapidly loses his humanity, Pinocchio, despite growing donkey ears and tail and developing a bray in his laugh, manages to escape the island down a small, rocky path with Jiminy's help before the Coachman and his minions could spot him escaping and recapture him. The Coachman is unseen for the remainder of the film.
Other appearances
The Coachman appears in the episode "Mickey vs. Shelby" of the series House of Mouse, sitting with Honest John and Gideon.
Live-action appearance
Geppetto
The Coachman appears in this live action spin-off. In this iteration, however, he is called The Ringleader and is much younger, agile and slightly less menacing, yet nonetheless dangerous, being portrayed by Usher. He and his henchmen charm and encourage the boys into acting like "Jackasses", using his songs and showmanship to mesmerize and coax them onto the rollercoaster, which is stated as the factor that turns boys into donkeys.
Printed media
Descendants: Isle of the Lost Rush
20 years ago, his days of turning boys into donkeys were over. He was imprisoned in the Isle of Lost, where was put to work as an actual coachman. He drives a coach pulled by actual donkeys. One part of his punishment was that he was made to track down all the children he transformed into donkeys.
Disney Parks
Disneyland Resort
The Coachman appears in Pinocchio's Daring Journey and its Pleasure Island scenes. At one point, he tries to trap the riders in a giant crate to keep them from escaping.
He was also once a walk-around character, but has since been retired. He appeared in the 1971 rendition of Fantasy On Parade, heading the coach that carried “stupid little boys” bent for Pleasure Island. The float was part of the parade’s Pinocchio unit. Later versions of the parade would replace the Coachman with Stromboli.
Gallery
Trivia
- Charles Judels, the voice of the Coachman, also did the voice of Stromboli.
- The Coachman is the only human-looking character to have four fingers per hand instead of five.
- Though the Coachman goes unpunished for his crimes in the original film, he does get his comeuppance in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game version of Pinocchio by getting kicked off a cliff to his presumed death or at least knocked out by Pinocchio. He also seems to be one of the few unpunished villains in the film to not have any interaction with Pinocchio.
- There was a deleted scene where the Coachman hires Honest John and Gideon one last time to bring Pinocchio back to him so that "the law doesn't learn of their business" as means to escape the authorities. This later led to Honest John and Gideon's arrest when they tried to swindle and con Pinocchio a third time, also cut from the film and still being interpreted by viewers.
- Additionally, it is revealed in the novel Descendants: Isle of the Last Rush that the Coachman was later caught and arrested by the authorities, and was banished in the Isle of Lost. He was also forced to change all his victims back to humans.
- In an Italian crossover comic story, first published in Topolino "libretto" #1883, Mickey Mouse was washed on the shores of Pleasure Island after a storm. The amusement park had fallen into disrepair, and Mickey noted that it seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. The Coachman isn't there and also doesn't appear amongst the many Disney villains who meet up earlier in the story.
- The Coachman may be the only English character in Pinocchio, speaking in a Cockney accent.
- In the original Italian story of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, the Coachman was usually referred to as "The Little Buttery Man" ("L'Omino di Burro"), and he drove a large wagon instead of a coach. He spoke in a soft, purring voice "like a cat trying to ingratiate itself into its' owner's good graces." He also was rather effeminate in manner, clucking like a mother hen and addressing his prospective young passengers as "my dears" and "my darlings". Yet for all that he was even more devious and sadistic than his Disney counterpart, as displayed when he bites one of his boy-turned-donkeys' ears off while pretending to kiss him.
- According to one of the books of Pinocchio, the Coachman's name is "Barker", though it is not sure if it's his real name or just an alias.
- In another book adaptation of the film, the Coachman hires Foulfellow and Gideon to bring him just one more child in exchange for gold, rather than multiple children as in the film.
- In a comic book adaptation of Pinocchio, the Coachman makes his offer to Honest John and Gideon after eavesdropping on a conversation they were having about their sale of Pinocchio to Stromboli, rather than listening to John tell the Coachman himself.
- The Coachman's frightening smile was referenced twice in the game Cuphead. The first is when the villain King Dice makes a similar smile during a boss fight, while the second is when Chef Saltbaker also makes a similar smile during his boss fight in the game's DLC The Delicious Last Course.
See also
- Ringmaster (Geppetto)
- The Coachman (Pinocchio 2022)
External links
Coachman (Disney) on the Villains Wiki
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