Nightmare Fuel / Pinocchio

"Monstro" is an apt name for this creature.

The movie in general is easily one of Disney's scariest pictures ever, especially since none of the villains are seen being punished for their crimes, thus leaving children with the horrifying idea that not all evil can be beaten and that the world is a dark, cruel place for everybody...^note Although, in a deleted scene, John and Gideon get arrested after running into Pinocchio a third time, though it is unclear for what, quite probably for their usual petty crimes they are known for in the village by police and villagers alike.

As a Moments page, all spoilers will be unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

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• When Pinocchio gets the tip of his finger burned at the beginning—and can't feel it. In the book, he slept too close to a fire and woke up to find his feet burned away.
• Some things hit harder when you get older and have kids of your own: Geppetto sends Pinocchio off to school, hoping that he will have a nice day. And then all kinds of horrible things happen to him that seem to come out of parents' worst fears and nightmares: he is lured off by two strangers, exploited by a traveling entertainer, forced into slave labour, sent to a place where bad behaviour like drinking, smoking, and vandalism is encouraged, and almost transformed into something that would make identification by police officers who search for this lost boy impossible. All this makes the scenes where Geppetto is waiting desperately in vain until Pinocchio gets home all the more unnerving.
  • Add to this the scene where Pinocchio finally does come home, only to find his home abandoned, with no one waiting for him. Pinocchio's first thought is that something terrible has happened to his father. What makes it worse? HE’S RIGHT, as he finds out moments later thanks to the note given to him by the Blue Fairy.
• Stromboli◊ was particularly frightening, especially telling Pinocchio when he's worn out, he'll make good firewood...and then throwing an axe at a (fortunately lifeless) puppet. One has to wonder just what in God's name is wrong with the man.
  • The scene where Stromboli drives away, and a thunderstorm starts while all the lifeless puppets sway around on their strings is rather unsettling, looking like strung-up corpses in comparison to Pinocchio.
    • Consider also, that when Stromboli says he'll get rid of Pinocchio once he's too old, it might have a more sinister double meaning. The novelty of seeing a live puppet without strings might wear off eventually, and when Pinocchio doesn't bring in as much money as he used to, Stromboli may not wait till he's literally too old to chop him into firewood...
• The Coachman is one of the very few Disney villains to be a complete Karma Houdini. For the other villains, it's easy to deduct their possible fate or comeuppance off-screen using common sense. For all we know, the Coachman could still be turning kids into donkeys and selling them off to the circus, salt mines, etc. Sometimes evil gets away scot-free, kids!
  • It's telling that his counterpart from the original novel, The Little Man, who's guilty of the exact same crimes, pales in comparison to the Coachman. The Little Man has his own disturbing moments (such as biting the donkeys' ears in half if they misbehave), but The Coachman still beats him by a mile.
  • "They never come back... as BOYS!◊" That terrifying facial distortion with a wide Wario-esque Slasher Smile he makes as he says those last two lines comes completely out of nowhere. Also, notice how his skin turns red, his small eyes become much wider/larger with his irises becoming large with pinprick pupils, and his tufts of hair (as well as his ears) become pointed, like horns and demon's ears, respectively- making an overall devilish face, which becomes very appropriate with how Honest John and Gideon react.
    • This face and what he says while doing it, marks the moment where both Honest John and Gideon realize they are in way over their heads until they're now absolutely scared shitless because of their VERY big mistake: These two scammers (who make a miserable living in tricking others, by the way) aren't dealing with a petty delinquent, nor are they dealing with a child trafficker, a serial killer, a mass murderer, a powerful crime lord or even a jaywalker. They're dealing with a literal devil.
  • What makes this scene even more terrifying for younger and naïve first-time viewers is if you didn’t know about the infamous “donkey transformation” scene, you’d think the Coachman was a more mundane child predator based on the line of them never coming back as “boys,” collecting young boys and using Pleasure Island for some sick and disturbing trafficking ring (especially given the name "Pleasure Island," yeesh), and/or for sale as eunuchs (who were still in demand in the slave trade at the time the story took place).
  • Also the Evil Laugh he makes after it (reminiscent of Mephiles the Dark), especially in the Italian dub. Listen.
  • The Coachman's henchmen. They're hulking black figures, silent and completely featureless except for their blank white eyes. No explanation for what the hell they are or where they came from. Keen watchers may also notice that they look KIND OF similar to the black cloak as worn by The Mad Doctor (one of Disney's most terrifying shorts). Now imagine those figures multiplied, forming a race.
  • There's also the fact that like Maleficent, the Coachman is never portrayed as inept or buffoonish. And even when he puts on his friendly face for the kids, we know full well that he is up to something truly sinister.
• The whole concept of Pleasure Island, an amusement park that's actually a trap for unsuspecting little boys! Even Honest John and Gideon are freaked out about it...
  • And after the boys are shown having a great time at the place, it then cuts to the place looking utterly TRASHED with the whole place destroyed and completely devoid of human life. What exactly happened here?
  • The Coachman locks the gates to the Island after letting the boys loose and tells his henchmen to prepare the cages. Even if any of the boys had second thoughts, there's no escape after this point. They're doomed from the moment they set foot on Pleasure Island.
  • The entirety of the scene where the donkeys are being sorted at Pleasure Island. The shadowy, featureless henchmen. The boys, transformed into voiceless beasts of burden, are sent off to a life of being abused and worked to death in the salt mines. The ones who can still talk are kept in the holding pen, crying and begging to be returned to their families. Pinocchio was likely the only one who ever escaped. And the last we hear of the Coachman, he drops this little gem:
    Coachman: QUIET!!! You boys have had your fun. Now pay for it!
  • This particular Fridge Horror aspect: If you look at the coach taking the children to Pleasure Island, it appears to be pulled by donkeys. It is implied that these are the little boys who can still talk - the Coachman keeps them for grunt work. He is whipping them mercilessly, only adding to his wickedness.
  • The scene of Lampwick's transformation into a donkey is quite possibly the most terrifying scene ever created by Disney (Andreas Deja even compared the staging to an Alfred Hitchcock film). Especially his reaction to finding out he's become a donkey. And instead of just braying, he sounds like he's hyperventilating. Even worse is that he screams out "MAMA! MAAAAMAAAAA!!!!". What makes it worse is that Lampwick is not initially aware of it, while Pinocchio is slowly becoming unnerved by the scene (initially believing it to be caused by heavy drinking or smoking), and once Lampwick realizes what's going on, he utterly breaks down and begs Pinocchio to help him before eventually being reduced into a braying, wild ass. Pinocchio flees in horror before he can suffer the same fate. No other adaptation has ever tried to bring this element to the transformation as it is far too disturbing.
    Lampwick: Hey! You laugh like a donkey! (He laughs, then brays like a donkey. He covers his mouth in shock) Did that come outta me...? (Pinocchio gives a terrified nod. Lampwick then touches his mouth, realises he's got a muzzle) Oh! (feels his face, realises he's covered in fur) HUH?! (feels his long ears) What the-? What's going on?! (Lampwick turns to look at himself in the mirror, realises he's turning into a donkey. He screams in horror.) I've been double-crossed! Help! Help! SOMEBODY HELP!! I'VE BEEN FRAMED! HELP!!! (turns to Pinocchio and clutches his suspenders) Please! You gotta help me! Be a pal! Call that beetle! CALL ANYBODY! (his hands turn into hooves) MAMA! (screams as he arches forward, completing his transformation as a donkey) MAAAAAAAMAAAAAAAAAA-EE-HAW! EE-HAW! EE-HAW! EE-HAW!
    • Roger Ebert once admitted that this scene was the reason he never smoked a cigar in his life (though he did play pool).
    • Lampwick completely destroying the pool hall with his hind legs, kicking off all of his clothes and thus the last signs of his former humanity. Even worse, at some points even while braying, he still sounds like he's screaming for help and even hyperventilating. The final time Lampwick screams for his mother; you can hear his voice reducing itself to a mere bray as he screams at the top of his lungs. By the time he hits the floor, all he can do is bray helplessly. Then he flees the scene immediately after he has transformed, vanishing from sight and leaving his fate unknown. While a deleted scene indicates he was captured just like the others, not including it actually makes things worse; even if he escaped, his life from then on was surely a cruel and horrible existence.
    • The worst part of all about this scene is the moral horror that comes from asking whether Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio should have done anything to rescue the other boys, especially Lampwick. Any way you look at it, there truly was nothing they could do but what they did: even if they hadn't been hopelessly outnumbered (and assuming the island's enchantment didn't have Pinocchio facing a deadline), they had no way to undo the enchantment. Even knowing that the situation was every boy for himself and that he couldn't have saved anyone but himself, the Survivor's Guilt would likely stick to Pinocchio for as long as he lives. Even the deleted scene demonstrates it with Pinocchio and Jiminy trying to take Lampwick (who still has his voice at this point) with them when they escape, only to fail when the Coachman's goons nab him. Lampwick urges them to escape without him; he's already a goner.
    • There is a hint of real-life Nightmare Fuel since the children's fate can be considered applicable to all forms of child exploitation and human trafficking. Adding to that, Pleasure Island is apparently well-known enough to have a law against it, and yet the Coachman is still able to take hordes of unsuspecting boys there seemingly every night with no fear of repercussions. A sobering reality of how easy it can be to circumvent any laws made for child protection if one is wicked enough.
• Monstro, that enormous whale. Getting chased and devoured by something at least 500 feet long is horrifying. Plus, he has at least two of those intense chase scenes! Especially the scene where he charges right at the viewer.
  • Depending on your perspective, his uncanny resemblance to the Xenomorph can make him more or less frightening.
  • More horrifying? He's shown to be feared by all creatures of the sea...Oh, and apparently, he's big enough to eat entire ships. No matter how big or well-armed a ship might be, it could not escape Monstro.
  • At least nothing like Monstro ever existed in real li...oh wait.
  • L. melvillei is the closest to an existing Monstro as we know of and was nowhere near as huge.
  • When Pinocchio and Geppetto escape, Monstro goes from being a force of nature to something akin to a Terminator as he goes after them. He's now a merciless enraged machine that cannot feel sympathy and cannot be reasoned with. No animal so fierce doesn't have some regard for its own safety, or let its prey escape even if it proves itself not worth the effort. But Monstro will never stop, he will never give up his prey. NEVER.
    • It's a terrifying example of Swapped Roles, imagine if Moby Dick had the vendetta against Captain Ahab, and was hunting him down, chasing him across the oceans. A nigh-invulnerable sea monster is hot on your heels. Your only hope is to pray by some miracle you reach land... before it catches up with you. Oh, and instead of a high-speed ocean liner, a Coast Guard cutter, or even a Zodiac, all you've got is a flimsy, hastily cobbled-together raft. Good luck!
  • Monstro opening his mouth and coming straight at the camera, just as Pinocchio gets Geppetto into the cave.
    • The dreadful prospect of being recaptured by the gigantic monster. He'd ensure there'd be no second escape attempt.
    • He actually is doing just that. He could simply swallow them again and that would be that. But now that It's Personal, he's outright trying his damnedest to crush them flat, either by chomping them up in his jaws, smashing through their raft with near pinpoint accuracy, and smashing them with his tail flukes.
    • If this demonic whale is still alive and out there, after the end, he's now the wrathful Smaug of the oceans. As unnerving as that thought is, the leviathan would never forget or forgive the escapees, not even if a thousand years had turned him into an island. He can afford to wait. This means Geppetto and Pinocchio can never go to sea ever again.
  • And to top this all off, at the end of the film we see Pinocchio floating face down in a puddle, apparently dead.
  • It's a case of What Could Have Been, but Monstro from the original novel was simply called the Terrible Dogfish (Italian for 'shark') - the thing that ate Pinocchio and Geppetto wasn't a whale but a shark the size of a Megalodon. Yep, something even worse than what Disney came up with!
• A minor one but there's a deleted scene involving Geppetto and Figaro being frustrated over not having food while inside Monstro. Figaro repeatedly tries to eat Cleo and Geppetto is tempted to eat her before quickly coming to his senses.

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