Finding Nemo/Tear Jerker

"Nemo: It's okay, Dad, you can let go."
 * This is one of those films with undertones that the parents will understand just a little bit better than the kids.


 * "It's okay, Daddy's here, Daddy's got you."
 * The moment when.
 * The completely heartwrenching moment when
 * Dory's reaction.

"Dory: Please don't go away. Please? No one's ever stuck with me for so long before. And if you leave... I just, I remember things better with you! I do, look. P. Sherman, forty-two... forty-two... I remember it, I do! It's there, I know it is, because when I look at you... I can feel it. And-and I look at you, and I... and I'm home! Please... I don't want that to go away. I don't wanna forget. Marlin: I'm sorry Dory. But I... do."
 * "I have to tell him how--old--sea--turtles--are!"
 * The scene where Dory actively laments her forgetfulness and expresses fears of forgetting her new-found friends:


 * Made even worse by a scene later when Nemo finds her scared, alone, and desperately trying to remember what she needs to do.

"Marlin: I swear, I will never let anything happen to you... Nemo."
 * The best testament to this film's ability to make you cry is that the first tearjerking moment comes before the opening credits, thanks to some amazing voice acting by Albert Brooks:


 * Any time the Nemo Egg theme starts playing is an indication you will be crying within the next 10 seconds.
 * Thomas Newman, who also composed the soundtrack the Andrew Stanton-directed WALLE, has a knack for establishing ethereal atmosphere that can also tug at the heartstrings. The music that plays during the scene inside the whale is considered by Stanton to be the best track in the movie.
 * "Keep swimming! Keep swimming!" United forces and sheer will conquer life's dangers - and suddenly Dory's goofy little song means everything in the world.
 * Bruce lamenting that he never knew his father. Yes, it's Played for Laughs, but for viewers who grew up without either parent, it's surprising to empathize with a shark. Though, he is a great white, so his father probably would've eaten him, but still. A bit of Fridge Brilliance there, since real life sharks don't raise their young and abandon them at birth.
 * The aftermath of the Barracuda, when you realize that Coral is gone, and so are all but one of the eggs.
 * Although Marlin is the undisputed master of the Adult Fear trope, Gill has his moments. Watching the clear desperation on his face as he watched Nemo be scooped out of the tank was enough to rival any parent. And when he calls him "Nemo" instead of "Sharkbait" when he promises him that he's not gonna go belly up.