I Wish I Were a Fish

The Incredible Mr. Limpet was Warner Bros. turn at a live-action/animation hybrid. Something Dinsey already perfected a long time ago. As I mentioned in my The Ghost and Mr. Chicken review, The Incredible Mr. Limpet was the first movie starring Don Knotts. He made it during a hiatus from The Andy Griffith Show, but it’s mostly a voice role. Knotts plays the meager bespectacled Henry Limpet who has an unhealthy obsession with fish. To the point he wishes he were a fish. It’s one of three original songs in the movie.

Animation was the only option when Mr. Limpet magically transforms into a fish with glasses. Like SpongeBob, The Incredible Mr. Limpet is live action on the surface and animated underwater. They’re not exactly Looney Tunes, but the fish characters are cute. Limpet meets a Crusty crab and a lovely fish that he names Ladyfish. The fish love story wouldn’t be weird if Limpet didn’t have a wife back home. Carole Cook plays his fed up wife Bessy and Jack Weston plays his best friend Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class George Stickle.

Though technically a kids movie, Limpet uses his newfound fish form to help the Navy track down Nazi submarines. He’s the only fish with a confirmed kill count. Even stranger is Limpet’s supersonic “thrum” that wards off enemies. The occasional blending of live action and animation looks good for 1964. There were several attempts to make a fully live action remake, but no one wants to see a comedians face superimposed on a fish body. The Incredible Mr. Limpet is better left in the 60’s.

Henry Limpet as a fish