The Disney classic “Splash” arrived on its streaming service Disney Plus back in February and waves are being made over how the Ron Howard-directed film has been updated for modern audiences.
The 1984 film stars Tom Hanks as a young man who falls in love with a mermaid named Madison, played by Daryl Hannah, after she saves him from nearly drowning. She has the ability to change into a human, and when she gets wet, she starts to transform.
For those who saw the original uncensored version, the film was originally rated PG and featured nude scenes. According to IMDB, the film rating was given because, “There are many scenes of nudity in this movie, mostly female, but in one case male as well. This movie nevertheless gets a PG rating because the nudity is all non-sexual nudity, and it is all essential to the plot. All parts of the body are visible at one point or another except for pubic areas or genitalia, which we never see clearly.”
In one scene, Madison walks up to the Statue of Liberty nude. In another, she dives into the ocean, showing her rear after giving Hanks’ character a kiss.
The version edited for Disney Plus conforms to the studio’s more rigorous standards for family entertainment, but fans are noticing that the effects used to cover the nudity appear to have about the same quality level as the “digital fur technology” used in the “Cats” movie debacle.
The film begins with a notice saying, “This film has been modified from its original version. It has been edited for content.”
“Disney+ didn’t want butts on their platform so they edited Splash with digital fur technology,” Allison Pregler tweeted.
It’s not hard to see where the digital edits have been put into key scenes in the movie. Madison’s long hair has been digitally lengthened to continue all the way to thigh level.
The Statue of Liberty scene has been “edited” from a clear rear view shot of Hannah to a blur.
Variety has reached out to Disney Plus for comment.