Disney Restores Nude Scene In Tom Hanks Film After Fans Were Outraged
Disney+ has restored the unedited version of the Tom Hanks comedy Splash to their platform, after previously censoring a nude scene.
Good news, movie fans: Daryl Hannah’s butt is back on the job on Disney+, and it’s gotten a 4K upgrade! According to a report by Comic Book Resources, the family-friendly streamer is finally offering the 1984 Tom Hanks comedy Splash in its fully unedited form, after previously offering only an edited version that awkwardly covered Daryl Hannah’s nude rear end with CGI-created hair extensions. The incident was widely ridiculed on social media, but with newly-installed parental controls on Disney+, the streamer has loosened its grip over more adult content on the platform.
The “controversy,” dubbed “Buttgate” by some, began back in 2020, when the film was added to Disney+. At the time, most of the content on the platform was extremely family-friendly, with the most “objectionable” content coming from the PG-13 violence and profanity of the Marvel films. When Splash was added, Disney had to deal with a partial nude scene in the film, featuring a brief glimpse of Daryl Hannah’s rear end as she runs into the ocean, which would have been the first on the platform.
Their solution was to add CGI hair extensions to her blond locks, to obscure her behind from view. The CGI was incredibly awkward, as the enclosed video shows, and social media mocked it widely. It’s even more out of place when you see the original version and realize there was very little nudity to begin with, and then, it was only brief glimpses.
However, earlier this year, Disney+ instituted new parental controls to block some content from young children. They were installed as a response to the addition of Marvel’s superhero series that had been available on Netflix, including Daredevil, The Punisher, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. That allowed Disney to add the Tom Hanks hit in its unedited form, and with a 4K upgrade no less, yet restricted from young eyes.
Still, edits in other movies sill remain on Disney+ for now. That includes several language edits on the 1987 Elizabeth Shue comedy Adventures in Babysitting, in which an F-bomb and a gay slur about Thor are dubbed out. That film still includes a title card at the beginning that the film includes edits from the original version.
The restoration of Splash on Disney+ was acknowledged on social media, with a bit of sarcasm.
Splash was Disney’s very first PG-rated film, although it was released under the studio’s Touchstone Pictures label. Tom Hanks played a man who is saved from drowning by a mermaid, played by Daryl Hannah. Directed by Ron Howard, the film was a modest hit in 1984, earning over $69 million in the United States, yet good enough to be among the top ten box office hits for the year.
The Disney film gave Tom Hanks his first big movie role, and career has been on the upswing ever since, nabbing several Best Actor Oscars and starring in some of Hollywood’s biggest films. Daryl Hannah had already starred in Blade Runner at the time, and the film solidified her as one of the 1980’s hottest actresses.
