Cultural commentators who warn against the most inocuous messages of “deviant” behavior in pop culture need to remember that parents themselves are not idiots and have the wealth of their experience to guide them. Reading too deeply into things can bring about the wildest of conclusions; the warning against which can be more harmful than the blissful ignorance of them.

Case in point, my sister described the turtles in Finding Nemo as part of the carefree, thrillseeking surfer culture. Then there are those who call them “stoners.” Would you tell your pre-teens that such vocal affectations were indicative of drug use? Or would you just tell them that some turtles—or people—just act differently? Would you, as a social commentator, raise the roof with all sorts of alarms for parents to warn their kids of behavior they should be at this point, blissfully ignorant of?

When a shark wants to dress up as a dolphin in a fish movie and the shark’s father expresses acceptance for his son, why focus on the apparent allegory to “deviant” behavior when the focus could be on the father’s ability to surmount such superficial worries? Too much ballyhoo, too much reading into tea leaves.