History Film / Splash

* ActionGirl: As a child and as an adult, Madison saved Allen from drowning in Cape Cod twice. Madison also saved Allen from drowning a third time, albeit this time in the East River, thanks to an UnderwaterKiss Madison gives Allen, allowing him to breathe underwater. Furthermore, Madison manages to defeat the military divers by ripping off their scuba masks and [[TailSlap using her tail to hit them in the face and crotch]].

* DamselInDistress: Allen, Freddie, and Kornbluth all work together to rescue Madison from the lab.

%%*TheDitz: The brothers who help Kornbluth.

'''Madison:''' ''(holding back her tears)'' No. \\

* AmbiguouslyJewish: The saleslady at “Bloomingdales”, who speaks in a Brooklyn accent and says “Dah-ling” instead of “Darling”.[[note]] The saleslady’s name in the end credits is “Ms. Stein”, which is a common Jewish last name.[[/note]] An earlier draft of the script explicitly describes the saleslady (named “Ms. Stein”) as “very New York Jewish”.

* SarcasmBlind: Madison notices that Allen’s voice sounds “funny” at the ice rink, and she doesn’t realize that Allen’s “funny voice” is due to him being sarcastic. Allen berates Madison for not comprehending his sarcasm, and he assumes that sarcasm doesn’t exist where she comes from.

* SarcasmBlind: Madison notices that Allen’s voice sounds “funny” at the ice rink and she doesn’t realize that Allen’s “funny voice” is due to him being sarcastic. Allen berates Madison for not comprehending his sarcasm, and he assumes that sarcasm doesn’t exist where she comes from.

* ActionGirl: As a child and as an adult, Madison saved Allen from drowning in Cape Cod twice. Madison also saved Allen from drowning a third time, albeit this time in the East River, thanks to an UnderwaterKiss Madison gives Allen, allowing him to breathe underwater. Furthermore, Madison manages to defeat the military divers by ripping off their scuba masks and [[TailSlap using her tail to hit them in the face and crotch]].
* AmbiguouslyJewish: The saleslady at “Bloomingdales”, who speaks in a Brooklyn accent and says “Dah-ling” instead of “Darling”.[[note]] The saleslady’s name in the end credits is “Ms. Stein”, which is a common Jewish last name.[[/note]] An earlier draft of the script explicitly describes the saleslady (named “Ms. Stein”) as “very New York Jewish”.
* ApparentlyHumanMerfolk: What Allen becomes at the end of the first movie, no tail like Madison but he can now breathe underwater.
* ArmiesAreEvil: As the two race back to the ocean, Allen and Madison get pursued by U.S. Coast Guard sailors ordered to capture the mermaid. The Coast Guard are the final antagonists at the end of the movie.
* AwardBaitSong: The end credits song [[https://youtu.be/dPUmf8yqmGE Love Came For Me]] sung by Rita Coolidge. [[note]]The music is essentially the movie's LoveTheme for Madison and Allen.[[/note]]
* BathtubMermaid: Madison, a mermaid, comes to land and her tail becomes legs & feet when she's dry. But when she relaxes in the bathtub they revert.
* BattleCouple: Madison and Allen become this when they have to fight off military divers by ripping off their scuba masks, presumably drowning the divers.
* BestialityIsDepraved: [[spoiler: Once it is revealed he was sleeping with an aquatic creature, Allen gets quite a few odd looks from his employees]].
* BigApplesauce: Takes place in NYC, except for the portions at Cape Cod, Massachusetts and underwater.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The bitter part is Allen will never see his brother, friends, or even Kornbluth again, and his brother is likely going to be arrested. The sweet part is being with Madison always.]]
* {{Bowdlerize}}:
** The print streaming on Creator/DisneyPlus from April 2020-November 2022 censors all nudity on the part of Creator/DarylHannah (her hair was digitally extended to cover her bare rear end and a lot of scenes with Hannah being topless[[note]]though, with her hair covering her breasts, nothing was shown[[/note]] had to either be cropped or replaced with alternate footage). Disney undid the censorship for the movie's 4K remaster, which Disney+ will only show to viewers 17 or older.
** Over in the UK, the version shown on Disney Magic cut a clothing store clerk's line about how her daughter is lucky to fit all her clothes because she has anorexia. This also wasn't cut when streamed on Disney+, even though audiences these days would be offended over the implication that it's okay to have an eating disorder to fit into clothes.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Kornbluth calls out the other scientists, especially Ross, for performing experiments on a non-consenting person, and planning to dissect her.
* CerebusSyndrome: The movie starts out as a fairly light-hearted romance film. [[spoiler: Then it gets a lot more serious when Madison's secret is exposed and she's taken prisoner by the government, endangering her life.]]
* TheChewToy: Kornbluth goes through quite a bit of torment trying to prove the existence of mermaids.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Allen and Freddy's secretary, who was hit in the head with lightning.
* CrazyConsumption: Madison is this with the lobster at the restaurant.
* CuteButCacophonic: Don't ask Madison to speak her native language above water.
* DamselInDistress: Allen, Freddie, and Kornbluth all work together to rescue Madison from the lab.
** Subverted when Allen jumps into the water to save Madison from the military helicopter hovering over her, but due to Allen’s inability to swim, he starts to drown.
* DepravedDentist: PlayedForLaughs, [[spoiler: when a remorseful Kornbluth demands that his dentist operate on him without any anathestic. The dentist seems all too eager to cause Kornbluth pain]].
* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler: Kornbluth never imagined his scientific colleagues would dissect Madison and treat her like a test subject while also sidelining him from any fame]].
* DirtyKid: Freddie was perverted even as a child. His childhood ''modus operandi'' was dropping coins next to a lady in a dress. He continues this routine as a 30-year-old man.
* DistressedDude: Because Allen never learned how to swim, Allen is constantly prone to drowning, therefore Madison has to save Allen from drowning ''no less than three times'' throughout the film. Furthermore, Madison saves Allen from the military divers by grabbing Allen’s shoulder and then bolting him out of the circle of military divers.
%%* TheDitz: The brothers who help Kornbluth.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Despite proving the existence of mermaids, [[spoiler: Dr. Kornbluth is still treated like a joke by his colleagues. This is a factor in his eventual HeelFaceTurn]].
* DrJerk: Dr. Ross, [[spoiler: a cold-hearted scientist who is willing to dissect a sentient being ForScience and mocks and belittles his rival Kornbluth]].
* ElevatorGoingDown: Allen and Madison have sex in the elevator.
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler: Kornbluth may be somewhat egotistical, but he is appalled when his colleagues want to dissect a sapient being. Even before learning that Kornbluth showed concern for Madison's well-being by pointing out she was looking pale.]]
* {{Fanservice}}: Any of Madison's assorted nude moments, and this is a PG-rated movie!
* FishOutOfWater: A semi-literal example with Madison. She's quite ignorant of cultural norms and other things about life on land. She learns some from watching TV, but she also picks up some wildly mistaken ideas.
* FourthDateMarriage: Allen and Madison have known each other for only a short time before he decides to live with her forever underwater.
** He was also insisting on getting married to Madison before the reveal, despite her early discomfort when he proposed.
* FreezeFrameBonus: Besides the moments with Madison's bare ass and nude breasts, Madison's genitalia are briefly visible from behind when she first dives into the water after kissing Allen on the beach, and when she is walking around at the Statue of Liberty.
%%* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: During the rescue.
* GodivaHair: When Madison arrives to Liberty Island, she's only covered by her hair. When the film debuted on Creator/DisneyPlus in 2020, viewers quickly spotted that the brief scene of Madison running into the ocean nude (which shows her bare butt) had been censored by digitally extending her already long hair down to the tops of her thighs.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Madison.
* HaventYouSeenXBefore:

* HeelFaceTurn: Dr. Kornbluth, upon learning that [[spoiler:his colleagues plan to dissect Madison and how he would never earn the respect amongst the scientific community he deserves despite proving the existence of merfolk.]] Kornbluth never wanted to hurt anybody, he just wanted to prove he was right and not be a butt of their jokes.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: [[spoiler: Allen becomes this as he separates Madison from the hands of those who want to contain Madison for research and examine her biology]].
* HiddenDepths: Freddy spends most of the movie as the LovableSexManiac PluckyComicRelief. Then Allen gripes that people fall in love "every day. Look at what ''I'' got." Freddy gets dead serious, gives Allen a blistering TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, then says that Allen doesn't appreciate how lucky he is to have someone like Madison. "Every day?! Come on! Some people will never be that happy! ''I'll'' never be that happy!"
* TheHilarityOfHats: Stan the Tour Guide insists, "Do not touch my hat. Do not EVER touch my hat."
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Had Dr. Ross not been so disrespectful to Kornbluth, it is likely wouldn't driven the guy to help Allen and Freddie rescue Madison from his dirty clutches]].
* HumansAreBastards: [[spoiler: How do humans react to a mermaid? All but one (and his friends) try to capture her for science. All but Kornbluth don't even notice how sickly she becomes in their captivity. Worse, the scientists were planning on dissecting her.]]
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: "No one here, just me and the moron twins." "We're not twins!"
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Kornbluth, [[spoiler: until he exposes Madison: his guilt and the lack of respect he gets from his fellow scientists fills him with nothing but regret]].
* InhumanableAlienRights: [[spoiler: The scientists treat Madison like an animal, even though she's a sentient human-like being who even speaks English; they keep her confined in a lab and plan to dissect her. As time was likely running out for her to be able to return to the sea, Allen, Freddy and Kornbluth had to rescue her immediately, since any legal procedures to protect her would have taken too long]].
* InnocentFanserviceGirl: Madison makes a spectacular landfall in search of Allen.
* InsaneProprietor: Crazy Eddie scares mermaids.
* InstantExpert: Madison was able to [[LearntEnglishFromWatchingTelevision learn English from a single afternoon of watching television.]]
* InterspeciesRomance: The film is about a romance between a mermaid and a human.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** Freddie. He may be lecherous, rude, and insensitive, but he has a good core.
** Dr. Kornbluth, as well. He goes to extreme measures to prove the existence of mermaids. However, he changes his attitude when he learns of the lengths the other scientists want to go to study her.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Dr. Ross]] never gets any comeuppance for [[spoiler: wanting to dissect Madison and railroading Kornbluth]], other then losing his prized specimen.
* KavorkaMan: Freddy apparently gets a lot of women despite being played by the rotund Creator/JohnCandy.
* LanguageOfLove: Allen and Madison have a shag in an elevator before they even share a common language.
* LargeHam: Dr. Kornbluth is very prone to shouting.

* LightningBruiser: Madison as a mermaid is this. Not so much in her human form.
* LineOfSightAlias: Madison picks her human name from a street sign, and Allen thinks that it's a strange name. At the time of the film, Madison wasn't a woman's name[[note]]The street is named for the ''last'' name of 4th [=POTUS=] James Madison[[/note]]. Its rise in popularity in real life stems from this very film, making this joke a relic.
* LovableSexManiac: Freddy, who has been married countless times (even bringing a ''date'' to one of his own weddings), watches a lot of Swedish sex movies, writes letters to ''Penthouse'' and will pick up multiple women in one night. However, he's still our PluckyComicRelief who believes in true love.
* LoveAtFirstSight: Allen and Madison fall in love almost instantly.
* MadScientist: Kornbluth is more of a PlayedForLaughs LargeHam example. [[spoiler: His rival Dr. Ross, while more subdued and serious-sounding then Kornbluth, is an amoral PlayedForDrama example as he wants to vivisect Madison in spite of her being a sentient person, in contrast to Kornbluth's own morals and conscience he keeps]].
* MagicalGirlfriend: Allen is a normal guy who manages to hook up with a hot mermaid.
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: After her first day together with Allen, Madison sneaks into the bathroom at night and takes a bath, transforming herself back into a mermaid. Allen hears strange noises and wants to come in, but Madison won't let him. Eventually, he breaks the door, but by that time, she dried herself off:

* MermaidProblem: Solved with the dry land = legs solution. The press points it out when they hound Allen with their ridiculous questions.
* AMinorKidroduction: Allen and Madison meet as children, and instantly fall in love.
* MisplacedVegetation: Madison is supposed to be swimming around Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The problem is that she swims past coral reefs, and there are no coral reefs near Cape Cod since the water is too cold. Those scenes were actually filmed in UsefulNotes/TheBahamas.
* MsFanservice: Madison, especially when she is first seen nude.
* MST3KMantra: Tom Hanks invoked it in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D2_LdIpxSI this appearance]] on ''Series/EntertainmentTonight'' back in March 1984.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: Dr. Kornbluth, when he learns they're going to kill the mermaid. All he wanted was to show people he's not crazy, which [[AllForNothing eventually turned out to be for nothing]] when his rival Dr. Ross expresses Kornbluth will always be a disgrace of a scientist in his eyes no matter how much he wants to prove he isn't. Too bad [[OneSceneWonder his mentor]] wasn't around to say "[[NiceJobBreakingItHero I hope you're happy now?]]" and express his disappointment. Kornbluth drops from the film's initial BigBad to someone who hardly registers as a {{Mook|s}}, and immediately helps Allen and Freddie spring Madison from captivity]].
* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: When Dr. Kornbluth tries to pass off Allen and Freddie as visiting [[UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}} Swedish]] scientists to get them into the research facility where Madison is being held, a suspicious guard asks Allen and Freddie in Swedish, "What are two Swedish scientists doing so far from Sweden?" The guard jovially allows them entry after Freddie tentatively responds in Swedish, "Hey, babe! I got a twelve-inch penis." Freddie later explains that he picked up some Swedish phrases from watching hours of Swedish pornography.
* NakedFirstImpression: Madison being nude on the beach when Allen sees her in adult human form for the first time.
* NakedOnArrival: Madison has no clothes when she transforms into human form so her first encounters on the beach with Allen and outside the Art/StatueOfLiberty have her naked.
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: What's really funny is Madison's ([[InnocentFanserviceGirl lack of]]) reaction to people seeing her naked.
* NippleAndDimed: Despite the GodivaHair, there are a few underwater shots where the hair doesn't cover Madison's... uh, headlights.
* NotDistractedByTheSexy: Madison is completely nude when Allen first encounters her, which doesn't bother or distract him in any obvious way.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Despite appearing to approach his scientific career in a more professional manner,[[spoiler: Dr. Ross proves himself to be much worse MadScientist than his outwardly acting rival Kornbluth due to his amoral treatment of the sentient Madison while doing experiments on her and his plan to dissect her without battling an eye in contrast to Kornbluth's own morals]].
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: [[spoiler: Kornbluth goes through no small amount of torment...but eventually exposes Madison as a mermaid]].
* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: Madison is a classic mermaid with the variation that she can turn her tail into legs by keeping them dry. If they get wet, they'll instantly turn back into a tail.
* PainfulTransformation: Creator/RonHoward wanted something like this for the bathtub sequence, but decided it would ruin the appeal of the character.
* PhonyVeteran: Invoked by Freddie who makes up a story about Allen serving in Vietnam and getting injured there in order to convince one of the investors (a former Green Beret colonel) to turn "Bauer Produce" into a food chain.
* PinkIsFeminine: Madison wears a lovely pink dress, when going out to dinner and ice skating with Allen.
* PlayingWithSyringes: When Allen goes to confront Kornbluth he is at the dentist. Expecting Allen to attack him, he grabs the syringe of anesthesia to defend himself.
%%* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: What nudity taboo?
* PrefersGoingBarefoot: Madison prefers to go barefoot in her human form, despite acquiring shoes not long after finding Allen.
%%* TheRival: Dr. Ross for Kornbluth.
* SarcasmBlind: Madison notices that Allen’s voice sounds “funny” at the ice rink and she doesn’t realize that Allen’s “funny voice” is due to him being sarcastic. Allen berates Madison for not comprehending his sarcasm, and he assumes that sarcasm doesn’t exist where she comes from.

* StarfishLanguage: The language of mermaids involves high-pitched screeching that sounds similar to a dolphin's screech. It is screechy enough to break television screens.

* StorefrontTelevisionDisplay: Not really in the storefront, but after losing her in the department store, Allen finds Madison transfixed by all the [=TVs=] on display. (It's also from those [=TVs=] that she learns how to speak English.)
* TailSlap: Madison does this to some of the military divers near the end of the movie.
* TheyWouldCutYouUp: One of the impending examinations when Madison is rescued is implied to be dissection, or possibly even vivisection.
* TrueBlueFemininity: Madison wears a blue poncho when going to town with Allen, and later wears a shimmering, blue dress when attending the president's banquet- which she initially saw on a mannequin at Bloomingdale's.
* TruthInTelevision: As it turns Freddie is correct that weight affects how inebriated a person can become.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Allen starts acting this way over Madison's strange behavior and her reluctance to marry him. Then he starts being [[SarcasmMode sarcastic]] towards her, which upsets her and she runs away for a while. Allen regrets acting that way. But this gives Madison some time for consideration of whether or not to stay with him.
* SuperScream: Madison has a healthy set of lungs... er, gills... oh, what'''ever'''...
* UnderwaterKiss: How Madison [[spoiler:gives Allen the ability to breathe underwater]].

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: It's quite an endorsement of the greatness of the Art/StatueOfLiberty that a beautiful naked woman could be walking around and nobody notices her ''until'' the tour guide brings her to their attention.
* WaterTriggeredChange: Madison turns back into a mermaid whenever her legs get wet (drying them turns them back into legs), as demonstrated in the scene where Walter sprays her with a hose.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: Freddy was last seen about to be arrested by the feds. If he goes to prison, and Allen never comes back, who's going to run the company?]]
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Played frighteningly straight. [[spoiler: The scientists (minus Kornbluth) perform various tests on Madison and plan to dissect her. They never once consider her feelings about this despite her clearly being an intelligent, sentient creature]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Allen was mortified and angry when he finds out Madison, the one person he has come to love, is a mermaid. He starts rambling about how "people fall in love every day," and he ends up with (in his word) a "fish." However, his PluckyComicRelief brother Freddie berates him for giving up on Madison, tells him that "people fall in love every day" is nonsense, and people can never be as happy as Allen was with Madison.

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Allen decides to stay with Madison in the ocean so that their relationship can continue even though now he can't return to land due to his biology being altered to breathe underwater like Madison does. In addition, he's better off avoiding land because now he's wanted by the U.S. Coast Guard for helping Madison escape.
* YourUniverseOrMine: [[spoiler: When Madison must go back to the ocean, she tells Allen that he can go with her, but he will never be able to return to land. It is never explained why, perhaps it may have to do with the sea hag subplot. Still, he was reluctant at first but accepts readily after saving her from government frogmen. Fairly unusual in that the man ends up choosing to stay in the woman's world rather than vice versa.]]

* TailSlap: Madison does this to some of the military soldiers near the end of the movie.

* DamselInDistress: Allen, Freddie, and Walter all work together to rescue Madison from the lab.

* AwardBaitSong: The end credits song [[https://youtu.be/dPUmf8yqmGE Love Came For Me]] sung by Rita Coolidge. [[note]]The music is essentially the movie's LoveTheme for Madison and Allen[[/note]]

* ActionGirl: As a child and as an adult, Madison saved Allen from drowning in Cape Cod. Madison also saved Allen from drowning in the East River, thanks to an UnderwaterKiss Madison gives Allen, allowing him to breathe underwater. Furthermore, Madison manages to defeat the military divers by ripping off their scuba masks and [[TailSlap using her tail to hit them in the face and crotch]].

* MakeMeWannaShout: Madison has a healthy set of lungs... er, gills... oh, what'''ever'''...

-->'''Allen:''' People fall in love every day, and look what I got.
-->'''Freddie:''' Let's take a good look at what you got. People fall in love every day, is that what you said? Yeah? Well, that's a crock. It doesn't ''work'' that way. Some people will never be that happy! ''I'll'' never be that happy!