The Coachman (Italian:il Conduttore del Carro), also known asThe Little Man (l'Omino, or more preciselyl'Omino di Burro, 'the Buttery Man'), is a fictional character and a majorantagonist fromCarlo Collodi's 1883 bookThe Adventures of Pinocchio (Le avventure di Pinocchio), in which he appears in chapters XXXI and XXXIII.
The Coachman, thanks to his mellifluous manners and his convincing and reassuring voice, lures lazy boys onto hiscoach. The coach is pulled by a team of twenty-fourdonkeys, to take the boys to theLand of Toys. It is a place where every child can have fun, without having to listen to adults. The coach has wrapped wheels so as not to make noise (and therefore not to be discovered) and the donkeys, instead of being shod, have white boots on their feet.
He is described by Collodi as: "a little man, broader than he is tall, tender and greasy like a ball of butter, with a rosy face, a small, constantly laughing mouth and a thin, adorable voice of a cat wishing all the best to its master". He is a diabolical, perverse and sometimes even sadistic character: to punish his donkeys he bites off their ears. While the coach speeds towards the Land of Toys the coachman sings: "All night they sleep / and I never sleep...".
After five months of plentiful toys and entertainment, the boys (includingPinocchio andCandlewick) are transformed into donkeys. Subsequently Collodi explains that the Coachman's job is to take children to the Land of Toys, await their transformation into donkeys and sell them at fairs and markets, a job that has made him a millionaire in just a few years.
The Coachman in the 1940 Disney version (left) and the 1972 Cenci version (right)
The Coachman appears in the1940 film adaptation byWalt Disney Productions, in which he is voiced byCharles Judels with aCockney accent. He is an evil humanoid creature who first appears in the Red Lobster Inn withHonest John and Gideon, to whom he proposes, by offering them a large salary, to bring him some listless children to take to Pleasure Island, a place that arouses fear in the two scoundrels. The Coachman is also served by silhouetted minions withape-like arms. In the film the Coachman's fate is unknown, but in a deleted scene, the Coachman notices Pinocchio's escape and hires Honest John and Gideon to apprehend him dead or alive, but the two are stopped and arrested by thecarabinieri.[1] In thevideo game adaptation, he hinders Pinocchio's escape as aboss and is kicked off a cliff.
The Coachman cameos in theHouse of Mouse episode "Mickey vs. Shelby", as an audience member sitting with Honest John and Gideon.
InGeppetto, the Coachman is replaced by a Pleasure Island ringmaster (portrayed byUsher). He manages to escape retribution despite Geppetto discovering his plan.
Luke Evans portrays the Coachman in the2022 live-action remake.[2] He appears younger and shabbier than the original film, has his own song, and, similarly to the video game, pursues Pinocchio when he tries to escape, then believing him dead when he dives from a cliff.
The Coachman appears inGiuliano Cenci's 1972 animated filmThe Adventures of Pinocchio, voiced byGianni Bonagura in the Italian version. He is portrayed more closely to the book than his Disney counterpart. The Coachman works alone and is portrayed as an effeminate and alluring character with a high-pitched voice, who easily tricks Pinocchio and Candlewick into coming to the Land of Toys. However, his punishment for disobedient donkeys is omitted.
InLuigi Comencini's1972 miniseries, the Coachman is portrayed byRiccardo Billi and has a melancholy appearance. This is the only adaptation that retains the Coachman's punishment for donkeys.
In the1972 anime series episode "Pleasureland", Clarissa, the poppy witch and sworn enemy of the Oak Fairy, takes on the Coachman's role. She takes the form of a little girl to lure rascals into Pleasureland where she led them into her malevolent dimension of torture and horror.
InSteve Barron's1996 film, the character's role is merged with that ofMangiafuoco andThe Terrible Dogfish into Lorenzini, portrayed byUdo Kier. Pinocchio accidentally sets Lorenzini's theater on fire, causing Lorenzini to change career and begin luring unruly children to Terra Magica where the children inevitably drink cursed water, turning them into donkeys. During a struggle with Pinocchio, Lorenzini falls into the water and turns into a sea monster, which swims out to the ocean.
InRoberto Benigni's2002 film, the Coachman, portrayed byLuis Molteni in the Italian version and by Erik Bergmann in the English dub, is depicted in a similar manner to Cenci's adaptation. In this version, his clients are made aware of how he provides the donkeys, themselves witnessing the transformation of the boys when they are asleep.
In the Compagnia della Rancia's 2003 musical, the Coachman is reimagined as a school bus driver, just as the Land of Toys is reimagined as a school (called "Dunce High School"). In this version he is also the director of the circus where Pinocchio and the other children, transformed into donkeys, are made to perform.
In the 2004 animated filmPinocchio 3000, the Coachman and Mangiafuoco are merged to form the film's main antagonist Mayor Scamboli. A rich robotics tycoon who hates noisy children and the nature they so protect, he has a playground built at the suggestion of his beloved daughter to keep them out of his way. Then inspired by a remark by Pinocchio, he modifies one of the attractions to transform children into robots, into which he also introduces Geppetto, his rival and adversary.
In the 2007 animated filmBentornato Pinocchio, the Coachman (voiced byVittorio Amandola) is the main antagonist and, after avoiding his punishment, hires the Cat and the Fox to take revenge on Pinocchio and kidnapSanta Claus. At the end of the film, the man is punished by theBlue Fairy: he ends up transformed into a stick of butter and eaten by the villagers.
In the 2013 French miniseries, the Coachman, portrayed by Axel Neumann, is represented faithfully to the novel, except for his more tramp-like appearance and the magic whip that allows him to transform children into donkeys. When Pinocchio and his friends escape the circus director to whom the man is indebted, he sets out to look for them, finding Pinocchio's two friends (who have returned to normal with him) on the beach and tries to kidnap them, but Geppetto's neighbors arrive to save them, breaking his whip and consequently his curse.
InGuillermo del Toro's2022 stop-motion animated film, the Coachman's role is taken by thePodestà (voiced byRon Perlman),Benito Mussolini's officer in Geppetto's village and Candlewick's stern father.[3] Parallel to how the Coachman wanted to profit from the children he transformed into donkeys, the Podestà wants to turn children, especially his son and the immortal Pinocchio, into soldiers at an elite youth training camp. He is later killed when an Allied airplane bombs the camp.
