Finding Nemo/Tear Jerker

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• This is one of those films with undertones that the parents will understand just a little bit better than the kids.

Nemo: It's okay, Dad, you can let go.

• "It's okay, Daddy's here, Daddy's got you."
• The moment when Nemo tells Marlin "I love you, daddy" and Marlin says "I love you too, son".
• The completely heartwrenching moment when Marlin sees Nemo pretending to be dead in the plastic bag and, believing his son to really be dead, gives up and leaves in defeat.
  • Dory's reaction. When she pops out of Nigel's beak you expect her to smile and cheerfully say something like: 'hey what's going on', but she becomes visibly shocked when she sees Nemo.

Dory: Oh my goodness....

• "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:

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.

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

• 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:

Marlin: I swear, I will never let anything happen to you... Nemo.

• Any time the Nemo Egg theme starts playing is an indication you will be crying within the next 10 seconds (the beginning right before the opening credits, anytime Marlin or Nemo contemplates how to solve the main conflict, the scene where Nemo first hears about his dad's daring adventure to rescue him, and the very end).
  • 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.