A Walt Disney World Resort Guest created an awkward situation for an EPCOT performer at The Seas With Nemo and Friends attraction during Turtle Talk With Crush.
While a day at Disney Parks is always sure to be magical, sometimes Guests can cross appropriate boundaries, especially with character performers. Moreover, as more Disney vloggers attempt to create viral-worthy content, they can often intentionally or accidentally put Cast Members in hard situations, as was the case in a video posted by TikTok user @parkhopperpixie.
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At both EPCOT Park and the Disneyland Resort’s Disney California Adventure, Guests can interact live with Crush, the sea-surfing turtle from Finding Nemo (2003), and meet character friends from Finding Dory (2016) in Turtle Talk With Crush. Typically, the entirely improvised, family-friendly performance is nothing but comedic good fun for visitors of all ages, but the unscripted element can lead to some strange situations during its daily run.
In fact, as initially covered by Inside the Magic, mid-way through the 15-minute long show, Crush asks the audience to “raise their fins” if they have any more “preguntas for la tortuga,” AKA Spanish for if they have questions for the turtle. Afterward, he picks the first Guest in the first row on his right, who introduces herself as Emily.
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The “dudette” then inquires if the talking sea turtle knows “who Jesus Christ is,” causing laughter from the audience that the original poster describes as “awkward” in the transcript. Then, Crush replies, “Oh, uh… no, dude, I don’t really know who that is, dude,” and pivots the conversation to using an eco-location call to summon Bailey, a whale and one of Dory’s friends from the Finding Nemo sequel.
https://www.tiktok.com/@parkhopperpixie/video/7209026062137740587
Although @parkhopperpixie labels Emily a “tone-deaf Jesus freak” in the caption, it’s unclear from just the context of the video alone if she brought up the Christian figure with religious intentions or just as a joke/out of curiosity. Still, even if she had innocent intentions, it put the Crush performer in a conflicting situation with the potential to offend religious believers.
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Therefore, it’s impressive how quickly he acted to redirect the subject in a non-offensive way and remain in character. Of course, no aquatic life would or should know about any important human religions, so his response was well aligned with his character attributes!
Remember always to be respectful of performers and don’t create uncomfortable situations for them while they are making magic for you! You can catch Crush at EPCOT’s The Seas With Nemo & Friends every day from to