Retrospective Film Review

Splash (1984) • 40 Years Later — sweet ’80s classic worth dipping back into

A young man is reunited with a mermaid he briefly encountered as a boy and falls in love with her without knowing her secret.

Five years before Walt Disney Animation made their classic film The Little Mermaid (1989), Touchstone Pictures, a Disney subsidiary, released the live-action romantic comedy Splash. Starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, the film tells the story of a modern-day love affair between a New York City produce salesman and a mermaid.

As the first film released by Touchstone Pictures, it went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of 1984, joining the ranks of films like The Terminator, Gremlins, and Ghostbusters. Perhaps surprisingly, considering its lighter tone, it was also nominated for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ at the Academy Awards that year, losing out to Places in the Heart.