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 got to 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 got to 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 got to 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 got to 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 got to 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 got to 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 got to 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 Dr. Peppers (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 got to 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 got to pee," but ultimately only says "I hope it is good," and steps away.
2. When Forrest is being introduced to his new apartment by Ivan Bozosky, his only question is to ask where the bathroom is - "I got to pee."