Splash, Too

Splash, Too is the 1988 Disney TV movie sequel to the 1984 movie Splash (starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah). Directed by Greg Antonacci and written by Bruce Franklin Singer, this TV movie stars Todd Waring as Allen Bauer and Amy Yasbeck as Madison Bauer (a mermaid).

It was first broadcast in two parts on The Disney Sunday Movie on May 1 and May 8, 1988 on the ABC television network.

Tagline: ''Four years ago, a man and a mermaid swam away with your heart. Look who's back making waves.''

Plot
Set four years after the events of the first movie, it is revealed that both Allen Bauer and his wife Madison (a mermaid) have been living on a deserted island hideaway. Allen becomes bored on the island and admits he misses life in New York City and his brother Freddie, and Madison, aware of Allen's sadness, has an ability to view/communicate by simply running her index finger in a circular motion on water, shows Allen how things are going on back in New York with Freddie.

Realizing that the family business, Bauer Produce, is in trouble since he left Freddie alone, Allen tells Madison that it is time to return to New York and help save the family business. (This contradicts the first movie's finale revelation that if Allen goes to live in the sea, he can never return.) Upon returning, they move into a new home, meet a new neighbor Mrs. Needler (Doris Belack), and Madison meets a new friend, Fern Hooten. Later on in this story, Madison has her own agenda: to save her dolphin friend Salty, who is being held in captivity by Dr. Otto Benus (Mark Blankfield) for research. While trying their best to hide Madison's secret, both Allen and Madison do their very best as a married couple, growing closer to one another during this adventure.

Background
With a production budget of $3.3-million, Splash, Too was the first movie to be filmed at the then-new Disney-MGM Studios complex. Amy Yasbeck had to wear a blonde wig (over her red hair) when playing Madison.

Amy Yasbeck went through 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 from the original Splash (1984) film, but she could not fit into it. New form-fitted mermaid tails were made for her and her stunt double by Thom 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. The tail was also heavy for the actress to wear.

Trivia

 * Dody Goodman (Mrs. Stimler) is the only returning cast member from the original film.


 * Todd Waring and Amy Yasbeck would reunite together on screen in an episode of the NBC sitcom Wings (titled "House of Blues"), on March 5, 1997 (Season 8, Episode 17). Waring was a guest star, while Yasbeck was already a series regular on the show.

Home Video release
Splash, Too was released on home video (VHS tape) in the United Kingdom (region 2, PAL format) and Australia (region 4, PAL) by Walt Disney Home Video. Both the UK release and Australian release have been out of print for many years but sometimes shows up on auction sites. There has been no official home entertainment release of any form (VHS or DVD) in North America (region 1, NTSC format). There are currently no plans to release Splash, Too on DVD from Walt Disney Home Entertainment.

The movie is however still shown on television in various countries such as the UK and Ireland.