The Incredible Mr. Limpet

Henry Limpet is a bookkeeper; fascinated by fish, he reads his books and keeps watching the aquarium. When America enters the war he wants to enlist but is rejected. One day he falls off a pier into the sea and is presumed drowned. In fact he has turned into a fish. He can talk, he can think, and he builds a life underwater. Then he realises he can sense ships and submarines in advance. He starts helping the American navy find Nazi submarines. Arthur Lubin directed the live action sections; the animation was directed by Bill Tytla, Robert McKimson, Hawley Pratt and Gerry Chiniquy at the Warner Bros. cartoon studio. The screenplay is adapted from a 1942 novel by Theodore Pratt. Don Knotts plays Henry. It is an American production. The film combines live action with animation; when Henry turns into a fish the screen switches to cartoon. This was Don Knotts's first box office success in a leading role. The matter it treats is a man taken for useless turning out valuable in his own element; rejected for the army, Henry becomes the most useful thing underwater. The film turns the war into a light adventure and gives its violence in cartoon language. The sound effects and the fish voices were made with the techniques of the period. The narrative aims at a young audience and the pace is kept light. The film received mixed reviews but gained a loyal following over time. The ending leaves Henry in the sea. Its limit is consistency; the transitions between live action and animation are rough and the plot simple. Who it is for: viewers curious about old family films and mixed animation techniques. Who it is not for: it is dated, simple, and the ending strange.