Splash (film)
{{short description|1984 film by Ron Howard}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| image = Splash_ver2.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Ron Howard
| screenplay = Lowell Ganz
Babaloo Mandel
Bruce Jay Friedman
| story = Bruce Jay Friedman
Brian Grazer
| producer = Brian Grazer
| starring = {{Plainlist|
}}
| cinematography = Donald Peterman
| editing = {{plainlist|
}}
| music = Lee Holdridge
| studio = Touchstone Films
| distributor = Buena Vista Distribution Co.
| released = {{Film date|1984|3|9}}
| runtime = 111 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $11 million{{cite magazine|magazine=Daily Variety|title=Film Reviews: Splash|page=3|date=February 23, 1984|author=Loyn.}}
| gross = $69.8 million{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0088161/ |title=Splash (1984) |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=July 25, 2023 |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609013037/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0088161/ |url-status=live }}
}}
Splash is a 1984 American romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Ron Howard, from a screenplay by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, and Bruce Jay Friedman, and a story by Friedman and producer Brian Grazer. The film stars Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, John Candy, and Eugene Levy. Its plot involves a young man who falls in love with a mysterious woman who is secretly a mermaid. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
It is notable for being the first film released by Touchstone Pictures, a film label created by Walt Disney Studios that same year in an effort to release films targeted at adult audiences, with mature content not appropriate for the studio's flagship Walt Disney Pictures banner. Splash received a PG-rating for some profanity and brief nudity, and was critically and commercially successful, earning over $69 million on an $11 million budget, making it the tenth-highest-grossing film of 1984, and received praise for the acting, humor, and chemistry between Hanks and Hannah.
Plot
In 1964, eight-year-old Allen Bauer and his family are taking a boat tour at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Allen is fascinated by something below the surface and jumps overboard, even though he cannot swim. In the ocean, he encounters a young girl and when they hold hands, he inexplicably finds himself able to breathe underwater. However, Allen is rescued and pulled back to the surface, and the two are separated. Since no one else saw the girl, Allen comes to believe the encounter was a near-death hallucination. After the boat pulls away, the young girl is revealed to be a mermaid.
Twenty years later, Allen is now co-owner of a wholesale fruit and vegetable business in New York City with his womanizing older brother Freddie. Throughout the years, Allen's relationships have failed as he subconsciously seeks the connection he feels other couples enjoy. Depressed after his latest breakup, Allen returns to Cape Cod, where he encounters eccentric scientist Walter Kornbluth on a diving expedition. When his motorboat restarts, Allen falls into the sea and is knocked unconscious; his wallet drops onto the coral below. He later wakes up on a beach, in the presence of a beautiful naked young woman who is unable to talk. After kissing Allen, the woman dives into the sea, where she transforms into a mermaid. While swimming underwater, she is sighted by Kornbluth.
The mermaid finds Allen's wallet, and uses a sunken ship's charts to locate New York. She comes ashore naked at the Statue of Liberty and is arrested for indecent exposure. Using information from the wallet, the police contact Allen and she is released into his care. The mermaid learns how to speak English from watching television, and is eager to explore the city. Unable to say her real name in human language, she selects "Madison" from a Madison Avenue sign. She tells Allen that she will be in New York for "six fun-filled days, and the moon is full", unable to return home if she stays any longer. Despite Madison's occasionally outlandish behavior, she and Allen fall in love. He proposes to her, but she declines and runs away. After some contemplation, Madison returns to Allen and agrees to marry him, with the added promise of telling him the truth about herself after an upcoming dignitary dinner to welcome the President.
Meanwhile, Kornbluth, realizing that Madison is the mermaid he encountered, pursues the couple, trying to expose her by splashing her with water. His first attempts are unsuccessful, and Kornbluth ends up with multiple injuries. Finally, he infiltrates the dignitary dinner, soaking Madison with a hose and successfully unmasking her identity. Madison is seized by government agents and taken to a secret lab, headed by Kornbluth's cold-hearted rival Dr. Ross for examination. As she withers away in captivity, Kornbluth learns that the scientists are planning to dissect her, causing him to regret his actions.
Allen is shocked by Madison's secret and rejects her, but when he voices his disillusionment to his brother, Freddie lashes out at him, reminding him how happy he was with her. Realizing that he still loves Madison, Allen confronts the guilt-ridden Kornbluth who, having been rejected by his colleagues despite proving the existence of mermaids, agrees to help rescue her. Kornbluth, accompanied by Allen and Freddie impersonating Swedish scientists, enter the lab and smuggle Madison outside. Freddie stays behind to be arrested in Allen's place, while Kornbluth unsuccessfully tries to stop military troops from catching the couple.
Despite being pursued, Allen and Madison make it to New York Harbor. Madison tells Allen that he can survive underwater as long as he is with her, prompting Allen to realize that she was the girl he had met underwater as a child. She warns him that if he comes to live in the sea, he will never be able to return to land. Madison dives into the water as the troops close in on them. When they attempt to arrest Allen, he jumps in after her, but starts to drown. She kisses him, gifting him the ability to swim and breathe underwater. Frogmen try to recapture them, but the couple fight them off and escape. Allen discards his jacket and the couple happily swims toward what appears to be an underwater kingdom.
Cast
{{Cast listing|
- Tom Hanks as Allen Bauer
- David Kreps as young Allen Bauer
- Daryl Hannah as Madison
- Shayla MacKarvich as young Madison
- Eugene Levy as Dr. Walter Kornbluth
- John Candy as Freddie Bauer
- Jason Late as young Freddie Bauer
- Dody Goodman as Mrs. Stimler
- Shecky Greene as Mr. Buyrite
- Richard B. Shull as Dr. Ross
- Bobby Di Cicco as Jerry
- Howard Morris as Dr. Zidell
- Tony DiBenedetto as Tim, the doorman
- Patrick Cronin as Michaelson
- Charles Walker as Michaelson's partner
- David Knell as Claude
- Jeff Doucette as Junior
- Royce D. Applegate as Buckwalter
- Tony Longo as Augie
- Nora Denney as Ms. Stein
- Charles Macaulay as the President
- Joe Grifasi as Manny
- Lee Delano as Sergeant Lelandowski
- Migdia Varela as Wanda
- Than Wyenn as Mr. Ambrose
- Eileen Saki as Dr. Fujimoto
- Jodi Long as a reporter
- Bill Smitrovich as Ralph Bauer
- Nancy Raffa as Mary Bauer
}}
Screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel both make cameo appearances in the film. Ganz plays Stan, the tour guide, in the scene set at the Statue of Liberty. Mandel plays Rudy, the man in charge of ice skate rentals who tackles Hanks' character when he tries to run out with his skates still on. Director Ron Howard's father, actor Rance Howard, can be seen early in the film as Mr. McCullough, an unhappy customer screaming at Allen about his cherries. Howard's brother Clint Howard appears as a wedding guest, identified by Candy's character as the bride's brother and yelled at by Hanks.
Production
The film was initially set up at United Artists, but Brian Grazer decided to take the film elsewhere and took it to The Ladd Company, but Alan Ladd Jr. eventually passed on it.{{AFI film|57200}} According to the documentary on the Splash: 20th Anniversary Edition DVD in 2004, producer Brian Grazer had pitched the film to numerous studios but was turned down repeatedly until Walt Disney Productions, then headed by Ron W. Miller, agreed to produce the film. The key to the proposal's success was that Grazer changed the premise description from the idea of a mermaid adjusting to life in New York City to that about a love story about an ordinary man in New York City meeting a mermaid.{{cite news|last=O'Reilly|first=Terry|title=Small Move, Big Gain|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/small-move-big-gain-an-encore-presentation-1.3432927|work=Under the Influence|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=February 4, 2016|access-date=July 26, 2023|archive-date=July 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726050734/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/small-move-big-gain-an-encore-presentation-1.3432927|url-status=live}} An issue at the time of production was the competition between Splash and another announced (but untitled) mermaid film from Warner Bros. that had lined up Warren Beatty as its star. Director Ron Howard promised the studio that Splash would be filmed more quickly and cheaply than the other film, which eventually fell through. Howard turned down directing Footloose and Mr. Mom to direct Splash.{{cite web|last=Cormier|first=Roger|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76738/15-surprising-facts-about-splash|title=15 Surprising Facts About Splash|website=Mental Floss|date=March 16, 2016|access-date=June 25, 2021|archive-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625101805/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76738/15-surprising-facts-about-splash|url-status=live}}
Several established actors such as Chevy Chase, Dudley Moore, Bill Murray, and John Travolta were considered for the lead role before the producers decided on the then lesser-known Tom Hanks.{{cite web|last=Evans|first=Bradford|url=https://www.vulture.com/2011/09/the-lost-roles-of-chevy-chase.html|title=The Lost Roles of Chevy Chase|website=Vulture|date=September 22, 2011|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116184909/https://www.vulture.com/amp/2011/09/the-lost-roles-of-chevy-chase.html|archive-date=January 16, 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Evans|first=Bradford|url=https://www.vulture.com/2011/12/the-lost-comedy-roles-of-tom-hanks.html|title=The Lost Comedy Roles of Tom Hanks|website=Vulture|date=December 22, 2011|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004201616/https://www.vulture.com/amp/2011/12/the-lost-comedy-roles-of-tom-hanks.html|archive-date=October 4, 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite book|last=Gray|first=Beverly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ziz6zQ73yx0C&pg=PA102|title=Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon... and Beyond|location=Nashville, Tennessee|publisher=Rutledge Hill Press|year=2003|page=102|isbn=978-1-4185-3074-7|access-date=September 29, 2021}} Hanks was cast because Ganz and Mandel believed that he would be great as an "every man" character.{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=Bryan |title='Splash' turns 35: How a 'second-string' mermaid movie made Tom Hanks a global movie star |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/03/07/splash-anniversary-tom-hanks-made-waves-first-leading-man-role/3084549002/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |newspaper=USA Today |archive-date=November 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127043724/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/03/07/splash-anniversary-tom-hanks-made-waves-first-leading-man-role/3084549002/ |url-status=live }} According to Howard, the studio would not give him a green light.{{Cite magazine |last=Andersson |first=Eric |date=2016-11-14 |title=Ron Howard Didn't Think Tom Hanks Would Get Cast in 'Splash' |url=https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/ron-howard-didnt-think-tom-hanks-would-get-cast-in-splash-w448948/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |magazine=Us Weekly |archive-date=October 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007170121/https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/ron-howard-didnt-think-tom-hanks-would-get-cast-in-splash-w448948/ |url-status=live }} Murray turned down the part as he wanted to move away from comedies and do serious films instead.{{cite web|last=Alter|first=Ethan|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/pj-soles-bill-murray-stripes-ivan-reitman-john-candy-harold-ramis-163359557.html|title=P.J. Soles dishes on Bill Murray's late-night booty calls during the making of 'Stripes'|website=Yahoo! Entertainment|date=June 25, 2021|access-date=March 26, 2022|archive-date=March 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326161642/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/pj-soles-bill-murray-stripes-ivan-reitman-john-candy-harold-ramis-163359557.html|url-status=live}} Steve Guttenberg also auditioned for the role.{{cite book|last=Guttenberg|first=Steve|author-link=Steve Guttenberg|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=faUv039lI0gC&pg=PA181|title=The Guttenberg Bible: A Memoir|location=New York|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=2012|page=181|isbn=978-1-2500-1152-7}} Michael Keaton was offered the role, but he declined so he could star in Mr. Mom instead.{{cite web |last=Kellison |first=Daniel |title=» Dinner With Daniel: Michael Keaton |website=Grantland |date=2012-07-13 |url=https://grantland.com/features/qa-batman-beetlejuice-star-michael-keaton-mister-rogers-fly-fishing-roles-turned-more/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002110628/http://grantland.com/features/qa-batman-beetlejuice-star-michael-keaton-mister-rogers-fly-fishing-roles-turned-more/ |url-status=live }} Before Daryl Hannah was cast as Madison, the role had been previously turned down by P.J. Soles, Tatum O'Neal, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Melanie Griffith, Diane Lane, Kathleen Turner, and Sharon Stone.{{cite news|last=Spears|first=Steve|url=https://www.tampabay.com/splash-turns-30-five-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-tom-hanks-classic-and/2169430/|title='Splash' turns 30: Five things you didn't know about the Tom Hanks classic (and what John Candy says in Swedish)|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|date=March 10, 2014|access-date=July 26, 2023|archive-date=July 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726050734/https://www.tampabay.com/splash-turns-30-five-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-tom-hanks-classic-and/2169430/|url-status=live}} Lane was insecure about the nudity required for the role and chose to do Streets of Fire and The Cotton Club instead.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/may/26/features.magazine|title=Memory Lane|first=Sanjiv|last=Bhattacharya|date=May 26, 2002|newspaper=The Observer}}{{cite web | url=https://time.com/archive/6666496/movies-diane-lane-gets-lucky/ | title=Movies: Diane Lane Gets Lucky | date=May 27, 2002 }}
Principal photography, which ran from March 1 to June 30, 1983, took place in Los Angeles, New York City, and Gorda Cay, an isle in the Bahamas since purchased by Disney and renamed Castaway Cay. Donald Peterman served as the film's cinematographer, with Jon Fauer serving as camera operator for the film's New York scenes.{{cite web|url=https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/making%20magic%3Cbr%3E100%20years%20of%20disney/2023/07/05/splash/|title=Splash - BFI Southbank Programme Notes|publisher=British Film Institute (BFI)|access-date=August 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824181625/https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/making%20magic%3Cbr%3E100%20years%20of%20disney/2023/07/05/splash/|archive-date=August 24, 2023|url-status=live}}
Hannah's mermaid tail was designed and created by Academy Award-winning visual effects artist Robert Short.{{cite magazine|last=Mayo|first=Michael|title=How to Make a Mermaid|magazine=Cinefantastique|date=September 1984|volume=14|issue=52|pages=92–99|issn=0145-6032}} The tail was fully functional. Hannah swam with the mermaid tail so fast that her safety team could not keep pace with her. According to the DVD documentary, Hannah had been swimming "mermaid" style with her legs bound together since she was a child, due to her fascination with Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" story. However, the exceptionally detailed film tail was difficult to remove. For the sake of efficiency, Hannah at first kept it on while the cast had lunch. In the documentary included on the 20th-anniversary Splash DVD, Hanks recalled how the other cast members would drop French fries over the side of the tank to her as though she were a trained sea mammal, because she could not leave the water while her legs were "shrink-wrapped".
Reception
= Box office =
Produced on a $11 million budget, Splash grossed $6.2 million on its opening weekend and finished its run with a gross of $69.8 million in the United States and Canada, making it the tenth highest-grossing film of 1984.{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1984/?grossesOption=totalGrosses |title=Domestic Box Office For 1984 |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=July 25, 2023 |archive-date=September 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901032446/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1984/?grossesOption=totalGrosses |url-status=live }}
= Critical response =
The film was well received by critics and is considered to be one of the best films of 1984.{{cite web |url=http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1984/15492765 |title=The 10 Best Movies of 1984 |website=Film.com |access-date=June 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204103324/http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1984/15492765 |archive-date=December 4, 2008}}{{cite magazine |last=Nashawaty |first=Chris |url=https://ew.com/article/2009/07/25/was-1984-the-greatest-year-in-movies-ever/ |title=Was 1984 the greatest year in movies ever? |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=July 25, 2009 |access-date=July 25, 2023}}{{cite web |url=http://www.listal.com/list/best-films-of-1984 |title=Best Films of 1984 |website=Listal |access-date=August 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717065105/http://www.listal.com/list/best-films-of-1984 |archive-date=July 17, 2010}}{{cite web |url=https://www.films101.com/y1984r.htm |title=The Best Movies of 1984 – Sorted by Rank |website=Films 101 |access-date=June 11, 2010 |archive-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906004848/http://www.films101.com/y1984r.htm |url-status=live }} On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. The website's critics consensus reads, "A perfectly light, warmly funny romantic comedy that's kept afloat by Ron Howard's unobtrusive direction and charming performances from Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/splash |title=Splash |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=April 20, 2020 |archive-date=September 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902041547/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/splash |url-status=live }} Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/splash|title=Splash Reviews|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=June 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622143721/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/splash|url-status=live}}
One of the film's few negative reviews came from Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, who gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and thought the film's biggest failing was casting then-unknown Hanks as the lead rather than the established comedy actor John Candy: "They should have made Candy the lover, and Hanks the brother. Then we'd be on the side of this big lunk who suddenly has a mermaid drop into his life."{{Cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/splash-1984|title=Splash movie review & film summary (1984)|newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times|year=1984|via=RogerEbert.com|access-date=October 30, 2018|archive-date=October 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031052629/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/splash-1984|url-status=live}} Colin Greenland of Imagine magazine stated that "Splash is an adult film that has the grace to treat fantasy with sensitivity and a sense of humour."{{cite magazine | last = Greenland|first = Colin |author-link=Colin Greenland| title =Fantasy Media | magazine = Imagine | issue = 17| pages =47 |date=August 1984}}
Accolades
Soundtrack releases
A soundtrack album of Lee Holdridge's music for the film was released on both vinyl LP and cassette in the United Kingdom by Cherry Lane Records Ltd in 1984, with the music re-recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer and the love theme song covered by Kira McClelland. Both have been out of print for many years. The catalogue numbers for these releases were PIPLP 710 and ZCPIP 710 respectively. In 2000, the original music was released on a 26-track CD in the United States by Super Tracks Music Group. The back cover states that this product is "For Promotional Use Only" and that it has been "Manufactured for the composer...". Although this release is very hard to find brand new and may in fact be out of print, it is still obtainable from certain film soundtrack specialist retailers and also occasionally used from certain online stores. This CD has every track that the LP and cassette have but has a considerably longer running length due to the 12 extra tracks. These extra tracks include more of the original music from the film, the theme song (by Lee Holdridge and Will Jennings) sung by Rita Coolidge and alternate versions of some of the tracks which appear on the LP and Cassette. The catalogue number for this release is LH CD – 02.
= Cherry Lane album track listing =
- "Love Came for Me (Love Theme)" (2:34)
- "Madison in Bloomingdale's" (1:37)
- "Mermaid on the Beach" (2:32)
- "Underwater" (2:20)
- "Reflection" (1:03)
- "Rainy Night" (2:40)
- "Face to Face" (1:25)
- "Escape and Chase" (2:54)
- "Madison and Allen" (3:04)
- "Moonlit Night" (2:56)
- "Daydream" (0:55)
- "Raid on a Museum" (0:50)
- "The Leap to Freedom" (3:35)
- "Return Home" (1:23)
- "Love Came for Me (Vocal)" (3:20)
- "Love Came for Me (Solo Piano)" (1:46)
= Super Tracks album track listing =
- "Main Title" (1:51)
- "First Meeting" (1:33)
- "The Boat/Mermaid on the Beach" (2:34)
- "Underwater – Version No. 1" (1:29)
- "Underwater – Version No. 2" (1:25)
- "Daydream" (0:57)
- "Madison at Bloomingdale's" (1:09)
- "In the Bar" (2:12)
- "Late at Night" (2:35)
- "Watching TV" (1:24)
- "I Love You" (1:41)
- "Rainy Night" (2:38)
- "All Wet" (1:07)
- "Sneak Attack" (1:03)
- "Raid on a Museum" (0:43)
- "Reunion" (1:21)
- "Escape and Chase" (2:55)
- "The Leap for Freedom" (2:20)
- "Return Home" (2:14)
- "Love Came for Me (Love Theme) – Rita Coolidge" (4:30)
- "End Title" (3:07)
- "Rainy Night – Version No. 2" (2:37)
- "Escape and Chase – Film Version" (2:54)
- "The Leap for Freedom – Film Version" (2:20)
- "Love Came for Me – Solo Sax Version" (2:36)
- "Love Came for Me – Solo Guitar Version" (3:48)
Legacy
The film's title served as inspiration for the name of Disney's theme park ride Splash Mountain. While the studio was coming out with the film, the Disney Imagineers were working on the ride, which was originally intended to be called Zip-a-Dee River Run. However, the studio executives requested that the ride be called Splash Mountain in order to promote the film.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5ZWxZ40uT8|title=Tony Baxter Explains Splash Mountains History|last=Splash Mountain Archive|publisher=YouTube|date=December 23, 2022}}
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's book Freakonomics (2006) credits the film with popularizing the name Madison for girls, as does Steven Pinker's The Stuff of Thought (2007). In the film, Hannah's character takes her name from Madison Avenue (itself named after President James Madison) after walking past a road sign. Hanks' character comments that "Madison's not a name" as, at the time, it was an extremely rare first name for a woman. However, in the years since the film was released in theaters and re-released on VHS and then DVD, the name's popularity has skyrocketed.{{cite web |last=Polowy |first=Kevin |title=How a 'Splash' Joke Lead to the 'Madison' Baby Name Boom |url=https://www.yahoo.com/movies/bp/splash-joke-lead-madison-baby-name-boom-190720175.html |publisher=Yahoo! Movies |date=March 7, 2014 |access-date=August 5, 2010}}
According to the Social Security Administration, the name Madison was the 216th most popular name in the United States for girls in 1990, the 29th most popular name for girls in 1995, and the third most popular name for girls in 2000.{{cite web |url=http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/ |title=Popular Baby Names |publisher=Social Security Administration |access-date=June 11, 2010}} In 2005, the name cracked the top 50 most popular girls' names in the United Kingdom, and articles in British newspapers credit the film for the popularization. In a 2014 interview, Hannah commented on the irony of the name's popularity and subsequent acceptance as a standard first name given its origins as a joke based on Madison being primarily known as a street name at the time:
It's funny because no one understands the irony, because the whole point of me choosing that name was because it [was such a] silly name...Obviously everyone knew it as the name of the street. No one really saw it as a first name and that was a joke. And now, of course it's not funny at all. It's just like, 'Oh, what a beautiful name!'...It was funny at the time and now it's not even ironic.
= Spin-offs =
- Splash, Too (directed by Greg Antonacci), is a television film released in 1988 starring Todd Waring as Allen Bauer, Amy Yasbeck as Madison, and Donovan Scott as Freddie Bauer. One member of the original cast, Dody Goodman, the Bauers' office assistant Mrs. Stimler, reprises her role.
- A novelization of the film, written by Ian Marter (under the pen name Ian Don), was published by Target Books in the United Kingdom.
Remake
In June 2016, producer Brian Grazer announced that he was working on a remake of Splash, although this version would be told from the point of view of the mermaid, which was more in line with the earlier drafts of the original film.{{cite web |last=Jao |first=Charline |url=https://www.themarysue.com/splash-remake/ |title=Add 1984's Splash to the List of Upcoming Remakes |website=The Mary Sue |date=June 6, 2016 |access-date=November 19, 2020 |archive-date=November 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102134224/https://www.themarysue.com/splash-remake/ |url-status=live }} Jillian Bell and Channing Tatum were set to star as a female human and a merman, respectively. Tatum was also set to produce the remake through his production company, Free Association, along with Reid Carolin and Peter Kieran, while Howard and Grazer will also produce from Imagine Entertainment with Anna Culp as the executive producer and Marja-Lewis Ryan writing.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/08/splash-remake-channing-tatum-jillian-bell-disney-ron-howard-brian-grazer-tom-hanks-daryl-hannah-1201796450/|title='Splash' Remake Hooks Disney; Channing Tatum, Jillian Bell Star; Grazer & Howard, Free Association Producing|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=August 1, 2016|access-date=August 1, 2016|archive-date=August 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818072631/http://deadline.com/2016/08/splash-remake-channing-tatum-jillian-bell-disney-ron-howard-brian-grazer-tom-hanks-daryl-hannah-1201796450/2/|url-status=live}} {{As of|2019|1|df=US}}, the project was still in development.{{cite web | url = https://www.indiewire.com/2019/01/channing-tatum-splash-remake-happening-soon-jillian-bell-1202039281/ | title = 'Splash' Remake With Channing Tatum Is Happening Soon, Says Jillian Bell | last = Dry | first = Jude | date = January 28, 2019 | website = IndieWire | quote = With Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment behind the reboot, there's no question whether the movie can get funded, but rather if Howard and Grazer decide to go ahead with it. Though unclear, the fact that Bell said it is being written currently suggests some back and forth between producers and writer Maria Lewis-Ryan (6 Balloons), a fairly untested newcomer. | access-date = April 7, 2020 | archive-date = February 25, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200225022420/https://www.indiewire.com/2019/01/channing-tatum-splash-remake-happening-soon-jillian-bell-1202039281/ | url-status = live }} In February 2023, it was reported that Sarah Rothschild will write the script.{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=2023-02-08 |title='Splash' Redo With Jillian Bell Sets 'Sleepover's Sarah Rothschild As Scribe |url=https://deadline.com/2023/02/splash-jillian-bell-sleepover-sarah-rothschild-writer-1235253541/ |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=Deadline Hollywood |archive-date=February 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209014916/https://deadline.com/2023/02/splash-jillian-bell-sleepover-sarah-rothschild-writer-1235253541/ |url-status=live }}
See also
{{Portal|1980s|Film}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wikiquote}}
- {{IMDb title}}
- {{Mojo title}}
- {{Metacritic film}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
- {{AFI film}}
- {{TCMDb title}}
{{Ron Howard}}
{{Brian Grazer}}
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Category:1980s English-language films
Category:1980s fantasy comedy films
Category:1980s romantic fantasy films
Category:1984 romantic comedy films
Category:American fantasy comedy films
Category:American romantic comedy films
Category:American romantic fantasy films
Category:English-language fantasy comedy films
Category:English-language romantic comedy films
Category:Films directed by Ron Howard
Category:Films produced by Brian Grazer
Category:Films scored by Lee Holdridge
Category:Films set in Massachusetts
Category:Films set in New York City
Category:Films shot in Los Angeles
Category:Films shot in New York City
Category:Films shot in the Bahamas
Category:Films with screenplays by Babaloo Mandel
Category:Films with screenplays by Bruce Jay Friedman
Category:Films with screenplays by Lowell Ganz
Category:American mad scientist films
Category:Saturn Award–winning films