The Incredible Mr. Limpet

The Incredible Mr. Limpet
1964 - Warner Brothers
Directed By Arthur Lubin



SYNOPSIS

Henry Limpet (Don Knotts) is a nerdy bookkeeper who can't qualify for military service near the outbreak of World War II. He love fish nearly as much as he does his wife (Carole Cook.) One day at Coney Island, he wishes he were a fish and becomes one. As a fish, he joins the Navy and helps destroy several German U-boats in the Atlantic and becomes a hero.




MY THOUGHTS

A fun, amusing fantasy.
I don't know if you would call this a fish-out-of-water tale... or a fish-IN-the-water tale.
There are darker themes at work here Henry's friend/future fish-liaison is clearly gunning for his wife, and of course WW2, but these are touched lightly and won't leave young kids asking too many questions. It does add some depth for adult audiences to ponder over.

The great Don Knotts always had a unique comic gift/persona. Here, the role isn't really geared toward that. Anyone could have played the role of Henry, but Knotts makes good with the simplistic character and makes it memorable.
This was the final film for character actor Larry Keating (as Admiral Spewter,) who died before it was released. He plays his character almost identically to his best known role as Mister Ed's neighbor Roger and is one of the funniest supporting roles.

The Technicolor cinematography is seemingly extra vivid and beautiful. Once in the animated world, the film loses much of it's brightness. The difference is jarring when it switches from below to above, but maybe that's what they intended.
The animation lacks the detail and beauty of a Disney film and the interaction scenes between animation and real life are much more limited than Mary Poppins or Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The compositing of the animation and real life images could have been done better, since you can see water rippling right through Henry (as fish) nearly every time he's above water.

Still, it's a great little harmless and entertaining film for children.