25 of the creepiest Disney movies ever made

Pinocchio (Image via Walt Disney Productions)

8. Pinocchio

Pinocchio is based on the novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, written by Carlo Collodi in 1883. When it was adapted into a Disney film in 1940, a few plot elements were changed. The original puppet-turned-boy was an obnoxious jerk – upon awakening, he laughs in Geppetto’s face and steals his wig. Disney wisely decided to make their version a little more likeable. However, they didn’t manage to scrub it entirely clean of strangeness.

For one, there’s the underlying conceit of the story. A lonely old man decides that the best way to find a friend and create a family is to carve a wooden puppet and hope that it somehow becomes “real”. No volunteering or adoption for Geppetto, and certainly no OkCupid, apparently. The crazy part is, a passing fairly (known creatively as the Blue Fairy) decides to make his wish come true. And thus, Pinocchio is created because an all-powerful being just kind of felt like it.

But then, there’s also the later sequence on Pleasure Island. A menacing coachmen picks up a wandering Pinocchio and takes him to said island, which is overrun by other young boys. As if that weren’t bad enough already, these boys are then turned into donkeys. One transformation is accompanied by a lot of terrified screaming, prompting Pinnochio to run away. He manages to be only half-transformed.

Pinocchio then has to rescue Gepetto, who has somehow been swallowed by a giant whale. Pinocchio descends into the monster’s gut, rescues his ersatz father, and dies in the process. No, seriously. We see him lying facedown in a pool of water, because 1940s Disney did not hold its punches.

While everyone’s mourning over Pinocchio’s actual corpse, the Blue Fairy pops by and decides to resurrect him as an actual human. Yes, the Blue Fairy apparently has the power to defeat death, but only when she feels like it. Now, Pinocchio can look forward to a life of aging thanks to his terrifying fairy benefactor.