What is "where's my dad" trend on Tiktok? Viral Finding Nemo meme has people calling their dads

A TikTok video featuring a boy standing with a Finding Nemo prop and asking "Where's my dad" has been making rounds on the internet. On July 18, a kid's theatre from Brick, New Jersey, called The Brick Children’s Community Theatre shared a TikTok video promoting their forthcoming theatrical debut of Finding Nemo Jr.

The video features a 12-year-old actor named Domenic Innarella who voices the puppet of Nemo.

“Where’s my dad? I’m all alone. I’m too small to be here on my own. I swam away because I got mad. But now I really need him. Where’s my dad?”

The play is based on the 2003 Disney Pixar movie Finding Nemo that revolves around a small clown fish that gets separated from his dad.

The clip got viral with several internet users taking the audio from the clip and using it to make their own memes and videos. Ever since the theater group shared its video, the post has gathered over 8,000 videos from the same audio with people re-enacting the audio in grown-up situations.

The original "Where's my dad" video featuring Innarella has since garnered almost 9 million views on TikTok, with people using the audio for moments like "me when it's time to do my tax return" and “When the mechanic tells me my car needs more than an oil change.”

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The original creator of "Where's my dad" TikTok trend finds it hilarious to watch other videos

While speaking to news outlet Today, Domenic Innarella, who is featured in the original viral video on "Where's my dad" TikTok, said he is enjoying being a part of the TikTok trend.

“They’re all like really funny. I crack up at every single one I see. Someone dressed up as me and then someone dressed up as the puppet, and it was like, the guy was like, squeezing her arm to be the puppet. I watched it like a million times.”

The president and business director of The Brick Children’s Community Theatre Kendra Zarrilli said that currently, it is unknown if the popularity of the original "Where's my dad" TikTok post has affected the ticket sales, but they have received some surprising requests like never before. While commenting on the trend via an email, she said:

“We have seen an increase, but not significant enough just yet to know if it is due to the proximity of the show. What we have gotten are A LOT of requests for Streaming…which we have never gotten before!”

As per news outlet ScaryMommy, a 2022 survey by LendingTree in 2022, 76 percent of millennials and Gen Z members who moved back in with their parents in 2020 are still living with their parents.

Furthermore, according to Savings.com, 45 percent of American parents still financially support one of their children, with some spending more than $1400 a month. Groceries, phones, and rent or mortgage are examples of assistance.