You've doubtless seen a raunchy satirical drawing or two of Pinocchio, but this was no satire: two people in northeastern Arkansas were stunned to see porn turning up in the middle of copies of Pinocchio and Passport to Paris they'd bought for children.
The Associated Press says the tapes were bought at different stores but were spliced with the same technique: the advertised films were interrupted with an hour of porn, then the original films resumed. The kink, pardon the pun, is that the film spliced in wasn't the same tape speed as the children's films.
Warner Brothers, who distribute Passport to Paris, says porn material turned up in a third children's film as well, Jack Frost, also bought in the Jonesboro area. Erin Smith of Harrisburg bought the former for her eight-year-old daughter; Dianna Hemminger of Jonesboro had bought Pinocchio for her granddaughter.
Warner Brothers spokeswoman Julie Jacobsen says the company is investigating the incidents and would comment after the holidays. An attorney for Smith says he's talking with the studio to isolate when and where the video was "contaminated", the AP says, adding that Warner Brothers told him Jack Frost might have been tampered with outside the company dubbing facility in Ventura County, California.
The contaminated Passport to Paris was said to have inserted scenes from several videos produced by an adult film company based in Spain, followed by credits and previews for other porn films and a message reading "Private. XXX". The children's film then resumed without further disruption, the AP says.
Private Media Group, which produces adult videos among other adult entertainment, has a headquarters in Barcelona, but the vandalism was most likely either a) an individual incident; or, b) a lack of quality control in recycling pre-recorded videotape.
The contaminated Pinocchio also contained an hour's worth of porn, followed by the film's release date, a listing of credits, and a message saying, "Thanks for Watching…Adults Only Please. This Video Rated XXX", before Pinocchio resumed.
"This has really invaded our privacy," Smith tells the AP. "When you go to a retail store, you don't expect this. Maybe if you bought it at a yard sale."
