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.

Depressed after his latest breakup, Allen returns to Cape Cod, where he encounters eccentric scientist Walter Kornbluth on a diving expedition.

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.

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.

Madison is seized by government agents and taken to a secret lab, headed by Kornbluth's cold-hearted rival Dr. Ross for examination.

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.

[4] 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.

[5] 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.

Soles, Tatum O'Neal, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Melanie Griffith, Diane Lane, Kathleen Turner, and Sharon Stone.

[16] Hannah's mermaid tail was designed and created by Academy Award-winning visual effects artist Robert Short.

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".

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.

"[23] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

"[25] 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.

"[26] 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.

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.

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.

[33]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.