''Splash, Too'' is a 1988 American made-for-television film

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the film '' Splash'' (1984) produced by

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. Directed by

Greg Antonacci Gregory Gerald Antonacci (February 2, 1947 – September 20, 2017) was an American television actor, director, producer, and writer. He portrayed Johnny Torrio in ''Boardwalk Empire'' in every season, from 2010 to 2014, and Phil Leotardo's right ...

and written by Bruce Franklin Singer. It stars Todd Waring as Allen Bauer and

Amy Yasbeck Amy Yasbeck (born ) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Casey Chappel Davenport on the sitcom '' Wings'' from 1994 to 1997 and for having played the mermaid Madison in the television film '' Splash, Too'' in 1988 (the role ...

as Madison Bauer. It was first broadcast in two parts on ''

The Disney Sunday Movie The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 onward. The program mo ...

'' on May 1 and May 8, 1988, on the

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television network.

Plot

Set four years after the events of the first film, Allen Bauer ( Todd Waring) and his wife, Madison (

) a

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

, have been living on a deserted island hideaway. Allen is bored with life on the island and admits he misses

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and his older brother, Freddie. Madison has the magical ability to view images in water and communicate by running her finger in a circular motion over it; she uses this method to show Allen how things are going on back in New York with Freddie (

Donovan Scott Donovan Scott (born September 29, 1947) is an American character actor best known for his role as cadet Leslie Barbara in the 1984 film ''Police Academy'', in which he was part of an ensemble cast. Biography Scott studied for two and a half ye ...

). The family business, Bauer Produce, is in trouble since Allen left. Madison agrees to return to New York so Allen can help his brother. They are welcomed back by Freddie, and Allen manages to attract a potential new customer for Bauer Produce, the wealthy Karl Hooten ( Noble Willingham). Karl places importance on all-American family values, so Allen and Madison are to present themselves as a typical happily married couple. Freddie gives them a run-down suburban house for them to move into, which they manage to restore into presentable condition. Madison agrees to be a

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which may include Parenting, caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; Sew ...

and adjust to life on land. She also has to keep her mermaid side a secret, especially from their new neighbor, Mrs. Needler (

Doris Belack Doris Belack (February 26, 1926 – October 4, 2011) was an American character actress of stage, film and television. Early years Born on February 26, 1926, Belack was the younger child of Russian Jewish immigrant parents, Isaac and Bertha ...

). When Allen's work takes up more of his time and he breaks some promises to her, his relationship with Madison is strained. Madison finds comfort with her new friend Fern Hooten (

Rita Taggart Rita Taggart is an American film and television actress. She is known for playing Carla Bouvier on ''Night Court''. Biography Taggart was the third wife of cinematographer Haskell Wexler from 1989 until his death at age 93 in 2015. On televisio ...

), Karl's wife, who supports Madison's desires to find her own interests. During a business event at an aquarium, Madison sees one of her

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

friends, Salty, in one of the tanks. Madison is upset by this, especially because Salty has a mate out in the wild. Karl is one of the benefactors of the aquarium, so Madison asks him to let Salty go. This causes more friction between Madison and Allen, as Bauer Produce still needs Karl's business and Allen does not want to get on Karl's bad side. Madison declares her unhappiness with how Allen is treating her and disregarding her feelings, and leaves off swimming into the ocean. Allen realizes his mistake and regrets pushing Madison away. When Madison returns to the house, Allen apologizes and the pair reconcile. They sneak into the aquarium, where Dr. Otto Benus (

Mark Blankfield Mark W. Blankfield (May 8, 1950 – March 20, 2024) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as a regular cast member of the television variety series '' Fridays''. Other work included roles in '' Jekyll and Hyde...Together Again'', ...

) is doing research on Salty, and try to set him free. They are almost caught, but Fern Hooten comes to their aid and helps them get Salty on to a van and out to the ocean. At the sea front, Salty is released into the ocean and returns to his mate. Madison and Allen talk about their future and agree to be honest. Allen agrees to return to the sea with Madison if that is what she wants, but he would prefer to stay on land. Madison agrees to stay on land with him, as she says "I like it here. I like to learn things.", as she has many things she would like to do, and the pair embraces. Seeing Salty back with his family makes Allen wonder how mermaids have babies. Madison tells him with a smile "You'll see. You'll see." as they embrace again with a kiss.

Cast

Background

With a production budget of $3.3 million, ''Splash, Too'' was the first film to be filmed at the then-new

Disney-MGM Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. Based on a concept by Marty Sklar, Randy Bri ...

complex. Dozens of actresses were looked at to play the role of Madison, but none were right for the role until the producers found Amy Yasbeck, who did a screen test for director Greg Antonacci, was cast at the start of 1988. Yasbeck had to wear a blonde wig (over her red hair, which was cut to her shoulders to accommodate wearing the wig) when playing Madison. Yasbeck went through a crash course in scuba diving as well as extensive physical training to prepare to play Madison in the underwater swimming shoots with her mermaid tail costume. Yasbeck was originally going to wear the mermaid tail costume worn and used by

Daryl Hannah Daryl Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury (1978 film), The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various films across the ...

from the original ''Splash'' (1984) film, but she could not fit into it. (Daryl Hannah's ''Splash'' mermaid tail was designed and constructed by Academy Award-winning visual effects artist Robert Short. Thom Shouse was the project foreman on Short's mermaid crew.) After undergoing a bodycast, new form-fitted mermaid tails were made for both her and her stunt double Arlene Klein, by Shouse, best known as the Tail Man. The tails made for ''Splash, Too'' were easier to put on than the one made for Hannah since they had been made with a zipper. Nevertheless, it took three people to zip up the tail on Yasbeck, and then lift her into the water. Yasbeck received instructions when swimming to only use the tail, and never to use her arms, keeping them at her sides. Yasbeck would spend an hour at a time underwater, frequently taking breaths from the oxygen tanks of nearby divers. The tail was heavy for the actress to wear.

Starlog ''Starlog'' was an American monthly science fiction magazine that was created in 1976 and focused primarily on ''Star Trek'' at its inception. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs were its creators and it was published by Starlog Group, Inc. in Aug ...

Number 130, May 1988, pages 26-28 "This Year's Mermaid" by Robert Greenberger The film was almost entirely recast from the 1984 original, with

Dody Goodman Dody Goodman (October 28, 1914 – June 22, 2008) was an American character actress. She played the mother of the title character in the television series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', her distinctive high-pitched voice announcing the ...

(Mrs. Stimler) as the only returning cast member from the first film.

Home video release

''Splash, Too'' was released on home video (

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

tape) in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia by Walt Disney Home Video. Both the UK release and Australian release have been out of print for many years, but sometimes show up on auction sites. There has been no official home entertainment release of any form (VHS,

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

) in North America ( region 1,

NTSC NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170. In 1953, a second ...

format) from

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, a ...

References

External links

* * *{{youTube, KP2vV8cck0I, ''Splash, Too'' Trailer 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 1988 television films 1988 films 1980s fantasy comedy films 1988 romantic comedy films 1980s romantic fantasy films American fantasy comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic fantasy films American television films Disney Channel original films Films about mermaids Films scored by Joel McNeely Television shows about mermaids Television sequel films English-language romantic comedy films English-language romantic fantasy films English-language fantasy comedy films de:Splash – Eine Jungfrau am Haken#Fortsetzung