Last night while getting ready for bed, Amara said, "What the halibut?"

I stopped in my tracks. I asked her where she heard that. You see, I didn't hear "halibut" -- I heard the crude phrase "halibut" replaced.

She informed me that Oscar (the fish) says it in the movie (Shark Tale). Only then, did I realize she had said "halibut" instead of the other option.

I then had to go into a long explanation of why we shouldn't say things, sometimes movies do say things we shouldn't, etc., etc., etc. Not the type of conversation that I'd like to get into at bedtime, but necessary all the same.

Then I got to thinking how perturbed I was at the movie "Shark Tale" for throwing the unnecessary pun into the movie. And I began recounting the number of kids' movies that have very adult humor or situations in them.

I think it was back in 2001 when there were two animated movies released at nearly the same time: "Monsters, Inc." and "Shrek." I saw both of them. I didn't have kids yet at that point. I thought "Monsters, Inc." was so creative and fun. My husband thought so, too. I left "Shrek" appalled at the idea that this was being marketed as a kids movie. I didn't think it appropriate for kids at all!

Now of course, I'm just one person, and I won't let my kids watch "SpongeBob" either....

I definitely understand the desire and motivation behind making a kids' movie fun for adults to watch, too. And I admire those movies that can pull it off. But not many are able to without resorting to crude language or inferences.

Even Dominic's beloved "Cars" has a line in it that makes me cringe every time. I forget exactly how it goes, but it revolves around the word "piston" if memory serves.

Why!?

There are other ways to make adults laugh. And part of the enjoyment of the movie is watching it with your kids and seeing THEIR enjoyment. The adult humor, situations, and language don't enhance the movie -- and there are more creative ways to slip in adult humor than resorting to crass phrases camouflaged as puns.

But perhaps I stand alone on this one. Or at least my husband and I do!