Set during World War II, Meek Brooklyn based Bookkeeper Henry Limpet (Don Knotts) has been classified 4F unfit for military service while finding himself often lost in thoughts and daydreams of fish, much to the bemusement of his best friend and wife George Stickle (Jack Weston) and Bessie (Carole Cook) respectively. On a day trip to Coney Island while George is on leave from the Navy, George and Bessie hear a splash believing Henry has fallen in the water and after failing to find him assume he's drowned. Unbeknownst to them, Henry has turned into fish and absolutely loves his new life while also struggling with thoughts of what he's left behind. When Henry sees a U. S. Navy Battleship under attack from a German U-Boat, Henry assists Captain Harlock (Andrew Duggan) in the fight through use of his high powered sonar yell called a "strum" and helps sink the U-Boat. While the Navy is reluctant to trust Henry knowing him only as a voice from the water, he connects via George Stickle who becomes his liaison with Henry now a secret weapon against the German U-Boats.
The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a 1964 adaptation of the 1942 novel Mr. Limpet by Theodore Pratt. The film came about thanks to John C. Rose, a former story editor for Walt Disney Pictures who became a producer, who had procured the rights to the Mr. Limpet novel and set up the project at Warner Bros. The film is notable for being not only the first vehicle for Don Knotts (who made it during hiatus from The Andy Griffith Show), but also for being the final effort of Warner Bros. Cartoons which would be shuttered after the film's completion (until a brief revival in 1967, followed by a more permant stint with Warner Bros. Animation in 1980). While reception to the film was and continues to be mixed, the film was nonetheless a financial success and paved the way for several other high concept comedy vehicles that Don Knotts would headline and become synonymous with. The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a technically impressive final effort from that era of Warner Bros. Animation, but the movie itself will depend on how you feel about Knotts' comedic schtick.
In terms of the animation on display, this is probably the pinnacle of effort that we've seen from Warner Bros. Who traditionally had been more frugal in comparison to their competitors at Disney. This was produced at a time when Disney was going for more economical approaches in Xerox based animation beginning with One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and with The Incredible Mr. Limpet there's a level of grace and elegance to the animation of the film's underwater world you don't usually see in Looney Tunes. While the film doesn't feature much in terms of the trademark visual comedic stylings we typically expect of this outfit, we do get some amusing bits especially courtesy of hermit crab Crusty played by Paul Frees whose delivery and more acerbic counter point gives him some memorable moments in comparison to Knotts' Mr. Limpet. Which I guess brings us to the stuff outside of the film's technical craft which isn't bad, but it's not particularly impressive either. Aside from the general weirdness of Henry Limpet's obsession with fish, the movie's not laugh out loud funny and plays itself fairly straight most of the time. On occasion we'll get bouts of silliness such as the scenes of Nazi officers reacting to news of Limpet in shouting German or some special torpedoes that have a very Acme/Wile E. Coyote look to them, but it's played very much with the same hokey sincerity that Disney's The Absent-Minded Professor played itself with. I've never been a big fan of Don Knotts (my go to comedy Don is always going to be Don Adams) and having been passingly familiar with his schtick it's really no better or worse here than elsewhere.
The Incredible Mr. Limpet from a technical standpoint is a bittersweet farewell to Warner Bros. Cartoons especially given the high quality of the animation on display, it's just a shame it's attached to a movie that while not bad is content to just be unoffensively average. Warner Bros. Has been trying to do a remake of this movie since at least the 90s when Jim Carrey was considered for a vehicle (along with animation tests that are said to have been "nightmarish" in their results) and given the unexceptional nature of the original, they've got more wiggle room upward than downward.
The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a 1964 adaptation of the 1942 novel Mr. Limpet by Theodore Pratt. The film came about thanks to John C. Rose, a former story editor for Walt Disney Pictures who became a producer, who had procured the rights to the Mr. Limpet novel and set up the project at Warner Bros. The film is notable for being not only the first vehicle for Don Knotts (who made it during hiatus from The Andy Griffith Show), but also for being the final effort of Warner Bros. Cartoons which would be shuttered after the film's completion (until a brief revival in 1967, followed by a more permant stint with Warner Bros. Animation in 1980). While reception to the film was and continues to be mixed, the film was nonetheless a financial success and paved the way for several other high concept comedy vehicles that Don Knotts would headline and become synonymous with. The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a technically impressive final effort from that era of Warner Bros. Animation, but the movie itself will depend on how you feel about Knotts' comedic schtick.
In terms of the animation on display, this is probably the pinnacle of effort that we've seen from Warner Bros. Who traditionally had been more frugal in comparison to their competitors at Disney. This was produced at a time when Disney was going for more economical approaches in Xerox based animation beginning with One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and with The Incredible Mr. Limpet there's a level of grace and elegance to the animation of the film's underwater world you don't usually see in Looney Tunes. While the film doesn't feature much in terms of the trademark visual comedic stylings we typically expect of this outfit, we do get some amusing bits especially courtesy of hermit crab Crusty played by Paul Frees whose delivery and more acerbic counter point gives him some memorable moments in comparison to Knotts' Mr. Limpet. Which I guess brings us to the stuff outside of the film's technical craft which isn't bad, but it's not particularly impressive either. Aside from the general weirdness of Henry Limpet's obsession with fish, the movie's not laugh out loud funny and plays itself fairly straight most of the time. On occasion we'll get bouts of silliness such as the scenes of Nazi officers reacting to news of Limpet in shouting German or some special torpedoes that have a very Acme/Wile E. Coyote look to them, but it's played very much with the same hokey sincerity that Disney's The Absent-Minded Professor played itself with. I've never been a big fan of Don Knotts (my go to comedy Don is always going to be Don Adams) and having been passingly familiar with his schtick it's really no better or worse here than elsewhere.
The Incredible Mr. Limpet from a technical standpoint is a bittersweet farewell to Warner Bros. Cartoons especially given the high quality of the animation on display, it's just a shame it's attached to a movie that while not bad is content to just be unoffensively average. Warner Bros. Has been trying to do a remake of this movie since at least the 90s when Jim Carrey was considered for a vehicle (along with animation tests that are said to have been "nightmarish" in their results) and given the unexceptional nature of the original, they've got more wiggle room upward than downward.