8 Times Movie Censorship Backfired

6. Daryl Hannah's CGI Hair - Splash

Splash Butt Censorship
Disney

A more open-and-shut example of Disney+ censorship is Splash. This 1984 Ron Howard-directed rom-com starred Tom Hanks opposite Daryl Hannah, the latter of whom plays a mermaid who washes up to the surface. Splash has always been in Disney's catalogue, with the film being produced under the Touchstone banner, making it an obvious candidate for inclusion on Disney+ when it launched in 2019.

Somewhat hilariously, though, the version of Splash that was on Disney+ from 2020 through to 2022 included a bizarre case of censorship. In a scene early in the movie, during the original cut, Hannah's Madison runs towards the ocean fully nude, with her butt exposed to the camera. However, for the version screened on Disney+, CGI hair extensions were added to cover Hannah's bottom half. It's a properly awkward addition, with the CGI hair almost glued in place, and it's no surprise that it received a lot of mocking attention.

What's so funny about the hair change to Splash (apart from the obvious) is that it reinforced some of the biggest stereotypes of the modern Disney brand. You've got prude Disney going out of its way to censor a tame, PG example of on-screen nudity, and you also have evil corporate Disney diving into its back catalogue to retroactively change something without a director's input. It's a bad, frankly hilarious look all around.

As per CBR, Disney did finally reverse its CG Splash antics for the film's 4K update in 2022, removing Hannah's butt-covering locks and restoring the scene as it was originally shot.

Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.