Character Analysis
The Coachman is one nasty dude. We might've thought that Honest John and Gideon were the shadiest characters around, but those small fry don't have anything on the King of Pleasure Island.
The Coachman runs an elaborate operation in which he transforms disobedient young men into donkeys, which he then sells to local businesses for a handsome profit. To be more specific, actually, he only sells the donkeys that have lost the ability to speak.
Just look:
COACHMAN: And what might your name be?
DONKEY: Alexander.
COACHMAN: So you can talk.
DONKEY: Yes, sir. I want to go home to my mama!
COACHMAN: Take him back—he can still talk.
While we don't know what happens to the talking donkeys that remain on Pleasure Island, we're just going to go out on a limb and say that it won't be pleasant.
There's one interesting question worth raising about the Coachman, however—is he just trying to make money, or is he getting some sort of sadistic pleasure out of punishing misbehaving children? We could easily see it being a mix between the two. Either way, Pinocchio's encounter with this dastardly villain shows how exploitative the world can be toward innocents like him.