I got to pee

On several occasions in the Forrest Gump novel, and on one occasion in the film, Forrest is plagued by the need to urinate, often explaining "I gotta pee", especially under high pressure situations, when many people are watching.

In the novel

The urgency of a full bladder is a recurring theme in the novel, and "I got to pee" is spoken several times.

1. After accepting his All State Football award, he lingers on the stage, uncomfortable from an unrelieved bladder and two Slurpees consumed at least 1-2 hours previously. When asked if he had anything else he wanted to say, he responded "I gotta pee."
2. When in court for misbehavior in the movie theater with Jenny Curran, having been sitting for "almost half a day", he is asked again if he had anything else he wanted to add, and he responded again "I gotta pee."
3. When in Mister Boone's remedial English class at the University of Alabama, the teacher praises his autobiographical paper as "originality", not actually believing it. He asks how Forrest thought it up, and Forrest replies again "I gotta pee."
4. In Vietnam, being congratulated for carrying Doyle to safety on his shoulder, Forrest is asked by the Charlie Company commander "How in hell did you do that, Gump?" to respond yet again "I gotta pee."
5. Forrest has an apparent close call while in Vietnam: when Colonel Gooch announces Forrest has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, Forrest is "bout to bust [his] britches", but he only says "Thanks."
6. In New Guinea, when chess master Forrest finds himself in checkmate against Big Sam, he escapes inevitable cannibalization by excusing himself "I gotta go pee."
7. While filming a remake of The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Forrest, wearing an unwieldy rubber suit, feels the urge to urinate. Not wanting to disrupt filming, he decides to discreetly urinate the next time he is in the water. He does so, but his fellow actress Raquel Welch notices the smell and is enraged.
8. After delivering a speech during his announcement that he will run as a candidate for the United States Senate, Forrest is asked by a reporter, "what... is the most pressing issue of the moment?" after she had listed an array of serious national troubles. Forrest answers only, "I gotta pee."
   This particular instance ends very well for Forrest: though his mother expresses her disapproval, the crowd goes wild and begins to chant "WE GOT TO PEE!" repeatedly. Mister Claxton suggests then that the phrase should be Forrest's campaign slogan.

In other characters

On the spaceship, the male Sue is discomforted by not being provided an opportunity to urinate for nearly two days. Forrest sympathizes with him and tries to help him do so, but havoc ensues, leading to a crash into New Guinea.

Richard Nixon's Vice President (who may have been Spiro T. Agnew or Gerald Ford) excuses himself from a room with "I have to go pee."

During Forrest's visit with Lieutenant Dan to Jenny Curran's apartment, Lieutenant Dan rolls into the bathroom explaining he has to "take a pee". The amputee's method is a spectacle: he urinates in a shoe and dumps it in the toilet.

In the film

Forrest and the President, immediately after he utters the phrase.

In the film, Forrest says the phrase only once, while being honored as an All-American Football Player at the White House by John F. Kennedy. Being offered free food, he estimates that he consumes 15 Pepsi And Ten Cokes (14 empty bottles are visible in the film), and is visibly pained by his bladder as he waits for the award. When the President says to him on live television "Congratulations, how does it feel to be an All-American?" Forrest responds "I gotta pee." and the President chuckles and responds "I believe he said he had to go pee"

In Gump & Co.

1. When Forrest is called to the stage to give a few words to the crowd who has arrived to taste his New Coke invention, Forrest thinks about saying "I gotta pee," but ultimately only says "I hope it is good," and steps away.
2. When Forrest is being introduced to his new office by Ivan Bozosky, his only question is to ask where the bathroom is - "I gotta pee."
3. When Forrest is being honored during the Academy Awards, he is asked by host David Letterman if he has anything he would like to say, and Forrest responds, "I gotta pee." This disrupts the formal event, and Forrest is about to be to pulled off stage with a vaudeville hook when a tremendous spitball from Little Forrest hits Letterman in the face.