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18

In the early 1980's, Disney Studios' Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg created a new division, Touchstone Pictures, to produce more adult-oriented films. Their first effort, in 1984, was a big hit. What was the title of this film with a wet theme?

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By the early 1980s, the Walt Disney Studios brand was so synonymous with G-rated, family-friendly entertainment that it struggled to attract adult audiences. When new leadership, including Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, took over, they devised a plan to broaden their cinematic reach without tarnishing the core Disney name. Their solution was the creation of a new distribution label, Touchstone Pictures, which would handle films with more mature themes, language, and situations.

The banner's inaugural release in 1984 was the romantic comedy *Splash*. Starring a young Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, the film's charming story of a man who falls in love with a mermaid perfectly fit the trivia clue's "wet theme." The film was a massive critical and commercial success, earning an Academy Award nomination for its screenplay and instantly validating the company's new strategy. Its success paved the way for a string of Touchstone hits throughout the 80s and 90s, including *Good Morning, Vietnam*, *Who Framed Roger Rabbit*, and *Pretty Woman*, cementing the label as a powerhouse for popular, adult-focused filmmaking.